Wagamama chain of restaurants are unusual Japanese inspired fast-food restaurants. This one is downstairs on the external corner of the Printworks.

They have a modern, rather clinical, layout with long rows of easily cleaned tables and benches rather like some kind of old-fashioned school canteen. Rather than ordering a starter and a main meal, you pick a number of dishes off the menu and as soon as the dish is ready it is served.

Side dishes are not starters they are accompaniments to the main dishes and include various things with dumplings, including vegetables, duck and prawns. Personally I like the chicken skewers with spring onion and sauce, but there are various other options including grilled asparagus and an Asian salad.

Many of the main dishes are based around large bowls of noodles in a sort of ‘soup’ of vegetables optionally with a meat or seafood ingredient including chicken, seafood, chilli beef, or pork and chicken. Some of these dishes are quite spicy, and some have a coconut base. If you aren’t into noodles there is a selection of rice dishes with different sauces too.

The drinks menu includes some wines, sake, plum wine and several oriental beers including Asahi. Kirin, Sapporo and Tiger. In addition to the normal selection of soft drinks there are several fresh juices like one based on carrot and tomato, and several fruit juice mixes.

Typical food prices for mains range from £7-11 and side dishes £3-5.

Not a place to go for an intimate meal, but if you want a quick bite before going on elsewhere, or if there are a group of you it could be a good choice.

The food is good and typically quite quick, but the place can get busy so you might need to wait a while for a seat.

It may sound like a dance craze used to torment idle children through the malaise of the summer holidays, or possibly some sort of spontaneous verbal response to those situations that simply defy belief… but Wagamama is also a superb Japanese noodle bar, situated, as they often tend to be for some inexplicable reason, in a basement beneath the gargantuan edifice of The Printworks in Manchester.

I remember looking down from the CIS tower, where I worked at the time, at the newly laid foundations of what is now The Printworks and salivating at the prospect of a new city based entertainment centre. Who would have thought that the hollow shell that emerged would be quite so cold, or conversely, that the seats of the multi-plex cinema therein would be quite so comfortable? Well, if the flesh on show, corralled by temporary cordons and large men in black jackets with Madonna-style ear pieces gives you goosebumps, head downstairs where it is altogether warmer and more inviting.

Wagamama is a chain of noodle bars that seems to exude food-based virtues that threaten to become lifestyle statements. Their produce errs towards the healthy and emphasizes simplicity - in terms of cooking and ingredients. The accent, mostly, is on the coriander - so if you’re not keen on that most magnificent of herbs, this may not be the place for you.

Noodles are of course on the menu in all their gelatinous or stringy glory. From Udon to Egg. The starters are very similar to those served at Tampopo encompassing a variety of dumplings and deep fried offerings. There are also assorted pickles and salted beans. The menu itself is divided into different sections based on the type of noodle dish or salad on offer. The large noodle soups are highly praised and the salads are superb, if ultimately a little light weight. No bother, if you’re hankering for more, go for one of the desserts. They include pavlovas and cheesecakes etc, all of which contain some measure of counter-intuitive spice. It’s a nice way to surprise yourself.

The interior exhibits the clean, simple lines of tables and benches and wooden panneling one would expect from such a noodle restaurant, couple this with a beer whilst eating and you can really imagine you are a character in the latest Murakami novel. But two things grate a little with Wagamama: they don’t serve caffeine - it’s unclear why not and one presumes it’s in-keeping with their positive, health-giving branding - but if so, then what of the alcohol on the menu? Furthermore, is there really any need for a good restaurant, whether a chain or not, to sell t-shirts and other merchandise?

Well, I know the extent to which I’m prepared to buy into the Wagamama way of life - and that’s eating the deliciously spiced food that somehow brings a sense of calm and order to the madness that often ensues outside, up in the real world. But I’ll be leaving the t-shirts and crockery behind.

I like the concept of Wagamama, I love Asian food for a start and like the way the seating involves you in a small noodle community (noodlenity?), co parking your derrières next to strangers whilst tube holing your mouth in anticipation of a ramen entrance. The food is indeed good, not life affirming but charming nevertheless. There are better noodle/Japanese joints in town (and non mass produced as per Wagamama) so I’d hesitate in suggesting this as your first port of call for your first taste of the world or ramen.
I’ve read and heard the staff are exuberant and helpful, but on the occasion I went to the Printworks location they seemed oblivious to the fact that there might be paying customers within the restaurant, lost in their own too tight haircuts and MTV eye drops. The service was in fact so bad I’ve not been back to this branch since.
The Spinningfields location looks a more enticing prospect so I may drop by there again soon - I’ve no problem with the food after all - it’s good quality, Japanese fast food.
The chilli beef ramen is a nice dish and one I’d recommend to others, but I’d keep an eye out for slack service.
I’ll let you know how I get on with the Spinningfields branch.

fantastic menu. great flavours and ingedients. Been a few times and so far my favourite dish is the amai udon - the only place I’ve had tofu and liked it. The noodle/soup dishes are really filling and yummy. Desert isn’t something I’d normally have thought to try here but the sorbets were lovely and refreshing as is the plum wine and fresh juices.

A great noodle bar situated in the Printworks in the centre of Manchester with a superb variety of dishes on the menu to suit all tastes.

There is no such thing as a starter and main course in Wagamama - dishes are served as soon as they have been cooked, which is great if you like your noodles straight from the wok, though not so great if you’re a fan of starting a meal at the same time as the people you’re dining with.

A main dish will set you back by around £6-10, with side orders coming in at around £3-8. Drinks are reasonably priced, with a delicious selection of fresh fruit and vegetable juices.