I ended up having dinner at the new Wagamama restaurant at the Emporium in the Valley tonight (courtesy of Suz and Al and a very entertaining evening with a friend of their’s, Josh- thanks guys!). I had heard good things about the other members of this chain (mainly centred in Sydney and Melbourne for Australia, but with many other numerous locations around the world), but was sad to leave the Brisbane one with a lot of my expectations shattered.

Admittedly the modern décor was well suited for its newly built surroundings, but was the only thing to really shine throughout the entire night (of course, with exception to present company). Upon being seated, initial signs indicated that service would be quick and attentive, with many waiters and waitresses drifting about. Our first attendant maintained this illusion with the overwhelming speed he spoke about the menu and how food is delivered as soon as it is cooked, followed by his almost belligerent, bordering on impatient, attitude taking our order. Suz and I struggled deciding what to have for dinner, feeling the pressure of the attendant waiting for our orders, only to be exacerbated by the hidden fear that the meals ordered by everyone else had already been sent to the kitchen via the wireless PDAs, and was in the process of being cooked and delivered before we had even finished our own orders. I hastily settled on the Spicy Chicken Itame and Ebi Gyoza.

The quality of the food was pretty good. My Gyoza was super-crisp and well suited for its dipping sauce, and my main definitely lived up to its reputation (the waiter described it as the hottest meal in the house). It was only diminished by the lack of sauce and the dry rice that seemed to suck all moisture from my mouth.

Unfortunately for us, the ruse of quick service was quickly uncovered after we had received our meals. The drinks, ordered well before our meals, came out only after our meals, (is it really that hard to pour a few glasses and open a few beers?), and the quality of service continued to degrade throughout the evening with all attendants focused more on looking busy than actually being busy serving customers. It took an almost extreme stare to actually catch the attention of the maitre d’ and get the bill for the evening.

I suggest you avoid visiting this place solely for the atmosphere it lacks, or make sure you make plenty of space for great dinner conversations like we had tonight. If you also discover why they bother scribbling on your dinner mats random numbers based on your order, still managing to stuff up who gets what, do drop me a line.

In case you’re wondering, the title of this post is my very bad Japanese for, “Wagamama isn’t that great!”

The Kua Rating: 6 out of 10 stars (re-evaluated after Gerrod’s comment)