Restaurant review: Wagamama, Nicosia

This time around, my faithful dining companion and I decided to try a well-established joint that thrives on a clever illusion: dining in as if it were the upper echelons of casual dining, when in truth it sits far closer to fast food than it would ever care to openly admit.

Founded back in 1992 as an homage to Japan’s fast-paced ramen bars, Wagamama bills itself as “Asian-inspired.” In practice, it’s a little Japanese, a little Thai, a little Chinese – in other words, fusion cuisine.

Fusion is a term that has existed since the 1970s, but only officially entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002. Today, it’s a term that many food purists treat as heresy, as though blending styles is some form of culinary vandalism.

The same people conveniently forget that, for example, tomatoes and chili peppers are South American exports, only reaching Europe in the 16th century. Where would your bolognese or chicken curry be without them today? You hate to admit it, but that’s fusion, too.

I am getting sidetracked.

We arrived on an idle Tuesday night with no reservation. Central Nicosia parking is usually a rat race, so credit to the venue for providing ample space.

Inside, a young waitress told us we could sit where we liked. One glance around revealed a crowd with an average age of roughly nineteen – staff included. Everything about the clientele and service hollers “summer job”.

The décor is low-key and utilitarian but set within a stunning sandstone house. The playlist offered inoffensive radio hits while the drinks menu offered a pint of Asahi on draught. Yes, it may be Japan’s Carlsberg equivalent, but as a Millennial with a soft spot for far-east offerings, I couldn’t resist. Don’t call it globalism, call it fusion.

The food menu runs “modular”: ramen, donburi, curry, teppanyaki, salads. Swap proteins freely, add an egg if you like, most anything goes.

We opened with bang bang prawns before moving to our mains: coconut kare chicken and teriyaki beef soba.

It’s at this point the waitress explained Wagamama’s philosophy: dishes leave the kitchen when they’re ready, not in the traditional staggered sequence of starter-main-dessert.

In my mind’s eye, I pictured a territorial, anarchic kitchen where cooks lob plates across the pass in a contest of speed. In practice, it just meant our kare chicken arrived first.

If you were here on a date, I could see it being awkward: one person chowing down while the other politely waits, or both waiting as the food cools. Luckily for us, no such awkwardness as we both tucked in.

And what a dish. The chicken was tender, the sticky rice perfectly cooked, the vegetables crisp, and the broth stole the show: rich, citrusy, vibrant and full of flavour. Scooped with a little of everything, it created a wonderful, nuanced mouthful.

The teriyaki beef soba followed, ordered ‘medium.’ Here I had gripes. The menu promised steak cut, but what arrived were thin slices of beef, not exactly the same thing. The seasoning was decent, but the vegetables carried most of the dish, the noodles themselves both distressingly dry and greasy – an odd combination that dulled the whole offering.

A letdown after the brightness of the kare.

Somewhere in the middle of our verbal dissection of the teriyaki soba, the prawns arrived – almost forgotten by us at this point.

To their credit, they were worth the wait. The flavours were beautifully balanced: first the creaminess of the mayonnaise, then the brief fire of chili heat, followed by the sharp brightness of lime – all coalescing into a surprisingly elegant little symphony.

For dessert, the choice was obvious. I wasn’t about to order cheesecake at an Asian fusion spot, so banana katsu it was: bananas coated in panko breadcrumbs, paired with caramel ice cream and drizzled with toffee sauce. Yes, it’s a novelty, but it worked. The contrast of textures and temperatures kept it interesting, and most importantly, it didn’t feel like a caloric ambush at the end of a meal.

And that’s Wagamama in a panko-coated nutshell: it’s exactly what you make of it.

If you expect fine dining on par with the most exclusive restaurants in Tokyo or Beijing, you’ll leave disappointed. But if you accept it for what it is – fast food in clever disguise, with enough style to elevate it a notch above the average takeaway – you’ll be just fine.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Asian fusion

WHERE Wagamama, Themistokli Dervi 16, Nicosia

WHEN 12-10.30 daily

CONTACT 77777078

HOW MUCH sides: €5-€8, mains €13-€19, dessert €5.5-€6.5