Wagamama, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth

Having visited Wagamama in Bristol a couple of times, I was enthusiastic about going to the branch that opened in Gunwharf Quays at the end of March. It took me a few weeks to get round to doing so, but I eventually did on a Sunday afternoon in early June. Wagamama is located on the upper level of the waterfront, above Zizzi's and sandwiched between La Tasca and the Slug and Lettuce. The weather was fine and warm enough to sit outside where there is a view of Gunwharf Marina and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.

We chose a table that was partly in the sun; there are large black parasols to give shade on the hottest days. The tables have wooden slats and a matching bench either side – there is no back rest, but surprisingly I find this a comfortable way to sit. I did find the bench a little heavy to move back so that I could actually get in, but once there I was fine. Before leaving I went inside the restaurant to the ladies; I was surprised to find several tables on either side with seats that had quite high backrests. Everyone was sitting at the tables that had those seats. They might be pleasantly surprised to find that the benches are more comfortable than they look.

A waitress had to attend to a couple who arrived seconds before us, but she then brought our menus. There was a small printed specials menu which I think is always the same; the crab cakes and kedgeree on this were no longer available. I might well have chosen the kedgeree as I love smoked haddock. The waitress put paper serviettes and a pair of chopsticks each beside a container that held soya sauce, chilli oil and packets of sugar.

It wasn't long before the waitress came to take our drinks order. We both decided on apple and lime juice – my son order a large one (£4.05) but I decided the regular size (£3) would be enough. The drinks at Wagamama are rather pricey, but they are not just juice from concentrate out of a carton. They have a layer of real fruit pulp at the top, and you can tell that they have a lot more goodness in them than run-of-the-mill fruit juice. The tables have a panel down the centre that the waitress writes the numbers of items as you order them with an erasable marker. My son could see the impressions of some numbers that had previously been rubbed off, and said to the waitress that it would tell you what the most popular dishes were! 

We continued to study our menus and decided to order some yasai gyoza (£4.90): five steamed, grilled vegetable dumplings, served with a sweet ginger soy dipping sauce. These were from the side order section, and our idea was to share them. 

Main dishes are priced between £6.45 and £10.45. They are divided into several sections, the majority of which feature noodles: big bowls of noodles in soup, noodles in a coconut based soup, noodles cooked on a hot, flat griddle or noodles in a spicy sauce. There are thick udon noodles as well as thinner ramen noodles. If noodles really aren't your thing, you can choose a rice-based dish or one of three salads. There are quite a few dishes that are suitable for vegetarians, but surprisingly few fish options. Unlike most Indian restaurants, Wagamama offers no western dishes such as steak and chips or omelette, so stay away if you have no desire for Japanese food.

One of my sons was with me and decided to order Miso ramen (£8.45) from the big bowls of noodles in soup section. This consists of 'noodles in a chicken and pork spiced miso soup topped with stir-fried chicken, carrot, leeks, garlic and bean sprouts, garnished with wakame, menma (pickled bamboo shoots), mixed sesame seeds and chilli oil' (quoted from Wagamama's menu). I had in the past few months tried udon noodles both at Wagamama Bristol and Sakura in Southsea, as well as salmon teriyaki at Yo! Sushi. I wanted to try something slightly different this time, so I chose  chicken tama rice (£7.65), grilled chicken breast stir-fried with courgettes, mushrooms, red onions and spring onions in an oyster, garlic and wine sauce, served on sticky white rice.

We then sat and waited, knowing that at Wagamama individual dishes are served as soon as they are ready, and that our main courses might not be served at the same time. So we waited, and we waited. Half an hour passed, which I know is not unheard of, but it is unusual for Wagamama. Fortunately we were not in a hurry and there were some mildly interesting events going on to commemorate D-Day down below on the waterfront.

Eventually the waitress came to apologise, explaining that not one but all the computers had crashed. Apparently it is impossible to prepare and serve food when the computer system is not functioning – that's progress for you in our technological age. I suppose we were lucky to have got our drinks just in time. The waitress assured us that the problem had just been fixed and that food was just beginning to be served again. Sure enough, I saw plenty of it arriving a couple of tables away, and then our yasai gyoza was brought on a stylish curved rectangular white dish. There were five of them, and I decided two would be plenty for me. They were nicely crisp on the bottom and softer on top. The vegetable stuffing was slightly crunchy without seeming undercooked and very tasty. I did enjoy them, but didn't find it very easy to hold on to them with the chopsticks and so didn't really take advantage of the dipping sauce.

It wasn't long before my chicken tama rice arrived, along with a spoon and fork in case I preferred them to the chopsticks. The chicken and vegetables sat on top of a dome of sticky rice, with a sauce the consistency of a clear soup around it. I did of course need the spoon for the sauce which was delicious, although I couldn't honestly detect much of a taste of garlic. The chicken was quite thinly sliced and very tender. The pieces of courgette were rather chunky but well cooked, and there were plenty of slices of red onions and spring onions, again perfectly cooked. The mushrooms were sliced into quite small pieces. I ate all the chicken and vegetables, but the rice proved too much for me and there was so much sauce that I left a little of that as well. Perhaps I shouldn't have had the dumplings, but they were more interesting than the rice.

My son's miso ramen was served soon after I had started eating, and it certainly was a big bowl. I was fascinated by the wooden ladle that came with it – you obviously use that for the soup but have chopsticks for the noodles, meat and vegetables. It was apparently quite spicy but definitely a good choice. Once again, though, it was such a large serving that my son couldn't finish it.

We were both far too full to even consider dessert and had waited longer than expected for our food to be served, so we asked for the bill. It came to £28.05, not including a tip – quite reasonable considering the price of the drinks.

The toilets were very clean and well appointed; the restaurant had of course only been open for just over two months, so I hope the high standard of cleanliness will be maintained.

I am no expert on Japanese food, but I would say that the dishes at Wagamama seem quite similar to those at Sakura, Southsea's traditional Japanese restaurant. The most striking differences are the lack of sushi at Wagamama and, as I mentioned, the limited number of fish-based dishes. If you are in Gunwharf Wagamama makes a change from the ubiquitous Italian chain restaurants and is in an ideal location if you enjoy looking out over the sea. I was happy with the polite and friendly service, although I think we could have been told a little sooner about the reason for the delay in serving our food. Presumably this is not a problem that occurs frequently. Wagamama may not be the favourite for families, although they do have a special children's menu for those who enjoy  Japanese food. I loved the food and hope I will have many an occasion to go back.

Opening hours:

Monday – Saturday 12 noon – 11pm

Sunday – 12 noon – 10pm 

Wagamama

North Promenade

Gunwharf Quays

Portsmouth

PO1 3TR

The restaurant is located on the upper floor at the waterfront; disabled access via the lift next to Vue cinema

Tel. 023 9286 1128

www.wagamama.com

Yo Sushi - Gunwharf Quays

Restaurant chains seemed to have realised that Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth is the place to be, and hot on the heels of Wagamama came Yo! Sushi at the end of April. Situated opposite Marks and Spencer and next door to Cotton Traders, Yo! Sushi doesn't have the advantage of views from the waterfront, but it makes up for this in other ways.

Having visited Wagamama in Bristol as well as Sakura in Southsea, I wasn't totally unfamiliar with Japanese food, but I was quite unprepared for the conveyor belt experience. I also wasn't sure I would be comfortable sitting on a high chair with a low backrest at a counter, but here I was wrong. The back rest gave good support, and there was at least enough room under the counter for bags. The English waitress who had welcomed us brought menus and asked if we had visited Yo! Sushi before. When we said we hadn't, she explained we could help ourselves to the sushi and desserts that were going round on the double conveyor belt in front of us but that we could call her if we wanted to order hot food. She showed us in the menu that all dishes are priced according to a colour code: they are served on small plates or little shallow bowls with a coloured rim. They go from pale green rims at £1.70 through orange rims at £3.30 up to grey rims at £5 with a couple of others in between. When you finish your meal, the waitress counts how many plates you have of each colour and gives you a slip with details of your drinks as well to take to the till.

The waitress showed us that on the counter there were taps for both fizzy and still water; you can drink as much water as you like for £1. You can also order limitless Japanese green tea for £1.25. My son decided to stick with water, but I ordered a Frobisher's orange juice for £2.30. Yo! Sushi does also offer several wines, sake, Japanese beer, and one or two other soft drinks.

Also on the counter in front of us were a large supply of wooden chopsticks, some wooden teaspoons, glasses for water, a bottle of soya sauce, a pot of wasabi, a container of very thinly sliced fresh ginger, and some very small white dishes for the ginger. The waitress had also shown us that there was a help button you could press to call her. When you do this, the nearest vertical plastic tube, several of which are placed at intervals along the counter, turns from blue to red. Much more fun than having to catch someone's eye!

The waitress left us and we started to look at our menus, which are square booklets with sushi at one end and everything else at the other. There are illustrations of all the items, circled in the appropriate colour so that you can check the price code. I soon decided that I would try the salmon teriyaki, and started to watch the two rows of food passing by on the conveyor belts. They are all covered in transparent plastic domes. I tried to work out what some of the dishes were, but by the time I'd found them on my menu they had gone past! I wondered where the salmon teriyaki was, having already forgotten that hot food had to be ordered from the waitress. My facial expression must have been one of utter confusion, as my son asked me if I wanted to leave. I didn't, but I did feel rather flummoxed. The waitress came back so I ordered my salmon teriyaki and my son asked for a chicken katsu curry. He had already chosen a dish of assorted fish maki (filled rice rolls wrapped in seaweed) from the belt; there were six very small ones, two each of salmon, tuna and prawn with chives. I realised that I was going to have to pick something, but much as I love fish I cannot bring myself to try raw fish. I decided to play safe and grabbed a plate of tamago nigiri – two pieces of rice topped with sweet omelette. The omelette is bound to the rice with a thin strip of seaweed. It was very bland, but I didn't mind this as I had it with some gorgeous fresh ginger and soya sauce. If you aren't keen on ginger, though, stay away – it is a very strong flavour. I passed on the wasabi, which is very spicy.

My son had by that time enthusiastically taken some spicy chicken with grated Asian radish, assorted sprouts and green beans. He also chose a plate of two vegetable futomaki – rice rolls wrapped in seaweed and filled with cucumber, pickled radish, tamago (omelette), carrot and avocado. I tried a tiny piece of the chicken but didn't like the soft consistency, so I agreed to have one of the futomaki rolls. Although I don't normally like either cucumber or radish, I actually enjoyed this. The only problem was actually eating it; I couldn't cut it with the chopsticks so I picked the whole thing up and tried to bite a piece off. Let's just say I'm glad there were no cameras around at that point.

Our hot food was handed to us by a member of the kitchen staff, who work in a central area and are therefore in full view of the customers all the time. The teriyaki salmon was grilled and consisted of three small but quite thick slices, garnished with ginger, cress and a slice of lemon. It was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious; I can't say I've had better salmon anywhere. My son was impressed by his chicken katsu curry, which is fried chicken on rice with a mild curry sauce and Japanese pickles.

I decided not to overdo the savoury food as the desserts chugging along in front of me were just too tempting. The fresh fruit salad, with slices of pineapple and melon as well as green and purple grapes and a strawberry, looked enticing and healthy, but we decided to try something new with a Japanese slant. My son reached for a plate of mochi – glutinous rice cakes with sweet fillings which are described in the menu as nutritious. I had no hesitation in going for the chocolate mochi, which have a dark chocolate ganache filling and are dusted with cocoa powder. There were two of each, mostly cut in half, so we decided to share them. The ordinary ones were pleasant enough and reminded me a little of marshmallows. The chocolate mochi were absolutely gorgeous, especially the cocoa powder, which had a strong but irresistible flavour. We ate the mochi with chopsticks, except for one that was whole which I cut with a spoon.

When you are ready for the bill, all you have to do is ring the bell and the waitress appears quite promptly. She counted our dishes and gave us a slip of paper with numbers against the colours of the plates, as well as details of the orange juice and water. When we checked, however, it looked as though she hadn't included our desserts, perhaps because the plates were still in front of us rather than stacked in the pile. The waitress came back and adjusted the numbers. Her mistake had been in our favour, but it would always be worth checking in case you are being overcharged.

The bill came to just over £28 to which we added a tip. We paid by card at the till, beside which is a takeaway counter. There were various boxes of sushi available here for around £7 or £8, but it was not fully stocked.

The ladies' toilet was very clean and well appointed. I should perhaps emphasise that the restaurant had only been open for just over forty-eight hours, so I hope the standards of cleanliness will be maintained.

When I went along to the toilets at the back of Yo! Sushi, I noticed that there were a couple of tables with comfortable sofas either side which are presumably intended for larger groups of people. There were a few children around that day, but I didn't see any babies or any sign of high chairs. The restaurant is accessible by wheelchairs.

I have no idea how close the food at Yo! Sushi comes to authentic Japanese food, but I can only say how much I enjoyed it. After my initial confusion, I felt that it was a refreshing change from the usual restaurant experience. Next time I go I will have much more of an idea of what the dishes travelling before me are and what has to be ordered separately. If you have a liking for Oriental food and enjoy variety, I would definitely recommend a visit.

Opening hours

Monday – Saturday: 12 noon until 11pm

Sunday: 12 noon until 10.30pm

Yo! Sushi

79 Gunwharf Quays

Portsmouth

PO1 3TZ

Tel. 023 9280 8110

www.yosushi.com

Sakura Japanese Restaurant, Southsea

Portsmouth and Southsea waited a long time for the first Japanese restaurant to appear on the scene; rumour had it that Wagamama would finally be opening a branch in Gunwharf Quays, but suddenly, towards the end of 2009, the independent Sakura found a gap amongst the eclectic mix of shops, bars and restaurants of Southsea's Albert Road.

Even though Sakura is only a few minutes' walk from where I live, it took us until one Saturday afternoon in late January to decide to go and have a late lunch there. It looked tiny from the outside and perhaps not very impressive, but we had a look at the menu in the window and felt it sounded interesting so in we went, through the double doors. It was just before 2pm and I was surprised how busy the place was. What turned out to be a party of people celebrating a birthday filled a large part of the left-hand side, whilst smaller groups were seated at individual tables in the partitioned area down the right-hand side. We asked for a table for three, and a waitress led us up a couple of steps to a small area at the back in front of the bar, where there were just two tables. I was glad that it was a little quieter there. One long seat upholstered in red ran along the wall and my son and his partner sat there. I found the chairs on the opposite side to be very comfortable. The other table in this area was vacant when we arrived, but a gentleman on his own came and sat there after a while.

The table was empty except for a bottle of soya sauce when we sat down, but a waitress soon brought place mats, red paper napkins, chop sticks and menus for us. The place mats were laminated and showed the selection of sushi on offer as well as advertising Asahi beer. The menu pages were also laminated. Our drinks order was soon taken; we weren't quite in the mood for sake that day so we order two pineapple juices and an orange juice (£1.50 each). Then we studied the menu. Although I love Japanese food I haven't yet persuaded myself to try raw fish, so that eliminated a fair number of choices for me. My son's partner and I both felt the lure of the yaki udon dishes, which are thick noodles made from wheat flour, wok-fried and served with oyster sauce, green peppers, beansprouts, carrot, onion and Chinese leaves. Red ginger and fried garlic are added before serving as a garnish. My son's partner chose the yaki udon with chicken (£6.80) while I went for the seafood yaki udon with scallop, squid, mussels, shrimps and fish cake (£7.20).

Unlike me, my son is a big fan of sushi but locally has had to content himself with the offerings of Marks and Spencer and the Co-op. Not exactly the real thing. Raw fish is acceptable to him, so he ordered salmon rolls (£3.30) alongside tamago nigiri (egg sushi, £1.80) and oshinko maki (rolls with yellow pickles, £3.00). You could of course order one type of sushi as a starter rather than several as a main meal: there were six each of the salmon and pickle rolls and two of the egg rolls, which were bigger.

I can't list the whole menu here, but there are also rice-based dishes and yaki soba dishes, which are based on noodles thinner than the udon variety. Salads are priced between £3.50 and £5.20. There are thirty-six choices of side dishes, ranging from miso soup (£1.60) to grilled eel with teriyaki sauce (£7.20). Set meals go from £10.80 up to £14.30; most of them are fish based but there is one with stir fried beef in sauce, calamari, vegetable rolls, miso soup, rice, salad and pickles.

Soon after we had ordered, a waitress brought a small rectangular ceramic dish which she said went with the sushi: you pour soya sauce into it and then dip the rolls in the sauce. The sushi was brought not long after that. It is served with wasabi (very spicy) and ginger. My son put a little wasabi on top of a roll and dipped it in the sauce before tasting it. He immediately said it was wonderful – worlds away from the supermarket offerings he has had to make do with.

A few minutes later the yaki udon dishes arrived. The servings were very generous and came on slightly irregularly shaped plates that had an old-fashioned look with their floral decorations. The food definitely had more of a home-made feel about it than similar dishes served in Wagamama. I loved the variety of flavours in my seafood yaki udon; there were thin slices of fish cake, tiny prawns, a couple of whole mussels and some pieces of squid that took some finding among the bean sprouts, green peppers and Chinese leaves. I particularly loved the fresh taste of the ginger that came through all the other flavours. I should perhaps mention that no cutlery is offered as an alternative to chopsticks and eating udon noodles with chopsticks is an art I have yet to master fully, but somehow I managed. It was, however, such a large serving that I couldn't quite finish it. The chicken yaki udon was definitely approved of, so no complaints from any of us.

My son and his partner finished eating before I did and their plates were cleared away very quickly. They were asked if they would like to order more drinks, which they did. When I finally laid down my chopsticks it was a while until the waitress came to take my plate, so at least we weren't made to feel that we had to leave immediately. In actual fact by about three o'clock the place was very quiet, but when we came to pay our bill we found that a twenty per cent discount is given up until 2pm. Since the receipt showed our order time as 2.07pm, it was very generous of Sakura to have given us the discount. It does, however, explain why things had quietened down by the time we left.

We didn't have room for dessert after our huge main courses, but there isn't really a great deal of choice in that area. Other than mango fritters in syrup, there are just several types of ice cream (including green tea flavour), some at £3.50 and some at £4.00.

Our bill came to £29.70 for three main meals and five glasses of fruit juice, but after the discount we only had to pay £23.80 – just under £8.00 a head. We calculated the tip on the full amount as we had loved the food and felt the service was also excellent. The waitresses, in their kimono-style tops over trousers, were polite, friendly and very efficient.

I particularly appreciated sitting near the bar at the back and enjoying the typically Japanese décor with lanterns, cherry blossom, plump ceramic cats and and a row of Geisha girl figurines dancing along a high shelf. In the main area there is a series of Japanese masks along the wall. One amusing touch was a pair of tiny curtains adorning the door of the ladies' toilet. (Spotlessly clean, I have to say, just lacking in paper towels.) The only surprising thing was that western music was played throughout the hour we were there. The atmosphere is very relaxed: at one point I looked round our partition into the main area and noticed a little girl standing on a seat and poking chopsticks into her mother's hair! Nobody seemed to mind.

We were given a very friendly goodbye as we left along with 'See you next time,' to which I replied 'I'm sure you will!' We've waited a long time, but now it's just a hop, skip and a jump down the road to a delightful and inexpensive restaurant. If you are in the area, Sakura is slightly north of the King's Theatre on the opposite side of the road. It would be ideal for a pre-theatre dinner, unless of course you can go for lunch and take advantage of the discount. Wagamama may well be opening in Gunwharf Quays, but it will take something special to dissuade me from returning to Sakura when I feel in the mood for some Japanese cuisine.

Sakura also have a takeaway service.

Opening hours:

Monday to Thursday 12 noon – 2.30pm and 5.30pm – 11pm

Friday and Saturday 12 noon – 11.30pm

Sunday 12 noon – 10.30pm

Sakura Restaurant/Takeaway

9 Albert Road

Southsea

PO5 2SE

Tel. 023 9275 1103 / 023 9275 6277