Waga Waga Japanese BBQ Restaurant

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  5     

Mother purchased 2 scoopons for the family for dinner out on a saturday night. Their service was impeccable. The waiters were all friendly and obliging. The atmosphere was warm, clean and well renovated as were the bathrooms.

The food itself is rather pricey on the menu and I can see why it was slightly quiet. The quality of the raw food was quite good, and a single platter easily fills up two people.

May 08, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

Food was of good quality, one of the best cabbage kimchees' I've had in a long time. Went with one of the BBQ platters and was impressed at the quality of meat. If you want vegetable I would recommend ordering some sides as the platters have very little vegetables included.

Ambience was fine, just the usual mind-numbing children running around screaming, that you get in most restaurants.

Service was good, mostly young staff, no dramas. $92 dinner for 2. 2 Drinks, 4 entrees and a BBQ platter. Recommended.

Apr 08, 2012 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  7     

We live down the road from Waga Waga, and have been 6 or 7 times since it opened. The place looks great, the sushi, sashimi and soups etc are all first class.

The actual BBQ part of the meal is fun, and the beef and chicken parts in particular taste great, but to be honest, we go for the sushi, spider rolls (soft shell crab) and waga waga rolls are awesome.

You can BYO wine for $2.50 a head which is great, and they have Saporo and Asahi for a fair $7/7.50 each. Service can be a little scatty, but is perfectly nice, and we usually get out of there for $40 a head including drinks, so the value is pretty good.

Mar 23, 2012 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  1     

Some of the worst Japanese food we've ever had. The starters of gyoza were clearly defrosted straight out of the box. The udon was a shocker, more like two minute noodles with a few bits of meat and wilted veg floating in it. The broth was almost tasteless.

It’s expensive and not in line with restaurant prices for The Spot. Service is amicable but minimal. Avoid.

Mar 13, 2012 

5.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  5     

Didn't particularly enjoy our bbq experience at this restaurant as it was difficult to cook the food (particularly the chicken) sufficiently without charring it. Seemed overpriced considering we had to do the majority of preparation.

Might be better ordering fully prepared meals off the menu but I won't be going back for bbq.

Feb 28, 2012 

7.3 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  5     

Beautiful cuts of beef here, but serves are fairly small, and hence fairly expensive for a bbq grill. We came on valentines day and enjoyed the meal. Service was good, and the place is fairly new.

Feb 26, 2012 

7.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Strange name for a Japanese restaurant but then these guys seem a bit unsure of themselves generally. As everyone knows, Wagga Wagga is a quintessentially Aussie town in country NSW not a name one would associate with Asian cuisine.

But be that as it may, this is the “new kid on the block” at The Spot dining precinct. And at least in appearance, it stands out amongst the general drabness of the rest of the Spot eateries. It’s a comfy and airy place, with rattan chairs with cushions and large tables in a neat, stylish and modern layout. Doors flung wide open to the street make it an ideal venue on a hot summer’s night.

We dined on a Sat eve at 9.00pm, after the movies. It was about half full at that time so we were easily able to get a table. But don’t be misled as it could well have been fuller earlier on, so bookings for peak times are probably warranted at least for now while it’s still a novelty.

I think it’s important to clarify that Waga is a Japanese bbq restaurant, something akin to a Korean bbq rest. here you are supposed to cook your own food. So in the middle of each table, is a round grill-type cooker for this purpose. But at least at Waga, this is optional and if you decide to forego the self-cook option for normal table service then they’ll disable the cooker by placing a wooden disk over it and then, hey presto your table has even more room.

Needles to say, we chose the normal table service option. Whilst all the wait staff were pleasant, helpful and polite I found it a bit odd that we to ask for cutlery, serviettes and even a beer glass.

We couldn't really understand much about the menu as there were few explanations. But our patient waitress took the time to explain ea dish in an effort to help us to find something that suited our tastes.

Eventually we settled on a vegetarian sushi, a fried chicken dish, an almond and lettuce salad (pity it said nothing on the menu about the bacon in it) a fried chicken dish, vegetable dumplings and a bean curd and rice. Just to test the cooker we also tried the self-cook mushrooms. Everything was to our liking except for the cook-your-own mushrooms which were a tasteless disaster but, perhaps, we didn’t cook them right.

The fried chicken dish was especially nice with tasty, fresh chicken in a crispy batter. That contrasted nicely with the dumplings with their soft chewy exterior and tasty veg filling.

All up and including a beer and green tea we paid $60 for that lot. Portions were a touch on the small side but because we ordered a variety of dishes we managed to stave off the hunger pangs.

Toilets are clean and well stocked if a little lacking in privacy with wide open doors. Lighting and atmospherics were satisfactory with the tables well spaced out.

But overall, I’m not sure though that I’ll be rushing back here soon. Somehow the bbq idea just doesn’t appeal. If I want to cook myself, I may as well stay at home and do it there.

Feb 21, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  6     

Enjoyed our portion of tender beef fillet and also chicken wings bbq'd at our table. The vegetables on the other hand were not ideal for bbq. They offer meat platters for around $59 or $78(large)and plenty of seafoods. Spacious, with a pleasant dimly lit ambience, they have spent many dollars in creating a very nice atmosphere. Service was quick but not very helpful when we sought some guideance while price was about average for a modern Japanese bbq restaurant.

Dec 14, 2011