You'll probably wait on line, but it's worth it. You'll be seated at a cafeteria-style table with other patrons, but it's worth it. Wagamama's, like its name, is just plain fun. The menu consists of big bowls of Asian noodles and soups, the perfect way to warm up on a gray London day.

This is a terrific place, a small chain of restaurants with 4 branches in central London.

Reservations aren't possible, you just turn up. For this reason, it's better to go about 7pm, later and you might have to queue for a while to get in. The restaurant is in a basement, decorated in cool whites and creams, with pine tables and benches. The tables are in long lines, with benches running along them, so it's not a good place for a private chat, as there will be people on both sides of you able to hear!

The food is essentially post-modern Japanese, no sushi, and all pretty healthy. My favourite thing there is a meal combination, called "Absolute Wagamama", where you get chicken, greens, and noodles in chicken stock dish, accompanied by a side dish and a glass of their amazing fresh, pulpy fruit and vegetable juices. They do many other dishes. Other favourites of mine are the fish cakes, and the spicy beef noodles. As well as the amazing fruit juices, they do a selection of Japanese beers, and fragrant teas.

It's a great place, with a good atmosphere, and I heartily recommend it. The whole restaurant is non-smoking.

To get here, take the tube to Tottenham Court Road (Northern and Central Lines), the walk about 20 yards north up Tottenham Court Road, turn right into Great Russell Street, second right, then first left. It's about 250 yards altogether from the tube station.

Picture a room full of long, cafeteria-style tables...

Wagamama's menu consists mainly of noodle dishes, with some dishes accompanied by rice. The food is good, but the experience is why you go to Wagamama's.

You place your order by number. If you're lucky, the waiter writes the number on the paper table covering, otherwise, you must remember your number. Food is delivered in the order in which it is prepared...so some members of your party may eat before others.

In all, an excellent meal, and a great time was had by all.

Wagamama is a great restaurant offering fast service, minimalist design and atmosphere, and great food. This is the perfect restaurant for a quick bite between classes or sightseeing schedule. My roomate was a vegetarian and this was one of the few restaurants that served a wide variety of vegetarian meals.

My favorite dish is the chili beef ramen. The gyozas are also a must-try!

Wagamama is a chain of Chinese inspired restaurants. There is one very convenient to the British Museum, so I stopped there for lunch. The restaurant is very open and modern in design. The seating is cafeteria-style tables and benches, which can mean sitting right next to people in a different party.

Paper placemats serve their usual function and as a place for the waiter to write down the numbers from the menu as you place your order. They use this to calculate the check at the end.

You can check out the menu at their website. The most popular choices for entrees are noodle bowls. You can choose from different meat, seafood, or vegetarian selections. I ate the spicy chicken, which was disappointingly bland. I added lots of chili oil to try to revive it, but that meant adding lots of fat as well. Even though it lacked spice and flavor, the food was quite fresh and the chicken was tender. So, if you have lower need for full flavor, you might be quite satisfied with a meal here.