‘I tried wagamama £12 lunch deal – it’s a culinary upgrade from desk sandwich’

The new lunch service encourages workers to take a screen break and get indulged with banging hot food

Let’s face it. My lunchtime routine in the office has always been boring, and the lunch rush in Canary Wharf is not for the faint-hearted. Most workers, including me, have resorted to eating at the desk, but wagamama is determined to shake up the routine and introduce a £12 lunch meal deal.

The new lunchtime set menu includes a main and a refreshing drink, and is available Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm. I visited the Canary Wharf branch last week and was blown away by the speedy service.

Diners can enjoy wagamama favourites like yaki soba, protein-packed Thai beef salad, grilled chicken ramen and tasty donburi, alongside fresh new dishes such as a comforting pho. Each dish is paired with a select drink or coffee.

I ordered a chicken thigh pho with high-fibre, low-calorie konjac noodles and clear yuzu broth, while my friend picked a grilled chicken ramen. For drinks, we had a cloudy lemonade and a peach iced tea.

Restaurant manager Niamh told us that all the dishes are prepared fresh to order. She added, “Lunch service is all about speed, but our head chef is very experienced; he has been working in this branch for 20 years, and he gets the dishes ready really fast.”

And Niamh was right. The food arrived within five minutes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pho. Instead of rice noodles, wagamama uses konjac as a lighter alternative. For the same price, you could get a Steak Benedict hot pot from Yolk (£11.50) or a Harmony sushi set from Wasabi (£11.95) – however, without any beverage.

Impressed by the mains, we were tempted to order a Hot Honey Fried Chicken with Teriyaki, and that was certainly the highlight of our visit. With a glossy glaze of hot honey drizzled all over the golden-fried chicken, the appetiser is crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside.

Scoring the side dish with a 10 out of five, my friend said: “If it were my last meal, I would have the teriyaki honey chicken for my starter, main and pudding. Simply irresistible.”

With 64% of UK workers eating alone, 55% say they wish they could take proper lunch breaks with their colleagues more often. The wagamama lunch time offers the perfect opportunity for having access to more affordable and healthy options.

I also think the wagamama lunch is good value for money, but other than wagamama, Big Easy also offer £11 express lunch that includes a main and a premium beverage choice.

Elsewhere at Ippudo, diners can get a lunch deal set by ordering their favourite ramen and adding any soft drinks or hot tea for an additional £1. The offer is available from Monday to Friday, till 2:30 pm.

Emma Colquhoun, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer at wagamama, said: “Lunch should be more than a rushed, uninspiring meal. Our research shows that workers across the UK are craving something more nourishing and sociable from their midday break. That’s why we’ve created ‘wagamama lunch time’, a fresher and more sociable alternative to the standard meal deal sandwich.”

The £12 wagamama set menu is available Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm.