Wagaya Melbourne

Tried to walk in but got stopped by the manager Daniel starting that they are 'fully booked' due to a promotion 50% when you book on 4th April. I then went onto the website the fork and saw that the restaurant has tables available at all time slots (30minutes). Ended up booking the table (no promotion) and went back to face a disgruntled Daniel. Requested to change to a booth table but was refused by Daniel saying that table had been booked by others, but finished my dinner in an hour and a half and the booth table is still empty. Sat down at the table for 15 minutes and no one to take our order so I had to walk up to the front and grab attention of the staff but I found that there were only 2 waiters busy with other tables. Food was mediocre at best and serving portions of meat were quite miserable. Got the tofu teriyaki but the outer crumbs were soggy. Wagyu hot plate had a tad of odour, and it was cooked with Brussel sprout a very odd pair of combination. The mackerel was good but the bottom bit got burnt making the fish taste quite bitter. The only redeeming factor was the scallops sashimi, it had a sweet taste to it showing it freshness. The beef tataki taste is pretty bland the sauce combination and the amount given is inadequate. This is a place I would not go in future even if it was 50% off, even worse I paid in full that day. 112 dollars for those dishes. Disappointing

Wagaya is Finn’s favourite Japanese restaurant. But recently they changed their menu and unfortunately, it’s not for the better. Seared Salmon Sushi 🍣 Fresh, quality salmon topped with salmon roe, Japanese mayo & eel sauce. So far so good. Pan fried tofu is a downgrade, they replaced the agedashi tofu with this new dish where the pieces are smaller and not as crispy as they used to be. The sauce is good, but the tofu skin was missing some crunch. Wagaya Salt Base Ramen🍜 No change in the recipe. Had a light salty flavour. We liked the noodles, they had a great taste and bite to them. A good bowl of ramen. Chicken Yakitori🐔 Have shrunk in size, the meat was just cooked, but it was missing some char. It tasted ok but it could’ve been a lot better. We were a little disappointed with the quality of some of the dishes this time around but we will come back to try other options. Finn Bites dining experience 3.9/5 ⭐️ $$ 💵

Wagaya recently rebranded to Wakuda, and it's really not for the better. We're presented with what seems to be a more 'upmarket' dining experience, only to be greeted with food that can be labelled as 'okay' and 'I could probably cook it better at home'. Wagaya used to be a bustling food hub where you could order food and drinks on tablet-like screens and it'd be ready in under 10 minutes. Now, we're waiting 15 minutes for a couple of cokes and a set of bowls for the table that the waiter forgot about. The Chicken Katsu Curry was flavourful, but it was very watery and the potato and carrot weren't cooked and still rock hard. The ShabuShabu was okay, but the ingredient in the broth seemed to lack substance and merged together in a big mess. The entrees were pretty good (takoyaki, sushi, karaage) and were probably the best part of the night. Overall, a fairly big and really disappointing downgrade from the restaurant it once was.

This is my dinner groups go-to Japanese place that is affordable and isn't overly pretentious. It's perfect for groups of up to 6 people if you can get the booth seating that feels cozy and private. The iPad ordering system is a nice way to order without the need of flagging down staff members. The food comes out quickly and the selection is extensive. I highly recommend the grilled mackerel if you love fish :)

Located on level 2 in MidCity Arcade, this dark but welcoming restaurant serves an abundance of Japanese food. Everything is automated when ordering (there’s an iPad mounted on the wall) and you have the privacy of your own booth. Take a moment to look up at the high ceilings, makes you feel like you’re in Batman’s cave. Between 3 adults, we ordered the large sushi and sashimi platter, agedashi tofu with soft shell crab, scampi nigiri, Wagyu nigiri, spicy karaage chicken, and takoyaki balls. We also ordered a bottle of Choya Green Tea Umeshu. Everything came out hot and well presented. The soft shell crab was a delicious combination with the tofu, they also serve the tofu on its own if you don’t like/want crab. Seafood might not be premium/fine dining standards but it was still fresh — scampi nigiri was my favourite. Thank you to the staff member who helped charge my friends 1% phone as well! We appreciated that you went above and beyond for your patrons.

Great place to have a group of people dine! Each table is in a cubicle so you feel like you're in your own room. Waiters are quick to respond, and food comes out at a fairly reasonable time. Good was delicious, except our wagyu was a little tough, so i took off one star as that is expensive. Oysters fried were also a bit of a let down.