Wagamama Limited (stylised as wagamama; called China Diner Limited from 1991–1992) is a British restaurant chain, serving Asian food based on Japanese cuisine.
 | |
| Formerly | China Diner Limited (1991–1992) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Genre | Japanese restaurant + noodle bar |
| Founded | 29 April 1991; 33 years ago (1991-04-29) |
| Founder | Alan Yau |
| Headquarters |
,
United Kingdom
|
Number of locations | 190+ |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Thomas Heier (CEO) |
| Owner | The Restaurant Group |
| Website | wagamama |
Wagamama Limited was incorporated on 29 April 1991 as China Diner Limited,[1] and their first restaurant was opened in 1992 in Bloomsbury, London, founded by Alan Yau, who subsequently created the Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha, and Thai restaurant Busaba Eathai.[2] In June 2005, the restaurant's owner Graphite Capital sold the majority stake of 77.5% to Lion Capital LLP for £103 million.[3] In April 2011, the chain was sold to Duke Street Capital, for an estimated sum of £215 million.[4]
As of January 2014, the chain included over 190 restaurants, with 130 being in the United Kingdom.[5] The chain was acquired for £559m by The Restaurant Group, owner of Frankie & Benny's & Chiquito in October 2018.[6]
Other restaurants are located in Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Gibraltar, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UAE, and the United States. A new restaurant has opened at the beginning of 2019 in France.[7]
Previous countries served by the Wagamama brand include Australia from 2002 to 2014,[8][9] and New Zealand until 2019.[10]
Wagamama has released two cookbooks in order to further extend its brand.
The first site on Streatham Street, Bloomsbury, London, closed permanently on 19 June 2016.[11]
The word wagamama (わがまま) is Japanese for "self-indulgent", "self-centred", “picky”, “fussy”, "disobedient", or "wilful".[12] Wagamama brands itself as following the process of kaizen.[13]
In November 2015, the chain was named by the Marine Conservation Society as one of seven restaurants surveyed that failed to meet a basic level of sustainability in its seafood.[14] However, this was later retracted, as Wagamama revealed more information about the origin of its seafood.[15]
In December 2017, Wagamama apologised after it was revealed some workers in Finchley were warned they would face disciplinary action if calling in sick over Christmas. The manager of the North Finchley branch asserted it was the responsibility of staff members, according to their contracts and handbook, to find somebody to cover their shifts. Wagamama said this was an isolated incident, not part of its employment policy.[16]
During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine, Wagamama’s owner, The Restaurant Group closed 250 restaurants, with a loss of nearly 4,500 jobs.[17]
