general manager

sous chef

head chef

assistant general manager

front of house manager

wagamama

This is by far the worst job I've ever had. I worked there a few years ago now so things may have changed at this branch, but looking at recent reviews for other branches it's apparent that this company is still likely not a good one to work for.

On an early shift, a typical day involved arriving far too early to help the chef get the place ready; cleaning, washing dishes, and other routine tasks. An evening shift included similar tasks, but the nightly closing down process would go on for about 4 hours after your shift had ended. Both shifts were often incredibly long - at least 12 hours, possibly more if you account for the close down. By the end of a shift, I was filthy and soaked, and the smell of all the ingredients and cooking clung to my clothes, even after many washes. 

Neither of these shifts are convenient for anyone who doesn't live in the town centre. If you drive to work then please note that there is no free parking due to the location, which obviously isn't the company's fault, but they often schedule you to start and/or finish at times when there's also no public transport available. I would only recommend working at this company if you’re committed to the industry; even then, there are likely better companies to work for.

Management/senior chefs, who were often young and inexperienced, exhibited clear nepotism and favouritism in addition to also displaying unprofessional and sometimes inappropriate behaviour, that would usually be classed as gross misconduct in better workplaces. This also extended to a few of the non-management staff. The workplace culture was negative, characterised by long shifts, minimal breaks - sometimes you were lucky to even get a break, and erratic schedules (1 day off per week happens occasionally). Sometimes you'd only have a few hours of rest between shifts, leaving in the early hours of the morning and then starting a shift that same morning. There was even times where some of the decent lower management/senior chefs did a long shift, stayed there all night to do stock take, and then did a shift the following day as they were already there and there was no time to do stock take when the business was open. What happened to the 11 hours of rest between working days that you're supposed to have? Shifts would be changed without notice, and sometimes you wouldn't even know when your next shift was, having to ask before the end of a shift as the rota hadn't been completed.

Also a point that may be important for some but may not be relevant anymore.. because back-of-house staff had to change into kitchen clothing that the company provides and sends off to be washed, at this branch, there were no segregated or dedicated changing rooms (if there is, they were never shown to me). This meant all genders changed together in what was essentially the locker/cloak room. Or you'd have front-of-house walking in to back-of-house changing clothing, regardless of gender etc. - it was also open-plan which meant it got rather packed and sometimes awkward at the end of an evening shift. I'd recommend arriving in shorts or some light joggers so you can put your kitchen trousers over them. As mentioned above though, they'll be soaked at the end of your shift.

I lasted about 3 months before being let go during my probation period, which I was incredibly happy about. I was ready to leave after being disrespected by a chef simply because my unnecessarily long shift had ended; I just wish I had left sooner. Setting boundaries is always a good thing to do, but they want employees who say yes to everything.

Overall, there was one or two decent colleagues but I gained nothing from working at Wagamama and was genuinely glad to no longer be employed there. If you value your free time, a good work-life balance or want a set schedule such as a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job with weekends guaranteed off, then this is not the job for you.

Let me put this out there, Wagamama is like eating a rather deceptive apple. 
Clean on the outside, shiny, looks good. 
Until you take a bite and commit to eating it, you won't see the rotten core within. 

I thought i'd wait a long while before reviewing to keep anonymity. 

To start off with, shift lengths and frequencies were horrendous. As a chef, it's known to be a trade in which you do long hours. Most kitchens in smaller places were fairly adequately staffed (at the time I worked in one) this one was rarely fully staffed. It meant that the others who were left had to pick up the slack and you ended up doing 14 - 15 hour shifts, near enough 7 days a week. 
You rarely got to leave a shift on your finish time. Outside hobbies? forget about them. A social life? nah. Friends? prepare to lose a lot. As you'd be too tired to function outside work.  

The worst part was the insane cleaning schedule, unlike a lot of restaraunts who hire night cleaners to come and sort out the kitchen after a shift. Wagamama expect you to stay, clean the canopies, scrub every wall, floor, fridge and piece of equipment EVERY NIGHT without fail. This is after you've been cooking for almost 12 hours of your shift with 20 minutes rest if you were lucky. 

The management were a mixed bag, the head chef was a nice person but was blind to the problems within his own kitchen. The rest of his management team were either flappy and not great or could really work hard and actually manage a team. 
The GM at the time I worked there had a vendetta against the longer term staff who were there before he started, you could be putting your heart and soul into a service for him to belittle you and make sarcastic comments while you were clearly busy on section. 
Some managers FOH along the way were a bit like this at times too, never as bad as he was. 

Don't get me wrong, I met some beautiful souls while working there. The good ones all left, they were too good for the place. 
Unfortunately the bad eggs outweighed the good eggs in the kitchen, the environment was toxic, moaning, constant anger, backstabbing. It really did everything to break me mentally, to a point where I still haven't fully recovered to this very day. 

I would recommend this job if you have worked in kitchens for years, don't mind the graft and have a very thick skin. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The meal allowance on shift ! 
The foods very good but can get repetitive so you start to invent your own combinations. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The late shifts aren’t nice as you’re cleaning the whole restaurant & it can be awful if you’re at a big restaurant. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Initially it was great, the Kaizen ethics are lovely if implemented by the staff but it was soon evident after just a few months that this was far from the case. The manager & certain staff were causing terrible conflict by having favourites & letting them get away with doing very little while others were working constantly, it was very clear that the place wasn’t being run well & staff weren’t treated equally at all. Terrible rumours caused terrible undercurrents & bad feelings. Not sure how many of the original team work there now but all the nicest people have left so I’ve heard, it was a very back stabbing un-inclusive place to work sadly. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Get to work for 10am, set up & prep the fruit & veg & cakes for the bar. Ensure the tables are set correctly. The restaurant opened at 11am & customers would come in immediately sometimes. Meet & greet them, seat them, ensure they know their table no’s & explain that they can pay online using the QR code, explain everything’s cooked fresh so may come at different times. Take their order & write the no’s of their order on the menue. Watch out for their meals & run food when it’s ready all over your area, serve drinks or worm the bar depending on where your rota’d to work that shift. Take payments if the customer wants to pay traditionally. Clean your tables after each customer & clean the restaurant thoroughly at the end of the night if your on a close, you may work the delivery section which can be highly chaotic (the whole restaurant can be though & it can get to a point when both get shut down & no more orders are taken & no more guests are allowed to come in ?) 
We needed great staff & unfortunately we didn’t have enough with the right work ethic !

This is my first kitchen job and as a keen rudderless cook, I was optimistic and excited about starting a job working as a chef. This enthusiasm was quickly extinguished as the reality of working in a glorified fast food outlet quashed any zeal or passion that I may have once had expectations of. Being called a line chef is an insult to those chefs out there who actually cook proper food- at Wagamama, you are a chef after a shifts training and the company believes this to by giving you a knife to work with...

Unlike a proper kitchen this industry of fast food is a numbers game. Staff have their hours cut by management so that they get greater monetary bonuses - whilst the staff have increased stress levels due to having to work harder to cover for lack of staff. Ive read reviews where people complain of 20 minute breaks. I believe in the year I have worked there I've, at the most, had a 10 minute break! Management swan around occasionally giving you 'helpful' pointers and reminding you of the food and hygiene basics- again this is done so that when qscd/health inspectors come by they receive better bonuses. Management often have several cigarette breaks on a shift leaving the kitchen and restaurant vulnerable during busy periods.

I'm a self taught chef, everything I've learned from all the sections has been acquired by observing others! The only transferable culinary skill Ive been shown is how to peel ginger (with a spoon) and food prep is done so anally it gives one a headache and often leaves you scratching your head in wonderment.

The good part of the job is of course your colleagues. I've worked in lots of jobs previously but with this team I have made genuine friends for life. The pay is poor compared to front of house, the hours aren't flexible and the management are clueless when it comes to doing a rota(which is usually done the Sunday before the start of the week on a Monday!) oh, and the company recently signed up to deliveroo- which on top of doing McDonald's like covers, now we have to juggle a hectic takeaway and delivery service too, adding to further stress levels!

had a very misogynistic manager, would think i was completely stupid. once swapped tasks mine and my co workers tasks because he thought i wasn’t strong enough to lift some chairs up and move them. the company is good to work for, but the managers are just a let down. all coworkers are lovely and where i worked we had a very diverse staff team. a lot of favouritism went on, i was a college student at the time and whenever it was half term they would put me on every single day, all day. and i would have to remind them my contract was 8 hours and on weekends only. the job is very much to help your managers and not yourself, but again the actual company has amazing morals. you get an allowance for free food on shift and good breaks and they send out a weekly newsletter about mental health/what’s going on w the company. it’s good if ur willing to spend ur whole weekend at work and basically be alright to be called in if they need you. also A LOT of walking, i would walk so much during my shifts, i lost a lot of weight when i worked there over the summer because all i did was work and walk all day at work. it’s a very fast paced environment so if you don’t think you can deal with that then don’t go for this job, weekends very busy but week is not so bad, actually enjoyable. managers had a problem with people talking to eachother even if it was about work..? which we always all thought was so weird. but yes probably give it a 4.5/10 for working there. not totally awful but definitely not the best lol. idk i don’t think i’d work there again but the pay was ok.. OH and tips get shared w everyone :/ so don’t work too hard unless u like ur tips to be shared out. 
during eat out to help out i worked so much and got so much anxiety about work i got 4 grey hairs.. i was 16/17 at the time:/

I worked at wagamama Richmond for two years and I enjoyed my time there. The job itself is very demanding and can be stressful and hard especially on weekends and during bank holidays and school holidays. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed working there had the team been different. I made many close, lasting friendships while working in this multi-cultural team. The team that I worked with were very loving, supportive and kind to one another which was amazing as you spend a lot of time together. You are required to do a lot of split shifts and usually work five days a week, sometimes six days when required. You don't have a lot of personal time but the salary is good. In Richmond people tend to tip well (typically 10% but sometimes more!), the tips make your hourly wage about £10-£12, give or take depending on how busy the restaurant is, which was good as I was usually working 35-40 hours p/w (the most I earned in a week was around £500). Managers are friendly, helpful and approachable but do expect a high standard of work. Wagamama does offer a lot of incentives for employees, once a year they close a club in London for just wagamama employees (e.g Ministry of Sound), you also have a lot of internal incentives in your restaurant with competitions for best spend per head for example and you may win shopping vouchers or movie tickets or something. Also you get free meals there which is great as the food is yummy and it saves you money. Another pro of the job is that in Richmond, you quite often bump into/serve celebrities. I had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Goulding, Dougie Poynter, Tom Hardy, Matthew McFayden, Stanley Tucci and some comedians. Other customers are typically very nice as well.

- The job can be enjoyable and fun if you have good co-workers.

- You can be yourself at wagamama

- The bar work is easy.

- Good place to learn pace of service.

- Company standards dipped majorly after covid. Hire bad staff who dont pull  their weight and steal your tips. 

- Senior management are out  of touch and chase numbers rather than the quality of service, staff retention or staff happiness. 

- Hours are long and the rota is basically made off of the vibe of whoever makes it. Some managers cut your shifts then some add them one without even consulting you, so you can finally get your rota weekly on the Friday for them to add shifts on afterward without asking you if youre available.

- Sometimes they play games with the rota and put bad team members on other managers shifts to spite them. They will give some team members closings on some managers shifts to make their life easier. And dump closing shifts on people who work fulltime as alot of the under 18s who they hire cant close.

- You are regularly expected to look after bigger sections than precovid because the company is pro-cutting of hours and working off of shortstaffing, if you dont make forecast on Monday or Tuesday they cut all the staff from the weekend and struggle.

- Lack of training. Post covid due to lack of staffing and being pro-cut, you will reciece little to no training as staff are expected to train you on a large section that is full while looking after customers and usually picking up the slack of weaker staff members that werent trusted to train you. This makes the job more stressful for newcomers as they dont receive sufficient training to handle such big sections and tend to quit quite quickly. 

Do not work here if you value your mental health.

The site is far too busy for the amount of staff, so you will be running around doing the jobs of 3 people while still expected to perform at 110%.

Job is exhausting, with talking to customers and taking orders, to cleaning tables, managing the door and takeaway. If you're on takeaway, then you're essentially on door aswell and expected to greet customers while packing orders.

If you aren't constantly doing something or moving, then some managers will jump on you for it, whilst other team members are allowed to seemingly do what they want due to favouritism. 

Some managers are great and are very fair, but for the majority this isn't the case.

£10.42 does not justify the sheer amount of stress you are put under, tips are shared between everyone, both BOH & FOH so really doesn't make a huge difference to your pay.

Late nights and constant last minute shift changes, mean you'll have no social or family life.

During quiet periods, hours are cut, which means that there will be very few of you on shift sometimes, the business is unpredictable so you could be very busy on a Monday night with no staff, just adding to the stress.

The company supposedly prioritises mental health and wellbeing, but Wagamama are the same as any other company, greedy with no care for the people who make them the money.

Stay away if you value your health and sanity.

This workplace has fallen from grace and face planted onto asphalt at terminal velocity. Do you enjoy finding out your rota 1-2 days before it commences? Do you enjoy working with peers who take on 1/4 of your responsibility yet are in the same role with the same pay? Do you have no pride in your work and have no care for standards? If you answered yes, then send an application. Management lack any real training and are not given any behavioural training if they have no prior experience in managing a team, resulting in a complete circus on shift. They will also push you to your absolute limit mentally and physically and make jokes about it, sometimes even within your vicinity. You will be working multiple split shifts a week, these can be as long as 07:00-15:00 16:00-01:00. Menu launches are abysmal, you will be learning the new dishes on launch day by looking at dish pictures on laminated A4 pieces of paper on a wall somewhere. The way the kitchen operates is heavily reliant on having prep ready for service. A few months ago they removed 1-2 chefs from every shift to cut on labour(when they make millions in sales annually)which as you can probably infer means you'll be doing the work of 2 people along with on-the-go prep that should've been done the day before. Breaks are short but are paid and you will get a food allowance every shift. The problem is your break is not guaranteed and is completely at the mercy of your manager's attention span.

Working in a restaurant in St Albans has been a fulfilling and dynamic experience. The vibrant food scene of this charming city offers a multitude of opportunities to grow and excel in the hospitality industry. The diverse clientele, ranging from locals to tourists, ensures that each day brings new interactions and challenges.

The restaurant culture in St Albans is truly remarkable, with a plethora of eateries catering to various tastes and preferences. The collaborative and supportive work environment within the restaurants fosters a sense of camaraderie among the staff. From chefs and servers to hosts and managers, the teamwork is commendable, creating a positive atmosphere that enhances the overall dining experience.

Moreover, St Albans' rich history and picturesque surroundings provide a delightful backdrop for working in the industry. The city's bustling atmosphere, coupled with its beautiful architecture and charming streets, adds to the appeal of the restaurant scene. Additionally, the opportunity to indulge in the local culinary delights during breaks is an added bonus.

While the restaurant industry can be demanding, the experience gained and the skills honed while working in St Albans are invaluable. It is a rewarding and exciting journey that leaves one with a deep appreciation for the art of hospitality and the satisfaction of serving others in such a captivating city.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
General manager 4 salaries reported	£43,875 per year
Sous chef 1 salary reported	£37,500 per year
Head chef 1 salary reported	£45,000 per year
Assistant general manager 3 salaries reported	£34,000 per year
Front of house manager 4 salaries reported	£13.08 per hour

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