Overview

This was a really nice Wagamama, I’m a big fan of the chain anyway so I hoped it would be a good experience, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s located in Chantry Square which is right outside the Chantry Place shopping centre. The square itself had a number of restaurants around the square and a decent amount of space in the middle to accommodate all the people travelling through to the shopping centre as well as those going to or leaving the restaurants. The entrance to Wagamamas was step-free, with a choice of indoor and outdoor seating. The staff were really lovely and checked that I was happy with my seating location before they sat me there which is always appreciated. There was also a small accessible toilet located at the back of the restaurant which was great. I enjoyed my visit here and would definitely go back if I was back in the area.

Transport & Parking

The closest parking to this restaurant would be the parking for the shopping centre. Charges apply to park there but they have over 1000 spaces with 43 accessible spaces, 73 parent and child spaces and 8 EV charging spaces. There is a height restriction of 2.2m (7ft 2in). There are a few bus stops on St Stephens Street which you can get to through the shopping centre. The buses available at these stops are: 1, 1A, 5, 5B, 8, 10, 10A, 14, 14A, 15, 15A, 16, 16A, 17, 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 33A, 36, 36A, 36B, 37, 37A, 37B, 38, 39, 40, 40A, 41, 41A, 42, 43, 43A, 44A, 45, 45A, 54, 55B, 57, 132, 146, X29, X40, X41, X44 and X55. There is another bus stop 130m away on Rampant Horse Street. The buses that stop here are: 21, 21A, 23, 23A, 24, 24A, 24B, 30 and 30A. The bus station is 500m away, and the train station is about 1.5km away.

Access

The square outside has very flat, level paving and the entrance to the restaurant is also flat. There is a door that was propped open when I arrived. I didn’t see any signs that it was automatic, so it may need to be pushed/pulled in colder weather. The seating inside is bench style which means you’ll likely end up sharing a bench with other people. Some of the benches are fixed to the floor and others aren’t. The ones that aren’t fixed can be moved to make space for wheelchair users. Underneath the table was a small shelf where you could put bags or other small items. Just don’t forget them when you leave! Inside it was a little bit narrow in between the tables. Had it been busier or if I was in a larger chair I may have found it more difficult to navigate the space, especially back to the accessible toilet. There was also more seating available upstairs but there wasn’t a lift so I wasn’t able to go up and see that. But there was a decent amount of seating on the ground floor so it wasn’t a problem.

Toilets

There was an accessible toilet at the back of the restaurant, the door opened outwards so you had to go past the door and open it from the right-hand side. It didn’t need a RADAR key to get in, it was a simple door handle to open. Inside the door had a horizontal grab rail to make closing it from inside easier. The lock was a simple twist lock. There was a coat hook on the door but it was really high. The toilet was a little bit small but there was enough space for a right-side transfer. A grab rail that could be raised and lowered was fitted to the wall behind the toilet. There was also a fixed vertical grab rail on the wall behind the toilet and a fixed horizontal grab rail on the wall on the other side of the toilet. The flush was on the cistern on the side closest to the middle of the room so you didn’t need to reach over to flush the toilet. The sink was quite small and had a single tap that was manually operated (no automatic sensors). It was a twist tap where the temperature was controlled by how much the tap was turned. It had a larger end to make it easier to turn. Above the sink was a soap dispenser which needed to be pushed to use. There were two vertical grab rails mounted above the sink on either side. An automatic hand dryer was mounted to the left of the sink and a small mirror was on the wall above the soap dispenser. This toilet was also the baby-changing location so on the wall opposite the toilet there was a changing table. It was a nice clean toilet and seemed to be well maintained. The emergency red cord was also hanging freely to the floor. There was a Changing Places Toilet really close by. It was inside the Chantry Place shopping centre which is right next door so this would be an alternative option.

Staff

The staff here were really lovely and helpful. They checked in with me to make sure I was happy with where they sat me. They were really quick and helpful and were happy to help with anything.

Photos