UK-Based Japanese Chain Wagamama Is Bringing Its Ramen and Teppanyaki to Atlanta

UK-based Wagamama is opening on the corner of 11th Street and Howell Mill Road at the Star Metals complex. The Atlanta location of the Japanese restaurant chain will be the first in Georgia, and the South, and its seventh location overall in the United States. No opening ETA for the Atlanta location was given, but will likely be some time next year.

Wagamama first opened nearly 30 years ago, bringing its communal-style dining and open kitchen concept to London at a time when neither were trendy. Despite having 200 locations worldwide, the U.S. has remained a relatively untapped market for the chain, with just three locations each in Boston and New York City.

Sporting its open kitchen and communal seating combination and a patio flanking Howell Mill, Wagamama is known mostly for its ramen, like grilled duck and shirodashi pork. The menu also features a mix of other dishes incorporating Japanese, Chinese, and Korean ingredients, including donburi rice bowls, curries, and teppanyaki as well as wine, sake, and a selection of Asian beers.

Wagamama

Wagamama joins Alabama-based coffee shop and roastery Prevail Roasters at Star Metals. The coffee shop is located on the ground floor residence lobby of the complex. Beer and wine bar SMR Tap could open some time this winter at Star Metals, with dart bar and restaurant Fight Club opening next year. Once construction is complete, the Star Metals property will include office, retail, and restaurant space, over 400 apartments with amenities like a rooftop pool and a dog park, and a 176-room boutique hotel.

Star Metals is one of three large mixed-use projects featuring residences, restaurants, and retail emerging along a stretch of Howell Mill Road from 14th to 8th streets.

Across from Westside Provisions District, the $450 million Interlock complex on the corner of Howell Mill and 14th Street includes apartments and newly opened boutique hotel the Bellyard as well as incubator space from Georgia Technology Ventures and a location of co-working company WeWork. Locations of Saint-Germain Bakery and Cafe, mini golf bar and restaurant Puttshack, and Velvet Taco and cocktail bar and lounge Drawbar at the Bellyard Hotel have already opened there. Outdoor bar Holiday Bar, self-service beer and cider bar Pour Taproom, Miami resort-style pool, bar, and restaurant venue Leave of Absence, and a second location of Cathy’s Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwiches are all expected to open at the Interlock this fall.

Just south of Star Metals on the corner of 10th Street and Howell Mill, a location of Snooze an A.M. Eatery opens soon at the Osprey complex.

1050 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. www.wagamama.us.

• Wagamama, Another Japanese Chain With An Obsessive Following, Opens In NYC [ENY]
• All Wagamama London coverage [ELDN]
• Alabama Coffee Company Prevail Roasters Opens at Star Metals on Howell Mill [EATL]