Oodles of Noodles Coming to Square

The Hong Kong Restaurant may meet its match this summer when Wagamama, the U.K.-based “Asian inspired” noodle restaurant, opens in Harvard Square.

Wagamama—a Japanese word which means “willful, naughty child”—serves ramen and udon bowls as well as assorted stir-fried dishes at more than 70 restaurants around the globe, and plans to open shop in a former watch store next to Staples in mid-July, said Paul O’Farrell, the company’s chief operating officer.

Betsy L. Mead ’10, a London native, is excitedly awaiting the opening of her much-missed favorite restaurant from across the pond.

Mead used to go to the Kensington High Street location in central London every week.

“I know them there on personal terms,” she said.

Mead, whose mother is Chinese, lauded the restaurant for being far more authentic than the Square’s current options.
“It actually tastes like Chinese food, rather than just oil like at the Kong,” Mead said.

But some Harvard Square business owners worried about the proliferation of corporate-owned stores in the Square.

“We’re not going to slam anybody, but we’d rather see a locally owned store,” said Karen M. Kelley, executive director of Cambridge Local First, a group of local business owners that formed a coalition dedicated to reversing the trend of an ever-commercializing Square.

The group seeks “to raise awareness among consumers, businesses, and government agencies of the importance of buying locally,” according to the group’s Web site.

Wagamama’s opening comes on the heels of an influx of other large chain eateries. An International House of Pancakes outlet opened in November and the Mexican restaurant Qdoba opened last month.

Wagamama’s first American location is scheduled to open in Boston’s Faneuil Hall this Monday, O’Farrell said.

“The menu was very slightly tweaked [from the UK model] to accommodate things like fish and a few salads,” he said, adding that for the most part the restaurant would be identical to its British counterparts.

The chain is known for its communal benches and the wireless system its waitstaff uses to relay orders to the kitchen.

The Cambridge location at 57 JFK Street was chosen after students from the Harvard Business School, familiar with Wagamama restaurants in England, sent requests to the chain, O’Farrell said.

—Staff writer Alexander B. Cohn can be reached at abcohn@fas.harvard.edu.