There are more than 50 branches in Britain and another 30 around the world, stretching as far as Auckland – a phenomenal number considering the first Wagamama opened in London as recently as 1992. Each of these Asian-inspired noodle restaurants follows the same template: cheapish menu; unpretentious, minimalist surroundings with long, shared tables allocated on a no-reservation, first-come-first-served basis; and staff who operate at 100 miles an hour.

Like all good ideas, Wagamama is a simple concept. It is modelled on the ramen bars popular in Japan and which spread across the world via America's west coast. The Glasgow branch is so busy its customers get through 12 tons of noodles every week.

If multinational chains aren't usually my sort of thing, I'm happy to make an exception for anywhere that keeps kids happy on a wet Sunday. I've learned from experience that the best way to keep a child's attention when you're eating out is to have lots of little dishes on the table so they can eat at their own pace and don't feel trapped and anxious if they don't like what's on their plate (tapas works here too).

The other good thing about eating at Wagamama is that it's generally pretty cheap. A family of five can have a decent meal for less than £50, even if you start ordering expensive juices (don't be afraid to ask for free tap water, though – restaurants are legally obliged to serve it if you ask).

The children's menu is particularly good value. Ollie, the vegetarian, ordered a mini veggie cha han (a bowl of stir-fried rice with egg, butternut squash, sweetcorn, spring onion and mushrooms); Ailsa, the fussy eater, chose a mini chicken katsu (deep-fried breaded chicken breast served with sticky white rice, shredded cucumber and a lightly spiced curry sauce); and Lochie plumped for the best dish of the three, chicken ramen (slices of grilled chicken breast served on noodles in a vegetable soup). All cost between £2.75 and £3.50 and were consumed at an indecent rate by three children who can be annoyingly picky.

They helped themselves to the four side dishes we'd also ordered to share: the northern Chinese staples of duck gyoza (duck-and-leek dumplings served with cherry sauce) and ebi gyoza (dumplings filled with tiger prawns, water chestnuts and spinach), plus the Japanese negima yakitori (skewers of grilled chicken coated in yakitori sauce) and tori kara age (deep-fried marinated chicken pieces in a sauce whose main ingredients are soy and sake). All four were winners.

The grown-ups' dishes (which can't be described as 'main' courses, because to ensure freshness everything arrives in the order in which it's cooked) were substantially bigger; indeed, they were a meal on their own and didn't need side orders. Bea's ebi raisukaree (big, juicy stir-fried prawns in coconut-and-lime sauce, with ginger, chillies, coriander and peppers, served on rice) was a delight, while my chicken ramen was good but only marginally bigger than Lochie's version – next time I'll go for the sawn-off size and order more side dishes.

Our meal was washed down with a couple of jugs of tap water, three glasses of freshly pressed apple juice and a pitcher of sake, the Japanese rice wine that is best served cold. We rounded off with a good tamarind-and-chilli pavlova, some very coconutty ice-cream and three peach ice-lollies.

The verdict? Despite the corporate veneer, it's difficult not to be impressed by a restaurant where the food is excellent value, the staff seem genuinely motivated and the children leave begging to know when they can go back.

VITAL STATISTICS

Wagamama

97 West George Street, Glasgow (0141 229 1468; www.wagamama.com)

Out of pocket

Side dishes £1.35–£5.95; main courses £6.50–£11.30; pudding £1.05–£4.60; children's menu £2.75–£4.25

Rating 8/10