Wagamama, Birmingham Bullring

Kids dishes from £2.85

Ted: ‘More wiggly worms!’

Pre-Christmas: Mummy, Daddy, Lillie and Ted spent a rainy Sunday morning combing Birmingham’s second hand shops for cheesy apres-ski wear in preparation for Alpine Fest, the annual TTR Christmas party. Finding their tummies rumbling and their clothes soggy they decided to pop in to one of the Bullring’s many eateries. “Pizza or noodles?” asked Daddy. It came as something of a surprise to find that both children were set on noodles. It shouldn’t really be a shock that children who prefer apples to biscuits and eat olives as snacks should choose Japanese over salad bars and stuffed crust but there you have it.

Wagamama has long been a Toddler Review standard. We often meet Auntie Em there (she’s fussier than most three year olds) before hitting Selfridges and Mummy has always liked that noodle-y goodness almost as much as Daddy likes the word ‘noodle’ (his favourite word as anyone who knows him will be aware).

There are several things that we like about Wagamama. First, there’s plenty of high chairs - we don’t need them now but back in the day it was often the case that we would go to a restaurant and ask for one only to have an old plastic contraption complete with tray (so Ted can sit across the room from us, right?) dusted off for the occasion of feeding our children. Second, the children’s menu is actually good and doesn’t seem to be an afterthought.

This Bullring branch specifically has excellent buggy access with a lift to the lowered dining room and space to store several prams without taking them down (which means you can leave shopping bags too) and a baby changing room on the ground floor, which means no stairs with a baby under one arm and a changebag under the other. These things matter. Menus come with crayons for colouring, kids get freshly squeezed juice with their meals and an ice lolly or ice cream for afterwards too plus there are child-friendly chopsticks which Lillie loved trying out and even managed to get a few scoops of food in to her mouth with.

It’s always important when dining with impatient kids that service is quick and, more often than not, it is here although on this occasion it was difficult to catch our waitress’s eye when we needed another drink for the kids. But a few weekends before Christmas and with a full dining room you can’t blame the staff if they’re rushed off their feet. The other issue with Wagamama - and this is a nationwide one - is that dishes are brought to you as they’re ready. Not a problem for most of us but a major issue for a starving Ted who received his chicken katsu five or ten minutes after the rest of us were served.

Overall though, we love Wagamama for offering something out of the ordinary for family dining, the canteen styling is lively and exciting for smalls and the food doesn’t make babies of little diners but allows them to try unusual flavours which they might not normally experience at home.

*RATINGS COMING SOON*

Mummy x