I literally live on the same city block as this place and I still don't go there more than once or twice a year. I think that's testament enough to how I feel about Noodles. The menu is pretty much uniformly overpriced and greasy--and not in a good way. It's nice having a pan-Asian restaurant around, but none of the flavors are particularly authentic. I will say that the fried rices and the pad see ew are ok, but that's sort of where it ends. I've never had a good soup here. Also, the one time I got the Singaporean noodles I almost couldn't eat them because they were salted so heavily. The advantage of this place is that it offers VERY fast service, but it's seriously not very good and weirdly expensive.
Review Source:For a place just called 'NOODLES' on the sign outside, you don't really expect much. Â Definitely don't just walk by this place and get in there to try it. Â Really great. Â Everything is made fresh to order, and it is all very good. Â The staff is really nice. Â
It can get a little busy at prime lunch time, but we haven't ever had to wait longer than a few minutes. Â The high-top bar is actually a great place to sit - you can watch the chefs through the glass, which is how I know the ingredients are fresh!
Bonus points for occasional chocolate fortune cookies.
I've had some things here that are better than others, but for the most part it's a mediocre restaurant. I've eaten here maybe 10 or so times, and I'll continue to go back only because it's close and easy to get to. It's a good social spot that serves the best Thai food that I've had in Hyde Park, but every time I go here it mostly just makes me miss the multitude of decent Thai places on the north side.
The curries are fine to decent. The appetizers are solid. All the usual Thai dishes (Pad Thai, Pad Woon Sen, etc.) all seem to taste exactly the same. There isn't even a discernible difference between the Pancit (a Filipino dish) and the Pad Thai. The Banh Mi is ok. Stay away from: The Tom Yum Noodles. Nasty nasty dish. Tastes nothing like any Tom Yum I've had.
My favorite thing on the menu is the Crystal Noodle Salad, but it's boring if you have it just by itself. I'd give this place 2.5 stars if it were on the northside, but I'll round up b/c the other thai places in the neighborhood are no good.
Noodles is highly reliable food. It's not necessarily the best, but what they do well they do so well and so cheaply that they are a clear four-star joint. A few highlights - the delicious fish patty (sort of like gefilte) that comes in your bowl of ramen; the incredibly savory beef noodles; the spicy and very sweet drunked noodles; the bright green seaweed salad.
Review Source:I initially was confused as I walked east on 57th and thought this was part of the Noodles & Co chain. Â So excited that I was wrong and that this was a delicious asian restaurant. Â I stopped in for a quick bite at the counter and was in and out in like 30 minutes, enjoying a california roll and an order of shrimp fried rice. Â All this with a soda was only $15 and the fried rice (which was a huge portion) had an immense amount of jumbo shrimp in it. Â I also got a great view of the kitchen from the counter and saw them churning-out order after order of fresh-made noodles and rice! Â Delicious!
Review Source:I was saddened to see such low stars! Â Noodles is my favorite Asian spot in the city! Â I have been coming here (and the other location) for 15 years now! Â I am a vegetarian, here are some of my favorite dishes:
* Wonton Soup- best broth! (I get it with no wontons, no chicken, and fresh tofu, so yummy!)
* Pad See Ew with Tofu (crystal noodles, I've tried this at many other Asian places and it never taste the same!)
* Curry Noodles with Tofu- tasty and spicy!
The waitstaff has always been attentive, the food comes out very quick, and they never mess up my sometimes odd and detailed orders! Â I also think the decor is very pretty!
"Such good asian food! Such great food!" I was told this numerous times as a UofC student. And every time I tried this place (3 times) I got incredibly bland food. Mind you, I think it's hard to make Asian food taste bland. Green onions, Oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil--stir and remix in all dishes--are very powerful taste additives. But so, so bland.
I had some bao most recently. It tasted more doughy than meaty (probably because the meat had no flavor). The pad thai was so bland I could cry. The fried rice was decent but was mostly rice. And the soup noodles. Oh god. The only other time I've had such terrible noodles was in a Chinese restaurant in middle-of-nowhere Canada. Please avoid this place.
We started with 4 appetizers, gyoza, 2 of the spring rolls and the fried tofu. Â Â All were very good. Â I had the pad see ew and my bf had the banmee and loved it. Â I also brought home a panang noodle dish which the hubs raved about. Â Â The food was priced right and the service was great.
Review Source:I have visited Noodles (and enjoyed my 10% discount as a UChicago student) countless times because the food here is delicious. If you are a UChicago student, remember to bring your student ID! I have tried their shu-mai, Thai spring rolls, vegetable croquettes (great option for vegetarians who can't enjoy crab rangoon), crab rangoons, pot stickers, miso soup, chicken salad, ramen noodle, chicken noodle, Vietnamese noodle with beef, Pad Thai with chicken, rice with pepper steak, Thai iced tea, and their Vietnamese sandwich specials (available online).
Some of Noodles' food is surprisingly authentic. For example, its Vietnamese noodle with beef has an appropriate level of sweetness in the soup, which reflects noodle soup in Southern Vietnam.
However, Noodles' service could be better. The waiters and waitresses there are, most of the time, not proactive in reaching out to the diners. You have to call them when you are ready to order or pay bills. Though understandable since quite a lot of people frequent this restaurant, its service can certainly be substantially improved.
Restaurant food: 4 stars
Restaurant facilities: 4 stars
Restaurant service: 3 stars
Look, here's the thing: I love Noodles. I know the food there isn't objectively good or whatever, but...damn, it's good! Really - if people got off their high horses and just enjoyed the food, I think they would enjoy it too!
First off, the crab rangoons here are the best I've ever had. I really don't care what type of substance is actually in those things...they're simply exquisite. Every time I come here I get an order of those to start up, and follow-up with a combo fried rice or sweet/sour beef/chicken rice dish. I dislike their noodle dishes, but they have so many things to choose from that I don't hold this against them.
Service is great there! A lot of the workers are students too, and they're quick to bring out food and consistent with water. I dislike buying soda by the can, but I guess that's small problems.
The final word: If you're determined to get "real" Thai food or whatever, you should probably look elsewhere. If you're looking for some good food in a chill atmosphere near the university, Noodles does great for that.
I will not hide this, and it should be said from the start: I love Noodles, and have eaten an epic number of meals there over the last four years as a Hyde Park seminarian AND Lab School employee. Â Why? Â Because it's delicious, that's why.
You see, Noodles makes what might be the best crab rangoon on the planet. Â Really. Â Perfectly crisp, with just the right amount of gooey cheese, green onion, and luscious crab. Â Every time. Â Not getting them at Noodles is like going to Italy and not getting gelato.
Entrees are also solidly good; my personal favorites are the pancit, tom yum, and pad see euw. Â The udon is also pretty good on a drizzly day, though I don't like the lettuce in it.
Why only four stars? Â Because lunch here SUCKS if you don't go off hour. Â The place is PACKED every lunch hour, because it's perfectly located and the food is great...but that kinda kills the ambience since you have to shout to be heard by the person across the table. Â So, go to Noodles, but go for dinner. Â Or an early lunch. Â Or late lunch. Â Or late night crab rangoon. Â Just not at noon.
The pad thai is soo good (though more sweet than spicy, but the tofu is really well cooked) and the staff is so nice; I made a pick up order online (as they sent me a coupon) and they were only like 5 min past the pick up time I requested and they gave me another coupon!
The fried tofu appetizer is kind of dry, but the Thai iced tea is delicious.
We happened by at lunch time and decided to stop in blindly. Â I hate to go anywhere without consulting Yelp but this gamble paid off. Â We really loved the food. Â
We started with Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Thai Spring Rolls. Â They were both very tasty. Â Then we had Udon, Curry Noodles, Beef Teriyaki and Egg Drop Soup. Â They were all very good. Â
The service was fantastic and the location was very convenient to U Chicago. Â I would definitely recommend it.
Noodles Etc. is one of the most consistently tasty restaurants in Hyde Park! I eat there about once a month and the food is always fresh and yummy. It's within walking distance of campus and gives a ton of food for a low price. There are better Thai restaurants to be found in Chicago, but Noodles always promises a delicious and affordable meal.
Review Source:Life lesson #1: Never write negative reviews of a restaurant that you eat at regularly.
I upgrade my rating to three stars because after being identified by the staff as the yelper who wrote a rather sour review (after the third time of getting the wrong take-out order, but I digress) I did some soul searching in my pad see euw. I learned that open bitterness does not lead to happiness and I should be more forgiving of a place that I desperately need like Asian food crack.
The key is to eat there (food is better served there than in a paper bag, of course) and to order from the following dishes:
Any appetizer
Any soup
Pad see euw
Beef and Vegetable Noodles
Combo Fried Rice
On-campus, usually fast, and comfort-y Asian food. Â Menu is large, lunch crowd makes it busy!! Â
The restaurant is like a great big room with booths around the perimeter and tables filling in the middle. Â Nothing fancy, fairly cafeteria style looking, but a neighborhood staple. Â
MENU FAVES: My favorites on the menu would be the beef stir-fry, the gyoza potstickers, and most of all- the vegetable croquettes.
CATERING: I order online for work, and we've really had good experiences. Â We order online, and they deliver on time, 99% of the time. Â They don't forget things, they are quick, food is hot. Â I always call just to make sure they've received my online order too.
Nothing out of the ordinary. There are about five Thai restaurants in Hyde Park, so choosing where you'll go depends on where you are and where you're heading. If you're on 57th street, then fine. Go to Noodles Ect. but if you're not on a hurry, and you're craving a Pad Thai, I recommend Thai 55 instead. The latter's decor is not as polished and suave as Noodles Etc, but the service is better and the food is infinitely tastier.
Location, location, location: It determines your choice for Pad Thai in this neighborhood.
Love their portions, and the fried wontons, and the wonton soup and the combo fried rice are absolute favorites.
Their online ordering system, though? SUCKS. More than once I've ordered something for me to pick up at 12;30, only to get there and they say they never got it and have to make it. Food great. In-house service decent. Online ordering has some things to work on.
This place by all means does not serve authentic Asian food but I would say that the food is fair in an adequate way. It gets really packed and crowded at lunch time with waiting times for a table. Why? Because this place is the best option for pan-Asian food (albeit non-authentic) in Hyde Park and also service in this place is really good. This is why despite its non-authentic Asian food, U of Cers and Hyde Parkers will continue to flock to Noodles.
Review Source:Has anyone of you seen that movie with Will Ferrell? The part where he looks at chaka and says "hey Chaka and sounds out a word to him"...
Hey Noodles Etc.... Fu*# You!
You food is the worst and the bad part about this is that you use to be good. The standards at this place are just Horrible. Like a post i saw early on in here "Real friends dont let friends go to noodles etc.
I love hyde park, there is something special about the neighborhood. Noodles etc is a nice place.It's not huge but is perfectly located opposite the community garden. The owner of the restaurant knew my friend, so we got special attention.
We tried Vegetable Croquettes, Tom Yum Soup and Vegetable noodles. I must say the portions are really big and are very reasonably priced. Croquettes and soup was great but noodles were average. Overall a nice place to enjoy Pan Asian and Thai cuisine.
I recently got a new job in Hyde Park, and Noodles Etc. was the first place I tried for lunch. I wasn't very impressed by the Spicy Crazy Yetca-Mein dish with noodles, tofu and vegetables. It had a semi-spicy generic brown sauce that tasted like it was from a dusty bottle. The onions were undercooked. I'm not entirely sure if the noodles were vegan or if they had egg.
I had better luck with the Kang Woon Sen, which was a soy-based broth with bean thread noodles, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish and spinach. I tend to go for spicy dishes, which this isn't, but it was warm and filling.
I felt quite rushed through my meals. They drop off the check before you're done eating. It can get crowded at lunchtime, so perhaps that's why, but I felt put off.
The prices seem a little higher than other casual Asian restaurants, but the portions are quite large. I'm able to finish the dish, but then I feel ready for a nap. Maybe next time I'll save some for later.
Noodles has long been my go to spot however, I have worn this restaurant out and as I write this post I think I can never eat another bite.
The restaurant is very family friendly and the staff remembers their loyal customers. I have had everything in every combination and the Pad Thai is still one of my favorite dishes from them.
In the winter I enjoy their Tom Yum soup no tomatoes with shrimp. The Crab Rangoon is a starter of choice and my kids enjoy the Chicken Fried Rice and egg rolls. Â We can always get in out for under 20 bucks.
Friends don't let friends come to Noodles Etc.
Seriously, why is this place packed?
Jack of all trades, Master of none.
And that's being way too complimentary.
I went here with my boyfriend after he told me he had been here once with his labmates from U of C. They had taken him here after he was hired. He remembered it being - ok.
The day before I had just eaten some pho at a Vietnamese restaurant up north....
Maybe I shouldn't have done that. It definately clouded my perceptions. Everything else was subpar after the delicious, simple, yet flavorful pho.
But i was in the mood once again for Asian food. Too far to head up north this time so me and the boyfriend head to Noodles,etc.
I Â ordered the crab rangoon( I love me some cream cheese) and the vietnamese vermicelli noodles( I was still on a vietnamese kick).
Crab rangoon - FAIL! Hardly any cream cheese. The fried dough tasted like cardboard.
The vietnamese vermicelli noodles - TASTELESS piece of ......well, I can't sware, but I wouldn't feed this to my dog if I had one.
My boyfriend's food? I can't remember what he ordered. It was not memorable.
Oh wait. Yes it was. Memorable for being the worst Asian food I have ever put in my mouth.
My boyfriend now has a different view of this restaurant - "not so good."
Thank god he has a girlfriend like me to teach him  about edible asian cuisine.
I can't believe his labmates took him here. SHAME! And alot of them are from the Asian continent. I might only be half asian but I know good asian food from crappy asian food. Â
I might not have an ivy  league degree like my boyfriend and most of his labmates....but they wouldn't even earn a GED when it comes to picking an appropriate asian food establishment for lunch.
Take it from me,even an advanced degree doesn't guarantee you know a damn thing about food.
I love coming to this restaurant when I visit Hyde Park. Â First of all they do not add MSG. Â I like this fact because I have gotten headaches from MSG in the past. Â they have good sized portions. Â I can have soup and share an appetizer with my dinner date and be satisfied. Â they have very good jasmine tea and awesome Thai iced tea. also, I recommend the Thai custard.
my daughter went to school in this neighborhood so we have eaten here quite often and without breaking the bank.
The defining characteristic of Noodles is the uneven quality of the food.
I've been here many times. It's bright, friendly, clean, and inexpensive. It's also very close to the University of Chicago, and it has good service, so Noodles is often an easy consensus choice for quick eats in a small group. The food here tends to be lighter and healthier tasting than many pan-asian restaurants. But after years of visits, I find that I don't really like Noodles.
For one thing, I should have never started trying different items on their menu. I should have stuck with the first thing I ever ordered--pad thai, which is pretty good for the price. I find the curries inferior to the curies offered at 3 restaurants on 55th St. in Hyde Park. I find the stir fry dishes bland and off in flavor (sweet and sour? no, just sweet), and some of the soups have unpleasant aftertastes.
If you find something you like here, stick with it.
I'd been here before but didn't really remember the experience so I was happy to return when friends suggested it for dinner earlier in the week. Â
This is a solid 3-star restaurant. Â Decent food, mixed bag of service, nothing great, nothing terrible.
Most of us ate the curry noodles which were really good. Â One friend had a different noodle dish (lo mein I believe) and his food came out more than 10 minutes before the rest. Â So that was kind of weird. Â
Prices are definitely right for what they serve. Â
Will I be rushing back? Â Probably not. Â But would I come here again, sure.
This place is fine. Â The restaurant is nice and cozy, the bathrooms are nice, and the food is fine.
I went to dinner here with three friends last night. Â We didn't order an appetizer because we figured the noodle dishes would come out quickly. Â And the first one did. Â But the other three took at least 10 more minutes. Â This is so bizarre since we clearly weren't sharing the dishes (the slow 3 were all the curry noodles).
The curry noodles were quite tasty. Â But not very spicy. Â But that was fine with me since they tasted good. Â Maybe I was just starving last night, but I ate the whole dish. Â Generally when I get Thai or Chinese I only end up eating half of my order.
We ended up getting a Crab Rangoon after the meals. Â There were 6 large pieces, and they were pretty good. Â
I think I might have given this place 4 stars if the food had all come out at the same time. Â However there was a huge gap between the first person's food and everyone else's. Â He ate really slow, and still managed to eat half of the dish before anyone else got food. Â Had he been eating at a normal pace, he probably would have finished his food before we got our food. Â This puts the whole table in a bad position. Â Does the first person act rudely and eat while his food is hot and fresh? Â It is not an issue that should come up in a restaurant. Â A few minutes wouldn't have been terrible, but that was just way too long.
So I'm glad no one at Noodles Etc. caught on to my fakery...clearly I look the part of worldly U of C student enough to not feel too self-conscious at this popular near-campus eatery. Or at least, that's what I'm telling myself in preparation of hopefully being accepted into a grad program for next fall.
Anyway, enough self-disclosure. NOODLES! This is about noodles! Lots and lots of noodles! Noodles Etc has a lot of options and they are noodle-icious. If I weren't so busy trying to be inconspicuous, I would have whipped out my notebook and started copying down the menu. But that would be a dead non-U of C-student giveaway.
I ordered the pad thai with chicken and a diet coke. My diet coke came in a can (yay!) with a cup of ice and a straw. I got my book out. I looked around nervously. And BAM! My food came out! I was shocked at the quickness, honestly. Nice serving, too--at first I had to have a talk with myself that I wouldn't finish the whole thing, but alas, I did. And I was full. The plate was piled high with pad thai and heaped with fresh green and red cabbage and ground peanuts. I've never had pad thai with as much uncooked cabbage as I had today but I have to admit, I really liked it. Good call.
They let me hang out for a while and read uninterrupted. I thought that was scholarly of them. And then I got the check--cheap! Cheap! Cheap! The bill was like 8 bucks--that's more food and less than I pay at Panera for lunch.
All in all, Noodles Etc is one reason I should be a U of C student (among many).
Noodles is fine.
Nothing special. Absolutely nothing. I've never been stunned with the quality of the food I've gotten here, either positively or negatively. The Pad Thai is good, and is what I usually get.
The only reason this gets 3 stars instead of 2 is that it's priced exactly how it should be. Average food for inexpensive prices.
How I want to give you two stars, Noodles etc, because your food is *so* fattening and leaves me so guilty. Â But satisfied. Though thirsty. And with a slight self loathing.
But if I were to give you a two star rating, how could I reconcile that with the fact that I'm always here? Â
Okay, cheap and flavorful noodles in an area that frankly isn't known for very good food. Â Their noodle dishes are better than the Thai places around here over on 55th and also less expensive. Â
They do put a lot of msg and salt in their food. Â But honestly,, complaining about msg and salt in a cheap noodle restaurant is like walking into Burger King and complaining that everything has too much fat. Â Deal with it. Â It's why you're here, even if you don't want to admit it.
I've had good things and bad things here. It really depends on what you order. Â It took me a few visits to realize that it's better to order tofu than meat. Â For some reason, when you order chicken, they put a LOT of chicken and very few vegetables. Â But when you order your dish with tofu, they give you lots of veggies. Â I don't know why. Â
Things I don't like here: Â crab summer rolls, tom yum soup, green curry, pad thai, vegetable croquettes, thai custard, vietnamese coffee, fried rice, seaweed salad
Things I love: drunken noodle with light oil (I'm not kidding; tell them light oil. Â It's still too much, trust me. Â The drunken noddles are about a billion calories), stir fried basil, chicken noodle soup, chive dumplings, ramen, pad see eu (again, it has a TON of oil), sauteed spinach.
The service is great, and they're also good with delivery. They are consistently prompt and attentive. Â They offer brown rice that's always soft and fresh.
A definite recommendation if you're in hyde park.
I enjoy carbohydrates. Â The best way to release their starchy goodness into my bloodstream is via noodle. Â Noodles Etc is absolutely what the doctor ordered. Â Their red curry was delightful, and the service was extremely courteous. Â I loved the warm, slightly cramped decor. Â It was a tiny pan-Asian diner of love on a nice street corner.
And I'll be back for my carbohidratos, senor.
A local favorite for dine in and delivery! My wife and I always seem to gravitate towards our favorite dishes, the Pad Thai and the Chow Mein. Â Great choices, very flavorful and not too heavy in the stomach.
We ordered delivery last night, and surprised ourselves by both deviating from our typical items. Â We got the Lad Nar and the Bamee, and both were great! Â The Lad Nar was an instant favorite-the noodles tasted like they had just been made fresh and the accompaniments were delicious.
Favorite appetizers include the Pot Stickers (very much like meat dumplings I had in Beijing) and the Garden Rolls, which are cool and sweet on the tongue-perfect for Spring and Summer.
Sit-down service is always good, but delivery can vary--the typical "45 minutes" they tell me on the phone has been anywhere from 20 (whoo hoo!) to almost an hour and a half (dang I'm hungry). Â
Four Stars!
I think I went to this place over 100 times in the 4 years I was at UChicago. No joke.
Fast. Cheap. Tasty. I could get the pad tai or pad seu a million times over and still be satisfied with it.
I mean, I have a special connection to it as a former Hyde Park resident. As a thai restaurant, it doesn't necessarily offer anything interesting or unique.
nonetheless, it was a great comfort food.
This Noodles location is consistently good. You get a lot of food for very little money -- and a great spot to people watch while you are at it. Its very close to UofC and so the clientele is mainly drawn from that crowd.
 You can't go wrong with the Vietnamese Vermicelli Noodles w/ beef. Oh man, put some spicy sauce on it and your mouth will be in heaven. Seriously.  They also make the best Crab Rangoon in Hyde Park hands down.  It is always light, hot and crispy -- not like Nicky's or some of the other Chinese horror establishments in Hyde Park. Plus, the sweet and sour sauce that accompanies it is amazing.
 They have very fast delivery as well -- with online ordering so you don't even have to call! (I have a serious phone phobia) Basically, its a good meal you can always count on in a pinch -- and makes a great cheap 1st date for a UofCer (if we ever went on dates, that is.)
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