Issei Noodle

I was on a family trip and decided to stop by this spot. It was quite a pleasant experience, the food was delicious & the atmosphere was great! My friends and I would most definitely go back.

We were in town for Ford Nationals this weekend and wanted to check out the town. This place was well-​reviewed and I have to agree! We shared the edamame and spring roll appetizers (both quickly devoured), I got the pineapple teriyaki chicken don-​buri (rice bowl), and my partner had the summer ramen bowl. They were both delicious and arrived at the table surprisingly fast. The service was very efficient and the waiter had just enough presence to fill waters as they were getting low, but I never felt like he was hovering or interrupting our frenzied eating. We were hungry and the food was really good so we both probably ate too quickly. I wish we were closer so we could enjoy this place more often.

I love this noodle house! The service is speedy, the staff is friendly, and the food is delicious! The food is fresh and prepared to order. I can also bring my daughter here without feeling awkward. I’ve known a lot of restaurants to be funny about kids, but this is not one of them. If I’m ever in the mood for Asian cuisine, Issei Noodle is my first pick. Just keep in mind that they are not open on Sunday and Monday. They’re also an alcohol free establishment – not even BYOB.

I don’t think I can emphasize enough just how good the food is here. I, and my guest, had the bento box appetizer, Japanese croquettes, miso ramen, and shoyu ramen.
I loved everything I ate. It was prepared well and the flavors were on point. The broth in both bowls of ramen were extremely flavorful, although I greatly preferred the miso broth. However, I am sensitive to migraines, so while the seaweed salad and calamari salad in the bento both were tasty, I could not eat much of them.
Service was good, considering that there was only one waitress. She zoomed around to all tables, but was also very pleasant and patient with customers. For having to deal with the entire restaurant, she was really on point.
What’s keeping me from giving five stars is the check out system. Unlike most places where you are given your check, here you go to the register once you are done, which is where the have the checks for the entire restaurant. The cashier asked where I was seated, so I told her where, then followed that up with what was on our bill as she looked confused. A look of panic washed over her face. She had given our check to the couple ahead of us in line.
She brought this to the attention of the waitress and someone who I’m thinking was a manager. The waitress was pretty rude to the cashier about it, but the manager was kind and explained to her to just ring out the ticket again so we could pay. This wasn’t the only mistake because the cashier apologized for messing up yet another check.

The freshest, tastiest food in Carlisle. Good comes out fast and hot. An easy five stars!

I go out of my way for a great steaming bowl of noodles. Great family run restaurant. Consistent and delicious. Go there. Eat noodles.

The food here is really really good. Having lived in San Diego, L.A., and Atlanta, after moving to Mt. Holly, it was hard finding unique and bold flavors. So after reading the reviews on Unilocal we decided to try this place and I was so pleasantly surprised. The food was great, the best I’ve had since we moved here. The food was rich and bold and had tons of flavor and you get a lot of food for what you pay for! It does get crowded very easily but in my opinion is worth it. Definitely recommend it!

Stopped by on the way home from vacation. What a find! The restaurant was crowded and busy, but the service was quick and efficient. Not everything came out at the same time, but as it was finished, which means it was hot when we got it. Since it all came out near in time, it was just fine.
We started with Edamame and gyoza, two basics done right. My daughter had the Issei Bento Box, and I had chicken donburi bowl. I wish I remembered what the others had, but I was so busy eating mine (and defending it from sneak-​thief children), that I don’t remember! In any case we left there full and happy.

Great food, service was excellent. Staff is friendly and efficient. Had the Bento Box for an appetizer and #16 Okinawa Yakisoba very good. My wife had 17a Sakura Warm Ramen which was excellent; not spicy hot even though it is rated 2 chilies. We will definitely return here, this was our first visit. No alcohol is severed here.

I’m updating my previous review due to our most recent trip. We did not receive the appetizer we ordered, were not offered refill on tea, and my husband’s Kimchi kalbi don was so full of tiny bone shards that he could not enjoy it. Seriously disappointed in Issei tonight!

I am a relatively new Carlisle resident. This establishment is a diversity jewel. The food is both unique and authentic. The family introduces family ideas with the traditional Japanese preparation. The venue and atmosphere is really nice and the staff is great. If this type of cuisine is in your sphere of interest you will not be disappointed.

Let me start by saying I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how absolutely wonderful this place is. I absolutely love their Ramen, phở, stir fry (dan burry i think) and pretty much everything else I’ve had. My girlfriend had the Sakura warm ramen and I was a little jealous I didn’t order that. I digress though. The service sometimes takes a little longer than typical places but you can see your server helping prepare food so you know they aren’t slacking around or texting in the back or something crazy. The prices are very fair for the amouny you get and the wonderful flavors you get to enjoy as well! Do your taste buds and your soul a favor… stop on in!

Hit for lunch on a weekday. Service was a bit slow but the Udon Veggies were awesome. Little heavy on the sauce but not too bad.
The food was served quickly (party of two). I originally ordered five star heat but backed down to four after the waitress warned me off. Should have gone with five.
Neat little downtown area too.

When I’m in Carlisle during the holiday season and seeking out something a bit lighter and lunchier, I go to Issei Noodle. This year was no different.
My first order of business is always to get an appetizer. I’ve had great success in the past with the Vegetarian Fresh Spring Rolls served with a special plum sauce. These are awesome. But this time around I wanted to try something different. When I spotted the words vegetable gyoza side-​by-​side I knew that was where its at. Issei Noodle’s version of this appetizer had a crispy exterior, which was extremely pleasant, but a relatively empty interior. It came across as more of a thinned out samosa and less like some of the gyoza Tampa has to offer. The dipping sauce was really good but I needed a lot of it to make up for the super doughy gyoza.
J-​Fur decided went with the tried and true edamame. Issei’s version of edamame was good (although I have yet to meet a terrible edamame, I think it is the kind of thing that is difficult to mess up). It was much more traditional than some of the ones we’ve come across recently in that it stuck to a simple, salted exterior.
My normal main course of choice is the Veggie Yaki Udon. This is an Udon noodle dish served with sauteed seasonal veggies, steamed tofu and a sweet ginger-​miso sauce. The udon is some of the smoothest and thickest I’ve had. I wavered for a long time trying to decide between the tried and true of the Yaki Udon and the new and exciting of the Don Buri (a rice bowl). I eventually went with the new and exciting. The Vegetarian Don Buri was full of seasonal vegetables such as red pepper, bok choy, basil, broccoli and onion. It was then covered by a very light house sauce and served over rice. The bowl was pretty big but it seemed slightly bland. Perhaps the creator of the dish is of the opinion that making it slightly bland allows the customer to season it how they want. I mean the table center is littered with a ton of condiments and sauces. I added a bit of soy sauce to the rice which seemed to enhance the house dressing and provided the oomph the dish needed.
My latest visit to Issei Noodle was not nearly as impressive as the first few. I partially chalk this up to making bad choices (going with the new instead of the tried and true). Still, it is a decent place to enjoy a light, warm dish in the middle of a heavy holiday season.

Overview:
Delicious and authentic Japanese restaurant featuring ramen, donburi, and small plates. I can’t recommend this place enough.
Food:
Wow this place is delicious. I’ve lived in Tokyo and this is honestly the most authentic Japanese I’ve had since moving to the Harrisburg area.
For appetizers, we tried the Steamed Wontons, which were homemade and in a yuzu miso-​chili sauce. They were SO good! Perfectly cooked and I adored the sauce, which was a great balance of sweet, salty, and a bit spicy. They also had a Takoyaki appetizer as a special that day, which I had to order because it’s one of my favorite dishes. They came out piping hot and perfectly crispy on the outside. I loved the flavor, and there was a good bit of octopus in the middle. I was a bit disappointed it wasn’t served with Japanese mayonnaise like I had in Tokyo, but they were still extremely tasty.
For our main courses, I ordered the Chashu Ramen and my boyfriend ordered the Spicy Mabo Tofu. The ramen was absolutely wonderful. The broth was so rich, so perfectly porky that I could have drank it all night. The noodles were well cooked with just the right amount of chew. The only thing I would change is the eggs, which were hard cooked and I would prefer soft cooked, but that’s not a big deal.
The Spicy Mabo Tofu was SO good. Honestly, it was better than I even had in Japan. A great amount of pork and tofu, with a level of spiciness that was definitely noticeable but did not detract from the flavor of the dish.
Recommend:
I honestly think that everything they serve here is probably fantastic. Definitely give the ramen a try if you’ve never had real ramen, but I would also definitely recommend the Spicy Mabo Tofu.
Atmosphere:
A bit small and narrow, but I liked being able to see the kitchen and everything being cooked right in front of me. Everything was clean and I thought the restaurant was nicely lit up as well.
Service: Wonderful! Our waitress was extremely efficient, especially considering how many tables she was serving. Our food came out super fast and perfect.

Brought my parents there yesterday for a Saturday lunch. There was only 1 person waiting the tables. Even after we had taken turns to go to the restroom, still no one came to take our orders. I had to personally go and flag down the waitress. Anyways, the food did come quickly after orders were made and by and large still quite good except for my Dad’s ramen soup which was way too salty despite our special instruction for low salt. Notwithstanding the foregoing, I wasn’t the least bit amused by the commercialism conveyed by this supposedly charming local operation: that our party of 4 adult plus 1 child was considered a party and was levied a mandatory 18% service fees. We left with a «bad after-​taste» — deserving enough for a mark down from my previous rating.

The Udon Chicken dish was DA BOMB! The service wasn’t the best though. The server placed three different dishes in front of me that belonged to other tables. Also, we sat there with empty dishes for 15 mins and no check was brought to us. Still, the silky thick homemade Udon more than made up for it. I like the environment, which is pretty young, modern and cozy. Being so close to the college, you will see lot’s of diversity here.

After my trip to a Ramen place in Chicago few months ago, I’d been craving for one in Central Pennsylvania area. My search brought me to Issei Noodle. Here’s what we ordered and the review:
1) Steamed Wontons — we took one bite, the taste was different. We called the server and asked what meat was it. For some reason we thought it would be chicken. But it had pork, which we don’t eat, so left it after one bite.
2) Aka Noodle — my expectations were set on how a Ramen should be after the Chicago experience. This dish unfortunately did not meet those. It did not have any flavor or spices. Left the entire bowl uneaten.
3) Midori spicy udon — now here’s a dish worth the trip. Loved this one! Very flavorful.
4) Vegetarian Don-​Buri — another star dish. Loved it. When the dish was kept on the table, the aroma told the story of how good it would be.
I will return and will order the above 3 and 4.
Let me also mention that the non-​smiling hostess mentioned by some other reviewers was missing today. There were two servers, both smiling, helpful and had pleasing demeanor.

Finally made it here and was not disappointed. Had the Yaki Udon (chicken), plus an added 3 wontons. Fantastic. The Yaki Udon was $ 10, plus $ 2 for the wontons on top.
Note: The menu describes this dish as Japanese pan fried noodles with assorted vegetables (includes spinach, which I picked out due to my allergic reaction to it… forgot to ask) with special blended sauce, choice of chicken or pork.
My party also ordered a special fried jumbo shrimp with nifty thin potato string coiled around the outside of each piece of shrimp. Brilliant. I’m still thinking about it 4 days later.
Also sampled was the Japanese Croquette (2 for $ 5), breaded and filled with creamy crab stuffing and mashed potato, «deep fried to a golden brown.» It was good (crazy hot inside when it first came out) but it was hard to recognize the crab on my pallet, perhaps because it was so mild in flavor and so smooth and creamy.
Everything comes out as soon as it is ready, which means it is piping hot! You’ve been warned. :-)
Service was friendly and high energy. Serving time was reasonably quick.
One last note: They were selling brownies at the register. 100% goes to an orphanage in Vietnam.
If brownies are not your thing for dessert, hit up Helena’s Chocolate Café and Creperie just past the theater on the same block. Coffee served, too.
[Ok, another «last note» due to an added edit to this post…]
Speaking of coffee, I do find it funny that they sell cans of Café Du Monde coffee ($ 9 or two for $ 17). Yes, Café Du Monde is in the French Quarter of New Orleans, but the famous coffee and chicory blend has nothing to do with the Asian food. did the French influence Vietnamese cuisine? Sure. However Vietnamese coffee does not have chicory in it.
Ever.
Still love this place!
Ah, another footnote! Every once in a while, they serve a Japanese curry (sweet) dish that is supposed to be ridiculously good. My friend, who grew up in Homg Kong, absolutely RAVES about it. He’s so obsessed with the dish that he calls them to see when it will be served again. Aparrently, there is a call-​list and now he is on it.

We had the Spicy Tan Tan ramen & Ramen no.10 (forgot the name). While both were yummy, the ramen just the right amount of springiness, the broth slurpilicious, the chashu tender, the minced meat flavorful & tender, the soup was a tad not hot enough for my husband, and the eggs we added on were not really the ‘onsen’ style eggs we had expected, a little overdone.
The shrimp wantan my husband really liked. I enjoyed the sauce that came with it.
The Vietnamese iced coffee was superb– refreshing & delicious just as it should be.
We ordered the appetizer bento– I enjoyed the fried tofu most. I think the Gyoza can be given a miss.
We also ordered a takeaway of a cold noodle salad– that came in a vinegarish sesame & soy sauce with cucumber, radish, cabbage, fried tofu, Gyoza. It was absolutely delicious & refreshing! Loved it.
All in all, a great place!