Eight Noodle Shop

We are Japanese love ramen and were really looking forward to trying this place out since it had four stars on Unilocal.Unfortunately the food fell below expectations, but I still end up giving three stars because the service was among the best we had.
We started with the fried calamari appetizer and the day’s special which was halibut ceviche. The calamari was a sizable portion with nice, light breading, but it was on a base of veggies that was too tart from the lime or lemon used. The calamari was pretty tasteless. The ceviche was not as flavorful as others we have tried elsewhere.
We both ordered their pork ramen since that is a standard dish by which we compare ramen shops. There was a lot of pulled pork and a slice of pork belly which was good. Unfortunately the broth was mainly just salty… very salty, and so too was the pulled pork. I don’t know if the broth was too salty from absorbing from the pork or if they just added too much salt to begin with. The broth also did not have much of that umami flavor, perhaps because the saltiness was overwhelming.
Our experience was unfortunate, but I don’t know if it’s because they were just having an off night. We probably wouldn’t return based on this meal.

Very good Ramen. I ordered the gluten-​free broth and gluten-​free noodles, pork belly Ramen. It was very flavorful to not include wheat. The Ramen was just a little light on the broth not in terms of flavor but in terms of amount in comparison to the ratio of dry items in the bowl. See pictures. Otherwise this is a very cute spot, with attentive and knowledgeable waitresses. I would come back!

This was a cozy restaurant with very friendly and accommodating servers. Sitting outdoors with a nice breeze was nice but the view of a parking lot across the way was … well, the outdoor breeze was nice.
The star of this meal and the only thing that really stood out were the Pork & Shrimp Pot Stickers. Fried and oh so yummy. The skin was perfectly cooked, crispy and the filling with nice chunks of shrimp was divine.
Unfortunately, the rest of the meal was kinda blahhh …
The Korean Fried Chicken Wings were moist and well cooked inside but the breading was heavy and overcooked. Sauce was a bit weak and lacking as well which kinda defeats the purpose of this dish.
Surprisingly, the Vegetarian Ramen had better flavor than the Pork Ramen. However, the broth for both were underwhelming and needed more body and flavor. The noodles were also off. The Pork Belly in the soup did have a good flavor but not enough to save the dish.
If I return, the only thing I would get is the Pot Stickers.

The husband and I visited on our recent trip to Napa. He ordered the chicken soup and I had the dragon noodle stir fry. I thought both dishes were very flavorful and actually pretty salty. I think I would go back for the ramen, as I felt my dish was a little on the soggy side. Service was attentive and friendly.

Potstickers were divine. Dragon Noodle with shrimp, beef and chicken can feed 2 – 3 and is absolutely scrumptious! My friend had the pork ramen with pork belly and shoulder and said it was delicious. This place is a ‘must try’ when you are in Napa. The cute young waiter was an added plus to the meal!

Two stars because this restaurant has a good menu and the wait staff is attractive and professional. They are very knowledgeable about the menu and take great pains to make accommodations to food allergies/​preferences. HOWEVER, the last few times I have dined here there was a man (I think the manager) and he was very rude to the staff. I understand needing to speak with employees about performance to maintain quality, but this should never be done in front of customers and certainly not the way he addressed the situation.

This is an amazing restaurant!
We go there quite a lot and enjoy it every time.
My kids’ favorites are the chicken wings, lettuce wraps, pork buns, chicken and rice bowl, calamari, butter lettuce salad, and the pork belly noodles. The food includes a variety of delicious flavors. They also have outstanding service, and a relax and comfortable ambiance. So if you are ever thinking for a place to go eat I suggest 8 noodle shop. We love you Eight!

This small asian noodles shop is located in downtown Napa, CA. Parking was quite easy across the street. I thought the food was quite decent and up to napa standards, but it’s not super authentic asian. Prices were high for casual asian food, but expected for the location. It’s a lot more economical than other food options in the area though. Overall, I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back again. It’s nice to have some options in Napa that are not extremely heavy like the usual Italian/​American/​French restaurants around.

Wow what a great meal coming into town for the Napa Valley Marathon!
Thanks to my Unilocal friends I looked up noodles in Napa and this gem came up and we navigated our way to it! Parking across the street we walked into what from the outside could have easily been a house but to my surprise was serving ramen!!!
We were seated right away as we were the first to arrive for lunch. The menu was simple but packed with great options. I was actually still a little full from breakfast but hey its ramen and I had to at least try some.
I was immediately drawn to the pork belly ramen ($ 15). The server said that this was her favorite and after all how could it not be, I mean we are talking pork belly here people. The food came out pretty quickly which was nice because the wife and brother in law were starving. The wife got the Shio ramen ($ 15) and the bros got the Veggie Ramen ($ 14).
So how was the food… well lets just say there wasn’t a scrap of noodle left anywhere on our three plates and even though I had eaten breakfast a few hours earlier I was still able to handle that bowl of ramen which was quite filling. The pork belly was super tender and had a smoky flavor to it, the broth was rich porky goodness and the egg was soft boiled to perfection. The noodles were perfectly al dente with a little bite to them. They were so yummy!
Overall the food was great from my end and my two lovely guests would agree, next time I am in Napa this is a must stop and if you’re in the area it is a must stop for you too!

Considering the breadth of restaurants and cuisine in the bay area, it’s surprising how good noodle shops are few and far between. When you finally find one, odds are that the menu/​fare is going to be pretty standard (noodles, broth, a bit of protein).
Finding Eight Noodle Shop on a quiet backstreet in Napa made my whole weekend.
Even with a menu pared down to a single page of carefully chosen dishes, it’s still tough to decide what to order because it ALL sounds great.
The food is tasty, the portions are generous and there’s no skimping when it comes to the addition of proteins. If the menu says the plate comes with short ribs you’re going to get a nice big chunk of perfectly cooked short ribs.
A friend and I shared the Kimchi Bacon Fried Rice as a side dish and the owner (who greeted us and took our order) made sure the dish was topped with TWO fried eggs.
The dishes are traditional enough that they clearly have a following of Japanese families, but have nice additions that elevate the flavor profile beyond what you might get in a more traditional shop.
It’s a shame that the shop is located on the backside of a parking garage because it seemed like business was a little slow for Mother’s Day. Signage is minimal and the patio is covered by black sunshades that offer a nice cool place to sit, but tend to obscure the fact that a business is operating there… If more people knew about this place, it’d be packed.
I’ve already got a list of friends that I know I’ll be taking back to this great little family-​run business. Check ‘em out!

Now I’m no foodie, snob, or wanna-​be food critic. I’m just a guy who likes good food. Regardless of what it’s called or how it’s labeled, food is either good or bad. I’m not going to boast about where I’ve traveled or dined in a desperate attempt to gain credibility. That said, my experience at Eight Noodle Shop was great. The food was good and the service even better. My party of four was greeted at the door. I had secured lunch reservations via Open Table and we were seated within 3 minutes. The menu is varied enough that most anyone can find something appealing. I had the pork ramen, my wife had the teriyaki salmon, and my two daughters had the chicken and the egg and the vegetable ramen. We also ordered the seaweed salad and charred edemame to share.
Each dish looked so good, we couldn’t resist sampling each other’s food. While I was full, my wife and daughters shared the Okinawan doughnuts for dessert, which they all enjoyed. My youngest daughter noted that since I don’t have much of a sweet-​tooth, I may have thought it was too sweet, as I often exclaim about sweets and desserts I try. Each of us were very satisfied with the presentation and taste of our food and the courteous and attentive service. We plan on returning soon to sample other dishes.

Went here with me gf for some ramen and wine and got exactly what I expected. Super tasty broth and the wine selection was great. We also got the Korean chicken wings! Those were my favorite. Great place to go to for a date.

Eh… the empty restaurant was screaming for us to stay away, but we were craving for noodles.
The noodles were starchy and tough; the soup tasted blah… and worst, our meal cost over $ 60 dollars for noodles, fried rice and chicken wings. Save your money for wine tasting or go elsewhere!
Shame on us for letting our hunger and cravings overwhelmed our instincts. Like other reviewers have noted from their own experience, we ate and left utterly disappointed — and the dissatisfaction resulted in more cravings for noodles. :-(

Finally had the chance to check this place out. We tried:
Crispy Squid — Lightly battered but definitely crispy. The bed of veggies and aioli mix that are hidden under the squid, was really good.
Pork Ramen — The pork was tasty and tender. The broth lacked a little flavor than what I’m used to having in «Pork» or tonkatsu ramens. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good. Maybe it’s just because I prefer ramen with A LOT of flavor like spicy miso or tan tan men. I felt like it could have had more veggies as well but the noodles were thick and strong and the egg was perfect.
The service was great. Friendly, quick, checked up on us a few times and kept our waters full.

I went here with a friend. Neither of us have been, so wasn’t sure what to expect. We ordered a bowl of vegetarian raman and the daily special. No drinks, appetizers or dessert. For a $ 55 meal I was hoping for something tasty.
The vegetarian raman was interesting. The broth tasted off and the ramen noodles were like nothing I’ve seen before? I’m used to ramen from San Mateo area and this is just not even close!
The special was a greasy noodle dish that had an overwhelming amount of garlic, 8 small shrimp, seaweed, microgreens and asparagus. The combination sounded fun, but was a miss. Again the ramen noodles weren’t what I thought and there was no broth? The microgreens were the best part.
Overpriced and underwhelming. The servers were friendly and the outdoor seating was lovely. Those were the highlights. There are so many places to eat in town I will not be going back to this one.

Stopped in a for light lunch. Bambie just had a plate of pork lettuce cups (3 on the plate) and I chose the pork ramen.
Portion sizes are adequate, not huge.
Flavors were quite good, it’s obvious that the ingredients are high quality. We enjoyed the food.
Prices are quite elevated compared to most other ramen houses. The salmon ramen bowl price is $ 24! My beef bowl was $ 16, which is 2X higher priced than my usual ramen house. And my hometown favorite ramen house bowl size is 50% larger.
Being Napa, there are several wines on the beverage list.
Service was attentive, cheerful & prompt.
So, you can get a quick, very tasty meal here. Just keep in mind that it’s not a bargain.

I’ve been here a few time since I they first opened. I thought a revise of my review is in order because I simply had much better experience since. I am still haven’t had success with the noodles. I ordered the pork belly one and still more bland than I would like, though the seasoning have improved. I also had the sesame noodle which was a bit greasy and not my favorite. The Fried Squid remains my favorite and now is a big hit with anyone I bring here. My new favorite is the Kimchi Bacon Fried Rice and the Okinawa doughnuts for dessert. Prices are reasonable enough that I can eat her more frequently than other restaurants in Napa.

Not many ramen places out by us and didn’t feel like going all the way to Rockridge, so we thought we’d try this place out. Started out with the Korean fried chicken wings which we both loved. Husband had the pork ramen and I had the butter leaf lettuce with shrimp. Both of us agreed our meals were a little in the light side — flavor wise. For dessert we had the chocolate tart w coconut gelato and their donut holes w apple butter, caramel, and apples. They were good for their price, but didn’t wow us.
We may come back to try the kimchi fried rice and caramel panna cotta. We’ll see.

I guess I am a snob when it comes to Asian food because that’s my people ya know. And nothing against Asian fusion either, when executed well it is great.
Okay so this place isn’t bad. Their pulled pork buns are tasty and the pickling of the coleslaw is a good compliment. I understood that this was an Asian influenced dish so I expected the different flavor combinations.
My gripe was their «ramen» they had. These were their star dishes but I felt that it isn’t properly described. Ramen is about the soup. The soup is the star and what makes the dish. My boyfriend got the pork ramen and I got the beef ramen. The soup was like a Chinese lighter broth and the bamboo shoots overpowered the soup. There were potatos? in my entrée as well as noodles that were thick and Chinese style, not like a Japanese style you would expect in ramen.
The braised beef was tender and the other beef just didn’t belong in a soup. The thing was, each component on its own would be excellent but all together the dish was not cohesive. I think you can tweak it a bit and make a wonderful Taiwanese beef stew instead of a Japanese ramen dish. They have the technique and ingredients for some great food, they just need to slightly reformat how they present their completed dishes.
Anyways, it was good just not what I expected. A good attempt at trying to reimagine ramen but it came off a little different.

We were looking for a lighter lunch since we had dinner reservations for French Laundry the same evening. Through Unilocal we discovered 8 Noodles, a ramen/​Asian fusion place in downtown Napa.
The restaurant is small but it has a good sized outdoor seating area. Like all Napa restaurants, they offer a wine list as well!
Overall I found the noodle dishes we ordered to be okay, but that the non-​noodle dishes of pork buns and their miso butterscotch panna cotta to be excellent. So 3 stars overall.
Pork Ramen has two types of pork — the pulled pork from the shoulder and the juicier, fattier pieces from the belly. Both were excellent. For some reasons, the noodles seemed chewier, and starchier than other ramen places. Broth was mild.
Sesame Pork Ramen was closer to a pasta dish, or Dan Dan noodles where noodles are tossed with a thick sauce of sesame paste with ground pork. It had the same, starchy noodles as the ramen dish so it was definitely a heavier meal. We finished about half to make room for dessert!
Pulled Pork Buns were three per order and excellent. They used some Thai Chili to add some kick to the hoisin sauce which I liked. Pork was tender and not drowning in sauce which is good. Great slaw too.
Miso Butterscotch Panna Cotta was creative and a great dessert for sharing. They must have used white miso to simulate a salted caramel (or in this case, salted butterscotch!). Who knew that even desserts can have umami!