Noodles & Company

Came in expecting… well noodles, but like an asian noodle house. This is basically just fast food thrown into a bowl with noodles. Definitely nothing special…

Exactly what it sounds like. I had a late dinner on a weekday and it was about 50% filled with customers. The menu was a little confusing because I wasn’t clear about how to customize my order. The service was fine, I recall waiting a little for someone to notice I was waiting at the register to order. The food tasted good. Small Japanese Pan Noodles with Tofu was good but unfortunately forgettable.

We hit this place on our way from Powell’s to the airport as we were running late and couldn’t find the Alder pods. I agree with the «mall food court cuisine» take. Maybe a slight notch above but not much. It had a very trendy, fast food vibe I am all too familiar with in So Cal… save the pierced and inked crew that is so intrinsically Portland. The girl who took our order was very, very nice so good service! I wanted something spicy so she recommended the Indonesian. Recommendations go a long way with me so minus 1 right there. My mate ordered the pad thai, and as a thai food junkie he should have known better. The bowls had very nice fresh veggies, which was a plus. His pad thai had a nice consistent flavor, a little sweet, but overall it got the job done. Not authentic thai, but still it was tasty. My Indonesian was made so largely by some red seasoning that the bowl was BURIED in. Too much… to where I got a dusty coast on the back of my throat even after mixing the whole bowl up but good. Big ups for the ever wonderful super Coke machine. Overall, it will do in a pinch and on the fly for a fast food pick up it would be cool (if there was better parking) but for a destination this is not a dining spot so much as a fresh fast food alternative and there are about 200 better places within 5 minutes.

The food here is better than your typical fast food and the staff at this location were really friendly. I had a free meal coupon for my birthday, and even though the coupon seemed super strict about bringing ID and proving that it really was your birthday, the guy who took my order was not a stickler about it (which was good, since the friend who signed me up for the birthday goodies told them my name was «Kate Mckaterkate,» which is surprisingly not what it says on my driver’s license.)

Really good experience. A friend and I ate here last night. The environment is warm and welcoming. The staff were friendly and quick. The food was hot and delicious. The lobby was a little messy and no one cleaned it up by the time we left. Oh well. Still great, definitely going back.

Me: «Hey, hubby… what do you want for dinner?»
Him: «Um…how about Thai?»
Me: «Huh…I was more in the mood for Italian… Well lookie here! You can get pad thai, I can get pesto cavatappi at the same place! Ooh and Potstickers. Sold!»
Bad. Move. You’d think I’d have known better than to order anything from a place with Indonesian-​esque, Italian-​like, and Thai-​ish dishes on the same menu.
This is mall food court cuisine without the mall. Oversalted, under-sauced…just one big pot of «What’s-the-point?» And the pot stickers are *flat*. Whoever heard of a flat potsticker? Greasy panfied doughy noodles with a smidgen of indistinguishable ground meat and cabbage in the middle with a salty non-​descript dipping sauce. Yet another helping of what’s-the-point.
We got it to go and I didn’t pick it up, so i can’t speak to the attitude of the staff. But it wouldn’t matter if they were the most gloriously friendly and welcoming people on earth. There is wayyy too much good food in this town to bother with this pointlessness. I’m out.

Hey, it’s basically fast food, and it mixes Italian and Asian — weird — but I’m always happy with what I get. The service is surly at best. On some level, I think the concept of any noodle dish from any culture in one place is kind of lame. You can’t be an expert in all cuisines. And I only get Asian food here. But I’ve yet to be disappointed. Cheap!

They should stick with noodle dishes and forget the sandwiches and bowls. Gross
Place is clean, great location and staff was fine

This place is awesome. And badass in every way. I will always come here if I really had to choose a place to go to.

Straight out of an anxiety attack I needed food to help me relax (naturally) and this was amazing and super cheap. I’m from LA so I know tai food and these noodles were simply amazing. The man at the register was so nice while his co workers were less adorable in there charisma the food made up for it but honestly such good food and the service wasn’t that bad. Being from LA everyone’s so nice I wasn’t expecting this attitude but like I said the guy at the register was nice and adorable.
GET THE PAI TAI

I actually really like some of the food here but what makes this place two stars is the really slow and unfriendly service.

Great place for noodles. Love the quantity. Pesto cavatappi is easily the best on the menu. The Parmesan crusted chicken is so good. Super fast service and friendly staff.
The penne rosa, Mac & cheese, and the buff bowl of the Bangkok curry is really good too!

Set in the edge of the pearl near Powells book store and Deschutes brewery, you can gaze out the windows while eating delicious noodles. When walking through the doors you enter a dining room that seats 30 to 40 people. The staff is nice when they see you. That is if their backs are not turned chatting away behind the counter.
My favorite is the unhealthy bacon mac and cheese. But that’s why it’s my favorite. It has tomatoes, bread crumbs, bacon bits, green onion, and I think hamburger.
Overall it’s no 5 star but you get what you pay for.

This place suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. At best, the food is boring. After leaving there, I had to ask why I allowed my hunger to usurp my good judgement. We even discussed leaving when we walked in because it just wasn’t at all what we were expecting simply judging by the look of it, but I was so hungry, and I didn’t care anymore. Whoever made this restaurant had just given up on life or sold his soul to the devil. There’s nothing about the food that would make me EVER want to go back or recommend it to anyone. Also, it smells like sour rags in there.
The saddest part about this experience was leaving and walking down the street to see a dozen food trucks with all kinds of delicious smells and tasty treats. I’m dumb.

I am utterly appalled with my most recent visit. The woman at the register was unpleasant and made me feel unwelcome. It wasn’t even that busy. How could I have been an inconvenience to you?
The grossest thing was that there were four employees behind the counter with only three tables of customers and from what I counted, eleven tables left dirty and disgusting. How is it that one employee couldn’t take the initiative to bus these tables?! My boyfriend even told me that when he went to the bathroom, he counted another five tables in the back to add to the list of dirty tables. I was about to say something as we left, but that’s when someone finally cleaned up.
It was seriously unprofessional and grotesque to be eating my meal with four dirty tables within my peripheral vision.

I had heard a lot about this fast casual noodle bar and wanted to give it a shot when I was in Portland. Noodles & Company is sort of intended to be a wannabe Chipotle but it’s really just a restaurant with bad food and limited service.
The dishes were unimpressive and quite frankly it makes zero sense to eat here when you can go to the respective genre of restaurants you crave. Pasta can be had at an Italian joint while Noodles at an Asian restaurant. Pretty simple. These worlds don’t collide well at N&C.
Potstickers were ok, probably the only thing I really enjoyed. Oddly enough.

My mother and I visited here for lunch yesterday and we were both completely delighted. This is a little like fast food — you order at a counter and are given a number to place on your table. Staff bring your food out and appeared to clear tables (I couldn’t spot a place to bus my own dishes so I did not). You select a base entrée and a size and then customize it with protein options or added veggies (many base entrees come with veggies already in them).
I was pleasantly surprised they had a base entrée that was just buttered noodles — my basic, boring favorite pasta! The food was fresh, flavorful and delicious. I got shrimp and fresh basil on my pasta; the shrimp was plump and juicy and there were lots of big pieces of fresh basil.
We both left full and so satisfied! My mom is STILL talking about it and telling all her friends how fantastic it was. We looked up where other locations are, to try to find one closer to home. We found one near a city a good friend lives in and now she’s planning her next visit to the Sacramento area.
Noodles & Company really hit the nail on the head. Fantastic. Staff was also very friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. Oh, last bit — it was VERY reasonably priced.
We were surprised at the low price of lunch for two. I think it was about $ 15!

Just happened into this place and loved it! The Thai curry soup was delicious and the tomato and cucumber salad was refreshing!
I would definitely recommend.

So I had been walking around the Pearl discovering the area and my new surroundings in Portland. Well, I got hungry. I had wandered into several stores an art gallery and Air Walk. So, I saw a few food places and then I passed by Noodles & Co. and looked over the menu. One would think Noodles & Co., hmm a plate of pasta? A bowl of Asian noodles? No I go for a sandwich.
But what a decent one at that. A BBQ pulled pork sandwich and a side caesar salad. Sweet and moist pork with a mild sauce and a really good crunchy slaw on a cibatta roll. The salad was ok, but yes, I know it was a side salad but there could have been a little more to it. it’s only lettuce, not gonna break the bank to add a bit more. I will say it ended up being just under $ 10 with a drink. $ 2.49 for a Nantucket Nectar? That’s a bit much, if you ask me. Unilocalers tend to use the word «spendy». Don’t know if it’s in Websters yet, but I’m sure it will end up there one of these days.
The space itself was pretty cool with it’s wood and bamboo and just laid out really well. I will probably end up there again, and I might even try some noodles. But with so many places to see and try here and Portland, I’m just a babe in the woods and haven’t even scratched the surface of what the Rose City has to offer.
Enjoy.

Ok I need to give my little disclaimer first, I’m rating this establishment 5 stars for what it is, a quick casual place to get some decent food! Now on to the review…
This place executes a cool concept, and they execute well. Obviously the menu is noodles, but they have several different cuisines so no matter what you’re in the mood for, you can usually find something here to suit your tastes. My favorite is the truffle mac & cheese, and the pan noodles are actually very good! I hate to say it, but to me they are actually better than many of the same noodles I would order at an Asian restaurant!
My other praise would be the service. Despite paying fast food pricing, you really get excellent service, they bring the food out to you, and insist on cleaning up! They also decline tips, which is all about maintaining their casual environment but these people really do deserve to be tipped!