Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe

I’m currently eating for the second time this WEEK at Gene’s, it’s really that good! The hand-​pulled noodles are very authentic and may be unique for the area (I am not sure of any restaurant locally making hand-​made noodles to order)! I would not change a thing with this place, and will be a customer as long as they are open!

Great hand pulled noodle. Before the hype of hand pulled noodles started in Boston/​Allston area, this was the only good source. Now, there are so many options that I can’t give anyone a solid five stars anymore.
Also, their pork bun is extremely oily, so oily that 2 bites are all that it takes for me to feel full. So if you are starving one day, that’s something to get, otherwise I’d stick to the noodles or the spicy lamb skewers (very spicy!)

I visit Boston once in a while. Found the place through one of the food blogs. Been here 2 times in last 4 days. The number 4 ie Hand pulled noodles are well upto the hype. Lamb skewers are great as well. All for around 8 bucks before tax. Love it. Will recommend it to anyone who is visiting Boston or lives here!

Out of town & found this on Unilocal… It’s delicious! The hand pulled noodle (#4) was so tasty & the house noodle soup was exactly what we needed for the cold weather (spicy!)… Came back twice while in town. Gave it 4 stars since it is CASH ONLY?!? & closes at a very early time «/​

Small but great spot for hand pulled noodles.
I’m very pleased to have discovered Gene’s. I picked up a big lunch to share with a friend complete with the hand pulled noodles, the house noodle soup, and a pork flatbread. The flat noodles were perfectly chewy, seasoned with garlic and red peppers, and very filling for the low price point. The soup was warm and comforting, and featured choppped up veggies and bits of pork along with thin, soft, round noodles. The flatbread was the least inspiring of the three. While the filling was tasty, the sandwich as a whole was a little dry despite a greasy covering on the outside of the flatbread.
tl;dr — get the noodles; they are great!

I grew up with the type of food they claim to sell, and I think it’s pretty good here. Not the most authentic and delicious I ever had, but it’s on top of the list in Boston.
I used to like their lamb pulled noodles, and I later found their house noodle soup are actually more comforting and yummy, with more cubed veggies and delicious soup. Their skewers are good too, but I found an order of noodle dish is typically enough for me. Oh, their flatbread sandwiches are often overlooked even though it’s in their name. A bit greasy, but very nicely marinated and flavored meat.

I’ve never tried hand-​pulled noodles or cuisine from Xi’an before, so I was really excited to try Gene’s. It’s a «hole in the wall» type of place, in a kind of no man’s land in between Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, and the Financial District. There are only about 20 seats, but it seems like most people get takeout to go back to the office, so I didn’t have too much trouble getting a table.
I had the #9, hand-​pulled noodles with cumin lamb. (The numbers are a bit misleading, since I’m not sure there’s even 9 things on the menu.) Like many Chinese dishes, the meat is more of a condiment; the noodles are the real star. They were heavy, thick, and chewy in a pleasant way – almost like bread – making the dish very filling. The sautéed onions and fresh carrots and bean sprouts added a nice crunch. There was a subtle amount of spice, but you can ask for your meal «extra spicy» or apply sriracha to your liking.
Gene’s also offers some side/​snack items to go with the noodles. As others have said, the pork flatbread ($ 4) is really greasy, so I would skip it. The tea egg ($ 1) had good flavor but was overcooked and rubbery. The lamb skewers ($ 1.50 each) are tasty, but not as good as the Wow Barbecue truck that often hangs around Boylston St.
If the story ended here, Gene’s would easily be 4 or even 5 stars in my book. However, half an hour after eating here, my digestive system was hating me. I couldn’t get to sleep at night because my stomach was hurting so much. Now, I have a pretty strong constitution. I’ve taken on all you can eat spicy hot pot and countless Vermonsters without blinking an eye. Aside from the times when I’ve gotten legitimate food poisoning, nothing much upsets my stomach. I think the problem might have been from the pools of grease and not spoiled ingredients or anything, but I didn’t have breakfast, so it had to be Gene’s :(
The noodles were great, but I’m not sure I’d come here again because of how much it messed up my stomach. It’s too bad because this is a type of cuisine that you can’t get many places in the Boston area. Go ahead and try it, but bring your Pepto Bismol!

Right down the street from where I work, Gene’s is one of my go-​to lunch spots. Gene’s is fast, delicious and a great meal on a cold day. The place gets busy a little after noon, so get there early or wait until later if you want to eat in. This place is cash only, so hit up the ATM beforehand. Generally, lunch with a drink will set you back around $ 10.
Best known for their noodles. I recommend the #9 or the #5. The #9 (and many other options) comes with some awesome hand-​pulled noodles. The #5 is a flavorful soup. There’s lots of lamb on the menu. There are also a few veggie options. Definitely worth a try.

I didn’t really think much of this place from the outside but boy was I wrong! Holy moly,
those hand-​pulled noodles. I went into the restaurant full, but still I could eat 3 – 4 bowls of those. Amazing. Tender but just the right amount of chewiness, delicious, perfectly balanced and seasoned. I wish I could eat some more right now!

My hand-​pulled noodles were quite good, but my friends both ordered the pork sandwich and couldn’t even finish. And they were pretty much willing to eat anything at that point.
So… careful what you order, I guess.
Cashier was friendly, which was unexpected and appreciated for a very busy Chinese spot.
Note that there is a lot of garlic in the noodles, so I walked around with incurable garlic breath for the rest of the day.

The name of this place is ¾ths wrong. For one, I never met anyone named Gene working there. For two, I don’t usually leave a café full of grease and noodles and wanting a nap. For three, who the hell gets flatbread at a place where a woman stands at the counter slapping fresh noodles in your face?
The hand-​pulled noodles are so ridiculously tasty. They’re fresh and soft so they soak up pretty much all the grease they’re tossed with and it is a lot of grease. But their soups are really where it’s at, they have a hot and sour soup that is spicy, tasty broth with ample meat and, of course, the noodles. Honestly, I think it gives most ramen shops a run for their money. And in one sentence I’ve offended two entire cultures.
Bonus interesting points: They have lamb soup and cumin lamb. It’s good lamb, too, and comes in pretty ample quantity (though $ 11 gets to be into steep territory for greased flour and meat).
Go here. Ignore the name.

It’s a little odd that this place is called a «flatbread café» when it is CLEARLY all about the noodles. Regardless, it’s AMAZING. I ordered the #9 which is lamb, cumin, and hand-​pulled noodles. It was the tiniest bit spicy (good tip: apparently you can order it extra spicy OR order it without spice — next time I think I’m gonna up my game with the extra spicy order!). The noodles were delicious as was the lamb. A few of my co-​workers also tried the lamb skewers and the flatbread sandwich and everyone was thrilled with their order.
The place is pretty tiny so be prepared to maybe take your food elsewhere if it’s busy. Also, I would recommend going with people you’re not scared to smell like garlic or look messy around — there’s no graceful way to dive into a delicious bowl of noodles =)

DONT GET THE FLATBREAD SANDWICH HERE
The pork flatbread was dry and flavorless
HOWEVER, the hand rolled noodles were spicy and delicious and the lamb skewer was amazing. Definitely going to visit again

Good LORD
The noodles here are beyond amazing. I do have to admit they were on the oily side, but hey once in a while its just so worth it.
I ordered the hand pulled noodles, which I believe is one of the only things vegetarian on the menu.
There’s a huge glob of chopped garlic they put in the middle, but you can’t ever have too much garlic in my opinion. Even if you have satan’s breath the rest of the day, it’s cool. That’s what mints are for!
I was making strange noises the entire time I was eating them because they were just so delicious, the noodles were the PERFECT doughy yet firm texture, and the oil + garlic+ cilantro + onion just made it an awesome experience complimenting the hand made noodles.
AND ITS CHEAP
so what more do you want.

Bring some breathmints with you and get ready for some garlicky awesomeness. Plan to get there before noon or after 1:30pm if you don’t want to wait. I noticed a new item on the menu — hot and sour noodle soup for $ 8.40. I didn’t order because it did not come with the hand pulled noodles. Yummy in my tummy for sure!

Yum! Saw this place show up when I was looking for noodle places in Boston. Gene’s serves up Xi’an style noodles — think really wide thick chewy hand pulled noodles. Very similar to Xi’an Famous Foods in NYC and Terra Cotta Warriors in SF. This place is tiny, but it is super fast and efficient which is fantastic. I got the regular hand pulled noodles which is just the noodles with some spicy sauce and some meat chunks here and there. I was super impressed with how thick and chewy the noodles were and how flavorful they are. I also loved that they serve it in a small take out container making it extremely convenient if you want to grab and go.
tldr; yummy Xi-​an style hand-​pulled noodles for super cheap prices. cash only!

What a hidden treasure of a place in Downtown/​Chinatown. They are cash only, but plenty of ATM’s around to get cash to experience this. You would walk past this place quick if you didn’t know it was there but WOW give it a try! I got the #4, simply noodles with a kickbutt blend of spices (may be on the spicy end for some but I enjoy a bit of heat) and one Lamb Skewer as well. For $ 8.50, I got one of the best noodle dishes I’ve tasted in a very long time and the lamb was phenomenal. They make the noodles to order, meaning actually hand pulling the noodle mixture, forming the noodles and cooking to order. Talk about fresh, you dont get more fresh then that. Very small space and minimal seating but most were taking thier items to go like I was so seating doesn’t seem like an issue for most. This will be added to places I end up frequenting for lunch when I am at work.

Last Wednesday, my boyfriend and I decided to do take-​out at this place for dinner since we weren’t hungry. This place was quite empty on around 5pm.
We got number #2, #9, and 2 lamb skewers. I asked if they can separate the broth for #2 so it won’t make the noodles soggy. The woman, sheepishly, said no, which was kinda bizarre to me. Normally, when I get a soup-​based meal for take-​out, the restaurant usually complies. Anyhow, they called out our number, our order wasn’t packed to go. And we told them that it was take-​out. Seems like there was some sort of miscommunication.
Though the noodles were quite soggy, overall, the food was really delicious. It wasn’t too spicy. However, the skewers were quite spicy. You can totally see a line of red spice on the skewers.
I would definitely back here to get lunch/​dinner. I don’t think there was any parking near this place. Best bet is to park your car in chinatown and walk over for 5 – 8 mins.

This place is easy to miss. I was looking up a place to eat noodles and when I looked at the map, I thought that it was pointing me to Sa Pa.
The noodles here are really fresh, You can even see them rolling the dough right when you order. Just like most Chinese restaurants, prepare to bring cash. Unfortunately, I only had $ 6 dollars and some change on me, which was just enough to get their plain noodles. Although I will probably come get the lamb noodles next time, I think that the noodles on their own are really great. They are thick and chewy and really absorb the sauce that they put on it. The #4 Hand Pulled Noodles has garlic, cilantro, peppers, and did I mention garlic? I read another person’s review later and it will definitely leave your breath garlicky.
Pretty good place to go for lunch in the financial district and there isn’t usually a huge line like that one Chipotle around the corner.

I’ve been meaning to come here for lunch for 3 months now. and I finally did. Now I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back here almost every day. The #4 Hand Pulled Noodles are thick and have great chewy texture. The flavor is great and leaves you satisfied for $ 6. If you don’t want the thick noodles, you can get #5 the House Soup Noodle which has thinner noodles, a few vegetables, potatoes, and a light slightly sour soup.
For such a cheap price, I will definitely come back. Most of the $ 5/​$ 6 Chinatown specials are loaded with oil, salt, and MSG. It’s nice to see a place that delivers on quality more so than quantity.
And yes people, THIS IS NOT NYC! We get it. But it’s really good for Boston.