Noodle Pudding

Love it here! I take all of my family and friends here for the best Italian in the heights. But beware it’s cash only

Brooklyn Heights is known for its strange dearth of quality restaurants — but this place is the exception, and has been for years. Lively atmosphere, solid pastas, generally excellent fish, reasonably priced wines … two thumbs up, which is a lot more than I’d say for most other places in the vicinity, including the ones that also have four stars on Unilocal.Moving out of the hood soon after many years here, and it’s really the only restaurant I’ll truly miss.

Very good Italian food. Cash only, no reservations. Gets busy, you may have to wait, it’s worth it. Not very expensive. Lots of variety on the menu and different specials every time. Great staff, very professional and friendly.

Noodle Pudding is our favorite date night spot in Brooklyn Heights. They always have amazing, fresh specials (for appetizers, entrees, and sides) and all of their dishes are spot-​on. Troy’s service tonight compelled us to sit down and write a review — he (and all our servers in the past) have been extremely friendly, helpful, and courteous, offering honest recommendations and great service. Not too pricey at all, but the food is fantastic.
The vibe there is also excellent. It’s on the border of upscale, but not snotty or stuck up. It’s classy but has a neighborhood, laid back feel. You could walk in with sneakers and they wouldn’t bat an eye.

Best place we have eaten in Brooklyn, great atmosphere, food and servers.
We wish we had bough more cash for desert!

Noodle Pudding is a charming rustic Italian café with a neighborhood friendly vibe. The majority of its menu is stellar and the prices are affordable, especially considering the location in Brooklyn Heights. It is CASH ONLY and has virtually no signage, so it has absolutely no qualms with doing its own thing. They’re family friendly and have a great location near Brooklyn Bridge to continue a nice evening out.
On one particular date night we showed up at 6 pm — they do NOT take reservations — but we were lucky enough to get a great table to by the window immediately (which they open up to the street in summer months). Service is a bit rushed, but super knowledgeable and try to give you space to have a good time.
We ordered:
Tomatoes and stracciatella soft cheese
Spaghetti and stewed octopus
Salmon and escarole
The meal was excellent, with very fresh ingredients, superb execution, quickly delivered plates, and a lovely crusty rustic loaf of bread to sop up all the leftovers. They offer lots of seasonal and daily specials, which is awesome. If you’re in the neighborhood and the wait isn’t longer than 20 minutes, I’d say this is a great option.

Two bottles of wine, 2 appetisers, 7 main courses, 4 desserts — less than $ 250? This place is awesome if you want an Italian place that’s inexpensive and homey like a Mom and pop joint. Must try!

Best Italian food, they make all pasta fresh in house. Had delicious gnocchi here, everyone in my group loved it. Amazing food for reasonably priced!

Got here because someone recommended it. Read the menu and it said no Credit Cards accepted, so we almost left, I am glad we stayed the place and the food were great, fresh pasta good wine, delicious bread. You can tell its a place where people go and become regulars, they stay because the food is great and it’s a place for conversation and enjoying your food, no rush.
So, there’s an ATM a block from there, get money out and enjoy this cozy place.

I loved the food, but getting a table is such a hassle, I’m not sure if it’s worth it coming back just because of that. We came on a Wednesday close to 9pm. You would think it would be easy to get a table, but far from it. We had 6 in our group, and they refused to seat us anywhere else except the round table in the back. The previous group who occupied it ordered more food after paying their bill. I noticed there were also a lot of couples taking up entire 6 people tables.
The food did make up for the annoying wait.
Appetizers:
Fried Whiting Fish — Must order. The fish was so flaky and came in two long skinny fishes. This was shareable among our group of 6, so don’t listen if they encourage you to order more.
Calamari — Always a good thing to order to share.
Bruschetta — Portion size is small, only 4 small pieces. Came with olives
Garlic Bread — We also got complimentary bread, but still had to order the garlic bread. They put a lot of butter, cheese, and herbs on the bread to make it worth the $ 6.
Pasta:
Ricotta Gnocchi with Butter and Sage — Soft and pillowly. One of their popular dishes, so order this.
.
Linguine al Pesto — They were out of linguine so subbed with fusilli, which I like better anyways. The pesto sauce coated the ridges well. Favorite pasta of the night.
Rigatoni with Sausage and Meatball — This was my 2^nd favorite pasta. Large chunks of mozzarella, delicious pasta, okay meatball, barely any sausage.
Pasta with Broccoli Rabe — There were a lot of ingredients in this, but this wasn’t my favorite pasta.
How they handle seating and service could use some improvement, but the delicious food makes it 4 stars for me. As it says in most of the reviews, cash only.

Came here last night for an exquisite dinner.
Service: Great. My water glass was always filled, we never felt rushed to leave, and everyone was friendly.
Food: Great. Minus the calamari appetizer which I found to be a bit too tough. But other than that small mishap it was all delicious. The bread with oil is a great complimentary starter. I had the half roasted chicken which was so flavorful and perfectly cooked. My boyfriend had the short ribs with polenta and that was just as good if not better! They have a nice wine selection as well.
Great night with great food.

Atmosphere is warm and potentially pleasant. We were there tonight, enjoying beautiful, delightful unusually mild weather. The restaurant’s large front windows open creating a semi-​al fresco experience. A nice relaxed local feel to this cozy place set the stage for a delightful dining experience. We ordered a pasta dish and a main course and our food came promptly. However, all of this good feeling was trashed as we were simply forgotten about and ignored once the main course was over.
I understand that it’s a relaxed local place and one lingers over one’s food and no one is in a rush … however, after quite some time had passed, and we were keen for dessert, we sat around while our waiters studiously looked in all directions except ours as if we didn’t exist, schmoozed with other customers and just disappeared in general. Finally getting our waiter’s attention we requested a dessert menu. Another seemingly interminable interval transpired as we waited for the menu to arrive. They must have felt that the we might be daunted by the five or so choices on the dessert menu since eons transpired without any one coming back to take our order. Finally, my boyfriend had enough with this shtick, and spoke to the manager — who apologized, took our order and put it on the house. I saw the manager speak with the waiter and our dessert soon arrived. The server was cold and aloof, apparently feeling there was no reason to acknowledge — in any way, shape or form — that we had complained about his inexplicable lapse in service. Apparently, he wasn’t interested in a generous tip … and he didn’t get one.
OK, so you’d think now, after dessert, having already complained once, that at least our check would come promptly, especially since we asked for it. But nooooooooooooooo. Again, the averted eyes, the «we don’t really see you or believe you exist» attitude persisted. And another very long wait ensued. Finally, the check came, and we paid. My boyfriend complained once again to the manager who we passed on our way out, and once again he gave us a pro forma apology.
The food: we had the Tagliatelle Bolognese and the Grilled Sliced Chicken Breast with garden salad and shared the above-​mentioned Apple tort with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Tagliatelle was delicious. The grilled chicken was an uninspired, bland affair with a few greens, some sorry ass iceberg lettuce, part of cucumber and half a tomato being the salad part. The tort dough was tough or stale to chew and it came with a minuscule scoop of ice cream.
Bottom line: nice atmosphere, horrific service, good pasta, mediocre chicken dish, sad dessert.
I don’t like attitude from waiters, especially when people are being nice and not causing any trouble as we were. We just wanted a pleasant dining experience and were treated poorly.

How does this place have good reviews? The food is just ehhhh-​ok (more toward the ehhhh.) Please try Forno Rosso (it blows this place away and has a better selection.) I’ve tried the same things at both places and certainly will not be back to Noodle Pudding, despite being only a few blocks away. Got lasagna, tagliatelle, gnocchi and the salumi cheese app– best thing was the salami on the app. The lasagna was decent, barely any sauce mostly meat and no cheese, but it was still not bad. The tagliatelle was a little under al dente, so it didn’t really feel cooked and the gnocchi was luke warm which is a shame because it was in a butter sauce and no one wants to eat congealed butter.
The service was also bad. My server first checked on us after our plates had been cleared for quite some time, we’d had empty drinks since the app– good thing I had a water bottle lol.
Skip it… OH AND it’s cash only… Definitely skip it
Also forgot to mention the wait was an hour at 5:45 on a saturday– so get there when it opens or a bit before– if you must try this place
Kids EVERYWHERE

CASH ONLY is a big turn-​off for me.
Went here on a Saturday date night and the place was slammed with families. Kids running around knocking things over, flashing sneaker lights, laser pointer toys and general yelling really killed the vibe.
This place is the paper table cloth and saw dust on the floor type, which I wasn’t getting from previous reviews.
Food is okay. I don’t think they’re making all their noodles by hand other than the gnocchi, which was way too salty. For that reason, the menu seems overpriced.
Bring your parents, who are probably the only people carrying cash these days anyway.

Good food is worth waiting for. Local, farm fresh organic and delicious Italian food without the pretentiousness. Warm, inviting staff. No sign out front but look for the hordes of people waiting.
As a person that hates tomatoes when I come to Noodle Pudding I eat a whole plate of them. Their food is delicious and prepared and balanced excellently. Cash only. Service is attentive without being overbearing. It’s simply the best Italian food in Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights.

Venue — Easy to miss because there’s no real sign outside. Restaurant has an old-​school style décor, bar area, and plenty of seating.
Food —
Bread — Complimentary bread was just alright.
Gnocchi — So soft and pillowy. One of the best gnocchi I’ve had. GET THE GNOCCHI.
Crab Raggu (special) — Great flavor with fresh pasta, but wasn’t a particular fan of the pasta it came with.
CASH ONLY

I should smack myself for not having tried this restaurant until now. I’ve been living in the neighborhood four years already, and for good reason, avoided most Brooklyn Heights restaurants, since I generally avoid Brooklyn Heights restaurants — especially on Montague Street. I find them overpriced and just average.
Not so, with Noodle Pudding (which is not on Montague St, but on Henry St, incidentally), which serves a homestyle brand of Italian, at reasonable prices, with friendly service to match. Although I’m not overly fond of their soft bread, it comes with a tomato, garlic EVOO dipping sauce which is fantastic. I tried their fried sardines, which were perfect in consistency and seasoning. Not greasy in the least. The angel hair pomodoro was average, but at around, $ 11, I felt it was perfectly fine. The shrimp and squash risotto of the day was flavorful and delicious. This place is a gem, and I plan to return again.

This place is amazing. I’m at a loss for words because my brain is scrambling to think of what to highlight first! Is it the pillowy gnochi?! That the g is silent in gnochi?!-How cooky! That the atmosphere is perfectly elegent yet relaxed at the same time moment? The fried calmari with spicey sauce is perfectly cooked and fresh? Is it that the «cheap» wine is not «cheap» at all because that would be a negative, it is only $ 15 and mild and delicious? That the special of goat with goat cheese pasta was crafted on a whim and turned out to be excellent? That the waiter was so cool and laid back yet professional and informative?
Oh. So I guess thats it.

Noodle Pudding happens to be my 1000^th Unilocal review… it’s been ten years since I started writing reviews and I wanted this one to be super special. I’ve been wanting to try Noodle Pudding for five years (what’s been stopping me, I know), ever since I moved to Brooklyn Heights and a friend recommended this restaurant. I finally made it!
My friend and I went for dinner on a Friday night. We knew to get there early since they don’t take reservations, and we definitely just beat the crowd by arriving around 6pm.
The restaurant is located on Henry Street near Henry’s End, but it’s a bit hard to find since it has no real sign. When you walk in, there is a small front dining area by the window, then tables near the bar, and a larger back section. Most of the tables are two or four tops, but larger groups can be accommodated.
We started our meal with some prosecco, wine and garlic bread, which I really enjoyed. It had a bit of a spicy kick to it, which I liked though my friend found it a bit too overpowering. For our entrees, we took the recommendation of our friendly server and ordered some of the homemade pasta. I opted for the Fettuccine with Clams, Mussels, and Shrimp in a red sauce and my friend tried the Tagliatelle Bolognese. Both meals were nice-​sized portions priced around $ 13 — $ 19. I loved my meal, but would have preferred a white sauce with the seafood.
Though the restaurant was very busy and there was a line of people waiting to be seated, we never felt rushed. We even stayed for dessert, getting the Bread Pudding and a second round of cocktails.
Overall, I really enjoyed my Noodle Pudding experience, but I wish they took credit cards.

We haven’t been to this area for dinner in a long time, it’s a little out of the way usually. Glad we made this trip though, it was totally worth it. Parking around here is not easy, one should usually take the train. We came on a Wednesday evening so we had no wait for a party of 2, which was quite nice. The restaurant seems a lot more fancy than it actually is. The waitstaff is uniformed in white shirts and the hosts are in suits. However, once you’re inside, everyone is friendly and the atmosphere is very laid back. There is no pretentious air where the customers/​staff look down on you if you’re not in a suit, just a nice restaurant.
We ended up ordering from the daily specials menu for both appetizers and entrée. The app was an oxtail ragut and the entrée was grilled black bass served with Maine mussels, clams, and cherry tomatoes.
The oxtail ragut was served with ribbon pasta and it was just delicious. There was a comfortable taste and feeling to it, it was basically comfort food. Surprisingly, the dish was pretty filling and easily shareable for two people.
Then came the main seafood entrée. The bass was perfectly grilled and the meat was tender. The fish had just enough texture that you can bite into it without it falling apart in your mouth. The skin, my favorite part of a fish, was flavorful and crisp, magnificent. The fish was surrounded by mussels and clams. Only complain is the clams were about the size of my pinky nail, tiny clams, not satisfying. Good thing the mussels more than made up for it. The mussels were sweet, hearty, and flavorful being brewed in the seafood broth.
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here and would love to come back many times.