Noodles Panini

Noodles is one of those great little neighborhood places that feels like you are visiting family. It is not a «see and be seen» kind of place. Just show up and feel comfortable. They have a limited menu but what they do, they do very well. It is the best Italian place on Las Olas and maybe in the entire county. The staff is always welcoming and it just feels right.

It was a Friday and a friend and I wanted to sit outdoors and chose a table with four seats because the table for two was practically on top of another couple’s table. I felt I needed breathing room and didn’t want a table that close to another party. Shortly after being seated by the hostess, another restaurant employee forced us to change tables because we were occupying a bigger table than needed. Had I not been as hungry as I was, I would have walked out. I felt it was totally inappropriate in a nearly empty restaurant.
We instead opted for a table inside and had an overly attentive waitress who pressured us to quicken our pace by repeatedly asking for our orders and interjecting during the most inopportune times during conversation. She didn’t take our cues and was tone deaf. She asked us to box up our dinners long before we were ready. I’m not sure what the rush was when there were many other open tables. As for the food, my friend ordered the famous meatballs, which were very good. I opted for a mostly vegetarian pasta with kalamata olives, grilled eggplant, artichokes and bread crumbs. The flavor was great, but the bread crumbs may have given the pasta a borderline salty flavor. I appreciated that dinner was served promptly. But I was so turned off by the service that I doubt I’ll return.

Just stopped in for bunch and can’t understand why this place isn’t packed with people. Small menu but done really well. Unlimited mimosas is a plus. Had the crème brûlée french toast (yes as decedent add it sounds) and the fritatta of the day. I recommend both.

Disappointed with Noodles Panini. For years we’ve walked past this place wondering if it was any good. Decided to try it.
There’s a pic of their bruschetta on Unilocal that looks awesome. The one we got barely had any cheese on it and was burnt badly. Not worth $ 17. Our server, who was cool, did comp us dessert because it was burnt. We basically ate the bruschetta for sport.
I had a salad that was large and pretty good, but who goes here for a salad? Wife created her own type of pasta dish. Again, pretty good but it’s a one-​off of their bombolatti. Kids had pasta — they liked it.
The biggest gripe is the price. Over $ 100 for dinner. It’s because it’s Las Olas and a small joint. Just didn’t think it was worth it, which is why I’m giving two stars instead of three. I doubt I’ll be back, sadly.

The meatball appetizer does not worth $ 6 per ball… The eggplant rollatini does not worth $ 7 per piece… Sauce was slightly on the oily side this time… Normally better… Need to control the incoming flies better… Spent $ 40 on lunch and not really about it…

One of my favorite restaurants on Las Olas. A little hidden gem. The staff is always welcoming and friendly. And the food is wonderful. I love their salads. The meatballs are delicious. Try the paninis. And the carrot cake is divine, (Enough for 3 people)! Go, you’ll enjoy it!

7 of us came for dinner last night, and basically had all the things.
It just so happened to be a Wednesday night, which is half off bottle night! Woo!
We started on our first bottle while waiting for our table to be set, and chatted with the very friendly bartender.
We sat down and again, ordered all the things.
We started with:
the crispy goat cheese salad (super yum)
the asparagus with mozzarella (life changing, but in no way healthy)
the clams (great broth!)
the meatballs (silky, deliciousness)
and the insane bruschetta (needs to be seen to be believed, garlic like woah, very tasty)
Yes, those were just our starters.
I shared three pasta dishes with some friends, so we had the spaghetti & meatballs, penne a la vodka, and the bombolotti alla Nicholas. Each dish was fantastic.
I heard no complaints about the spaghetti with meat sauce, pesto chicken, salmon, steak, or carrot cake either. Service was great — quick, attentive, friendly.
It’s like we had never seen food before. I had to be rolled home, it was embarrassing.
A super solid Italian dinner, snuggled up in Ft. Lauderdale — who knew?

This place is expensive and the food is not fresh at all. They say the pasta is made fresh to order but every one around us was complaining about chewy pasta and noodles. So many other better options in walking distance.

This restaurant is not to be missed. We had the clams for an appetizer and the sauce was amazing, perfect for dipping in the crusty bread. My husband had the chicken marsala special and it was very good. I had the penne vodka which was equally delicious. They have a wonderful wine menu with great choices of wine by the glass, much better than other restaurants in the area. Our waiter was Scott and he wonderful. This is definitely going to be a place we come to again and again.

I took my 2 grand daughters for dinner and had a very bad experience in the service and management department. We were hungry when we arrived and so the waitress brought us some bread before dinner. Of course, we did eat the bread and when dinner arrived we asked for more bread with dinner. The waitress said we could not have anymore bread, that we already had our bread before dinner. In all my years of dining out I have never had this experience… amazing. I offerd to buy the extra bread. Finally, we were provides bread with dinner. What a rediculous scenario. I will not go back! I can’t believe that this hasn’t happened to others.
In my opinion, management has a kind of take it or leave it attitude… well, if you don’t like it don’t come back anymore… I WON’T!

I have eaten at Noodles Panini a few times over the past year. The food and service are consistently very good. We have enjoyed the chopped salad, tomato bruschetta and eggplant parmigiana. The filet mignon with grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes is outstanding!
We look forward to dining there for dinner whenever we go to Las Olas.

Had the meatball panini and it was great! Wasn’t able to eat it as a sub since its so big, but cutting it wasn’t too complicated. Service was good and eating outside was really nice.

La excusa para venir a Fort Lauderdale fue traer a mi hermana que vino de Costa Rica a dar un paseo. No solo fue pasear y encontrarnos con la feria de Arte, él hambre imperaba y tuvimos el deseo de comer italiano.
Caminando por el área nos encontramos este pequeño e interesante Restaurante. Decidimos entrar, lo primero que sentimos fue el delicioso olor que emanaba el lugar. Un ambiente familiar no muy grande y no aceptan reservaciones. Créanme las pastas y los panini son espectaculares. Todo está hecho en casa. Solo faltaba el postre, por favor no deje el lugar sin antes probar el queque de zanahoria. Mmm the best ever.
Realmente valió la pena. Lo recomiendo grandemente.

Ordered the meatballs and bruschetta to start. The meatballs were great and the bruschetta as well! The bruschetta was huge!
For the entrees, we ordered the chicken Parm and bombolotti all a Nicholas. Both were satisfying!
Will b back to try the lunch

After looking through Groupon, I was happy to see a deal for Noodles Panini. So I bought a Groupon that included dinner for four people: 4 drinks, 2 appetizers and 4 entrees (up to a $ 160 value).
After reviewing posts from Unilocal,I noticed the restaurant is small and they don’t accept reservations. Well, I decided to contact the restaurant and I was able to make a reservation for this past upcoming weekend.
So, we ordered: 4 glasses of wine, the bruchetta appetizer, the meatball appetizer, bombolotti alla nicholas (pasta with hot sausage), penne w/​a splash of vodka, and 2 orders of chicken parm w/​spaghetti. In addition, we saved room for dessert and ordered 1 slice of carrot cake.
The bruchetta appetizer was HUGE and was more than enough to share. The bruchetta appetizer was loaded with flavors of fresh garlic. The only downside about the bruchetta appetizer was the bread towards the bottom was soggy.
The meatball appetizer was delicious. I was happy to see the meatball appetizer was served with some fresh salad — so we weren’t eating too bad, haha. The meatballs may have been the best meatballs I’ve ever had.
The chicken parm was also HUGE and took up an entire dinner plate. The flavor of the chicken parm was delicious. On the side was the spaghetti, which really tasted fresh. It didn’t taste like it came straight from a box.
I tried a bite of the bombolitti alla nicholas as well as a bite of the penne w/​a splash of vodka. Out of those 2 pasta dishes, I’d prefer the penne w/​a splash of vodka (since I don’t enjoy spicy) but the other people I dinned with prefered the bombolotti alla nicholas.
The carrot cake is the 2^nd BEST carrot cake I’ve ever had while dining at a restaurant. My favorite carrot cake is at J Alexander’s but this is the 2^nd BEST — and that says alot when putting it in ranking next to J Alexander’s.
Of course I went back onto Groupon and purchased another Groupon for Noodles Panini. I can’t wait to go back and try something new!

What can I say, I bought a Groupon as a way to enjoy time with my good friend. Upon arrival I was a little leery as it was packed but we were seated and given immediate and consistent care and service. The bottomless mimosas were that… BOTTOMLESS!!!
Before I could finish one they were topping off my glass. They were truly bottomless because at this point I don’t no how many I had. I had a panino
That was delicious and then we ordered dessert.
THE CHEESECAKE IS TO DIE FOR!!! Not really into sweets but this was decadent and not overly rich. Will be back for the cheesecake of nothing else. Our waiter (the bill says his name is Scott. .lol) was amazing! Super attentive and caring. Met the owners who sat at the bar next to us and I’m blown away at how they over delivered! Please visit, I’ll be back soon!

Eight weeks into Brunch and they just do not quite have it down yet.
Sunday Brunch is now served from 10am to 2pm with seating on the patio and inside! We sat outside on their patio with our pup and was greeted by Rianin our server. Please note that on a hot summer day they do not have the adequate amount of cool air or breeze to keep you cool while sitting on their patio. I usually do not get hot but it was HOT! Rianin started us off right with two Bottomless Mimosas since their Bloody Mary’s are made with Sake.
Their Brunch Menu is on the smaller side not having too many options; about 6 items you can choose from ranging from an Omelet to Panini. My husband decided on the Frittata of the Day and I got their Breakfast Panio. Presentation of both of these dishes was colorful and appetizing as well as the quality and freshness was there but they are definitely heavy on the salt at this restaurant. Both of our dishes were on the saltier side resulting in decently good food but not as good as it could be.
The Mimosas started out surprisingly good with a really good Orange Juice (you can tell they don’t use the cheap stuff) but once service started to pick up our Mimosas started to get weaker and weaker. Along with the Champagne getting fewer and far between they would have to run upstairs to get more resulting in everyone having to wait for 20 – 30 mins for their next Mimosa. :HALT: Brunch is Down for the Next Half Hour— This does not set well with patrons and especially after going inside to use the restroom and seeing a guy physically carrying 5 (FIVE) bottles down from upstairs. Rianin was very apologetic each time but at this point they have a full house. Five bottles aren’t going to fill up very many glasses… So after 3 times of this happening we decided we could go somewhere else that can actually keep my glass full.
*Tip: They have a Brunch Groupon deal out; hopefully you will have a more fulfilling experience but caution during paying; we had to wait about 15 – 20 mins for our check discount since it was so busy during their Brunch which seems to be the norm lately. Arrive Early!

My favorite dish at Noodles Panini is the Linguini with Clams. I crave this dish! We love going on «Wednesdays» for half off bottles of wine! You will see Brett the owner cooking all of his moms recipes… and he does it well! You can sit indoors or outdoors, it is such a quaint and «fun» place to eat!
You will love all the servers too, they are very knowledgeable about the wine and the food and have great personalities!
The picture below is my husband digging into the Bruschetta!
Last, but not least, make sure you try the desserts! l

Noodles is the typical place you’d find on Las Olas. If you sit outside, you can enjoy some great people watching while you relax and nosh on some great bread and phenomenal food.
We went on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch. Our waiter was very nice and attentive. The food was quality, but definitely overpriced. My girlfriend and I both got pasta dishes which were executed to perfection. The nice thing about Noodles is that they don’t rush. You can sit-​back and really enjoy the experience. There’s something about being able to enjoy an unrushed meal, with quality ingredients cooked to perfection, while watching tourists and locals alike stroll the streets, that really makes for a good time.
I can’t wait to come back and try some of the paninis! Now I want pasta…

Update… I was so excited to take my daughter here last night. As usual we had a fabulous dinner. Yes I tried the huge Bruschetta, it is amazing. Isabel recognized us by name the minute we walked in. She is by far the BEST server I have ever experienced. She never misses anything and gives outstanding service and she is an absolute sweetheart. How many times do you find yourself going somewhere because you adore a server or bartender. Michael was not there last night. He is a bartender here and is wonderful as well.
Never judge a book by it’s cover… what an incredible lesson I learned here. Many times we have passed this restaurant strolling through Las Olas Blvd, but have never even considered dining here. Why? Mainly for me because of the generic name and thinking it was yet another tourist trap with mediocre food and high prices. Don’t get me wrong cute name but this restaurant is SO SO much more than the name leads it to be.
We had made plans with Michael & Goldie (partners in crime) and our lovely friends. We had spoke about going to our favorite wine bar to enjoy some nice wine but we knew we would need to eat dinner first since the wine café has limited foods. Michael suggested this restaurant since he has been here before and knew it was close to the wine shop.
They do not take reservations because it is quite a small restaurant, some tables outside and inside, casual décor, with the most amazing smell of delicious food once you walk in. Michael knows some of the staff here and they were nice enough to hold a table for us when we were on our way. We started with a great bottle of wine, of course. Nice selection of Italian wines.
Our server was top notch, she was beyond wonderful. (Isabel) Our friends knew her from a previous establishment. We decided to skip the appetizer and just order our dinners right away. Ok, duh after so many pictures on Unilocal with their amazing looking Bruschetta I forgot to try it. I saw a few come out of the kitchen and oh my, like the pictures have shown it is huge. Not sure how you would eat it but I can’t wait to order it on my next visit. We were brought out fresh Tuscan bread with olive oil and parmesan grated cheese. The b read was fabulous.
My husband had suggested a pasta dish for me that he figured I would enjoy. It was called Bombolotti Alla Nicholas with homemade hot Italian sausage, tomatoes, red peppers, fresh mozzarella and pecorino — romano cheese. First bite and I was in food heaven. Sauce is made fresh daily, all the ingredients were fresh and the flavor was enticing. My husband enjoyed his dish very much as well. The dishes are a good sized portion. The prices are average for the area.
We were to full to try desert but again I must try the carrot cake that I had a clear view of throughout dinner, ha ha no fun.
I enjoyed the food and service here so much that I have been thinking about it for over a week now. I can’t wait to return.
This is a MUST try if you are looking for excellent Italian food.
Ti Amo…

^^ 3 ½ Stars. My mom and I dropped in for lunch today during the Las Olas Art Fair. We noticed immediately that there was a sign on each table for an 18% gratuity automatically added to all checks for the event. The service was quick and the waitress gave us just the right amount of attentiveness. Our wine orders came quickly and were decent pours. The house special Pino Noir for $ 9 was very good, as was my mom’s Rosé for $ 8.
For entrées I had the three meatball appetizer with side salad. The meatballs were very moist and had good flavor, though softer than a normal meatball in texture. The sauce was nothing special and appeared to be a purée base that was very oily. My mom had the BLT salad which she thoroughly enjoyed. Both portions were very large. (see pics)
The only downside is that the pricing seemed very high. I don’t remember the meatball appetizer being $ 17 for three meatballs and some field greens. It seemed a bit steep to me but I was in the mood for some meatballs, so I went for it.
When the check came the waitress did not provide me with an additional copy to keep for my records, just one house copy was provided, which I found a bit unusual. We did pay cash and I asked for a receipt. At this point the waitress seemed a bit annoyed and then came back and said she threw my receipt in the trash already, and they don’t give copies to people that pay cash. Does this sound right to you? Luckily I took a picture of the receipt for Unilocal,so you can see the total bill. (see pic) We rounded up to the next dollar on the bill, and the waitress didn’t bring back the change. Normally I would probably leave it on the table, but since they charge you up front for your tip, I think the courteous thing to do would be to give people their check balance back.
The total for two wines, one salad and one appetizer was $ 64.48. (see pic)