Noodle Barn

Great spot for lunch. Large menu of creative dishes. Staff is very nice and attentive. I have not tried the drinks because I always come for lunch. Highly recommended.

Delicious food. I have no idea how authentic or not any of the dishes are. I’ve been here a few times, always enjoyed the food, appreciated the wait staff, and I like the environment. Many of the tables are super close together, and I don’t like that. The décor is pretty.

I have been looking for good Thai food since moving to Roslindale… the search continues. This place seems to prioritize style over substance. The food is bland and pretty greasy. The Shrimp Tom Yum was watery and came with a rather misery two shrimps. I blame myself for ordering the crispy chicken pad thai, which was a piece of deep friend chicken sitting atop some slimy noodles rolled around in fish sauce and sickly sweet chili sauce. I did eventually find one piece of spring onion and some egg nestled among the greasy pile. Thai food should balance beautiful sweet, sour, spicy, fresh flavors, almost all of which were lacking here. I guess I will have to continue to trek back to Cha Yen in Watertown whenever I have a hankering for decent Thai food.

Meet a group of coworker here for lunch. Had the crispy chicken and fried rice. It was delicious. I liked the tomatoes, sliced carrots, and onions that came mixed in the rice. The duck sauce had a little tangy twist to it. I look forward to returning and exploring more of the menu. This was my first visit.

Phở is respectably spicy and the Tom Yum is the perfect mix of coconut, lemongrass and spice. In addition, the shrimp was cooked to perfection.

I’m eaten here a few times and each time, it’s below average. I come here out of convenience because it’s down the street from where I live. But if you’re looking for great Thai food, go next door and if you’re looking for great Vietnamese food, go to Chinatown or Dorchester.
The first time I went here, I got the Phở Tai and it took well over 20 minutes to come out. The restaurant wasn’t even busy and other tables nearby already had their food. The broth was somewhat flavorless. I had to add an a ton of Sriracha and Hoisin sauce to make it taste better.
The second time I came here, I tried the Nam Vang. The broth was delicious; however I asked for it without squid and it came out with squid.
The third time I came here (also probably the last time I’ll come here) my partner ordered Pad See Ew and there was a long black hair in it. We were obviously disgusted. They took it off the bill and the manager came over to apologize and offered for us come back for a free meal, which was nice of her. I also order the Nam Vang again and it came out with vermicelli instead of it’s usual thick clear noodles. It would have been nice if they told me about the changes to the dish ahead of time.
The only reason I’m given this place 2 stars rather than 1 is because it isn’t the absolute worst restaurant I’ve been to.

I love the phở chay! I have had a couple of their Vietnamese appetizers too. Very good. So happy to have another good Asian place in JP.
I brought a Vietnamese friend once, while its not all authentic, much of it is, and he gave two thumbs up as well.

This has become my favorite place to grab Thai food. I’ve been looking forward to a place like this in JP for a long time and have been going with my family ever since they opened their doors on Centre Street. I always get the crab rangoons, potstickers, and shrimp or chicken pad thai.
I started exploring the menu just a few weeks ago and regret not having done so earlier! I’m always sticking to my favorites and ever since trying their Coconut Torn Yum Phở Soup I’ve been trying something different every time I go (which is at least 2 or 3 times a month). The staff is great and so is the wine :) Highly recommend for lunch or dinner any day of the week!

My boyfriend and I love this place. We often get take out but I’ve also dined in a couple times. I can’t speak to their noodle dishes or salads, but their phở is awesome. I often get Torn Yum Coconut phở or Cahn Chua with tofu and vegetables. Great serving size for the price too. I’ve tried the Fresh Roll appetizer and it wasn’t the best, very bland. Mostly lettuce, not much tofu or basil for flavor.
Also if you dine in, they have wine and beer on tap and in bottles. Service is usually friendly and really good and I’ve never seen a line. They don’t deliver, but takeout for a 2 person order never takes more than 15 minutes.

I’m not an expert on authenticity, but it tastes yummy to me. I’ve had the phở every time I’ve been, and I love it. Crab rangoon is also great. I like having a place for phở that’s close by!

Bland. Overpriced. Avoid.
For $ 10 I got a decent soup, an OK cabbage salad, and a ‘lemongrass chicken’ dish with 3 tiny pieces of chicken in a sauce that was straight up curry powder.
Cannot recommend.

Liked the look of this place while visiting JP for a few days, and so popped in to pick up a takeout. Was really impressed by the food, All ingredients seemed super fresh and tasty. Loved the chicken satay and the duck noodle soup. All served with a warm and friendly smile, and at a reasonable price. Will return for more.

I don’t really get some of the *meh* reviews on here. My experience after about fifteen or so visits since it opened has been nothing but positive. This place never fails to make me feel euphoric after a meal.
Noodle Barn is exactly what you want from a neighborhood Vietnamese/​pan-​Asian restaurant:
1. A big selection of phở and noodle dishes prepared authentically with strong flavors
2. Things that are advertised as spicy are legitimately spicy (very important for me).
3. Prices that are reasonable (It’s rare to find something over 11 bucks here for dinner)
4. Fast, consistent service (but not a lot of schmoozing)
I typically order the phở sate (very hot) and the phở ga — both of which are as good as anywhere I’ve tried in the Boston area (i’ve tried them all, I think). Deep rich broth with a slight sweetness and ginger flavor. As Bourdain said in one of his Vietnam episodes, phở is «the dish I crave above all others…» or something like that. That’s pretty much how I feel, too — I get antsy if I don’t eat it often enough. This place makes me happy and sweaty as if I’ve just run ten miles instead of lazily slurping hot, delicious mystery liquids.
I usually come here with my son who is 2 years old and he makes a huge, disgusting mess of his meal (he loves the pot stickers and chicken watercress soup); the staff here could not care less, in fact, they seem positively thrilled to see us every time. They greet him like he’s some goddamn prince.
The only thing missing from the menu is Bun Bo Hue which is the only reason I would leave JP and head into Chinatown or Dorchester for Vietnamese. Otherwise, this is the go-​to for me and my family– I’ll be here at least once a month — and now that it’s cold again, probably every week.

Just a disclaimer to start, this review is based on a recent take out order. I’ve also eaten there twice and it was so so, but this takeout experience was bad enough that I won’t go back.
We ordered chicken phở and beef phở take out with tofu fresh rolls. The fresh rolls, were the worst I’ve ever had, including from a supermarket. They had only iceberg lettuce and bland tofu. But the worst was the beef phở. The beef that came with was completely raw. Sometimes I like ordering beef on the side, but we definitely didn’t order it this way. The raw beef was thick cut and piled on top of the noodles, making the noodles not safe to eat. The idea is that the hot broth cooks the raw meat, but you have to keep the raw meat separate from the noodles and veggies, as anyone who has cooked knows.
Overall the experience was really poor. For better vietnamese near by go to Bánh Mì Ngon in West Roxbury which is great. Next time we will make the drive.

This may have been the best Thai food I have ever had in Boston let alone in my life. Came here around 5:30pm first when they opened with a friend, and oh boy did they just give the best meal …
+spring roles with extra peanut sauce = amazing
+the seafood red curry dish was unreal good. Mussles, plus calimari, plus shrimp with the perfect spice and brown rice = the best. EVER.
+the vietnamese salad with shrimp was delicious.
Hands down the best place in JP and Boston for Thai and Vietnamese. Great vibe, FAST service, and has beer and wine available, too.
I live in the South End and would for sure make the trek here by train simply for this food.

Not the best noodle restaurant I’ve been to. I got the pad thai and it was a very basic version of the dish. No spices or anything. Same goes for the other dishes my table got.
It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t very interesting.

So… Four of us just left Noodle Barn. Food was good, service was mediocre and awkward (as per other reviews) which was honestly fine… I planned on coming back…
Until our server came back up to us and asked if the service was bad or if we weren’t happy because (they mentioned) they didn’t do a gratuity charge on the bill and we left 15%.
I’m in the service industry and usually leave at least 20% but we shared the bill with another couple and the service wasn’t fantastic so we agreed on 15%. Whether or not you think 15% is OK, WHO THE HELL thinks it’s cool to confront a customer about it? I have never felt more uncomfortable at a restaurant…
Thanks noodle barn for making a night that we were all enjoying into a shared awkward experience.

Ordered the basil fried rice on a whim for lunch one day and now my whole office is hooked. Tried the kim chi and crispy chicken fried rice too, but nothing compares to the basil fried rice.
FRIED RICE FRIDAYS — a new weekly tradition!
P. S. They really need to start delivering.

I was visiting friends that live in JP so we chose this new place for dinner. I lived in JP last year by Green St station so I frequented the many food joints in the area. It was $ 9 for a standard bowl of phở, which wasn’t that bad. In terma of cost size ratio though, I would definitely prefer Chinatown phở. I guess this place is only really good for convenience if I were still living in the area. The restaurant is very clean and brightly lit. It was awkward because I spoke to one of the waiters in Vietnamese who clearly couldn’t understand me… then only to realize that it was a Vietnamese/​Thai place.
My friends got the same phở and the other got the green curry, which she complained was really spicy even though they didn’t signify on the menu. My threshold for spice is really high, so I dismissed that notion.

I’ve tried to call this place on 3 separate occasions, the first 2 times they simply have an auto answering service.
My husband was nice enough to physically go and order. Spicy lemongrass noodles were good and the panang was good but seriously lacking in portion size. The amount of rice they gave us was laughable… basically less than a cup.
I’d only get a noodle or rice dish because they skimp on everything, esp those summer rolls with 1 shrimp and zero seasoning.