Noodle Dude

A good concept of picking your own toppings and all, but the food to price ratio is definitely disappointing. Paid $ 10 for an order of ramen that was abysmal in portions for an adult. The amount of ramen is equivalent to a small handful. However the broth was a light and savory blend.
I ask for chasu, enoki and shrimp and was given 2 slices of the pork and 4 shrimp. I almost wanted to ask for more meat given the price I was paying, but as a first time customer I assumed that was the norm. My meal almost looked like a enoki ramen, nearly eclipsing what animal protein in the bowl.
After a friend and I quickly ate our rations, we noticed something very important after eating this meal:
We were still hungry…
Once we left we journeyed over to Grocery Outlet to grab more food to satisfy our appetites.
If you have 10 dollars to spend on food, I recommend going to the more authentic noodle houses nearby. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth and more.

Think of Subway or Chipotle style order, but for ramen.
Nice selection of noodles, ingredients, and soup base to pick from.
I always stick with ramen, chashu, beef brisket, bean sprouts, corn, cilantro, boiled egg, and tonkatsu soup base.
Although it is a dollar or two more than phở, it’s worth it. Especially if you’re looking for ramen nearby SJSU.

Really wanted to try this place for months, seeing how it was following the fad of pick and choose your dish, but ramen style. On a Friday afternoon, stopped by for an early lunch. Liked how they had their own parking lot, although it is quite cramped.
5 different noodle choices, 4 different broth choices, and endless meats and veggies. I went with the ramen noodles, filet mignon, chashu, bamboo shoots, egg, pea sprouts, and enoki mushrooms with tonkatsu broth.
Meat and veggies were good, but the bamboo shoots were stringy. Noodles were okay, but not the typical chewy ones you get at most ramen places. The broth was not heavy, but I wish it had more flavor. My friend who currently isn’t able to eat flour, enjoyed her rice noodles with mongolian broth.
Overall, the concept is really cool, it’s served quickly, prices are right, but for a more satisfying bowl of ramen, I’d go elsewhere.

I’m glad I waited to write my review because my tummy was not the happiest last night.
I did not get sick, but it rumbled till really late. I loved all the options this place offers, especially for the veggies. Except they had runout of several key veggie toppings at prime dinner time.
The broth options are good too! I wish the soup had been a bit hotter when it’s mixed with the cold veggies.
Just one suggestions… More fresh bottles of Siracha, please.
Since my first visit/​review…
I went back yesterday ³⁄₁₉ and had a much better experience. The broth was much hotter and it tasted deliciously balanced. Great veggie ramen options!

3.5 stars really, but I’ll round up because there is nothing else quite like this place.
Likes:
Topping and noodle choices choices
Pricing level options
Perfectly cooked and cleaned shrimp as a topping option
Ramen noodles had good texture and flavor
Love pea shoots!
Chashu was decent… maybe next time I’ll just get double that for one of the ingredients instead of 6 random things
Courteous and efficient staff who didn’t mind that my friends and I sat and talked for like two hours (since it wasn’t too busy)
Availability of hot chili flakes on the table
Plenty of natural light and nice bright wood tables for seating (more seating than I thought from the pictures, though still not a ton)
Not so much a fan:
Tonkotsu broth was lacking in depth and savory richness (I don’t think I’d get it again… I’d go back to Maru Ichi or Orenchi for that)
Very limited drink supply (basically like Sprite, Coke, and water)
Wish the egg was just a little more soft cooked
Parking is a little wacky
No obvious bathroom???
Was left wishing there was some garlic on the table I could add to the tonkotsu broth given that it was a bit bland.
Friends said the miso broth was better than the tonkotsu and the veggie was a little bland.

The noodle dude sure knows his stuff! Chipotlify your meal — that’s how you can be sure it will fit your liking.
Because of my allergy to spicy, I went with the Tonkotsu-​based broth. What’s awesome is because you don’t have to stick to convention, having Tonkotsu broth doesn’t mean you have to eat udon. I was gonna make it my own way!
Travis recommended the algae noodles. They sure looked funky but I know better than anyone that things don’t always taste the way they look! They ended up being spongy and fresh, and I really enjoyed them. For my meat I did choose the chashu, simply because it would go with the Tonkotsu broth the best. You can really go back and forth in a bipolar manner here. Woot! I added a soft boiled egg, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts and some shrimp. The final product was delicious!!!
My friend ordered a Mongolian broth (spicy!) with beef balls, chicken, shrimp, filet mignon, cabbage, seaweed, and spinach noodles. I was only able to try a small bite, but what I sampled was very tasty and rich in flavor. You can tell from the photo that this soup was
! It just looks so full and hearty. My friend can certainly vouch for this one.
Service is on point. Head Noodle Dude sure knows what’s up, definitely listen to him! Parking is limited especially during busy hours.
TIP: Don’t be afraid to mix and match. Let yourself go!
DATE TIP: If you’re looking for a restaurant that helps you observe your date’s creativity, this is the place for you.

Yum! The perfect fast noodle spot! The chipotle of fresh noodles and ingredients. I tried the algae noodle and filet mug mignon with tonkotsu broth. I love that it wasn’t super salty! I’ll definitely be back for more!

The Chipotle of noodles. A very small place and a little tight as far as seating goes. A late drive into San Jose from the South Bay, the man picked this spot. We walked in just a little after a family, which looked like they were leaving from some event. So the wait was longer than I’d anticipated.
Finally got to me, I went with the 3 topping noodles. You choose your type of noodles, pick your toppings, and then broth. I had the tonkatsu ramen with pork, corn and bamboo shoots. Boyfriend had the Mongolian broth which has a nice kick to it.
I wasn’t ever impressed by everything. It was just another noodle bowl to me.

Idk how this place got 4 stars. ya’ll are wild!
Maybe I’m just spoiled from Socal ramen shops but I should have known from the block of frat houses nearby that this is just a college spot for noodle cravings.
It’s a great idea but the flavor/​quality of ingredients is seriously compromised by making it a Chipotle assembly type line for noodle soup.
It’s $ 9.99 for 6 toppings and you can choose from different noodles and broths. I got ramen with the chashu broth which had no slow-​cooked depth at all and was watery.
Def won’t be back!

Great effort, but Noodle Dude falls flat on quality and flavor.
The Mongolian broth just tastes like chili oil and the tonkotsu needs to be soak in bones for more hours. The veggie broth tasted like it came from a can. The flavors were not round enough and the ingredients have been sitting around for a few hours. It’s quite evident in the soggy textures.
Chashu is tasty.
Spinach noodles were not firm and not fresh.
Great to try once.

Taste wise I would probably give this closer to a 3 – 3.5 rating. But I liked the options and prices were reasonable so bumped them up to a 4.
The whole Chipotle style of ordering food has really exploded in recent years, haven’t it? This uses that style.
1. You come in, choose you type of noodles (ramen, spinach, yams, or rice). I would have hoped for an udon option.
2. You choose your toppings. It’s $ 7.99 for a bowl with 3 toppings, $ 9.99 for a bowl of 6 toppings, and additional toppings are $ 1.
Toppings range from chasu (pork), brisket, chicken, beef balls, medium boiled eggs (I’m sure they were aiming for soft boiled, but mine was cooked medium), veggies (like cabbage, bean sprouts, mushrooms, corn), tofu. All of that among a few. You get to add green onions and/​or cilantro for no extra charge.
3. You choose your broth. I saw mongolian, tonkotsu, veggie, and miso.
For me today, I opted for a bowl of ramen with six toppings (chasu, brisket, beef balls, tofu, daikon, and an egg), added green onions and cilantro, and my broth was a half of mongolian and tonkotsu (as I’ve read some tips recommend).
The ramen wasn’t bad, nice al dente. The toppings were pretty fresh. I really liked the chasu. Tasty fat. If I re-​did my order, I would double the chasu and leave out the beef balls and tofu.
Personally, I did not LOVE the mongolian and tonkotsu combo. I tried my husband’s tonkotsu broth and enjoyed it by itself. Maybe next time, I’ll try the mongolian broth solo.
Service was quick. Was a nice warm bowl of phở on this nippy Sunday afternoon.
I enjoyed this and would return.
I would hope they provide fresh minced garlic. It just makes ramen taste SO MUCH BETTER.
And they only had siracha. Wished they had other dipping sauces.
Also hoped their egg was soft boiled. I know they are probably aiming for it. At least it wasn’t a hard boiled egg. I would’ve RAGED.
Credit cards accepted.

I feel like this place deserves a 3.5÷5 solely on the fact that it is basically like a Chipotle style ramen joint where you pick the ingredients that go into your bowl. It’s kind of in a category of it’s own since the more popular ramen places don’t operate like this.
Choose your ingredients:
Noodles — Ramen, Spinach (It’s really green!), Algae, Rice, Yam
Toppings — Filet Minon, Charsu, Beef Ball, Brisket, Egg, Chicken, Shrimp, and assortment of veggies.
Broth — Spicy Mongolian, Veggie, Miso, and Tonkotsu
I wanted to be adventurous so I tried the spinach noodles. The bowl is $ 8 for 3 toppings or $ 10 for 6 so because I was hungry I got all the meat with some veggies in the tonkotsu broth. All of the toppings are already precooked and are sitting in a bin like how you see at Chipotle. Once all of your food is in the bowl, they add broth to warm up everything. Surprisingly, these bowls are HUGE! Like phở sized bowls so you get a TON of food.
To be honest, the quality of the food is not the best, especially since it is precooked (not fresh) and just sitting in a metal bin until you order it. The broth tastes ok, but I like the creative noodle options. And yes, the spinach noodles does taste like spinach. Good spot for hungry college students, but can’t be compared to Orenchi, Ramen Parlor, or Ramen Dojo.

Randomly came across this restaurant.
For parking, you can park on the streets. I came here during the night time so parking was free. Walked for about a minute until I got to this restaurant
ATMOSPHERE:
This place was definitely on the smaller end. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it was actually nice. I would guesstimate that a maximum of 20 people can sit inside. Although, I overheard someone being able to dine outside.
FOOD:
I got the ramen noodle and chose brisket as the meat with cilantro, green onions, egg, and bean sprouts as my topping. I wasn’t aware it’s an extra $ 1 if you get over 3 toppings so beware of that. It would’ve been easier if they put the menu farther so you don’t have to step back to check the menu. I chose the tonkatsu soul and it was very tasty. On the table, they have Sriracha, black pepper, chili powder, and sea salt to put in your soup. I love putting Sriracha on my sauce to add some spice! The only downside was that I barely got brisket and it was too chewy.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
I would rate their customer service a ⁵⁄₅. They were very hospitable and the employees helped me out since it was my first time ordering here.
Would I come back here? Maybe! I wanna try the spinach noodles. Would I recommend this to a friend? Definitely. It’s like a Subway but for soup.

Noodle Dude is one of the newest noodle places to land in San Jose, so if you know a *Souper* Lady, I’m sure he’d love an introduction.
Sorry. I had to.
Anyway, Noodle Dude is the latest incarnation of the «build your own (x)» trend that we seem to love these days, except this time it’s for… RAMEN! or phở. I’m a little confused as to which it is, and, to be perfectly honest, I think they are too. There’s a metric *crapton* of ingredients you can choose from, with 3 toppings running you about $ 8, whilst 6 toppings costs ~$ 10, ranging from the cheap (bean sprouts, cabbage) to the fairly expensive (thick slices of char shu, brisket) and a variety of noodles.
I ordered the algae noodles with Mongolian broth, a crap ton of cha shu, and and some assorted veggies/​green onions to cut the fat. It was pretty darn tasty — just the right amount of spice and salt to keep things interesting and tasty. My friends ordered some ramen-​esque stuff with the tonkotsu, with broth that was slightly weaker than my liking. My friend regretted not getting 6 orders of char shu, but he said he enjoyed it nonetheless.
Service is fast, attentive, and generous with their portioning. The noodle Dude himself came out and asked if everything was okay! It was an honor to meet the Dude in person, and talking to him about what his process was for choosing ingredients. He’s a cool guy.
While I loved the concept, honestly, when you wear this many hats it’s hard to balance everything. I think if I just wanted Ramen, or if I just wanted Phở, there are better options. Like, Tonkotsu and Beef Stock have to be made for *hours*, and I’m not sure whether this place has the capacity to put out the very best like Orenchis or Phở Y can. Still, if I was entertaining friends, was undecided on what kind of hot delicious noodle place I wanted to try, or if I just wanted a quick and casual ramen break though, I’d probably be back!
—
sweet: great concept, generous portions/​toppings, service
bitter: broth could be stronger

I’ve been seeing this on Unilocal for a couple weeks now and I love ramen so I had to try it. I went in on Sunday and it was not too busy (definitely a plus considering how good it is). They also have their own parking lot!
I walked in and was greeted by the cashier who explained how it worked because I seemed lost. They have a display of all their different noodles and I had to try the algae one. I am definitely going to try the spinach one next time I go back!
I got the 6 toppings for ~$ 10 and got char siu, filet mignon, enoki mushroom, corn, bamboo shoots, and pea leaves (need my veggies somehow). I also got the 3 complimentary toppings (green onions, nori seaweed, and cilantro). I chose the Mongolian soup base with extra spicy.
BOY, was it spicy and delicious! I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The soup base had tons of flavor and chilies. I was given a generous portion of every topping and the meats were so flavorful and tender. I will definitely be back and probably ask for 2 toppings of char siu and filet mignon.
I can’t wait to try the spinach and other soup bases!

Reading Unilocal reviews brought me here as I always trust the opinions of Unilocalers. Noodle dude is clean, fast service, great customer service and excellent tasty noodles. This place is cute with outside seating as well, but there are no bathrooms… Free iced lemon water!
3 step process: you pick your noodles, your toppings and then your broth.
The guy who rang us up forgot to charge us for the kids noodle bowl and when he realized it, he just said oh it’s ok don’t worry about it. That was nice of him! :) The filet mignon was actually very tasty and not full of fat, it’s a must have in your ramen. The fact that you can choose your own toppings and see them prepare everything right before your very eyes makes me feel better about what I’m eating. Ingredients are hot and fresh, carrots were so yummy.
If you love ramen, you have to check out noodle dude, dude!

Is Top Ramen not cutting it for you!?!
Is your microwave broken and you can’t heat up your cup of noodles?!?
Do you want some fresh to death healthy ingredients in your bowl of noodles?!?
Then DUUUUUUUUUUDDDDDEEEE head over to Noodle Dude in San Jose yo!?!
This is the new hot spot where all the cool kids in San Jose come to get their noodle fix. The parking lot is limited but there are nearby neighborhoods where you can park as well. Once you step into Noodle Dude you gotta love the setup of this joint. Let’s breakdown the 5 step process.
1. Pick your noodles — Ramen, Spinach, Algae, Rice, and Yam.
2. Pick your toppings — Filet Minon, Beef Ball, Brisket, Egg, Chicken, Shrimp, and assortment of veggies.
3. Pick your broth — Spicy Mongolian, Veggie, Miso, and Tonkotsu (most popular)
4. Pay (they accept credit cards)
5. Sit down and wait for them to bring you your bowl of yummy noodles in under 5 mins or less.
I tried the Tonkotsu broth with some rice noodles and it lived up to the hype indeedly do it did. My two favorite toppings where filet minon and king mushrooms. I can’t wait to come back here and try the spicy mongolian broth with some different ingredients. What a great addition to an already wonderful variety of Asian restaurants in downtown San Jose.

There goes another one of my potential business ideas realized by another person…
But I’m not going to be bitter and give them a horrible score or anything, because I do think it’s a pretty fun concept! What’s better than customize-​able noodle soups??? For me, I stuck with ramen to stay on the safe side, along with chashu, filet mignon, egg, and bean sprouts with half mongolian half tonkotsu for the broth. I thought the chashu was very tender and tasty. The filet mignon wasn’t bad either. The broth was alright, it was fatty, but not too bad. The mongolian side of it was pretty strong and lingered with me all day. Spice level was perfff.
Only thing I would complain about was that the noodles were a little soggy within a minute of diving in… Also, the ventilation in the restaurant isn’t so great so be prepared to sweat on a hot summer day. They need to turn up the AC in hurrr. Other than that, I think this place is pretty solid (3.5), and I would definitely come back!

Loving the concept of this place. Just think of Chipotle but for noodle soup!
Ordered the Ramen Noodles with Chasu, Boiled Eggs, Filet Minion, Assorted Veggies, and Half Tonokatsu & Half Mongolian Broth. AMAZING & REALLY AFFORDABLE! :) I highly recommend mixing the broth so it balances out the flavor. The ingredients were also really fresh and the portions here are huge. I would recommend sharing if you’re not too hungry.
Overall I really enjoyed this place and will be coming back to try the green tea noodles. I recommend any noodle lover to try out this spot. It’s conveniently close to San Jose State and pretty affordable if you’re on a college budget. :)

Top notch customer service, however, I waited a few days to write this review because I wanted to see how long it would take before my stomach felt better.
I stopped by «Noodle Dude» on June 2^nd, 2015, around 4:30pm. I was greeted by a couple different employees who described the menu and how to order. I ordered ramen noodles with Napa cabbage, chashu, egg, tofu, bamboo shoots, enoki mushrooms, and Tonkotsu broth. I also received green onions and seaweed that were complimentary toppings. The ramen noodles were akin to the noodles you see in a $ 1 package of instant noodles; the veggies and meat seemed fresh; and the Tonkotsu broth was very mild in taste and had a watery texture, which meant that none of the ramen broth would stick to the noodles and most of the other ingredients.
Additionally, I found a hair on top of the chili garlic sauce bottle (picture below). I handed the dirty bottle to an employee when he came by my table to check on me (this is part of the good customer service I previously mentioned).
Furthermore, a couple hours later, I started having stomach problems, followed by an unpleasant trip to the bathroom. My stomach felt weird for the next two days, and the feeling only went away today (June 5^th, 2015). This bowl of ramen was the first thing I ate that day and, due to my stomach feeling weird, it was the last thing I ate that day.
Considering this was the first time I’ve ever felt sick after eating food from a restaurant, I won’t be back to «Noodle Dude.»