Noodle Bar

Authentic, piping hot and perfect
This is the real deal, when a place this tiny and unassuming is packed it’s a good sign.

It’s a small but have big flavors! I’m picky when it comes to eating phở. A lot of places, the phở is bland but this little joint, the phở flavor was robust, rich and flavorful! I had vegetarian phở and the rest of my family had beef phở. Everyone enjoyed it, even the 18 month old. It gets crowded so you may have to wait for a seat.

At first it seems as if you are in the noodle-​Nazi shop because the waitress seems irritated. But I think she is the one who manages everyone and everything so she got a lot on her plate.
The food was fine and she does her job well. They got vegetarian options and my mom loved her fried catfish .
The biggest con for me is cash only service, they got an ATM there but who wants to pay for using their money?

You have to love the «hole-​in-​the-​wall» restaurants, which is not an inaccurate description of the Fremont Bl location of Noodle Bar. It’s a cash-​only business in an older strip mall, between a $ 1 store and a small clothing store that does embroidery. At least there’s a neon sign to help find the restaurant.
In the past, our friends would only get Boba drinks. This time around, we did take-​out food, and we did well!
The Vietnamese dishes all appear authentic, the «dry» noodle dishes were quite good and generous. My son got the broccoli beef, also nicely done, at least he didn’t try to order a cheeseburger.
The udon dish was nothing like Japanese cuisine, but still tasty. The sauce was thick and flavorful. The chow fun isn’t really chow fun — the dish is made with ramen noodles along with chicken (I assume you can substitute meats). Also very good if you abandon any notion this is authentic Chinese (to their credit, the menu description does accurately describe their dishes).
The prices are a highlight, dishes are downright cheap for what you get. Since we did takeout, we didn’t experience dining in, of what we could tell there wasn’t much atmosphere, most people sitting at the counter. But at these prices, who cares about atmosphere?

I had a little reservation even with 4 stars, but I am glad I was wrong. Delicious, fresh, and taste great. Ordered lemon grass tofu and bbq tofu and they were both excellent. Must try.

Not quite as good as the location in Marina, but still pretty great food! Feels cramped inside though.

Stopped in here on my way out of Monterey. I’m happy I did! It’s just like the name says, it’s a «Noodle Bar.» There are no tables, just an «L» bar. I ordered a dry bowl with shrimp and BBQ pork and a couple of spring rolls. That and a drink was less than $ 15. Highly recommend if you’re craving Phở!

Went a few times for a quick meal while shopping. It is a very good place to go for a fast meal provided you find a seat. They have very few so I recommend take out if you live close by. I like their place a lot but you do have to experiment a bit with what dishes you like at their place. They have low prices but some of the dishes are also a bit small. I had very good experiences with their soups and I like their eggplant with tofu as wall as a tofu with show peas.

Always solid Vietnamese dishes. Cash only. Food quality and style of cooking can vary by the night. Recommend take out because the counter is always full.

The waitress’s attitude is awful!
When we entered the restaurant, there was no enough seats, the waitress just stayed 5 meters away and said «you have to wait», with an expression like I owe her a thousand dollars, we left immediately.

I’m giving it two because usually its BOMB the food pretty great I even left her a 1 $ tip because I got my hopes up from the last time. I ordered the lemon grass chicken with dry noodle the noodles looked extremely white like y good was made in a rush not only did it look different it was extremely spicy I could beary take a bite! The bobba was good as usual but what the heck happen its like it depends what day it is maybe? I don’t think I’ll be coming back I even tip, but WHATEVER not coming back.

Vegetarian phở was awesome, lots of vegetables and fried tofu pieces. The broth wasn’t bland either as with some vegetarian broths. The veggie egg rolls were also good they had mushrooms in it I think. Good hole in the wall place, super tiny (10 – 12 bar seats) most ppl take Togo… Don’t know how good phở Togo is but I’m sure the rice plates will hold up fine.

Came her for the first time like maybe three years ago and was a regular for like a year or so as I was hooked. Since then maybe the chef changed or I just got a taste of better phở but it just wasn’t to the high taste standard it was before& I stopped coming. However, today was the first time I have been here in awhile (like around a year or so) and the quality still seems the same. Pretty average, at least for the phở. There was a chicken dish I would get, when I used to eat meat, that was just beyond actual yumminess but I’ve forgotten what it is. Just mentioning that so you don’t write this place off just for phở. Buuuuut, if you try this place for the first time you don’t have to get the phở and it’ll be better to get one of their other dishes. I only came here since my usual was closed today & to me this isn’t a where I just have to get my phở.
Anyways, coming in today I got their veggie and tofu phở for the first time & it was okay. Nothing great or memorable. It was pretty standard & other places do have tastier veggie broth.
Service wise this place has and apparently still is great. Usually it’s only one person by the counter and they always do a good job of attending to everyone at the bar as well as promptly greeting whoever walks through the door.
Overall, three stars given for food and the added star for the service given.

I was so glad when I got to come back to Monterey in late March 2016 that my favorite Phở place from 8 years before was still open. Not only that but the owners are doing well enough they have opened a second location and were on vacation. :) We stopped in on a Tuesday so the girl from the Marina location took our order. I’ve never had any issues with rudeness out of anyone when I have eaten at the Noodle Bar but I also understand that its a small family business and they do literally every thing that needs done so they don’t have time to kiss your bum sometimes.
There isn’t a single thing I have EVER ordered off this menu that wasn’t worth its price. I dream of getting Phở this good for this price where we live now. But I’m staring at $ 10 regular bowls where I live. $ 14 for anything even mentioning shrimp. So a $ 7 large bowl with combo meats including Shrimp? Please and thank you.
Its tiny, so I recommend calling ahead for take-​out. They only accept cash but have an ATM inside.

Seaside, CA
Faux — Phở.
— Cuts: Meatball, very overcooked rare steak. No flank steak or tripe, tendon.
Also, included shrimp and strips of grilled chicken, equals not authentic.
— Broth: Too much Star Anise if sipped alone. Once the red, purple and fixing were added it was «covered up». Also, they add black pepper to the broth.
At least they skimmed most of the fat off.
— Noodles: Slightly overcooked with black pepper throughout. Interesting.
— Greens: As expected.
— Note: Bummer this place is a dumbed down version of Phở.
Overall the bowl of Faux Phở WILL get the job done and satisfy a craving if in area — a ⁵⁄₁₀.
— Tip: If this is the only bowl of Phở you’ve had, try your best to hit a spot in South San Jose the next time you go that direction.
— Spring Rolls: Weak ass attempt to Roll the rolls with shrimp literally on one side of the roll.
Watered Down Peanut Sauce!!! WTH!
— Note: Saw No one adding the chili sauce to the peanut sauce. FYI — that’s how you’re supposed to do it.
— Note: Clearly the young lady working the counter is from Vietnam. I noticed with several patrons she doesn’t care to show or tell them how to eat certain items when they obviously have no idea what their doing.
Third time visiting — at least what they serve is consistent.

This is a legit community table «bar».
This is the original location and it’s always busy like the Marina location.
I come here on Tuesdays when the Marina location is closed.
I order: Chicken Phở or Combo phở (haven’t ordered the vegetarian one from here).
I also order: Pork Egg roll & thai tea boba (and I have to dilute it, way too sweet, don’t let your kid have a whole one!)
Since it’s so small and someone is constantly walking by you to tend to other patrons it’s easy to get a servers attention.
My mentioned items cost a cool $ 10 and I leave very content and satisfied every time.
CASH ONLY!!! But they have an ATM inside.

Talk about ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant… this is it! Certainly an unassuming looking restaurant with great food. The dishes are tasty with fresh ingredients, and the portions are more than generous. Prices are low.
I ordered the fresh grilled chicken with rice and steamed broccoli. Simple but sooooooo good. My husband ordered the eggplant/​mushrooms and tofu over rice. The sauce was excellent. He also ordered a regular chicken Phở soup which was more than a enough. If you order a large DON’T order anything else or you won’t be able to finish it. The Phở is very good. Gave this place a try.

What I got: The large #1 combo phở.
What I thought: I loved how tiny the place was, it felt very comfortably crowded. You can easily see the kitchen and hear the cooks doing their thing which really adds to the vibe here. The Phở itself was great. They provide all the side I love to add to my soup. Even though the place was packed with a line outside the food came out fast (10 min) and was hot and the meats were cooked perfectly. I slopped my soup down and went on my way to let the next person waiting have a seat.
Would I do it again: I’ll be back. Need to try their BBQ Beef salad bowls.
Warning: Prepare to wait a while to get an open seat. No good for groups of 3+.

Noodle bar in Seaside is «okay» but Noodle Bar in Marina is the best. We just come in seaside if we have no time to go to Marina.
Best in terms of :
Staff in Marina: THE BEST! Best customer service ever.
Here in Seaside: she seemed always mad and not so much accommodating. She gets irritated right away. Just a question from my daughter if she has put Large in her order.
Food: In Marina, it is tastier. Seaside does not have any milk alternative.
Sorry to write this review. I love noodle bar but seaside branch needs to improve.

I’d give this place 6* if I could.
Ok, service wasn’t nearly as friendly as our lunch stop (Ocean Sushi Deli), but it was very fast and efficient. But the prices! What an amazing value. I had Udon with chicken and veggies — quite a lot of both, and a very decent selection of veggies. My dinner partner had a dry noodle bowl with Lemon Grass Chili chicken. A very large serving (though for $ 1 more, it could have been even larger!), which came with lettuce, bean sprouts, and onions, on a bed of rice. It was really good. All the chicken in both entrees were white meat. $ 12 … total!
If you’re one of those who thinks ambiance is important, or super friendly service, stay away. But if you instead are like me, who loves great tasting food at bargain prices, Noodle Bar is heaven on Earth.