Noodlebox — Restaurant in Ottawa

At first glance I thought going to this restaurant was a good idea but a couple of hours afterwards, I regretted it immensely. The first sign I was going to regret eating here was the moment I walked in and the place was a morgue. The second sign that I was going to regret eating at this restaurant was as I approached the counter I was greeted by an Indian and not someone of Asian persuasion (and that DOESN’T mean someone from South Asia). Not a good omen. So I proceeded to order a Cambodian Noodle dish and after placing my order and tipping I was told it would take 5-7 minutes to prepare so I went and took a seat as I was going to dine in. Here is the third sign I was going to regret my decision to dine at this restaurant. As I was sitting at my table I had full view of the kitchen area and I noticed that the employee/cook hadn’t bothered to wash their hands after they took my order and before they started preparing my meal. Bad sign number four was I could see this employee using his bare hands to take ingredients out of containers to add to the dish he was cooking/preparing for me. In my head I was like: “uh oh”. I should have at that moment listened to my gut and got up and asked for a refund but I gave the employee the benefit of the doubt. I won’t be doing that ever again. So fast forward three hours and fifteen minutes later and sign number five of regret eating at this restaurant was me running to the toilet due to a food borne illness. I know it was the food prepared for me at this restaurant and by this employee because it’s the only thing I ate all day and because of the stench from the diarrhea that was the end result of my visit to this restaurant. I will not be going back to this restaurant, but if you enjoy having your food touched by bare hands that weren’t washed and getting diarrhea afterwards, then this restaurant is the place for you. I would have added photos but I think my review is graphic enough without providing photographic proof. I would have given this restaurant ZERO stars but Google doesn’t give you...

The good: The portion sizes were generous, especially for the price.

We got the drunken noodle box and the shoyu ramen. Both had good flavour. I like the ability of customize your spice level. I got "Hot" which is their second hottest option. Definitely has a nice kick, akin to Extra Spicy at Thai Express. The service was also great. The lady who took our order walked us through the menu, and also tried to warn us about the spice level. So it is nice that they don't hold back on the heat.

The less good: Not sure if the noodles were overcooked, but the noodles were all in broken pieces, and small chunks. Super unsatisfying to eat.

Also, the ratio between noodles and veggies was off. It was more like a box of veggies with a side of noodles. They definitely don't skimp on veggies. I found myself digging around the box looking for noodles.

The ramen is a limited time thing and it was..... Not very good. Probably should not make that a permanent item.

Lastly, they took a long time to get our food ready. We walked in and ordered takeout. They definitely prioritize uber orders since they probably get penalize for late orders. So that meant our two items took around 25 mins to get made. So if you are in a rush, order ahead. Not a good idea for a quick takeout on your way...

I was pretty excited to see this restaurant coming to the area as noodles are extremely popular in our household. Ordered the peanut noodle box and while the noodles were good, there was so much thin sauce in the bowl I thought I had ordered a soup. Where they completely lost me is when I asked for a glass of water to go with my meal and they told me "Oh, we don't serve water, we don't have glasses" and was told I would have to buy a bottle of water. The only problem, their fridge was not stocked with water, and when I told the cashier that she got all huffy, came around the corner to "show me where it was" only to realize there wasn't any in there like I said. In the end I was forced to buy a bottle of warm water to go withy meal. You may want to look into this as I am pretty sure providing water to your patrons is a condition of your liquor license.

I had tried to make a complaint and was directed to emailing the owner directly, but after a month I've never heard anything back. Will gladly spend my time/money elsewhere.

Update: A while after posting this review the owner reached out to apologize and offer a 25% discount on my next visit. Indo appreciate them finally reaching out, but probably won't...