North Hill Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Colchester

Edited 15/03/19 please read the end of the review for my latest review. Fairly compact noodle bar on more than one level with bench sheeting. Very popular and busy when we went. Staff are polite and fast and the food comes quickly and is nice and hot. Portions are of a good size with the options of noodle, rice or soup dishes. A standard meal starts about eleven pounds and is enough to fill you up comfortably. We opted to order three mains and three side dishes with a spare plate and shared between the four of us. Staff are attentive but not in your face and it has a nice atmosphere. Limited range of alcohol with soft drinks and water available. Deserts and tea are available if you want them served in the traditional manner. Total bill for four of us sixty seven pounds including drinks. I am told they have some weekday lunch specials with a different menu but have not tried it myself. Plus point the food was hot, cooked to order and had decent sized prawns, pieces of meat and fresh vegetables. Down side bench seating and a small beer selection. If I could give part marks it would be 4.7 but try it for yourself and give it a review I am sure you won't be disappointed. Updated 15/03/2019. Arrived to try the working lunch menu. Small wait, but greeted by a very polite man who hung our coats for us. We were at our table within four minuets and our drinks and food order taken no more than five minuets later. We both opted for the house noodle dish and added some spicy tofu, drinks were bottled water and a beer. Food and drinks both arrived within five minutes and the food was lovely and hot. I finished my wife's noodles as she was full, but then somehow managed to order a desert of sticky toffee pudding with ice cream. I had to try a bit and it was fantastic. This is my second review of this noodle bar and I have to say my recommendation and praise for the staff and chiefs gets greater with each visit. I couldn't help noticing the mix of people in the place, there were older people rubbing shoulders with the young, lots of lady's doing lunch, business people, tradesmen the whole jolly lot happily munching away. The only downside of the place is that it is not disabled friendly due to the age of the building. Also the toilets which were very clean and modern are upstairs via a winding tight staircase, not practical for any body with a stick or movement issues. That aside this is still a great place to go. Total bill for two mains, one side, one dessert and two drinks, just under thirty pounds. Tips are extra but I am sure you will want to tip them just like me. Extra things to know, they have a good website, you can book a table in advance, ask for downstairs if you have mobility issues and they do take away which is cheaper. Happy eating and don't forget to...

My wife and I like most have been coming here for nearly 15 years, we used them during the pandemic and have always supported them. However the last two times we have visited the food has been sub par and the service has been terrible. My wife then visited this evening with a friend and was subjected to an awful experience by the owner. My wife, who is 17 weeks pregnant, asked for alcohol free rose lemonade with her food, and clarified twice that’s what she wanted with the lady serving her, but was served alcohol. As you can imagine, drinking it and then being told it was alcoholic when the bill came was quite a shock and upsetting. She asked to speak to the owner who then reacted in an incredibly petty, condescending way, saying my wife was at fault for not checking her drink was alcoholic, even though she checked multiple times. He put the blame on her for not knowing the difference and shunned her out the door once she paid her bill. My wife left distraught.

We will not return to this place again, and I hope the owner reads this and is ashamed of the way he handled...

So we used to get noodle bar all the time. Always loved it. It was a proper treat. I’ve eaten in and had takeaway many times. Haven’t had it in over a year so tonight thought I’d go grab some. Lady on the phone was very helpful, food was ready earlier than stated which is awesome. But when we tried the food - less than 5 mins after collecting, we were quite disappointed. We had the king prawn pad Thai and the chicken rengdang. The food was nice and fresh, but just lacking in so much flavour unfortunately. I love Thai/asian food and it was just no where near in terms of flavour. Such a shame and It’s definitely not how it used to be. I get the impression it’s more now about churning out ‘European-Thai fusion’ food fast. Rather than keeping it authentic and focusing on flavour. I didn’t eat in this time but the last time we loved the experience so obviously I can’t comment on this and again I must stress this was a takeaway but still. It’s not cheap food so we were left disappointed. Shame but off to Thailand on Friday so time for some proper...