Toss Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Berkeley

The Food In another chapter of explore the east bay, I found the Toss Noodle Bar noodle house. My friend wanted to get noodle for lunch so we ended up here (even though she got rice). My friend decided to order White Rice with Green Curry and Chicken. I got the Chef Special Toss Garlic Noodle and Kabocha Croquette. The croquette was interesting, with a squash filling fried and topped with (tonkatsu?) sauce. It has a nice crunch to the outer skin and the sauce was a good addition. My friend's chicken green curry was pretty spicy to her, but seemed mild to me. The Toss Garlic Noodle I had was quite delicious and on point. The noodle had a nice chewy texture with a hint (not too much) garlic taste. The dish also had vegetables and protein (beef) with (not sure what) sauce. The beef was not bad, wish they gave a bit more, but it was still a well done dish. Their standard is design your own dish, so I'll have to return and try that sometime.

The Miscellaneous The noodle house is along the main road, a bit tucked to the back, with limited parking in front. The inside doesn't seem super spacious, but it has good depth and good amount of seating. They also have some interesting and simple art decor for their interior. The restaurant is set up in a way for self service, where you bus your own dishes. Condiments and water are ready accessible near order counter, along with dish return. The wait time for us wasn't too long since we order right when they open. So your mileage may vary during peak hours. Their menu focus on designing your own dish with Chef Specials and appetizers. They have a drink menu right outside their down and you'll probably walk right by it. But They have a good selection of drinks and Yuzu Beer (need to try)? Would recommend checking this place out if you are in the mood...

I want to rate this place 1.5 but I will be nice and give it a 2. 1 is a little harsh.

At first you come into this place thinking that all these items are pretty well priced for what it seems you will be getting. But as we received our food, I thought I had seen each of these items in the bulk packaging area in korean/chinese markets. It LITERALLY looked like they bought the items from those shelves and gave you skimp amounts for way more than the price, with a little paprika or garnish on top to make you think you're getting a special treat.

The food tasted exactly like what I thought when I first received it. The tofu/wakame actually tasted like the korean market, but a little more bland. And the veggie dumplings.. STRAIGHT OUT OF THE FREEZER. I mean I understand this is close to college town and people need to be cheap to survive and thrive but don't trick people into getting food that required 0 effort ALONG with the fact that you chose the cheaper veggie dumplings on the shelf, not the better grade ones. At least get them from costco if you're trying to save money.

The main entrees were not much better, although my girlfriends tasted much better than mine. I got the green curry with chicken. Watery, straight out of packaging flavor. Enough said.

My girlfriend got the spicy flavor something with brown rice. It tasted good, but again, it tasted like I just took 3 random things out of my fridge, heat them up and put them on a plate.

Please. upgrade your ingredients. Don't serve your customers the low quality food that requires no effort. Or at least if you do, make sure they won't be able to tell by look or taste. Then...

Well-cooked veggies and noodles (3 Green Stars) Have never been to Toss Noodle Bar until two weeks ago, for a quick pre-movie dinner, and now I’m wondering why I haven’t been before. Well, I do prefer my tofu and noodles to be organic (and there are Thai places in Berkeley that use organic ingredients) but I’d be lying if I said I only ever eat organic food when out. (In an ideal world….) Bottom line: we both really liked the food here and found the service to be good and efficient. I had the basil eggplant (chef’s special) with spinach noodles and tofu and would definitely have it again. Eggplant is not easy to get right, but this batch was spot on. The Hokkien noodles with Japanese sauce and tofu was also nicely prepared.

I’m also giving Toss Noodle Bar 3 out of 5 “Green Stars” for social and environmental impact, based on this:

• Caters pretty well to vegans and vegetarians (although the menu could do with some more info on this). • Food is served on ceramic and the restaurant does a good job to minimize waste. • Seems to be a family-run business. • No information available on ingredient sourcing. As mentioned above, I’d prefer if my tofu was organic (most non-organic soy is sprayed with bee-killing neonics, for example). If I ate chicken, pork, beef, or prawns I’d want to know where they came from too..

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