Urban Noodle — Restaurant in Durham

Unfortunately this was a major miss for us and was a costly mistake and a ruined occasion. The bowls looked nice but they tasted so weird we couldn’t finish it all. My son’s was the worst he couldn’t eat any of it, he had the Shoyu broth and it tasted like battery acid and dish water. It was so so bad. But he ate the fried shrimp and potstickers we got. It was so expensive too I wish we had gotten ONE bowl and shared it and trialed it first. But it was his birthday and his sister wanted to take him and try something new. My son loves most anything but he was so disappointed with this experience. The water in the free water station I could taste was really gross too. So it may be the bad tap water itself is affecting the soup in part but his soup was just so bad. We went next door to get milkshakes to wash the bad taste out but it was still hard to get past it. I wouldn’t have been so upset had it not been SO bad. I’ll probably never try traditional ramen again because of this experience. This is the epitome of “left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Ugh. I just wish it wasn’t so costly of a mistake. Please if you are smart buy ONE bowl and try it first. Also make note the scallions or gigantic strips of peeled green onions and impossible to eat. We almost NEVER throw food away or leave without finishing our food or taking it with us and this was a first I had to toss our entire food. I wanted to puke at the thought of tossing $60+ in food but would have puked trying to eat it any further. 😭 sigh

Or maybe they can have a small “sample” sized bowl. Especially without all the “extra” weird stuff like the chewy mushroom fungus. Just a small tasting portion of the broth and noodles would have been nice to try and not feel like I just gave an arm and a leg to “try” something new. Oh and the egg was weird too and cold. I was expecting a fresh cooked egg.

I guess I’ll have to chock this up to my stupidity for not trying it out first with one before going all in. Hope your experience is better than ours. Good...

All I’m seeing are 5 star reviews, so not exactly sure what happened…. We ordered to go from there last night and sad to say the broths for the 2 ramen had barely any flavor, he got the beef and I got the tofu curry, we got desperate and had to add our own spices and vegetables to them to try to get something from it but still just very bland, not even salty, just almost like water. The tofu at first seemed like it was okay bc it was crispy on the outside, but it felt like I was chewing on a rubber band, so not fresh whatsoever/over cooked. Their steamed buns were okay, the chicken was really firm and very dry, and felt not fresh and were cold. And the spring rolls were good but just average, so just a reheated or fried frozen Costco option. Maybe we just happened to order at a bad time but it was very tasteless/not good quality. We were surprisingly disappointed and honestly dissatisfied, we ended up throwing away our 60 dollars worth of food and going elsewhere. I’m honestly not one to write bad reviews, but we were so excited to try it based on the 5 star reviews, and it makes me wonder now if they were a bit shady and have fake reviews from employees and family to make it seem great, when really… you’d be better off somewhere else. There are plenty of ramen places near there that were much better. I’m sad to say all of this, but just worried they are faking ppl out with their reviews, which honestly makes me concerned more than anything. It doesn’t seem like an honest business practice or model to go after...

I just had dinner at Urban Noodle and it was awesome. The whole vibe of the place was cool and the food was amazing. Let me tell you about what we got.

We started with Takoyaki. They were pretty good but could have used a little more sauce, just to give them a bit more flavor. Still, they were tasty and we enjoyed them.

Next up was the Chicken Katsu. This was super crispy on the outside but still really juicy inside. Loved it. It came with some sides that matched perfectly with the chicken. Big thumbs up from us.

Then we tried the Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen. Wow, this was something else. The soup was rich and had this deep garlic flavor that wasn’t too strong but just right. It was the kind of bowl you keep eating and don’t want to end.

We also had the Spicy Mala Ramen because we wanted something with a bit of a kick. It was spicy for sure, but in a good way where you can still taste all the flavors. It warmed us up and was super satisfying.

Even though the Takoyaki could have been better with more sauce, everything we ordered was pretty much spot on. The ingredients felt fresh, and it seemed like they really knew how to cook everything just right.

So, yeah, Urban Noodle is definitely a place I’d recommend. It’s got a friendly vibe, great service, and the food is delicious. Can’t wait to go back and...