Noodlepig Ramen and Boba Tea Shop — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

!!Run, don't walk!! My friend and I had the most amazing, authentic, and downright delicious ramen of our lives at Noddlepig today. I cannot recommend and rave about this food more. The restaurant itself was simple, modern, and VERY clean. We went around 3:00 p.m. on a Monday and there were about 4 people already sitting down dining and a couple in line in front of us ordering at the counter, making the atmosphere feel lively but open and not overwhelming. It's all self-sufficient and you order at the register, seat yourself, and pick up your order at the counter when it's ready and take it back to your seat. This type of setup is fine and efficient, (especially when the food is as good as it is here!) but can often make the experience unpersonable as staff goes through the motions of "Thank you. Next!" But that was not the case here at all! Every member of the staff we encountered was cool, kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and engaging. Not only that but anytime we asked any questions it was made apparent by what they said and how they said it that every staff member here is a huge fan of the food they serve, only adding to and backing up the quality of the food.

Both our bowls of ramen were up within 5-7 minutes and we were checked on three separate times as we ate! One of them even being the founder himself who was so genuine and kind and radiated pride for his work (as he should!) We got everything just as it came; I got the Miso and my friend got the Shoyu. Not only was the presentation absolutely Instagram-worthy and picturesque, but we hardly spoke a word to each other once we began to dig in because it was simply too good. So much flavor!! Both bowls were so great we went back up to the counter and ordered a third bowl (the Shio 42) to-go. And yes, even warmed up that one was just as good as the other two, leading me to believe everything on the menu must really just be THAT good.

My only personal recommendation would be don't skimp on the protein! The bowls as they come are already a filling portion but the protein that they have is just too good. We both got pork and one whole egg and going back I would have done double of both; because if you live an hour away like we do, you'll want to soak up as much as you can while you're there. Bottom line, this place is a 10/10, and not only are we certain we will be back but Noodlepig could easily become a "MUST" every time we're in the Grand Rapids area...

So first thing is ramen. It was good not amazing but good. Price could be different due to the fact the service doesn't match the price either. The menu itself is small and doesn't have much variety but that's ok could be altered later. The service itself seems quick when making the food and getting our beverages. Now where I see it can be a problem is this whole new era of self serve where you get your own table and get your own drink could not play well with this restaurant due to the fact it's a small place so if you want to sit down and enjoy your food you will have to wait until someone gets up,and it's not like they keep track of who is sitting where because it's self serve. Basically they are there to provide food and after that find a table or takeout to save yourself the trouble. It would work with more room but lack of space will push out customers just wanting to sit down and enjoy food. Another thing is when your name is called you have to get your own ramen bowl. So it's already risky getting a table now imagine getting up to get your food in a new busy spot, accidents are bound to happen. If you get a drink you would have to cut thru the line of customers ordering their food just for you to ask someone for a refill. It just seems unnecessary. I get if it's McDonald's or Wendy's or something but this isn't fast food. You do feel rushed to eat your food because people will be staring at you to see if you are leaving your table because they need a spot to sit down. They need a way to keep track of that. Even when we got our table no one really cleans the tables we had to get napkins and clean it ourselves like the staff that does the work are the coolers. There should be a better system or play around with the seating or something. The food itself was not bad it did lack protein and needed more eggs or pork I had to pay extra for one more egg. Most places provide that. The noodles themselves were actually not bad. Could be a little different but still good. I do see the place being better once they get around the bumps but right now you're best bet...

First off wonderful place. I love the atmosphere, the kitchen set up, and the owner and staff that works here. Chris was a fantastic and very down to earth person while sharing my girlfriend and I experiences with him about our Japan life. He shared with us about his grandparents who live in Yokohama which is a great place to go to if you can because they have the biggest china town I been to. Aside from all of that I've been to many ramen shops while overseas and I gotta say this is the closing thing that brings me back to Japan but with Chris's spin on it which is so damn good. All the ramen choices you can't go wrong with any of them. But my personal favorite is the Zessan with level 5 or above spice level I love spice so the fact they will put more for you with no charge is great. I do have a complaint with the tonkatsu in the ramen can be a bit big and dry but I feel it would be better if it was cut a little bit thinner when you put it with ramen. The noodlepig fries are super flavorful would recommend but it's a lot of fries so would also recommend getting 2 or 3 people to eat them with you. The cost of the fries is a bit high but well worth it. The gyoza is a must if not the fries. The corn dog is also great it reminds me of Korean corn dogs I had in Japan. If I didn't know any better I would have said the tonkatsu sando was a regular chicken sandwich clone, and yes I know tonkatsu is pork but the sandwich was fantastic nice pickled veggies a crispy tonkatsu with a strange sauce wasnt bad I just didn't taste a lot of it. The boba was pretty good to ngl but the boozy boba you gotta be crazy to get those and start driving away or something cause some of them are pretty strong. But overall I would love to see this place grow and expend and I hope anyone that is in the area or curious try it out I promise you'll have a great experience and just like Japan once you're done eating your not gonna be bloated all day...