Noodle Inn

Noodle in is one of the few places on London Road that I had previously ventured. The first time was one of those impulsive decisions one makes when in good company and spirits. We purchased a couple of bottles of wine and took them in we had a brief wait at the bar, where they served us our own wine, as they prepared our table. It was busy; the huge windows at the front were steamed up and we were treated like kings throughout the meal. I was incredibly satisfied with the food; it was simple but tasty and served in abundance with plenty left over at the end to take home, it was hastily boxed up and returned to us with complementary ice cream. All in all it was an excellent evening we returned home to finish off our wine and cause a substantial scene as we argued over a bloodthirsty game of Carcasonne.
This initial dining experience was great and I’m not going to befoul the place by abusing it here, it’s hard to expect every dining experience in the same place place to be equally good. Again the place was busy, so much so that we were seated at the end of a long table running the length of the restaurant, I wasn’t a massive fan of this as I could hear literally every word of the foursome we were placed next to, it felt rather intrusive and made me feel uncomfortable.
For starter we had ordered ½ a crispy aromatic duck to share and when she brought it to the table and started to shred it I thought that we’d been too greedy and over-ordered, but I suppose the amount was misleading as we managed to nosh down four or five pancakes each without any difficulty. After rather a long wait our mains were delivered, they were comparable to our past experiences, simple but tasty. I’d ordered sizzling satay prawns which arrived angrily on the table spitting and fussing, Steve’s meal was the triple roastie big plate, and it was big. As always we just shared the meals though I preferred my prawns. The sauce covering my meal was distinctly not satay but nonetheless enjoyable, more like thick gravy than anything else, the sauce on both meals and on previous excursions was identical. After the meal had finished, we waited and waited the plates were finally taken away without the offer of taking away the leftovers. No ice cream was brought and neither was our bill. In the end we were sick of waiting and paid at the bar.
This experience at Noodle Inn was inferior to the previous, but can be blamed upon our eating out so late on a Saturday night, the service was otherwise excellent, the food satisfying but it’s also the best value we’ve had on London Road so far.