The Best Noodles in Chicago

Joy Yee Noodle

★★★★☆ 3.6 (1901) • $$

"I've been to Joy Yee's a number of times. Mostly to this location and the one in Evanston. While it's Asian fusion, it's still pretty good.You can get Chinese food, Vietnamese, etc.My uncle got pho, my cousin ordered fried rice and short ribs, my sister got a tofu dish that tasted a lot like pad kee mao, and my mom and I shared a Malaysian seafood plate that had fantastic flavors! I had to ask the staff what they put in it! So so good!We also got some sort of appetizer that was a mix of vermicelli noodles, spring rolls, fries, and more.It's A LOT of food. Def shareable unless you've got a big appetite.Their fruit teas are fabulous! Loved the one I got. My sister got a milk tea and didn't love the boba texture in it. Just meh. Great staff, quick service, food comes out fast, large portions. I'm sure I'll be back!"

Momotaro

★★★★☆ 4.1 (1316) • $$$

"Had reservations here for Friday night birthday dinner for my friend. It was a nice touch from the staff where they printed a personal Happy Birthday to my friend on her menu! All of the staff also wished she a happy birthday to make it extra special.The vibes are dark & moody with your Japanese influences. Seems like a great place for date night! Also a plus, the bathrooms are stocked with everything you need, including hair ties! Feels very personable. I got the chef seasonal nigiri selection and it did not disappoint! Each piece was well seasoned and some pieces even provided a smoky finish! The 10 day dry aged tuna nigiri sampler was also so delicious. The fish is on point here. I would come back here again! Just prepare to spend a pretty penny here, haha!"

Cozy Noodles & Rice

★★★★☆ 4 (1269) • $$

"I must have forgotten to review this place over 10 years back when I first came. It's so nostalgic in so many ways because it's a place that a friend who has now passed away brought me here. It was one of his favorites. It's so Chicago and Thai, filled with love as associated with what Cozy encompasses. It's a kitschy spot and thus will begin your attachments to wanting so many delicious items here. The decor is fun and filled with childlike comforts. The menu has lots of fun baseball named items. I came with my coworkers whom I easily convinced that eating Thai food would be much better than ball park food before the game. We forgot share so many delicious items: baby eggrolls, crab Rangoons, gyozas, shrimp salad, Chicken Tom yum soup, chicken satay, Wrigley Forever, Doubleheader, salmon red curry, salmon special, pineapple fried rice. Everything was flavorful and delicious! Service was great, and I will try not to wait too long to come back again. It's a small spot but was so impressed that all 6 of us got to eat together. It's a place my team will not forget. Cash only!"

Chi Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (1289) • $$

"Great Cantonese style food. In the heart of China town plaza . fukin fried rice- pretty damn good. fried rice with a seafood in gravy sauce on top.sizzling black pepper tenderloin- very tender and has good savory tastesstir fried Chinese broccoli with garlic( not on the menu) - has a nice crunch and fresh bite to it. has good garlic flavor, can kill a vampirepork chop with sweet sauce- this is good, wish it had a thicker and more red sauce.everything came out fairly quick, every dish comes with bowl of rice. $2 parking across the street. if you get parking ticket validated by restaurant. you need to know what to order here and what we order is a solid line up. would definitely come back."

Joy's Noodles & Rice

★★★★☆ 3.8 (996)

"Good Thai. Decent baby enrolls and fantastic iced coffee for dessert. Service was better from the male servers, which seems to be the pattern lately, since I've started emulating the TikTok Bold Glamour filter, haha."

Joy Yee - Evanston

★★★★☆ 3.6 (938) • $$

"Joy Yee is tried and true. I've been coming here/ ordering from here for years. My absolute favorite item is the Thai red curry with chicken - best part is they have it on the lunch menu! Each lunch item comes with a delicious hot and sour soup and egg roll. Portions are humongous (1 lunch special can serve 2). The red curry has the right creaminess, heat, and flavor. It's packed full of veggies and the protein of your choice. Their smoothies are also excellent. My go-to is always the mango tropical- this is a mango smoothie topped with tons of fresh fruit. Service is always prompt and food is served piping hot."

Noodles In the Pot

★★★★☆ 3.9 (740)

"Good idea to come here at lunch. It has some pretty good specials going on. Noodles In The Pot is a pretty tasty place for Thai. For sure there's noodles, but explore the entire menu. There's lots of things for various needs including vegetarian friendly and others. Came here with the girl at lunch to get some noodles and spicy food. I was in the mood for Thai, but not sure about her. The food here is good but the prices aren't the best, so it's best to come for the lunch specials. It's about $14 for most entrees. Lunch specials are a few bucks cheaper, and you still get a lot. Both of us got something with noodles, and these had a protein choice. Of course tofu. I had the Pad Khee Mao. This is wide rice noodles with baby corn, carrots, green beans, green peppers, and tomatoes. She had the Pad See Ew. This also was wide rice noodles, but had broccoli among vegetables. Food was pretty big portions especially at lunch. There were enough leftovers for later meals. Even at lunch it has big portions for not a lot. It has more than just noodles. There's many items that can be made vegan or vegetarian."

Ramen Takeya

★★★★☆ 3.9 (734) • $$

BluFish Sushi

★★★★☆ 4.1 (603) • $$

"We returned this time to enjoy a delightful lunch with a party of 4. The lunch special bento's are quality and also really good deals for $16-17. We had four of them - 2 salmon, one seared tuna, and one beef bento. Lunch time here is also not harried like at dinner time, and we had a nice leisurely catchup with our guests after eating also. Yum, and thank you!"

Ken Kee

★★★★☆ 3.7 (658) • $$

"I spent three days in Chicago for a work trip and wanted to make the most of my short trip, so I decided to take a drive out to Chinatown. On the way, I looked up recommended places to eat and Ken Kee looked pretty promising. Unfortunately, it was just alright.The outside of the restaurant is probably something to look at at night when all the neons are on, but the inside has a really cool retro styling with vintage-inspired lighting, neon signs, and kitschy posters. There were only two parties eating when I walked in, but it took a minute for the three people working to acknowledge me and even then, I got a half-hearted gesture toward a table and barely a hello.Service remained strange and lackluster throughout the meal. The waiter seemed a little standoffish and doubted that I knew how to order from the build-your-own-noodle-bowl menu, which, even if I wasn't extremely familiar with due to all the Asian restaurants here in the Bay Area that use them, would've been extremely simple to understand otherwise. Weirdness aside, I built my own bowl:- Base: plain noodle soup- Toppings: beef brisket- Noodle: handmade noodles- Broth: signature beef broth- Belly sauce- Medium spicy sauce- Green onionsMy food came out really fast and while it was a good portion, everything was somewhat middling. The flavors were a little lackluster, the spice was nearly nonexistent, and the beef brisket was a little fattier than I would've liked (though it was extremely tender). Good amount of noodles though, which were cooked perfectly. The bowl plus a can of Coke and tip came out to a little over $17. I'd be willing to go back (if I ever go back out to Chicago) to try some of their other dishes, but would likely want to prioritize trying some of the other places in the area first."

Noodle & Sushi Delight

★★★★☆ 4.1 (476) • $$

"Noodle & Sushi Delight Restaurant is a true hidden gem! You are greeted warmly the second you walk in the door by the owner Hannah. The restaurant was very clean, well organized. Very spacious and cozy seating is offered. Service was excellent and lunch was served quickly. Food is delicious and I'm looking forward to returning here for dinner and trying their noodle dishes! They were very busy with lunch service as well as carry outs but delivered fast and friendly service! I tried the Japanese 2 roll sushi special which come with soup or salad. I chose the salad. Lunch special salad - unique delicious fresh made mango dressing (sweet w/little spicy kick). Crisp greens, petite cucumber slices and grape tomatoes. Salad was chilled nicely. Vegetable egg rolls were served hot, (best in the area!) crunchy, packed with bean sprouts and full of flavor. The plum sauce and hot mustard are made in-house!Tuna avacado roll was very nice - tuna was very fresh and there was a generous portion of avacado in the roll! Spicy Salmon roll had good flavor and crunchy cucumber inside. Sushi has more fish and less rice which made this a step above some other places! The shaved ginger was shaped into a pretty rosebud on the plate. Both ginger and wasabi are made fresh in-house. Carryout: The Kung Pao chicken lunch special had a lot of good quality chicken pieces. The sauce was very nice and went well with the fried rice! Service is excellent here. The staff is very attentive to all your needs and is there to make sure you enjoy your meal. They have a full bar, outdoor seating and also had fun slots area in the back of the restaurant. There's something for everyone at Noodle & Sushi Delight! Thanks Hannah and staff for a delicious enjoyable experience!"

Phat Phat

★★★★☆ 4.1 (449) • $$

"Oops we did it again!We enjoyed Phat Phat so we brought friends with us for a repeat visit. We ordered everything we ordered on our previous visit, plus: beef stew, green beans, soup dumplings, phat phat chicken, won tons and chocolate bao. The restaurant was busy but not crowded. Our server was very efficient and our food was brought out fairly quickly. Our friends enjoyed phat phat as much as we did and though we first thought we over ordered--we demolished it all.We are well on our way to becoming phat phat but we couldn't be happier!"

Minami Sushi

★★★★☆ 4.2 (406) • $$

"Always consistently delicious! The soup, salad, apps, maki rolls and sushi. They remodeled and it looks great! I went on a Friday night and it was busy!! I made a reservation on Yelp :) and sat down right away."

Silver Spoon Thai Restaurant

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (584) • $$

"All in all a very average experience. The chicken coconut soup was tasty but lacking in substance. 90% liquid. The shrimp pad thai was quite good. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars as compared to other Thai restaurants.Service was fast and friendly, but unfortunately the soup came out at the same time as the pad thai. I was literally the only customer in the restaurant. Timing appetizer and entree delivery would not have been that difficult. The dining room is clean and comfortable. It's in a basement. Not sure how a disabled person would get in here."

Min's Noodle House 渔家重庆小面

★★★★☆ 4.2 (357) • $$

"I came here after a Sox game for takeout to bring back to my place. I ordered both the Spicy Pig Ears and Original Spicy Chunking Noodles and they were both DELICIOUS. Portion size was good and normal for the price point and I devoured my food. I probably should have just eaten there so it was 100% fresh out of the kitchen, but either way it tasted great even 25 minutes later when I arrived home. This place is a sleeper gem for sure - if you are craving more of Chongqing-style of food, come here!"

Yummy Yummy Noodles

★★★★☆ 4.3 (327) • $$

"Still my favorite place. I order their Japanese Salt & Pepper Tofu for delivery at least once a month! I love the seasoning of their tofu so much that I attempted to recreate it at home one time, and let's just say...I'll just leave it to the real cooks haha. Soups come in generous portions, and I also loveeeee their roast pork over rice! Great "over rice" specials to get the most bang for your buck, and the food quality has always been consistent since my first review years ago!"

Yes Thai Chicago

★★★★☆ 4 (371) • $$

"Say yes to Yes Thai! While this restaurant has a big takeout business, Do yourself a favor and stop in to dine in. It has a modern look, and the plating of the food is quite exceptional and looks as good as it tastes .All the Thai classics and more! #thai #chicago. Food comes out quick and the service is great. There are only a couple of tables so it will never be loud."

Shang Noodle - Chicago

★★★★☆ 4.3 (315) • $$

"Had a really great lunch here! Staff was friendly and service was quick.Shrimp hao goa - 4 pieces of dumplings. So good. Crab wontons - solid. Not much to say about it. House chow mein - delicious and a nice size to share. Orange chicken - it was good but didn't love the sauce. Didn't hate it either.Overall it was good, but I'm not sure I'll be in a rush to come back. Maybe if I find myself nearby I'll drop back in for the dumplings especially"

Thai Noodles Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (369) • $$

"My favorite neighborhood restaurant! Beef with basil leaves for me and my son loves the chicken with rice Allysa and her staff are amazing."

Phodega

★★★★☆ 4.3 (302)

"Phodega has my ultimate comfort food: Hainan chicken, fried chicken, white rice cooked in chicken fat, and beef pho. I usually like scallion-ginger oil over my Hainan chicken, but Phodega uses a ginger-garlic sauce. The fried chicken is very crispy. The white rice is so flavorful after being cooked in chicken fat; whoever thought of this idea is a genius. The beef pho comes with both sliced ribeye and beef meatballs. The portions are big. I was definitely full afterwards.They also have Asian sodas...the ones that are full of high frustose corn syrup and artificial flavors...but those are still considered comfort food in my book."

Penny's Noodle Shop

★★★★☆ 3.9 (358) • $

"I always loved small places like this. I always appreciated the authentic spices, aroma, and taste of Thai and other south East Asian foods. Joseph suggested we come here for dinner. Glad we came here. I ordered the vegetarian bowl. It came with warm fragrant rice noodles, green onions, julienne carrots, red cabbage, mung beans, cilantro, spicy tofu, crushed peanuts, and a slice of lime. The vegetarian bowl tasted divine! The kitchen staff captured all the flavors I expected from a first class Thai restaurant. Joseph ordered the chicken soup. He said it tasted fine. Penny's Noodle Shop felt cozy and small. But groups of 4 could fit around the smaller sized tables. I liked the decorations on the wall. They looked fun and adorable. Come and bring friends, family or even a date. I highly recommend Penny's Noodle Shop."

Cozy Noodles & Rice

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (509) • $

"Cozy up for Cozy's Noodle and Rice Such a delicious dinner here we have two appetizers, Crab Rangoon and Shumai along with two delicious entrees of Bamee Noodles & Crispy Pad Kee Mao! So yummy and delicious and overall this restaurant is such an experience! The service was vey kind!"

Wonton Gourmet

★★★★☆ 3.6 (391) • $$

"When you spend most of your life visiting Seven Treasures in Chinatown, there's a void to be filled when the restaurant closes down. We recently went to Wonton Gourmet with our family for dinner and looking at the menu was so nostalgic. Wonton gourmet has its own parking lot with plenty of parking spaces. When you walk into, the inside has wallpapers of photos I believe of Hong Kong and the street markets that really added to the ambience. We were quickly shown to our tables where they brought out water. Our waiter came by and took our order shortly after and our food came out quickly after that. I had been craving my 554 meal, but I loved it with a runny egg so it was more like porridge. It absolutely hit the spot. My parents and my siblings got the wonton soup with extra shrimp dumplings on the side and rave that it's the best they've had since their favorite restaurant closed. All in all, we had a great time, and can't wait to come back for more."

Shang Noodle & Chinese

★★★★☆ 4.1 (265) • $$

"What a great place to have some authentic delicious Chinese/Taiwanese food, in the heart of downtown Evanston. Whether you're a student, or not, definitely take the trek to Evanston to Shang Noodle & Chinese, where the food won't disappoint, the service great, and the overall dining experience being top-notched.We order the famous Jjajangmyeon (Noodles in blackbean sauce) which if you look at Yelp, there are dozens of photos of it; a crowd pleaser for sure. If you're looking for a great chicken dish, with jam-packed flavor, spice, and the perfect breading, definitely try out the dry red-chilli chicken. We topped off the fantastic meal with some pork belly soup.Our server was great... letting us two, pull together two tables, due to the amount of food we ordered. Our waters were filled constantly, and we were checked-up on several times.BATHROOM REVIEW: There is a mens and womens private bathroom. In the mens, it was extremely clean and spacious and contained a urinal, toilet, and even a chair to chill at, if you're all about having a conversation in the bathroom, or just wanted to lounge in a bathroom. No judgment here. Well, judgment with the bathrooms, as that's what I do. Sit or squat? Sit!"

Xi'an Cuisine

★★★★☆ 3.9 (290)

"Thank you Bonnie C. for finding this place!It was busyyy since we had visited during the Lunar New Year parade , I'd say come here with 4 ppl max for most comfortable seating , a good amount of booth seatings thoughMenu is extensive- Stir-Fried Chewy Noodles: bomb.com! So flavorful and the Biang Biang noodles were a nice fluffy chew, highly recommend and definitely a share-able item, decent amount of veggies too which I can appreciate - Cumin Lamb Flatbread: yummm, so delicious and well-seasoned, flavorful too. Bonnie C. got their crispy flatbread while I ordered the original, and we both really enjoyed what we got!- Pork potstickers: delicious appetizer to start the meal with, comes with 6piecesCan't wait to be back next time I'm in town!"

The Noodle Vietnamese Cuisine

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (397) • $$

"If I lived here, I would eat here every day. Everything we ordered was fresh and amazing. The service was very fast and attentive. The seating is comfortable and ample space is given."

Jaiyen Sushi & Noodle

★★★★☆ 3.9 (245) • $$

"Charming place located at Belmont and California. If you like noodles, sushi, or both it has plenty of each. Jaiyen is also pretty affordable especially at lunch. Has some pretty good options to choose from. The portions may not be that big but you get an okay amount for a good price. After going by here before we came in at lunch. It was good timing because they had lunch specials going on. These specials are good any day of the week. Got the one that's about $10 for 2 maki rolls and miso soup that's soybean based. This one was the vegetarian choice, with Avocado Maki and Garden Maki as the rolls. First one had avocado of course. The other one also had asparagus, cucumber, and spinach. Got a good meal out of it. It's not big rolls to be sure but you get a couple along with miso soup so it's actually kind of a lot. There's plenty of maki rolls for seafood eaters as well as vegans and vegetarians."

Lao & Thai Spicy Noodle

★★★★☆ 4.4 (192)

"Came here for a weekend lunch, and as we were eating in, we could grab a menu from the front and sit anywhere. It wasn't too busy yet when we first got to the restaurant, but then got more full by 1-1:30pm. The restaurant has several booth tables and tables in the center. We were so happy to find a restaurant with Lao food as it's not as common to find. We got appetizers of egg rolls, crab rangoon, Lao jerky which came with a small side of sticky rice, and entrees of pad see ew with tofu and Nam Khao Specialty. My partner enjoyed all the Lao food, and my favorite was actually the egg roll. The pad see ew was good but not as saucy as I prefer. The staff were nice and food came out very quickly."

Noble Thai

★★★★☆ 4.2 (206) • $$

"If you're looking for comforting thai food, I recommend this place. The dining room is very spacious and clean. Has a nice modern touch to it.To drink, I ordered a thai ice tea and it was delicious and creamy. My friend enjoyed her thai ice coffee and said it wasn't super strong. For starters, we got crab rangoons and shu mai both of which were very good. I ordered the khao soy for my entree and substituted the chicken for shrimp. It was very flavorful and filling! To end the meal, we got the fried banana which was SO GOOD. I wish they had the mango sticky rice available but it's seasonal :( Id love to come back and try the rest of their menu!"

Siam's House Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.6 (224)

"I was first introduced to this spot by my sister and brother-in-law. They are regulars here and understandably so because the basil chicken here is delicious! You can get it according to your preferred spice level (mild) and they can serve it with a fried egg. It's such good comfort food! My sister and her family have moved out of state since then and this spot has always been their first stop upon arriving back into town when they visit. Their other dishes are also very delicious and I've heard that this is probably the most authentic Thai restaurant in the area. They've changed owners during my most recent visit but the dishes were still the same as I remembered it. Maybe the fried egg was slightly different and doesn't quite have the same crunchy edges. Overall still good and would still come by to satisfy those cravings!"

Thai Inbox

★★★★☆ 4.1 (167) • $$

"I'm trying to save half my meal for tomorrow, but I keep on wanting just one more bite...it's so good!I must also comment on their consistency. My wife and I have been ordering from here for ten years, have had several different dishes, and not once have we ever been disappointed. The quality is there, every single time! And to me, that's the mark of an excellent restaurant. Unfortunately it's a bit of a drive, but no other Thai place (Or most other places, the food is generally awful where I live) around me delivers this kind of quality. At least Wilmette is a nice place to drive through."

Akai Hana

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (246) • $$

"I grew up on Akai Hana, and when I come home to visit, I usually make it a point to stop by for their bento boxes. It gets tricky, as the hubs is not a fan of this place!I think you just need to know what to order - I used to stick with their chicken teriyaki bento box, but I've switched over to the salmon teriyaki - I request this to be well done, and, if I feel a bit more saucy, I do ask for extra teriyaki sauce to come with. The set comes with pickled ginger, a mound of wasabi, your choice of protein on top of a pile of shredded cabbage, 6 California rolls (which I find tasty!), and a cucumber/imitation crab salad. Coming here during lunch is so much better, as the bento boxes do not come with the nigiri (which I find their fish/sushi not so fresh), rice, or a scoop of ice cream.Hot green tea is not complimentary anymore!Service can be a hit-or-miss, as it can be a bit difficult to get your server to bring refills or the check.Plenty of (tight) parking in the plaza lot.+salmon teriyaki bento box+good California rolls+avoid the sushi/nigiri/sashimi+go for lunch!+parking in shared plaza lot"

YATAI Asian Street Food

★★★★☆ 4.2 (138)

"Best place to get sushi in Edgewater. It's a pretty unassuming place that doesn't look like much. YATAI is actually a hidden gem though. Has a big menu of rolls and other Asian favorites. The prices aren't bad for how much you get and there's a variety of basic and more upscale. After looking for a few sushi places, we came here. It's a pretty low key classy type of place. This looks pretty not fancy from the outside, but it's better than it looks, and that goes for the food as well. It's about $5 for the cheapest rolls. We got the Shiitake Roll, which of course had mushrooms, and this one was good for being simple. It's about $7 for the more expensive rolls. We got the Vegan Mexican Roll, which was more complicated yet so much better though. It was a kind of Asian and Mexican fusion. This was made with avocados, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapeños, and lime, with a spicy sauce. It was spicy for sure, lots of flavor. This was well executed fusion of different cuisines that have more similarities than you may think. For sure could come here again. It has lots of rolls to choose from. There's lots of choices for vegans and vegetarians."

DaNang Kitchen

★★★★★ 4.5 (115) • $$

"Stopped by pretty late, about 45 minutes before closing. The dining room was almost full, still. Regardless, I got seated immediately. They handed the menu to me.Iced water was served immediately.First time being in this restaurant, I had no idea what I wanted to order. I knew I would love to have a good bowl of hot soup, since it was pretty chilly outside, and I just finished my daily walk by the lake. I decided to get the Seafood Pho (#60)Waiter assured me that I made a good choice! And I certainly hoped that, too.My pho arrived very quickly. It was hot (temperature wise) and had 3 pieces of shrimp in it, plus some other unknown fish ... It had rice noodles what I really loved! The broth was not tasty at all. As a matter of fact, I think it was plain boiled water ... so I quickly added some spices to it from the condiment tray on the table. Obviously I don't know how to make this dish better, but I really didn't like it, ate maybe half of it. I wish the broth was a real soup, like chicken flavored of something ... Anyway, I saw other people were pretty happy with their orders! Probably they knew the menu better than I did. Servers were very nice, polite."

Monster Ramen

★★★★☆ 4.3 (117)

"Came here for some Ramen, but I honestly didn't expect that huge of a wait time. We were told an hour wait for two people, and we were planning on doing some breweries after our dinner here, but ended up doing those in the hour we had to wait. So at the end of the day, no time lost but damn... an hour? Not sure if it's exactly worth the wait, the place is tiny and most of the people waiting for the table crowd the entrance up so it makes it difficult to get in and out of this place. Once seated, the customer service was friendly, but I felt the ramen took a little longer than usual to come out. The place is small, so there's not a huge amount of tables to have to be served, so I didn't quite get the lengthy wait time. We did start out with an order of their Yaki Beef Gyoza. You get 5 pieces and they were pretty tasty. They did disappear fast though. My wife ordered their House Shoyu and I ordered their Shio House. Both were pretty tasty and overall very filling. The shio was saltier but more flavorful. Unlike other Ramen places, Monster Ramen appears to only offer beef as their protein. So all their offerings are definitely on the higher side. You'll definitely be paying a premium here. They don't offer pork or chicken, which usually tends to be on the cheaper side. Overall I really enjoyed my meal. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, they have a long wait time, but they do serve some damn good tasting ramen. I can definitely see myself returning here often."