Noodles & Company

Just another gross fast food franchise that pretends to offer healthy pasta dishes «made to order.» In reality, the food is NOT healthy — for example, they sneak a heck of a lot of salt in their sauces, if not in other ingredients. As one of the other reviewers noted, it’s pretty hard to figure out exactly what is in their signature sauces even though they pretend to be transparent. If you complain about the food though, don’t expect any sympathy. Sure, they claim to give 100 percent customer satisfaction, but something as simple as reducing the salt content isn’t so simple and their manager admits exactly that — claiming it’s a «challenge» because the sauces provide their «signature» tastes. What taste? The salt??? LOL.
Maybe they’ll offer you another dish if you complain, but they’re too arrogant and cheap to offer a refund … caveat emptor, folks — otherwise known as false advertising. And who wants to tell them to take back a dish so their cook can spit in your replacement order?
Bottom line: if want to eat healthy, stop by the Whole Foods hot bar next door or better yet, just take the time to cook for yourself. At least then you can control simple things like the salt content.

This Noodles is located in the same shopping center as my job so its very convenient to take a walk here on my lunch break. I usually place an online order since lunch is a bit crazy here and they always get my order right. My favorite is the spicy chicken caesar wrap, they pack on the spicy sauce. Now I’m a sauce person so I’m loving it and don’t find it overbearing at all. Now on the other hand, my other favorite dish, Penne Rosa, the noodles are very dry. I HAVE to ask for more sauce, which is great that they give you a cup full. Besides that the food here is pretty good compared some other Noodle and Company places I’ve been to. Everyone here is friendly and the service is great, never had a problem. My department orders from here about once a month for lunch and they are prompt and the orders are always right.

They earn their positive stars b/​c of their prompt customer service, soda machine (LOVE FANTA!), and cleanliness.
You know a business is in trouble when there are so few people in such a big space. Their food really is that bad. I got the pad thai which was extra sweet and didn’t have very many veggies. It was just mostly noodles. I kind of laughed thinking why in the world did I get pad thai when there are Thai restaurants who do the real thing and add real veggies inside. Anyhow, my bf got their pasta with parmesean chicken. I was initially confused b/​c the chicken was flat… like flat flat flat. A flattened chicken that was flattened some more and then some more. Not sure how much it felt like eating chicken. The sauce didn’t taste like much.
We sat there wondering how much longer Noodles and Company will stay around.

First time to a Noodles & Co., guess I ordered the wrong thing cuz the BBQ sandwich I got was pretty disgusting. I wasn’t in the mood for noodles and didn’t have much else to choose from and had to make a quick decision, this was not my time apparently.

This was not my choice as I was in a group from work. I checked Unilocal before we arrived and was not excited about going here. I was not wrong as it was just average.
I would equate it to an Asian Chipotle. The Millennial’s like this format but for me it leaves flavor put of the equation. I ordered the Pad Thai and got it spicy.
It was noting to write home about abs it only served to curb my hunger. The food does arrive fast and the prices are somewhat reasonable. Would eat here again if no other options exist as food is boring and bland.

After visiting this location for the past couple of years, today marks my second visit to the restaurant where where was an issue with my order.
On the previous visit, I ordered my go-​to, which is the stroganoff (it defaults to steak, but I order it with grilled chicken instead). I was clear that I did not want it with the Parmesan they put on it, which was on my receipt. When I got back to the office it was covered in parm, which I cannot eat, rendering the meal inedible. Lacking time to drive back over & have them fix it, I called the manager looking for a refund since I trashed the whole thing. He said he couldn’t refund me, but to «find him» the next time I was there and he would comp me a dish.
Today I return and opted not to push the whole, «Hey, I was in here 3 weeks ago & the manage told me to tell you to give me a free meal thing,» seeing especially how he didn’t take my contact info. I ordered the same thing again — chicken stroganoff — and at least the dish didn’t have any parm on it. Only problem is it didn’t have any chicken nor any stroganoff on it. The amount of stroganoff sauce was maybe a tablespoon, if that, barely enough to cover a half-​dollar. And I may have gotten a half a chicken breast when they usually put a full breast on it. And as another reviewer stated, the stroganoff has this odd large pool of oil at the bottom of the bowl. So I’m left essentially with dry egg noodles swimming in oil versus the meal that I am used to getting.
When I asked if I could get extra sauce, I was told that «that was extra». Seeing as I never carry cash, there was no way I could go back thru the line & swipe my card for a quarter (or whatever they charge for a small cup of sauce).
While I haven’t ever had an issue at this place over the last couple of years, going 0-​for-​2 over the last 2 visits seems to be more indicative of a trend. And not a good one.

This business is located in Plaza America, not a huge shopping strip but one that is stocked with some staples. This include N&C. I ordered the stroganoff pasta, which tends to be my go to here. Ordering my food to go wasn’t a big problem. My only concern is how oily the food was. As I scarfed my food down at my office desk, there was a puddle of oil at the bottom of the container. I took a napkin and it soaked with the grease.
Oh well. Tasty tasty grease.

I’ve come here several times and never had any problems. The cashiers have stepped from behind the counter to greet me and ask if I have any questions about the menu. They have even made recommendations. Today I got the pesto bowl with chicken instead of pork. Very delicious. I’ve also had the Mac n cheese with meatballs which is delicious. A great location. Even the outside seating has shade.

Tara Thai makes tastier Pad Thai.
I asked Noodles & Company to replace the eggs with egg whites on my Pad Thai. They said no.

I used to frequent Noodles often, but in this location I have had some bad experiences. Pretty slow service at rush times, given the dishes are pretty simple. There was an unwanted meatball in my mac and cheese (I’m a vegetarian), and another time the dishes came out and they were downright cold. They did fix these when asked, but it took more time. Also I feel the portions have gotten significantly smaller in the past few months. I wish I could say better things about them. Stuff does taste pretty good.

It’s a chain, and the food’s no better or worse than any other location.
But after I ordered, I couldn’t find a clean table to sit at, and ended up at the clean half of a four-​top.
As I waited for my food and then ate it, I saw the staff bus a dozen tables, but only wipe down one of them. It’s not hard to keep a rag on your hip, and bus and wipe at the same time. If that’s not common sense to them, it makes me worried about what’s going on behind the counter.

I don’t think I recall having many reviews for fast casual chains but, these guys deserve one. A good one. So, I’ve got kids. Two of them (aged 4 & 5) will destroy a regular sized 5.99 Wisconsin Mac & Cheese spilt two ways. They crush it every time and having it split between them is perfect. For our 1 ½ year old, I get a single side protein of meat… Usually chicken…2.69.
I’ve now fed three kids for under $ 10 bucks. You see where I’m going with this. For the adults, we get many great choices. I go for the Thai Hot Pot or one of their other tasty world noodle options. The salad bowls are top notch and the more traditional Italian noodle options are always there. This location has a great outdoor patio all to itself which totally wins everything with a golden crown in top with sprinkles! For families wanting a tasty super affordable more progressive healthy option for a chain, you can’t go wrong. But, consider splitting options. Family of five fed for under $ 30 that is high in the flavor range is alright with me.

I have been to several locations of Noodles & Company. The atmosphere is very vibrant usually and very good food. Overall, the food tastes delicious. The option to call ahead usually is an excellent choice, but what is not ok is that you show up on schedule and at the specified time and the food is not ready or it is still being made. Its a bit frustrating but overall, the reward is the food that you can eat. The best part is the liquor you can have if you are going for an evening snack. A very good part of the options and choices are the variety of food you can get and the quantity. Its a decent size. My favorite is the Mac & Cheese.

Found a roach in the sale and they were trying to give me coupons instead of a full meal refund. They only wanted to refund my salad. I couldn’t believe it. I was very polite for someone who found a friggin ROACH in their food. I didn’t want to make a scene. After asking her the manager if she knows how serious a ROACH in someone’s food is. And letting her know I WORK in the customer service industry and this is NOT customer service if I don’t get a refund. She finally gave me a refund. This place is lucky I didn’t take this to court or place the pictures I have on here. I will never eat at this location again.

I went there to get penne Rosa pasta. When I got the meal, it was very dry and there is literally no sauce. I asked for some sauce, they charged me $ 1extra for one teaspoon sauce. Noodles and Co, I used to like your food. But this is unacceptable. I will share my experience with all my family, friends and colleagues and make sure they won’t make wrong decision to go there for any work lunches, family meets e.t.c. if any one want to have a decent penne Rosa pasta with garlic bread stick for the same money, please check out La Madeline in reston town center which is near by.

Nothing to write home about, but it’s solid. Makes the kids happy with many noodle options, hence the name. The people are nice, and we’ll be back. And of note they have the magic soda machine.

Stopped by here for lunch since it’s close to my work and my coworkers said it was very good. I got the buffalo Mac n cheese and a side of cucumber and tomato salad. The buffalo Mac n cheese was awful. Completely flavorless and barely any cheese on it. The chicken was dry and overlooked. Even with the buffalo sauce which was pretty bad, the whole thing needed some serious seasoning. I would not recommend this dish at all! The tomato cucumber salad was minuscule and more raw onions than anything else. It was not good. This meal was not worth the $ 10.32 I paid for, not one bit. I make better Mac n cheese from a box at home!
With this being my first visit here, I am not impressed and think I’ll bring my money else where. The staff was less than friendly too.

3.5 stars.
I haven’t been to a Noodles and Co since I was in college (it’s been a while) and I wasn’t particularly impressed back then, so I expected today’s visit to be very ho-​hum. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Both the quality of food and the ease of ordering has changed drastically for the better since I last ate there.
I have to give them props; I liked that the calorie counts are explicitly on their menu, they also indicate their meats are antibiotic free, and they have my favorite brand of tea (Honest Tea). The hot pot is currently their specialty dish (it’s comparable to Phở) and it was very good. I got that and a side salad, that was unfortunately overdressed for my taste, but was impressed with the smörgåsbord of choices on the menu. Who knew, it’s not JUST pasta.
They also feature Dreaming Tree wine and Flying Dog beer if you are there not during a break from lunch.
The staff here was very nice, the ordering process is painless, and food came out swiftly and efficiently.
Good job N&C, now that I know all the things, I will be back.

I usually don’t review franchises or don’t rate customer service that often. But today was a bit frustrating especially since this is the first time I’ve had problems at a noodles & co.
Today I used the the online ordering system to save myself time. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. I waited an additional 15 mins…
My order was placed around 12:00 or so to ensure I would just be able to pickup and go. Instead at 2:03 I walked over to get my lunch only to find out it wasn’t made yet because my online request confused them. Since the noodles I requested didn’t normally come in the dish.(Which is kind of why I requested it to begin with) I requested cavatappi instead of the spaghetti noodles.
Note: I wrote extra cavatappi in special instructions.
Yet they waited until I arrived at 2:03 to ask me what I meant? When my phone number was already attached to the order?
Then I had to wait for the cashier to ring me up but she had trouble opening a register.
Lucky for me I had a coupon which gave me a free bowl of noodles/​salad/​soup any size no restrictions (I read the fine print) yet I was still charged +1.00 extra for more noodles. I paid but I still think that it’s ridiculous to have a coupon from corporate that says free bowl and I still pay additional? Where does it say no customizations?
Overall.probably one of the worst experiences at a noodles & co that I’ve ever had. Which really disappoints me because I have no intention of returning to this location.

Sure, it’s a chain, but in that context/​vacuum, Noodles & Co is a shining star in the dim galaxy of chain eateries. But why, oh Unilocal foodie, why? Well, sometimes you just need something that’s quick, simple, cheap, predictable, and with easy-​to-​find nutrition/​allergen info, and you’re with folks who aren’t as adventurous as you.
Noodles definitely has the fast-​casual concept down pat, and in spite of the horrendous parking situation that plagues the Plaza America shopping center, the interior of the Noodles itself is spacious, well laid-​out, clean, and staffed by articulate and intelligent employees (I actually prefer this Noodles to the one at Clock Tower in Herndon).
When I’m craving a little something spicy and/​or a little something healthy, and the hubby is craving something a bit more indulgent/​carb-​y and is in the mood for their out-​of-​this-​world Rice Krispy treats, we head to Noodles. The nice thing, too, about dining in there in the evening hours (as opposed to lunch) is that it’s pretty empty, as the office crowd has obviously gone home for the night. You’ll have the place to yourself, with unoffensive ambient music, and piping hot and fresh food delivered right to your table after you place your order at the counter.
Note that you can opt for a small size or a regular size for most of their entrée items and salads, and you can also add a house salad or soup to most any item for only a dollar or two more. They sell bottled drinks, beer, and teas, and also serve fountain drinks from one of those Coca Cola Freestyle machines. Sriracha sauce, hot pepper flakes, spice power, and soy sauce are also self-​serve, as are chop sticks and forks.
Note that if you’re averse to certain ingredients other than the biggest offenders such as wheat/​gluten, dairy, nuts, soy, etc., that it may be tough to obtain an actual ingredients list. Although the website and the restaurant offer a list of the common allergens and nutrition information for each of their items, I still haven’t been able to obtain an actual ingredients list for their sauces, soups, etc.