My
spouse and I visited CHeU Noodle Bar for lunch on a Sunday afternoon in late
June 2017. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner. CHeU primarily
accepts walk-in customers; however, they do accept reservations for parties of
six or larger (check their website for details). We also saw a few customers
stop in to purchase takeout food.
CHeU Noodle
Bar opened in 2013 on South 10th Street in Center City/Washington Square. The chef/owners (one of whom previously
worked at now-closed Matyson, his family’s business) also operate
Bing Bing Dim Sum in East Passyunk, and a yet-to-open
location of CHeU Noodle Bar in Fishtown. Before opening a brick and mortar
store, they operated pop-up restaurants under a cheeky name. The current name
“CHeU” is a spin on a family member’s last name combined with the idea of the
“chewyiness” of noodles.
The
cozy interior of the restaurant seats nearly 30 guests at either a few tables
in the front of the space or at the wooden chef’s counter, where you can watch
the chefs prepare your meal. The wall opposite the chef’s counter includes a
narrow wooden ledge for resting drinks; below, the owners mounted blocks of
instant ramen noodles (behind plexi-glass) as a novel design element, and above,
display some kitschy graffiti (there’s more pasted in the unisex restroom in
the back). High ceilings and wood floors make the space seem larger than it
probably is.
The restaurant serves Asian fusion cuisine, with noodles as
its dominant feature, although it also offers some interesting
appetizers/starters. When the restaurant first opened, they made their own
noodles, which was a never-ending task. Now, they order most of their noodles,
except for the hand-torn ones and the dumpling skins. We shared the unique pastrami
dumplings to start, followed by the delicious coconut curry noodles and the tasty
Sichuan spicy noodles, both with a side of (fantastic!) pork shoulder and an
egg. CHeU has a liquor license, and their carefully curated offerings include a
few beers, wines, designer cocktails, and some special non-alcoholic drinks
(like the delicious yuzu lemonade that we sampled).
Heartwarmingly,
as we entered the restaurant, we passed one of the owners delivering a bowl of
ramen to a homeless man on the street; even more impressive, the presentation
of the components in the dish included all the myriad menu ingredients that a
paying customer would receive. Nice job!
We loved our
lunch at CHeU Noodle Bar – the food was yummy, the
service was great, and the atmosphere was energetic.
