Philadelphia: CHeU Noodle Bar (June 2017)




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.












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