One of the best spots for noodle soup in the Bay Area. I've tried coming here on 3 different…read moreaccounts and the line was always too long to fit my agenda. After the long anticipation, I was able block off my calendar and finally try this place on a Friday night. We had a part of 7 and it was more challenging to find a table to fit all of us. Especially with the wait, I would recommend coming here with parties of 4-5 max. The restaurant was mainly filled with students from the nearby college so it's very lively and packed. Usually when my anticipation is high, my expectations are higher and I'm usually disappointed but this did not disappoint!! The broth was so flavorful and the noodles had the perfect consistency of bounce and chew. The meats were tender and on top of that, the portions are huge and very reasonably priced! You can't go wrong with anything on the menu, but highly recommend the House Special Beef Rib Noodle Soup if it's your first time.

Noodle Dynasty opened 3 years ago where Thai Noodle 2 was. Infrastructure, seating similar with a…read moreslight change of decorations. They opened 15 minutes early on Mother's Day. Inside seating only. Waited to be seated per notice. Given a tablet to order on. I didn't know how to turn it on. Associate did so. Staff spoke Mandarin, Cantonese & English. Ordered on tablet, paid. Got water soon without a cup. It arrived minutes later. Soup came within 10 minutes. After soup came, no check-ins. Offerings (Chinese): appetizers, lo mein, noodle soup, specialty stir fries, soup, stir fries... Slurps: lamb noodle soup in 8-hour broth (16.99) - boiling hot broth had savory unami. - overcooked, slightly mushy thin noodles mixed with boiled radish slices, sesame seeds, cilantro, green onions. No veggies Semi-tasty lamb slices. -pretty good. Not wowed. Many new Chinese noodle shops have opened in Berkeley in the past year. 4 ish stars. Service: wham bam! Thank U ma'am/man. None after bringing entree. Quality: reasonable. Quantity: ingredients skimpy. May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

This place is so lovely, delicious, and affordable! Highly recommend, and it's a family-owned…read morerestaurant. I had been meaning to dine in for a while and only regret not visiting sooner. I enjoyed the Hunan Hot and Sour Soup on a cold, rainy day and it was an incredible meal. The service was excellent!

Great restaurant, almost don't have anything to complain to deduct a star…read more Noodles and app, better than the usual 4 stars, taste is authentic and they do put in more than enough flavor. Decor also classy, for big group like us a round table and less noise will be great. Most surprising was prices, for this quality in the busy downtown of Berkeley, certainly a good value.

After I was introduced to this restaurant, there was no going back. This place has such amazing and…read moredelicious dishes. I was here all the time in college, and I try to go back whenever I can. I genuinely dream about this place. My go to meal is the hokkien noodles with the Thai flavor and chicken. It's also a very good bang for your buck. If I get this meal, I'm eating for the rest of the day. The service is always super quick! Sometimes, there might be a line, but they do a very good job at getting the food out quickly. It is a smaller restaurant ao seating can be limited ơn busier days, but that's bc it's so good, everyone's trying to go. I don't blame them.

Overdue review as I've been here several times now. Ambiance isn't much to write home about. It's…read morevery simple and casual with few tables and seating areas. Service here is overall friendly and welcoming. Although, I've mostly gotten take out and dining in means you clear your own table? Food*: - Tom Yum Soup 8/10, bold and tasty - Laksa Soup 7/10, tasty but oily - Clear Soup 10/10, clean and flavorful which is what keeps me coming back almost every time (especially good when feeling under the weather) * I've only had the soups and always with the big flat noodles Overall: - 8/10, great place for quick and casual dining or maybe best as take out order to enjoy at home

The service is good, if I do say so myself. They're attentive and bring out our dishes to our table…read morefairly quickly (times that we do dine in). Normally, we order to-go. Their pan fried buns are delicious and the noodle soups are equally delicious!

it's been a while since i've enjoyed chinese food outside of home, especially xiao long bao. i have…read moreenjoyed many in the past, which set my expectations pretty high, which were quickly met with my first bite of these xlb. they were sooooo juicy, you could see it sloshing around when you picked them up. the skin had a nice chew to it, and was well balanced with the pork filling we selected. i am the type to drench any dumpling-type food i eat with vinegar, even when it's yummy, but i just couldn't bring myself to do that with these ones. they were so delicious and reasonably priced as well. the beef wrap is skippable. it's on the sweeter side, which wasn't necessarily bad, but I was expecting a different flavor profile and this fell short of my desired taste

As a expat who lived in China for over 20 years, this is the most authentic Shanxi-style noodle…read moreI've had in the Bay Area. Chewy, savory, comforting, and tastes just like the noodles I used to eat in China. I'd 100% bring friends back!

food was savory, service was exceptional. and the prices…read morewere very inexpensive. Definitely got bang for my buck.

The food here is great! The combination of flavors and textures is incredible. Everything is…read morethoughtfully and carefully done, holding onto traditional Thai recipes and making impressive, beautiful plates of food every time. The service is very fast and very good. They bring the food out quickly, and keep your glass full, but they don't meddle or listen in. The ambiance is casual, fun and welcoming. I love to eat there with my friends and family because it's a great place to gather. It's not fancy; it just serves fantastic food. The prices are low, but the quality is wonderful!

No complaints about the service; they were quick and very friendly…read more Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of the food. The green curry noodles came with vermicelli, and I wanted to try it since it's what they recommend, but it just was not the right texture for the curry I felt. The flavor of the curry itself was not super flavorful. I felt like more coconut milk could have been added to coat the noodles more. The spring rolls were good. I enjoyed the peanut sauce. We also sat at the front by the door, and it was rather cold in that seat.

8/10 (this location) | 9/10 overall…read more How can you go wrong with Marugame Udon? Seriously. It's one of those spots that just hits every time. This location gets an 8/10 from me--still solid, still satisfying--but overall, the brand is easily a 9/10 because it's just sooooo good. If you're going for the first time (or even if you're not), do yourself a favor and get the beef or nikutama. The broth is rich, savory, and comforting, and the noodles have that perfect chewy texture that makes every bite worth it. It's simple food done really well. And don't skimp on the tempura. That's where people mess up. Load up your tray--shrimp, sweet potato, whatever catches your eye. It's crispy, fresh, and honestly half the experience. Quick, casual, and consistently delicious. Hard to miss here.

I came here from Marin since I felt it was slightly closer than the San Francisco Stonestown…read morelocation. Man I regret that decision. The location itself is super clean and nice. Street parking which wasn't hard to find is about $4 per hour. I was able to park literally right in front of the restaurant. Came on a Thursday around 2pm. We ordered: 1. Large Nakutama (cold): I've had this dish before a bunch of times and today the broth or meat had an odd taste to it. It almost tasted gamey like they meat was old or something. About 40 mins later I had a pretty bad stomach ache and had to use the restroom. Not sure if it was a coincidence or what. My wife had a small amount and agreed that there was an odd taste but she didn't have any stomach issues after eating it (but she also only had a small bite). 2. Large Shrimp BK: This was alright. The noodles were significantly overcooked and bloated. Not sure how that happened since they looked like they were freshly making it. The shrimp tempura was good though. 3. Tempura Pumpkin, potato Croque, Sweet potato and Crab: Honestly the tempura was the best item on the menu. I really liked the Pumpkin and imitation crab while my wife liked the sweet potato the most. Overall food quality probably 2/5 stars. The only saving grace for this location was the guy running the register who was awesome and super nice and funny. He was running around the restaurant helping out making the dishes and running the register. 5 stars for service. Location is also really nice and clean. Just very disappointed with the food quality.

The noodles are pretty fresh with no artificial flavors. We enjoyed different types of noodles and…read morerice noodles. All of them are pretty delicious. Recommend!

Feb 24, 2026 3:00 pm 3.7 stars…read more This place is smart to stay open when New Dumpling takes midday siesta. Always plenty of non metered street parking when I'm in the area for lunch. We are the only customer when we arrived. Very pleasant not overpowering jazz mood music plays. Our server has a very pleasant demeanor. We have Taiwan beef noodle soup. Nice and hot the way it should be. Perfect to my tongue textures of the beef cubes and egg noodles. The beef broth was amazing. At the end of our meal I was full. Too full to the point that I almost cried that I couldn't drink the last gulps but it was too small a portion to warrant taking home. Our Kung Pao chicken? Delicious. Chock full of chicken bites and delicious vegetables. Somehow the plentiful peanuts set my taste buds acraving. Wow wow Pao tasty. The only miss with this was that it was brought to us on a coldish serving plate. A common mistake. We didn't get to try this dish hot. We are now wanting our bill. Seems like long time wanting. To our dismay, our friendly server got herself enmeshed in an on again off again conversation with someone at another table shortly after we arrived. Then she disappeared for a while. We are tempted to guess the bill amount (turns out we guessed wrong by $1), leave cash on the table and walk out. Instead I get up and she appears at the register. Magic. We pay proper like and walk out respectfully. I wouldn't mind coming back.

The first thing you notice when you enter the restaurant is that you really get the feeling that…read moreyou're in a garden. And the colorful lighting and the things that they have set around the room to represent Leo is really a wonderful first impression. We were quickly seated at a table that we wanted to be at and menus arrived with water almost immediately. I have to say everyone who worked there that we felt very special coming in there, and everyone greeted us. From the kitchen staff to the table servers it was very pleasant. Lao food is similar, but very different from Thai food so when you go there, but don't be expecting it to be a Thai experience. Enjoy the wonderful flavors of all the herbs and spices that go into making the sauces in the broth. And where Thai focuses on peppers and seasonings that are too hot for some people. The Lao food has very soft and vibrant flavors. We shared our plates. So we ordered the Nam Khao, Thu Lith Saikoo, Laab Gal, sticky rice, blue lemonade, and coconut mango with sweet rice. If I tried to pick a fav ... I couldn't because every bite was lovely. We will return and explore new items. The adventure continues. Ty Lao Garden. Until we return.

3.5 STARS I'm boring…read moreso where did I get my spice? SE AZN food! It's hard to find a Laotian resto that isn't clumped in with Thai and/or Khmer cuisine so Lao Garden piqued my interest. Walk-in only. But if you have a party of 5+, rezzies are accepted. Back patio is dog-friendly. F O O D * Nam Khao: Crispy Rice w/ fermented pork sausage, peanuts, lettuce, herbs ($25): https://tinyurl.com/yn97yper Many rave reviews on socials saying this is the best nam khao and worth the price. The crunchy, chewy texture was on-point and they were generous with the naem, fermented pork sausage....but it was oddly bland, like they forgot to dress it with the spicy, punchy acidic dressing. * Thu Lith's Famous Saikoo: Steamed tapioca balls w/ ground pork, sweet radishes, shallots ($25): https://tinyurl.com/5n8xnhsz Saikoo is hard to find so this was a must order on our visit. The saikoo had a nice bouncy QQ chew and is filled with a ground pork mixture. Flavor leaned sweet. If you like Viet bánh bột lọc, this will be your jam. * Mok Pa: Steamed catfish w/ lemongrass, green onions, dill, steamed vegetables, jeow mak len ($22): https://tinyurl.com/yxrvnxjb The catfish was flaky and moist but the flavor was one note: earthy. I wished they used more fish sauce and aromatics (i.e. lemongrass and galangal) for citrusy umami. Served with steamed veggies with a traditional Laotian spicy roasted tomato dip that was not spicy at all. * Grilled Rack of Lamb (3 pc-$32): https://tinyurl.com/57hstz93 - Requested medium rare A touch overcooked but the marbled lamb was forgiving, it was still very tender with a great smoky char from the grill. Served with nam jim jaew that felt diluted as it was missing the bold spicy, tangy, salty, and slightly sweet flavors. * Sticky Rice ($8) Aside from the incredibly steep price for a single serving, they brought this with the apps so by the time our entrees arrived, the sticky rice had cooled and hardened. S E R V I C E Friendly and earnest. We had to flag them down for things but understandable since we were the only ones in the patio. We arrived for an early dinner and were the only customers at the time so it was surprising food service was slow with entrees taking 45+ minutes. A M B I A N C E Spacious and vibrant with faux greenery and flower walls. The back patio is partially covered. P A R K I N G They have a private parking lot in back but can easily be missed; take a right after April Rose Provisions. Overall, I had high hopes for Lao Garden but the flavors were far too mild for my personal taste. When I have Laotian food, I want to be punched in the face with funk, citrus/acid, and heat. Off day?

Soo good! Came on Cal Day and it was a little busy but we were able to join the waitlist outside…read moreand were seated outside in 10 minutes. They also have a restroom for customers. We got the pad thai and pad kee mao with a side of sticky rice. Everything was super tasty and flavorful. I really enjoyed the flat rice noodles. The sticky rice sides came wrapped in foil and were so compact (but delicious)!

Great food, hit or miss service. Definitely get signed into the Yelp waitlist as Imm Thai is always…read morebustling, even at 3pm on a weekend! -2 stars for service. One of the staff members were so sweet and regularly checked up on everyone, but our main server was incredibly rude. My vegetarian friend wasn't able to eat eggs but the rest of the table could, so we asked kindly if it's possible to just have it put on the side. I understand if they couldn't do it for whatever reason, but we were just met with so much passive aggressiveness for asking. It made the mood very unpleasant. But honestly, I find it strange as most restaurants are pretty understanding of dietary restrictions and can make modifications to cater to their many costumers. I previously had their pad thai for takeout in 2024 and remember being very disappointed. That said, I would give it another try if dined in. RECS: + Pad see ew ($16) was good, one of the better ones I've had + Green curry ($16) was delicious and full of flavor! + Crispy pumpkin ($10) had a light, airy coating of batter and was paired with a tasty sweet and sour sauce