Review: Noodle Inn, Liverpool Street
Noodle Inn is known for their huge Soho queues that go around the corner but there’s a reason why everyone is queuing up: a combination of those deliciously fresh hand-pulled oil spill noodles and a lot of social media hype. Noodle Inn has now opened up a bigger second branch in Liverpool Street in which all the meats served are halal!
In need of a bowl of warm, spicy noodles (plus wanting to check out the hype), I wandered over to Liverpool Street and got seated after waiting a few minutes. Mind you, this branch is huge but a short queue started forming around 8pm so try to arrive early if you can.
Noodle Inn, Shoreditch
Oil Spill Biang Biang Noodles with Braised Beef Rib
The dish you’ve been seeing all over your socials. A big mammoth bone-in beef rib served on top of a bowl of fresh biang biang noodles and finished off with a generous ladle of sizzling hot oil. Tasked only with chopsticks, I wasn’t really sure how to go about tackling this as the meat was not soft enough to shred off – maybe I could just pick up the bone like a neanderthal? Eh, it wasn’t the worst idea.
Thankfully, the waitress came over after a few minutes – she probably saw me toying with the idea of using my hands – and offered to remove the beef from the bone with a pair of scissors. After a few minutes of watching her snip away at the beef, the dish was finally ready and we mixed it all up.
I want to say I loved it but I’ll go with I liked it. The beef could have been more tender as the fatty pieces were chewy and it also could have benefitted from a lot more chilli for a real kick. The noodles were nice and springy though so bonus points for that!
Oil Splash Beef Mince Noodles
Yes, it is practically the same dish as the beef rib noodles just with a switch in protein but it had my name all over it – sorry! The huge bowl arrived with seasoned beef mince, wide biang biang noodles, chilli oil, a dollop of garlic and lots more condiments. Toss it all together and this was the best dish of the evening thanks to the lip-smackingly good beef mince in chilli oil. The only downside were the super wide noodles that became a struggle to eat once they had cooled down so you’ll need to be quick with this dish.
Chinese-style Burger with Shredded Duck and Hoisin Sauce
Think of all the components of a crispy aromatic duck dish (trimmings included) but in a flaky pastry bun. Whilst it had some hints of hoisin sauce, the duck was quite dry so I would give this a skip.
Pan Fried Dumplings with Minced Beef
Long dumplings filled with juicy seasoned minced beef and onions. They were so simple yet so good. The crispy dumpling skirt was a nice touch too.
The total bill for two, without drinks, came to approximately £60 so £30 each. A little pricey for a casual dinner but considering one dish – the signature – was a ⅓ of the bill and the portions are substantial, you can get a significantly cheaper meal here.
The menu is vast at Noodle Inn so you can’t really cover all the bases in one sitting but I reckon it’s a great shout if you’re in the area, in the mood for something casual and don’t mind waiting a little. Did I kick myself for following the social media hype? Only a little but if you skip the signatures, I think a meal at Noodle Inn will satisfy anyone. And if the queues are long, you can always head to JWD Lamian up the road!
Halal Status: All meats served at the Liverpool Street branch are halal. Alcohol is present.
Address: 100 Middlesex St, London E1 7EZ
Website: https://www.instagram.com/noodleinnuk_/
