Noodles and Company

It’s often difficult for my family and I to find an enjoyable, inexpensive pasta restaurant that has something for all of us to enjoy. However, after discovering Noodles and Company, we have found ourselves often not confronted with such a problem anymore. In 1995, Aaron Kennedy founded what would become the well renowned Noodles and Company that was first located in the state of Colorado. Now, several years later, there are over 300 Noodles and Company locations around the world, according to Fast Food Menu Prices. I got the chance, once again, to visit one of these locations in Chantilly, Virginia, one Sunday afternoon.

It was a brisk, windy day when my Mom and I walked into the restaurant to find it completely empty. Not a single person sat eating at the glaring wood tables reflecting the bright, beaming sun that was illuminating the entire restaurant. After seeing this, I wondered if the emptiness was because the restaurant doesn’t get many customers, or because we had arrived so shortly after opening.

After walking through the second round of doors, we were presented with the first menu that took up almost an entire wall. I appreciated this as it gives customers a chance to think about what they want before walking up to the cashier, where again, the menu is available for customers to reference, if needed. By putting a menu right by the entrance, it makes it easier for people like me, who are very indecisive, to contemplate and decide on what they want to eat before beginning to order. It eliminates having to stand at the cashier for what seems like hours going back and forth on deciding what to order from the several options on the menu. Since they did this, I didn’t feel stressed which I often do feel at other restaurants when it comes to deciding what to eat. I didn’t have to stand in front of the cash register while holding up the line which can be extremely nerve-wracking for me.

After looking at the menu, it is coherently clear that there are several choices on the menu that the restaurant intuitively organized into sections according to the types of noodles. This makes it easier for customers to interpret and decide on what they want. Along with its numerous options, the menu also has aspects to it that fits everyone's unique sense of taste. Whether you’re vegetarian, gluten free, or just a picky eater, everyone can find something on the menu that fits their likings. Noodles and Company even has an option for customers to customize their own pasta dish that is distinctive to their individual tongue.

Although after looking at the menu, I had realized that they must have changed their menu over the past couple of years because I remember coming to Noodles and Company a couple of years ago when they had very limited choices on their menu that didn’t give customers the freewill they so desire to customize or substitute ingredients. The ability of customizing an individual pasta dish that Noodles and Company enables gives customers a sense of cooking and creating a dish at home where they are able to put whatever ingredients they want to make it personal.

The experience and ambiance of eating at Noodles and Company feels like eating in my second home.

As soon as my mother and I walked into the restaurant, we were immediately immersed into the ambiance of the restaurant that felt very simplistic. I didn’t feel overwhelmed when walking into the restaurant as there were few to little decoration or pictures hung up. With its casual manner, the restaurant is a hub for families and friends to come together to spend time with one another over a home cooked style meal, as mine did when my siblings were living at home.

The restaurant is extremely laid back, with sort of a mix between a casual and formal restaurant-type style. When thinking of a simple, quick lunch or dinner place, Noodles and Company always comes to mind. They stay true to their word of being a restaurant that delivers food quickly, though not inefficiently, as my food came out less than 10 minutes after I sat down. An employee even specifically brought our food to us with warm regards, along with forks and napkins as a traditional restaurant would.

My Mom ordered a small pad thai, and I got a regular buttered noodles. In the past, I have also tried their mac and cheese and spaghetti and meatballs. I have always gotten the regular size, although for some reason, it seemed smaller than usual this time around. The bowl was abnormally shallow and there was barely even enough pasta for me to consume.

As I was listening to others order, it seemed to me that Noodles and Company was not properly prepared for the day, as I overheard them tell a little girl that they didn’t have any meatballs to be put on her spaghetti. Although, they did make it up to her by letting her get her meal for free which demonstrated their quality customer service that acknowledges the customer's experience. Despite correcting the situation, they should of had all of their food readily prepared prior to opening in order to avoid similar situations from happening and disappointing customers.

Luckily, the prices are very reasonable for what is offered. Most of the time when I go to a restaurant and order a pasta dish, it can get a little bit on the pricier side, but at Noodles and Company, even if you add shrimp to your pasta, the cost of the dish will still remain at an affordable price for everyone.

While eating my food, one thing that destroyed the experience was the fact that I could hear every little sound coming from the kitchen as it was put out on display for everyone in the restaurant to see behind the cashier. I could hear every tiny little bang of the pots and pans. This was extremely distracting as I was trying to enjoy eating my food in peace and quiet. I understand their intent was to show how they prepare the food fresh and specific to every order, but this just created abnormally loud and unnecessary distractions. I could barely hear the quiet, questionable music. I have no idea who chose which songs to play, but they were definitely songs that no one has ever heard before, and never should.

The quality of the actual food is standard. I mean you get what you paid for. Normal tasting pasta. Not necessarily bad, but not the best. Although, they did a good job in not making my plain, old buttered noodles not taste bland by adding seasonings to it; however, when I got my noodles, they were very wet, and got cold within seconds of eating it.

It seems as if Noodles and Company is sort of lazy as they make customers put away their own dishes. That’s not my job. I’ll give them props, although, that the restaurant was very clean. I hadn’t seen a single piece of trash laying on the floor, or a single crumb on the table.

As we opened the door to the icy blast air, I had left the restaurant pleased with the food I had just consumed. As I looked back on the ambiance of the restaurant, memories started flowing in from the past when my family and I would come to Noodles and Company every couple of weeks. After our meal, we would walk down a couple of stores to get some frozen custard at Milwaukee Frozen Custard. Not only does Noodles and Company provide a family friendly environment that brings families together, but it also provides lifelong memories that families, like mine, will cherish forever.

Noodles and Company

13958 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy

Chantilly, VA 20151

United States

Work Cited

“History of Noodles & Company.” Fast Food Menu Prices, 22 Apr. 2014, https://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/history-noodles-company/.