The Noodle House arrives in the UK
The Jumeirah Restaurants brand has been growing in popularity internationally since the first The Noodle House restaurant opened in Dubai at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in 2002. There are currently 22 restaurants worldwide in cities such as Abu Dhabi, Doha and Moscow, and the move to London is part of Jumeirah Restaurants' plans to expand the brand internationally. The London restaurant will be the first in the UK.
The restaurant will be located on Shaftesbury Avenue and offers a good value menu, aiming to cater to a wide range of customers including local office workers, tourists and theatre goers.
Director of the EQ Group Hussein Sunderji said, “I first ate at The Noodle House in Dubai in 2002 and it was the best mix of Asian food I’d ever had, and I’ve spent a lot of time travelling around that area, for example Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. I was blown away by the food.
“I ended up living in the Middle East for about 5 years and in that time I got to know The Noodle House brand a lot better. The EQ Group were looking at bringing an interesting concept to the London market and we thought that this one really filled a void, that it would work really well here and that Jumeirah Restaurants would be a great partner to work with. The food was outstanding and something different for the London market.”
A wide choice of dishes
The Noodle House concept takes inspiration from Southeast Asia's street food cuisine and teahouse culture.
Noodle dishes will be the main focus of the menu and diners will be able to choose from 12 different varieties including udon, vermicelli, lamian and ban mein. Southeast Asian favourites such as Indonesian Nasi Goreng, Malaysian Curry Laska, Thai Green Curry and Cantonese Roasted Duck with Pancakes, will also be available.
The Noodle House has also commissioned a number of tea and cocktail blends, including the Moon Shadow which infuses vodka with a blend of jasmine, chrysanthemum and Lillet Blanc tea, before being finished with iced hibiscus.
Sunderji said: “We want to offer a combination of outstanding food, great prices, a fabulous drinks offer and a really beautiful and comfortable environment. Putting all those things together really well will stand out in London.
“Normally in this city, to get all of those things you end up paying an awful lot of money, which makes it not accessible to a lot of the London market. We wanted to do those things but still make it accessible to everyone, and The Noodle House does that.
Tailoring to London
The EQ group looked at a number of locations for the restaurant before choosing Shaftesbury Avenue.
Sunderji said: “We loved this place because it’s in the heart of the West End. There are theatres all around but lots of local offices as well, so you get a really nice mix of locals and tourists. It’s a really nice launching pad for us. We’re just around the corner from Soho too; it’s a very versatile location.”
The restaurant features a ‘Tea Wall’ which displays the choice of 17 different blends of tea in jars, six of which are unique to The Noodle House in London.
Sunderji said: “There are some tweaks that we’ve made to the menu for the UK market, mostly on the tea menu and the cocktail menu. We’ve made them bespoke to London. We’ve taken some of the teas we’ve developed and infused spirits with them to create great flavours.”
The Noodle House is located at 117 Shaftesbury Avenue and is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
