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Twisted Noodles
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
19 reviews for Twisted Noodles
This is my favorite Triangle Thai place. We've been here twice. The first time, we stumbled upon it. We thought, let's give it a try. It is in a nondescript strip mall along University Drive, next to a small Indian food store.
Going in, the first thing I noted was that there were quite a few people inside. A few appeared to be from Thailand, so that is usually a good sign. The waiter looked really busy. A quick scan of the place revealed that there was only one server, an another guy running food from the small kitchen.
We ordered spring rolls and Tom Kha soup. At Twisted Noodles, you can pick the meat that you have in your soups, noodle dishes and curries.
I had not had Pad Thai in months, so I decided to have Pad Thai. My fiance had the Red Curry with Beef. Both were unbelievably good. We left full and pleased.
One negative- the service. I wouldn't say the servers are rude, but they are not engaged. They have really stylish haircuts and dress a little funky. If they only took such detailed interest with their customers. We were beginning to think our orders would never be taken. Water refills were few and far between. In a spicy restaurant, water refills can make or break.
The food was so good we went back again one night this week for dinner. We split Tom Kha and Panang Curry with shrimp, mussels and calamari. So very good.
I highly recommend this little restaurant. The service won't dazzle, but the food certainly will!
Checked this place out based on Yelp reviews since I'm in town for work and wanted some Thai food. Overall I was pretty pleased with it. The atmosphere was decent and there were several good options to choose from on the menu.
Ordered a Thai Iced Tea, and while a little heavy on the cream it was tasty. Tried some of the Vegan Delight appetizer and it was bland, but hey, its vegan so what do you expect? I had the Pad see Eww with chicken it was was pretty good, not too soupy and big chunks of chicken (picture attached). Portion was a bit on the small side.
One of the people I was with ordered the fried rice which looked appetizing. Another person I was with ordered a tofu dish but I couldn't tell what it was. The other member of our party ordered the Sautéed Glass Noodles. She stopped eating shortly after she started and said it was too hot (the menu description says nothing about spicy). Sure enough we found these little red peppers in it. I really like spicy food so I figured what the hell and tried one. OMG my face was friggin' melting!! If that was in my entree I would have not been able to taste anything other than heat.
Overall I thought it was pretty good, and would have given them a solid 4 stars. -1 though for the small portion, and being somewhat abandoned after our food was delivered (had to ask the busboy for our check finally). It's amusing the one person who plans to write a review on the internet gets the small portion, and has to wait for food after everyone else at the table has been served. Ah well, despite my annoyances the food was good and I would probably return or recommend it to somebody
My roommate and I are regulars - we are here every other week. We originally found this place because we were craving mango sticky rice with coconut sauce. The Mango Sticky Rice isn't amazing, but they have the best Green Papaya Salad in the Triangle Area (I ask for it extra spicy) and Tom Yum Chili Oil Noodles.
The Drunken Noodles are also quite good, but the Papaya Salad and Tom Yum Chili Oil Noodles are still the standouts. My roommate loves their curry and they are the only ones that make it spicy enough (upon request) for her taste.
Service is always good - my roommate and I seem to always get the same guy. He always seems frazzled and shuffles around frantically but offers fast and friendly service.
Best Thai in the Triangle are (the second being Thai Cafe).
Pretty decent Thai food and the fact that it's less than 5 minutes away means it's going to be my favorite take-out place in the next year. We ordered the Thai standards, pad thai and green curry. The flavors were good, but the meats were a little dried out. I've also tried Thai Cafe, which is nicer and brighter inside, but I ordered different items so can't really compare the food. I just know that when I need a pad thai fix, this is the place I'm going to.
My husband and I go to this restaurant five times as often as we go to any other restaurant in Durham. It is fantastic. But you have to know what to get, and this is what we enjoy: Thai Iced Tea, Yellow Curry Noodle Soup (I ask for rice noodles in place of egg noodles) with tofu, Chili Oil Noodle Soup (both summer style and not) with tofu, and Roasted Duck noodle soup (both summer style and not). Their spring rolls are nice and crispy.
The waiters are neither friendly nor unfriendly, but the service is skilled, and there is a very nice aquarium and a Buddha statue to stare at while you eat. The atmosphere is quite soothing, and the food is insanely addictive and comforting. It is around the corner from a movie theater if you want to do dinner and a movie, as we so often do.
I've watched Twisted Noodles evolve since it opened. They've added seating, rearranged the seating, put in a fish tank, taken out the fish tank, had chairs and then no chairs at the bar, placed some plants and a screen in the middle of the restaurant, placed seating in the 'lobby' area, and so on. So I can appreciate that the restaurant still has some growing pains and that the owners are willing to change and adapt to accommodate restaurant needs that have become apparent.
That said, this is still not my top choice for Thai food. I find that the food itself pales a little in comparison to Durham competition, Thai Cafe. The satay was very disappointing; the curries, just ok. But they do excel with their soups -- both the Tom Yum and Tom Kah are mouth-wateringly good. I've done lunch and dinner; the menu offers around the same stuff -- slightly smaller selection, portions, and price for lunch.
The staff here has a lot of turn-over, but my servers always seem capable and friendly. Never been by on a busy night, but it's a small place with virtually no waiting area, so I imagine it could get cramped pretty quickly.
I really enjoy eating here. Always crowded, you might find yourself sitting a little closer to your neighbors than you'd like. I'll go ahead and tell you now that, once you get your food, you won't care.
As an American (that's pronounced A-murr-cn) that is easily frightened by things that are different and loves fast food drive through ordering, I'm always pleased to see a menu where all you have to do is give someone a number rather than try to pronounce a word that I'd likely end up butchering. Even when ordering my favorite dish, the reasonably pronounceable Drunken Noodles, the wait staff insists on getting the code since the menu is pretty expansive.
In general, I stay with the fried noodle section, but will occasionally branch out to go for the Twisted Flying Tiger, which is almost as fun to order as it is to eat. Until they ask for the menu code. Easily my favorite Thai place.
When it comes to Thai food, I'm a bit of a "snob". Being from CA didn't help either. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at how decent the food at Twisted Noodles were. In short:
Pricing = appropriate
Service = pleasant
Food = good
I've only been to twisted noodles twice but the food is amazing! Don't let the fact that it's in a crappy strip mall in the "it's not chapel hill but not really durham" area fool you..its the best thai food in the area.
It seems to be rather vegetarian friendly, but most asian restaurants are.
Yummy Thai food.
You might be inclined to overlook Twisted Noodles, since it's located in a less-than-thrilling shopping center, but if so - you'll be missing out on some excellent food. They have a lengthy menu, with plenty of noodles, fried rice, curries, and usually some tasty daily specials, as well. It can be hard to choose. And you have to love a place with a entree called "twisted crying tiger."
I expected much more based on the great reviews here. The appetizers (healthy/summer rolls and chicken satay) were very good, but the chicken with chili and basil and the pad Thai really disappointed. The pad Thai was very bland. I've had pad Thai in probably 50 different Thai restaurants, and this may have been the worst I've ever had. The service was poor, too. It took us 20 minutes to get the attention of the waiter to get our bill, even though he walked within a few feet of our table several times. Maybe I just caught them on an off day, but I was disappointed enough that I don't think I'll ever go back. I'll go to Thai Palace in Chapel Hill instead.
Since moving to Durham from Seattle I've been a little hesitant to try the local Thai restaurants, mostly because I was warned off by the locals. When my thai cravy overwhelmed me yesterday, we broke down and tried Twisted Noodles.
I was quite happy. We had the beef Larb (chopped beef in seasonings), Chicken Phad Thai, and Chicken Green Curry. Of the three my favorite was the Green curry, though I've never been a huge fan of the Larb, so it may be quite good if you like Larb. The Phad Thai was better than many places, but a little on the oily side. It could have just been this time, so I'll probably try it again.
Service was attentive and friendly. The space is in a strip mall, so the environment is casual with a touch of industrial, but just fine. Prices are well within reasonable for the quality and quantity.
Hands down the best Thai food in Durham! I spent a summer in Thailand and I have to say that a lot of their dishes are pretty authentic (pad see ew, pad thai, thom yum, twisted crying tiger beef salad ) and they have some creative appetizers like the Twisted Noodle dish (shrimp and fried noodles). Plus, this place actually has Thai owners/workers, and the fact that they have a picture of the King makes it authentic. Definitely a better option than Thai Cafe.
EDIT: unfortunately I have to drop my rating a bit for this one. The portions have gotten smaller, the prices have been raised, and some of the dishes now miss the authenticity mark. I'm not sure if it's the downturn in the economy or a new chef, but some dishes like the pad see ew are so oversauced and heavy that they defy recognition.
My mother is Thai, so I know a thing or two about what is good Thai food, and what isn't. I have only found a few Thai restaurants in the entire country that do Thai food justice. One is in Anchorage, Alaska (family "vacations" in Alaska during summer every year and runs a small Thai restaurant there to pass the time), another is in Mobile, Alabama. The good one in Atlanta closed many years ago. I haven't yet been able to find one in the Asian melting pot known as the San Francisco Bay Area. However, Twisted Noodles in Durham is one of these rare places.
They use high quality meats, which already puts them above the majority of Thai restaurants you'll find. Their recipes are authentic and not dumbed down. This stuff tastes like what my mom makes at home. Heck, it tastes like what you'd find...*drumroll*...in THAILAND!
The fact of the matter is that most Thai restaurants that open up in this country are merely vehicles by which immigrant families can make a living - and thus provides no guarantee that they'll, you know, actually be able to cook well. Combine that with the fact that most of these restaurants perceive that they can get away with inauthenticity or low-quality ingredients to drive up their profit margins because "farangs" (foreigners) can't tell the difference. Yes, they're probably right, but then a place like Twisted Noodles comes around and proves them wrong.
So yeah, put up with the incredibly inept service. If you do takeout, be patient for the five minutes it takes them to realize that your to-go order is already bagged up and sitting on the counter. The owners are super-friendly, and you'll be getting some of the most authentic Thai food you can find without lugging yourself halfway 'round the world.
It's been awhile since I've been here but the food wasn't bad last time. The prices are slightly lower than Thai Cafe and the portions are slightly smaller as well. The service was a little slow but was friendly enough.
Maybe I don't know what "good" Thai food tastes like but this place doesn't seem to taste better or worst than any Thai restaurant I've had around the country.
Awesome Thai Food and great hours! My husband and I enjoy their Pad Thai and the Drunken Noodles. Both were wonderful and the food and service is very consistent.
Best Thai in the area. Of course, the selection in Chapel Hill/Durham isn't huge, but this place is a great addition that opened up in the past year or so. Great meal for two under twenty bucks. They treat larger groups with lots of care and are welcoming and accomodating.
great casual thai place with fast affordable tasty food. We had the yellow curry noodles and beef pad see yew. Both were very good. Their curry flavor was complex. For dessert, we had the roti and it was excellent. a nice ending.
the other day we ate at saladelia. i saw twisted noodle across the parking lot and thought "what the hell is a twisted noodle?" i immediately thought it was going to be an italian restaurant. wrong! it turned out to be thai food and i love thai food. not only that, i couldn't believe that yet another thai restaurant had opened in durham (thai has been lacking here for so long).
overall, i liked the food at twisted noodle and would like to go back to try more items. i would not recommend ordering the sweet and sour tofu, it had too much of a tomato taste and not enough sweet or sour. the panang curry with tofu and pad see eww were spciy and pretty standard. i enjoyed the flavors a bit more than thai cafe.
however, i am only giving twisted noodles three stars because when we walked into the place, there were so many empty tables littered with plates and trash from earlier meals (we were seated at a clean table). these tables continued to stay dirty until we left; who knows for how long. i found this a little irritating. it bothers me when a place doesn't not have enough wait staff or bus boys to keep up with the numbers they are serving.
if twisted noodle cleans up it's act the next time i go, i might bump it to 4 stars.
