Special Noodle

Ruofei Du

🍜🔥 The stone-cooked fillets are amazing—tender, juicy, and packed with that sizzling stone-pot aroma. 🥩 The slightly fried dumplings are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft inside, making them super satisfying. 🥟✨ And the pork knuckles are rich, tender, and full of bold, comforting flavor. 🐖💛 Overall, a delicious place to enjoy well-crafted Chinese comfort food! 😋

Tiffany Shieh

Delicious! An unexpected traditional find in Santa Cruz. Friendly staff as well. We got spicy beef noodle soup, fish noodle soup, mapo tofu, cucumber salad, and eggplant + string beans. Portions were very generous, enough to take some to go. We reached the $88 limit and got free soup dumplings :)

Robert Jones

Amazing food, and a super friendly staff! We tried lots of goodies and LOVED the crispy crab ragoon. The beef wrap was something very new for us and delicious. Now, about the dining room music and the Chinese propaganda TV blaring at the same time. Even after requesting to hear one or the other we were still in loud contrast land. That is super annoying, almost like the dishes you can hear in the video. I would come back for the food.

Shelly Shi

Our hotel was within walking distance of this wonderful establishment. Authentic food, fast and friendly service (QR code ordering), they even allowed our small dog to be inside with us. We ate here 2 days in a row. Not everything is pictured here since we ate right away and forgot to take some pictures. -Xiaolong Bao (steamed), and pan-fried baos （生煎包）were very delicious and juicy. Beef as well as pork noodle soups are tender, the broth was flavorful. We ordered flat noodles option which were so fresh it seemed handmade. The fresh cucumber (拍黄瓜）salad was exceptionally authentic as prepared like in the northern part of Chinese region. Green onion pancakes are crispy, not greasy. Fried sesame balls with red bean paste are not oily, good choice as desert. Will be back for sure next time we visit north Cal! Hope they open a location in SoCal!

P

Fast, delicious, great portions. Definitely recommend the lamb stone pot noodle soup and crab rangoons. Going into food coma now

Balint Gulyas

Can't believe it! This place was amazing! Honestly read the reviews and decided to pop in with my family, had to wait 20min to get a table but when we had that after 5min of order we got the soup then the rest of the food was arriving... Don't be that silly as we were...just order 2 portions and share it 4 of us could not finish the mains at all! The taste was amazing and we saw many Chinese people just enjoyed it as us. No menu only the app and order via that at the table. Service was quick and friendly! I can't recommend this place more!

Seth Hazen

Food was very delicious. There is an excellent chef because this was far more than I expected from a restraunt like this. Food came out very fast! There was some disconnect when getting basic needs at the table. Would dine again.

AX W

Amazing food taste. We admire the chef’s skills. We have ordered “Soup Pan Fried Buns” , “Jalapeño Pork Belly mixed Rice “, “Steamed Soup Dumplings “, and “Griddle Pig Intestines”. The last one is the most spicy.

TheBayArea.831

We had our Anniversary lunch here today. The service is great. Very friendly staff, the dining room is clean and we really like the beautiful dishes we were served on. The food was delicious. Plenty of food for the two of us. The menu is online, with images of each menu item. Makes it easier to decide on what we wanted to eat. We chose Mongolian beef, combination chow mein and Chicken with broccoli. The parking lot is small, We had lunch around 12:15 and were able to find a spot. It does get full during dinner. Its definately worth a try.

Satish Nanjappa

Got our lunch here. Need to order from the phone, the service was extremely fast. Quite a few vegetarian options, some of them nice and spicy as well. The soups were really tasty. Service was very good as well.

I don't really care for the e-ordering and payment platform they utilize. If you're more traditional, cash paying customer this place is not for you. It will not work. However, I must admit, service was very fast. Your order and it's at your table in 3 to 4 minutes. Furthermore, every dish was delicious. Every single one. This location has changed ownership two or three times in the last 10 years. This is by far the best one yet, and it shows with the lines outside the door for tables.

Natalie Parker Blount

The food here is so good. The pork belly literally melts in your mouth and the chow mein is amazing. All of the food is fabulous and so delicious. The people are super sweet especially Tony!

Motechi

I don't really care for the e-ordering and payment platform they utilize. If you're more traditional, cash paying customer this place is not for you. It will not work. However, I must admit, service was very fast. Your order and it's at your table in 3 to 4 minutes. Furthermore, every dish was delicious. Every single one. This location has changed ownership two or three times in the last 10 years. This is by far the best one yet, and it shows with the lines outside the door for tables.

Gutterhunk

I've tried as many different places looking for the best soup dumplings and so far this is it. The rest of their menu is phenomenal as well, especially if you like spicy. I come in enough that they know my order, really sweet staff. Can't recommend enough!

The potion sizes were huge so make sure you don't go overboard with the dishes. We got a small size hot and sour soup which came in a large bowl. It as quite flavorfull and soothing. We got the pepper lemon chicken, noodle soup with pork belly and butter noodles. Everything tasted quite nice.

The portion sizes are enormous, so don’t over-order. We ordered a chicken soup and soup dumplings and had to take the soup home because we couldn’t finish it. It was delicious and had authentic Chinese flavours.

I love the authenticity of their dishes. It's really good, however, not for everyone. My children and Fiancée did not care for how oily some of the dishes are. I also like the convenience of ordering, 1st, scan the QR code, which is the menu that's on the table 2nd, pick your food preferences, and then 3rd submit order. You will automatically know the total of your bill. You can pay card, cash, or tap (google or apple Pay) by the counter. One thing that I really enjoyed was their red vinegar. This is the best so far of all the Chinese restaurants I've been. This place has the best red vinegar. It truly complimented and enhanced the flavor of the dish where I added the vinegar to. The dishes are family style, I believe. Per order is good for 3 to 4 people, so make sure to check the menu online before ordering. Rice are not paired with the entrees (ask first to be sure). This place is pricey but I love the food. It's worth it for me.

I like the yummy dishes at Special Noodle. However, two of the three items I have this time weren't as good as I expected. The Pork XLB is still excellent. But the Beef rolls and Glutinous rice with ribs had room for improvement. The beef rolls are almost tasteless, with very little beef inside. The glutinous rice with ribs is also not very tasty, and they do not use Chinese-style pork ribs. Maybe I’m overly expecting after all my excellent experiences with the other Special Noodle locations. But I know they can do better! The customer service is great, and the dining room is comfortable. I enjoyed my visit, and the pork XLB was delicious!

Enormous portions of absolutely incredible food. You order off a QR code and it’s hard to get ahold of a waiter to ask questions or get help. It was very loud inside (people talking, loud music, loud sounds of waiters clinking dishes).

Aruna K A

The potion sizes were huge so make sure you don't go overboard with the dishes. We got a small size hot and sour soup which came in a large bowl. It as quite flavorfull and soothing. We got the pepper lemon chicken, noodle soup with pork belly and butter noodles. Everything tasted quite nice.

MISHIKA GOEL

The portion sizes are enormous, so don’t over-order. We ordered a chicken soup and soup dumplings and had to take the soup home because we couldn’t finish it. It was delicious and had authentic Chinese flavours.

MerDeNoms

I love the authenticity of their dishes. It's really good, however, not for everyone. My children and Fiancée did not care for how oily some of the dishes are. I also like the convenience of ordering, 1st, scan the QR code, which is the menu that's on the table 2nd, pick your food preferences, and then 3rd submit order. You will automatically know the total of your bill. You can pay card, cash, or tap (google or apple Pay) by the counter. One thing that I really enjoyed was their red vinegar. This is the best so far of all the Chinese restaurants I've been. This place has the best red vinegar. It truly complimented and enhanced the flavor of the dish where I added the vinegar to. The dishes are family style, I believe. Per order is good for 3 to 4 people, so make sure to check the menu online before ordering. Rice are not paired with the entrees (ask first to be sure). This place is pricey but I love the food. It's worth it for me.

August Boman

Enormous portions of absolutely incredible food. You order off a QR code and it’s hard to get ahold of a waiter to ask questions or get help. It was very loud inside (people talking, loud music, loud sounds of waiters clinking dishes).

Michael W.

I like the yummy dishes at Special Noodle. However, two of the three items I have this time weren't as good as I expected. The Pork XLB is still excellent. But the Beef rolls and Glutinous rice with ribs had room for improvement. The beef rolls are almost tasteless, with very little beef inside. The glutinous rice with ribs is also not very tasty, and they do not use Chinese-style pork ribs. Maybe I’m overly expecting after all my excellent experiences with the other Special Noodle locations. But I know they can do better! The customer service is great, and the dining room is comfortable. I enjoyed my visit, and the pork XLB was delicious!

Everything's online everything was to go unfortunately my friend had a narcolepsy attack glad to be at emp from the Red Cross Santa Cruz I didn't want to yell in this situation I just grabbed my cane and was rubbing his leg to wake him up everything's to go now I will take care of you will take care of each other good food I wish they would have kept it like it was on the tablet on the chicken legs keep them home next time I see everybody's hurting with understanding certain if you show it as a picture you need to serve it that way thank you for helping me with the menu

Went here on Saturday food was decent the atmosphere is kinda odd they use the dining area as storage boxes just everywhere and the biggest problem was the chicken it was 90% breading and 10% chicken I was very unhappy with that cost cutting to the extreme decent food tho I guess

YE L

We came here because this place had great reviews. Unfortunately, only one menu item was worth eating - the spicy pan fried pork buns (these are not actually that spicy). They were perfectly fried on the bottom with a juicy filling and decent amount of soup. Add some vinegar and chili oil for a perfect bite. The regular xlb was quite frankly inedible. First, the restaurant did not have ginger. What kind of Chinese restaurant does not have ginger? Especially a restaurant serving xlb? Second, the skin was thick and not cooked completely. Third, the pork filling had an off putting smell and texture. I really tried to chew and swallow the filling, but I had to admit defeat. The other items are not even worth mentioning.

The Food here IS Delicious BUT it is Way More Expen$ive than any other Asian food restaurant, in the area and I’ve noticed that the portions have gotten quite a bit smaller, than what they were in the past, (not good enough to pay More for Less, in my book…) Prices are close to Twice as much as other restaurants, serving the same food. Compare their prices to any other Asian restaurant in the area and you’ll see what I’m talking about! Sorry, but as good as the food is here, I just can’t justify paying twice as much for it… So, I can’t recommend “Special Noodle”, unless you’ve got money to burn. (And who does in these times of a Horrible Economy, where every dollar counts!) My suggestion is to go to any of the other fine Asian restaurants in the area, where you’ll get your money’s worth!

dreeski

Guy behind the register became visibly irritated when i asked for UTENSILS for my TO GO ORDER. Like why would they not already be in the bag in the first place…. idk what that guys problem was. but food was pretty good.

We visited because of the good reviews, but it was disappointing. We ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken and Combination Chow Mein, and Kung Pao Chicken with Combination Chow Fun. The food very greasy. The Kung Pao Chicken pieces did not have a real chicken flavor, because they were over fried. My husband had some serious stomach pain and was running for the bathroom all night long.😳