Written By: Chloe Thornton
Downtown Charlottesville, Virginia is known for its many restaurants, shops, and excellent scenery. It’s the perfect place to meet up with friends and try something new. Within its many restaurants, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, especially if you are looking for a quick bite. Right around the corner of the shops is Vu Noodles. Vu Noodles is a Vietnamese noodle shop that only has outdoor seating. It is a great place to pop by on a perfect sunny day, especially if you are craving some tasty noodles. Their hours are from 11-3, and they are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Their menu includes noodle bowls, spring rolls, soups, and sandwiches. Their noodle bowls don’t include any broth, which is handy if you end up having leftovers. You can also create your bowl with whatever toppings you desire.
I went to Vu Noodles with some family friends a couple of weeks ago before going into the downtown shops. The customer service was great, and you could tell they cared about their business. While ordering, they give you a choice of a fork or chopsticks, which is helpful, especially if you are like me and are clinically bad at using chopsticks.
I decided to get the pho, and the other people I was with each got a dry noodle bowl. My pho came with a spicy broth sauce as well as sriracha sauce. I tried my pho before adding them in, and it was already really good, but the sauces enhanced the flavor. It was a good balance of spice, and I enjoyed it. My pho came with garlic tofu, which got soggy after a while but still tasted good. The other vegetables were also delicious, and I found that the mushrooms added a lot of texture. The other ingredients added a lot of flavor, and it had a strong earthy taste. This was also my first time having pho, so I’m glad I liked it. The only thing that was a bit inconvenient is that my pho didn’t come with a spoon, so it was harder to try the broth.
I also tried one of their crispy spring rolls from my friend's plate. It had a good balance of flavors and was fried to perfection. If I came back, I would get a dry noodle bowl instead of a soup. It was still really good; however, I didn’t end up finishing it all, so I was stuck with a bowl of soup to carry along with me while I went into stores. Plus, the dry noodle bowls looked tasty. The restaurant also used cardboard-based containers instead of plastic, which I liked because it showed they care about the environment.
The outdoor scenery of the restaurant was gorgeous and filled to the brim with plants and ivy. There is a stone wall that separates the restaurant from the sidewalk, so you can still see outside but also have a bit of privacy. I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant, and it just felt like good vibes all around. If you enjoy supporting small, family-owned restaurants, I would recommend this place to you. They also have a 4.7 review on Yelp and are mentioned in “The 10 Best Noodles in Charlottesville.”
I would give Vu Noodles a 4.8 out of 5 stars. Getting our food did take a fair amount of time, but again, it’s a small family restaurant so it wasn’t a big deal. The food quality was great, as well as the atmosphere and customer service. It is one of the best noodle places I have ever been to. So if you are in downtown Charlottesville and are looking for an easy, vegan, good-quality restaurant, then I definietly recommend going to Vu Noodles.
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