Noodle and Beer Spices Up Soho with Late-Night Happy Hour

Nestled in the heart of Chinatown, Noodle and Beer sits on a busy corner, right in the hustle and bustle of the vibrant London neighbourhood.

After gaining popularity in Spitalfields, this recently-opened Soho branch offers something new and spicy to all party-loving Londoners. There’s a reversed Happy Hour – 2 for 1 on all classic cocktails, but this comes with a twist: the late-night drinking runs from 10pm until midnight from Thursday to Sunday. 

Late Night Dining For Party People

Noodle and Beer also stays opened until 4am Thursday through to Saturday, serving hungry punters some delicious, and very fiery, dishes.

We visited Noodle and Beer recently on a busy weeknight. From the outside, the venue could be mistaken for a French bistro – with its white curtains in the windows providing a level of privacy, a mix of small tables and chairs, and highchairs in the centre of the ground floor filling the space. The restaurant is housed on two floors – in tones of dark red and burgundy it channels the traditional Sichuan charm with a hint of French romanticism. We were led downstairs, to a small, all-red room, with mirrors on the ceiling adding further to the demure vibe. The room oozed opulence and felt intimate, with velvet chairs and dimmed lighting.

We feasted on some mouth-watering (and eye-watering) dishes. Starting with Lang-Ya Tu Dou – a dish of potatoes, coriander, spring onions, pickled veggies and chilli sauce and Tian-Shui Mian, a spicy dish of handmade thick udon noodles in house special sweet soy sauce, sesame and peanut sauce, and white sesame. Both dishes were tasty and fresh, and despite us almost weeping at the heat, we found it hard not to finish. To save some of our taste buds, or what was left of them, for our next course we opted for dishes with none and one chilli pepper symbol on the menu description. The Deluxe Seafood Fried Rice is a delicious serving of perfectly fried rice with king prawns, scallops, shrimp and chilli sauce. Still spicy, but mild in comparison to the starters. Also the Xia-Xia Mian – a house-special noodle soup with king prawns, fish balls, tofu, bok choy and coriander. The soup lacked flavour, but it was plentiful and the ingredients were fresh. Portions are generous – no-one will leave Noodle and Beer hungry!

Experimenting with Food & Drink @ Noodle and Beer

We couldn’t resist trying a traditional dessert called Bingfen – a soup-like dish created for sharing. Neither of us have ever tried that sort of dessert before and we didn’t know what to expect, but we were in a mood to experiment – it was unusual and definitely interesting. We went for the Lychee option, which was neatly presented in a bowl with haw flakes, lychee slices, mini rice ball, tapioca, mint stalk and a sprinkle of peanuts, all served with light coconut cream which came in its own little jug and was to be added in as much or as little as needed.  

Cocktails are a must here. As well as some more familiar ones, there was a handful of signature cocktails offering interesting twist on some classics, using unusual ingredients and additions. We tried the Old Fashioned (Gilded Petal) – a perfect blend of sweet vermouth, vodka, aged chrysanthemum rum and chamomile liqueur; the Whisky Highball (Velvet Heat) with pu er whiskey, pu er cordial, coconut syrup and coconut liqueur, and Highball (Burning Kiss) – made with Chenpi infused gin, Umeshu, Campari and Grapefruit soda. 

The cocktails were delicious and with the new Happy Hour on offer, there really isn’t an excuse not to try them all. 

We had a memorable and fun evening filled with great food and great drinks. We felt that the room downstairs was perhaps a little too snug and it was hard to move around without knocking into fellow diners; there are some holes in the service, but not for lack of trying. 

Noodle and Beer might not be perfect and it might not be for the faint-hearted either, but it’s definitely fun, with plenty of delicious food and drinks to enjoy, with a little dash of spice to make it all that more interesting.

• Noodle and Beer, 27 Wardour Street, London W1D 6PR