Noodle bars are nothing new to those of us who regularly seek out Asian stir fries, ramen soups, and tasty rice dishes; for affordable, good eats, there’s really no beating a bowl of fresh rice noodles, crisp vegetables, and seared protein of your choice. But outside of Asia, Chinatown, and the UK-dominating Wagamama, first-rate noodle-focused menus are a bit harder to come by.
Lucky for us, now comes the latest addition to the Coolidge Corner food scene, the sleek and bright Zenna Noodle Bar, fusing handfuls of healthy Eastern and Western noodle concoctions into four Zen-inspired menu categories: Earth (salads), Air (appetizers), Fire (stir fries), and Water (soups). The self-proclaimed “Best Pad Thai in Town” ($7.25) rivals those served in many of the neighboring Thai establishments by balancing sweet tamarind flavors with saltier hits of soy and fish sauces. Masaman curry ($7.25) bathes mostly root vegetables in a mildly piquant, rust-colored sauce, and bowls of both wonton noodle soup ($7.25) and Vietnamese pho-inspired Zenna noodle ($7.95) are deep and hunger-squelching, if a bit confused in their flavor profiles — a common flaw among Asian fusion dishes.
Achieving the full Zen(na) experience by ordering from all four categories may challenge even the heartiest of appetites, so grab fellow noodle aficionados whenever possible; your palate, your body, and, best of all, your wallet, will thank you.
Zenna Noodle Bar, 1374 Beacon Street, Brookline | Open Sun - Thur, 11 am - 10:30 pm, Fri & Sat, 11 am - 11 pm | 617.566.0566.
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