Twisted Noodles

Great place to stop for lunch. Even my two year old daughter loves the Pad Thai. Restaurant was not busy at all for a Sunday. Its proximity to lots of shopping makes it convenient place to have lunch.

This used to be a great place but the quality has gone down hill. My husband and I recently decided to give them another try to see if things had improved and they tried to cheat us on their prices. We were using their online menu for Chapel Hill and according to that your choice of one basic protein like beef, chicken, pork, or tofu are included in the entrée price, but when we placed our order they tried to add on $ 2 extra per menu item for the beef and pork we selected. This is in addition to an already expensive entrée. When we questioned them about this they would not admit that their menu was wrong even though it was right in front of us and the guy then said it was $ 3 instead of $ 2 so we cancelled our order and won’t be returning. It’s a shame that they’ve gotten so greedy and dishonest and the quality doesn’t even justify their high prices.

My boyfriend and I recently starting going to this place, and go almost once a week now. I’m kinda surprised at all the negative reviews.
I always get the Drunken Noodles with tofu. It’s filling, full of flavor, there’s an ample portion of flavorful tofu, and the noodles are so much fun to eat. I’ve also gotten the Pad Thai with chicken and once with tofu. If you’re a tofu eater, I highly recommend getting any dish with tofu over chicken. The chicken tends to be a bit dry, whereas the tofu is served in a larger portion and not at all dry. I also highly recommend the Panang Curry… always my favorite curry and Twisted Noodles does it right. We’ve also gotten the chicken wings, Thai rolls, and Thai Iced Coffee… always satisfying!
The wait staff is so courteous and kind. The décor is weird and great. This isn’t the best Thai food I’ve ever had, but it is the best Thai food I’ve ever had in Chapel Hill.

I’ve ate here several times in the past couple of years, and each time it’s a disappointment. Although I’m not too familiar with Thai food, I have a pretty open palate. Something about their food always seems off or bland.
I’ve tried their Red Curry, and frankly, it disappointed. The food came out quite lukewarm and unappetizing. I understand with the coconut it’s supposed to taste sweet, yet it was too sweet for me. Almost annoyingly sweet. I wanted an entrée, not a dessert.
I’ve also had their lunch special noodle soup to go. It was $ 8, not bad for lunch. When I got home however, the soup was tiny. It tasted like a chicken noodle soup from a can with unevenly chopped vegetables. It also came with wings (??) that were so tiny that there was no meat on the bones.
Overall, Twisted Noodles is overpriced for the lacking quality and taste of the food.

Ordered mild, but food was extremely spicy. Prices did not match prices listed on website menu. Not happy.

Meh. This place has average Thai food. I’m a huge fan of Thai food so I guess I came here with some expectations.
I’ve been here about 2 – 3 times and their food has just been okay.
I have tried their Pad See Ew and their Pad Thai. Their Pad Thai seems a little tasteless to me, which was a little disappointing. Nonetheless, their portions are pretty big!
Service is decent, as well.
I’ve read some reviews about how good their curries are, so maybe I’ll give it another try!

We have gone to Twisted Noodles probably 6 times over the last 5 month since discovering this gem. The food is consistently delicious. Almost all of their dishes can be made vegetarian. They use very fresh herbs and veggies, and all of their sauces taste homemade, fresh and balanced. Tofu is very nicely prepared and flavorful. I have tried a different dish each time, and would get them all again. Though, I admit my least favorite so far has been the crispy drunken noodle, which is a bit heavy from the fried rice noodles. Food arrives quick and service is friendly and knowledgeable. The lunch prices are very reasonable, and dinner prices are a little more expensive.

This place has a pretty solid selection of thai food. The prices are really fair and all of the flavors/​sauces are authentic and everything comes out fresh. The dishes might not look as pretty and it is by no means fancy, but the prices are also lower than what you would expect. You can get a decent sized chicken pad see ew or pad thai for around $ 10.
Some of my favorite dishes here are the drinks/​desserts. The thai tea is a must have, and the mango sticky rice is the perfect dessert when mango’s are in season.

This was my first time coming here, and I have to say that it was a pretty mediocre experience. One good thing that stood out to me was that Twisted Noodles offers a free vegetarian appetizer upon checking into Unilocal,which I thought was a great way to both promote business and let customers try out appetizers that they usually won’t.
My friend and I ordered the Spicy Wings that were advertised on their bulletin board, as well as the Thai Rolls from the free appetizer offer, and two entrees: Chicken Pad Thai and Chicken Pad See Ew. The appetizers came out in a timely manner; the spicy wings were kind of on the dry side and small side. On the other hand, the thai rolls were hot and fresh out of the deep fryer. However, the order only came with two.
Okay, now the entrees. Honestly, I did not like the Chicken Pad Thai much. I’ve had Pad Thai dishes from other Thai restaurants, and this one didn’t really compare. The sauce had a slight ketchup taste to it, a taste that I haven’t had in Pad Thai before. They gave large portions of egg and chicken, but barely any bean sprouts or green onions. I think I had about 3 – 4 pieces of bean sprouts and green onions in the whole dish, which was very disappointing. I didn’t try much of the Pad See Ew, but I enjoyed the one bite that I had. The sauce was much better than the Pad Thai sauce, and the noodles were well cooked.
Ultimately, I think if I were to come back, I would not get the Pad Thai. Service was okay as well; there were only two servers when I visited and sometimes it was hard to get their attention.

do not waste your time here!
I decided to check this spot out as it was within walking distance of the University Inn. It was essentially the only non-​sandwich or pizza option in the area.
I ordered the vegetarian pad see ew. this consisted of thick rice noodles, broccoli, fried egg, and tofu. the dish was plain sloppy. the tofu pieces were HUGE and oddly shaped/​cut. this is not how you serve tofu. in addition, I’ve had pad see ew in the past; the noodles should also be cut to an appropriate eating size and should not be the size of linguine pasta.
I was truly shocked at the quality of this dish as this is a chain and in order to have functioning branches, people must like your food. plus, this restaurant is very structured via social media and this is definitely misleading.
lastly, I paid $ 12 for a vegetarian dish in a strip mall. coming from chicago, this is excessively overpriced.

I love THAI! My hometown has less than 5,000 people and is nestled in the mountains of PA and the Thai I can get there is 3,000 times better than what I got here.
Yellow curry has literally NO taste.
Pad Thai has literally NO taste.
Really disappointed. Definitely not «authentic Thai» like I as expecting
Won’t order again.

We had:
Papaya salad: great fresh taste, ordered with a «5» max spice rating, definitely spicy in a good way!
Yellow and red curry: best thai curry in NC! Ordered with a «5» max spice but was not super spicy, could have made it with more spice!
We highly recommend this place for the real authentic thai taste and friendly service! We will be back!

I’ve been to 10,000 Thai places and this one was hands down the best!!!
Great service and excellent authentic food.

Very solid and decently authentic Thai restaurant in Chapel Hill… and one of the only ones in the nearby area! I’ve been coming to Twisted Noodles ever since it opened, and it’s stayed pretty consistent after all these years. If you’re going for dinner, expect to pay $ 10+ for your meal, if everyone in your party is ordering an entrée. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend going during lunch on a weekday, where the lunch specials make the most popular dishes much more affordable.
The past few times that I’ve gone to Twisted Noodles have all been during lunch, so among my friends and I, we’ve probably ordered all of the items on the lunch specials menu. My personal favorite is the Pad Thai, which I find to be perfectly portioned and not too heavy in flavor. (In fact, I’m pretty sure Twisted Noodles is the place that first introduced me to the Pad Thai dish…) I’ve had Pad Thai from some restaurants that are way too heavy because there is too much sauce on the noodles, but that’s not the case at all at Twisted Noodles. The Noodle Soup lunch special is significantly smaller in portion, and if you’re looking for an even lighter option, this is the dish for you… for the people who crave flavor, you may find the noodle soup to be a little too bland. The salad and spring roll that comes with the lunch special are definitely nothing too extraordinary.
The dishes outside of the lunch special are more expensive but also much larger in their portions. I don’t remember ever being able to finish the regular-​sized Pad Thai and always bringing a box home. One great thing about Twisted Noodles is their flexibility when it comes to the protein that comes with your dish. Every single Thai dish comes with a protein, and you can choose from chicken, beef, pork, tofu, chicken, shrimp, and vegetables for no additional charge. You can pay extra money to get more luxurious proteins like crab or scallops, which I never wind up getting, but it’s great to have that level of variety to suit customer preferences.
I’ve also never found Twisted Noodles to be super crowded even though the venue isn’t the largest. I find the ambiance to be enjoyable since it has a lot of natural lighting from the large windows. I haven’t had extensive interactions with the staff either, meaning that they do what they need to do to get the job done. Overall, no super negative or super memorable experiences at Twisted Noodles, but it still does come to mind when I’m in the mood for Thai and in Chapel Hill!

I love to come to this place with my family whenever they come into Chapel Hill to visit. It’s a staple Thai place with a nice interior. The food is delicious and is regular Thai restaurant quality. There isn’t anything too special about this place, but definitely a great place to get good Thai. My favorite are any of the curries (green curry being one of my favorites). The Unilocal check-​in deal is pretty nice too, giving you a free appetizer with any two entrees.

I finally got my spicy papaya salad and sticky rice. They will make it as spicy you like. I also order lad na with tofu. The dish was a bit small but tasty. Price was a bit high. I’m just down the road to this place so I’ll stop in again.

Really a 3.5! Free appetizer if you check in is a nice touch. I wish my pad Thai had more peanuts and carrots but it was still good!

I’ve only been here twice, and was pleased to see on the second time that Unilocal and Twisted Noodles offered a free appetizer upon check-​in. I think this is a great way to try things I wouldn’t normally try, and our appetizer got us a free order of Twisted Thai Rolls, which were basically just their version of an egg roll. In addition to those, I also ordered an order of fried dumplings to try out. I was surprised by the texture of the dumplings, because it seemed as if they were steamed dumplings put into a tempura batter and then fried, making the outside crispy, but a soft squishy wrapper texture. It was a little perplexing at first, but I think towards the end I gradually grew to like it. The rolls were all right, nothing special or different, just your typical thick skinned vegetable-​filled egg roll.
For the main course, I ordered the chicken pad thai while my date ordered the chicken pad see ew. For those of you that don’t know the difference, pad see ew has thicker, flat noodles in a more savory sauce and no egg, while pad thai is eggy and has rice noodles tossed in a slightly sweet sauce. The dish overall was much more savory that I had expected and lacked that nice tamarind note that I really look forward to. In fact when I took a bite of it I was extremely shocked and thought they had mistakenly tossed my noodles in pad see ew sauce on accident, but after asking about it, it turns out thats just how its made there. I might go back to try some other things, but not for pad thai, which is such a disappointment because pad thai is one of my favorite dishes. Service is very absent-​minded; the location is small, and there seems to be only one server, so getting taken care of was a struggle at times.

We came here after a hard night of partying in Raleigh. My GF and her friends got wild at the bars and the next day we needed some asian food to soak the alcohol.
This place had some good options for lunch at a fair price. We can here on a Sunday around noon and there were just a few people there.
This place is great if your getting some lunch on the run. Good price for the food!

I agree with other Unilocalers that Twisted Noodles in Chapel Hill has gone downhill in the last year or so. I might give them one more chance during lunch (when they have specials), but never again at dinner. Here’s why:
We visited on a Friday evening at 5:45 PM, and were one of only two parties in the place. By the time we left at 6:30 PM, there were maybe five tables full, so it was never very busy.
The appetizers we ordered — the Fried Spring Rolls and Vegetable Gyozas — were both let-​downs. The Fried Spring Rolls are very small, only 2 come in an order, and they aren’t very flavorful, just greasy. The Vegetable Gyozas — listed as a special — had hardly any filling inside (like maybe half a teaspoon) but lots of doughy, undercooked dough. The garnishes on both were clearly days old: yellowing kale and browning shreds of carrot.
Their Pad Thai is pretty good, but other places will give you more: more peanuts, more bits of scrambled egg, more scallions. For what you are served at Twisted Noodles, $ 9.95 seems expensive.
The Pad See Yew had overcooked noodles and very overcooked, almost chewy tofu.
The Massaman Curry had a flavorful curry sauce, but overcooked carrots and potatoes — both were beginning to dissolve. Not worth $ 11.95.
The above dinner (three entrees, all made with tofu as the protein, and two appetizers, plus one soda), came to $ 48 before the tip. That is way too much money for so little flavor and such obvious cutting of corners. It’s really too bad — Twisted Noodles was more reliable and higher quality a year or so ago. I wouldn’t recommend it any more, unfortunately.