UrbanBelly

Urban Belly is located next to a Laundromat. My friend and I were on our way there for the first time with our bottle of wine (it's BYOB), and I was telling her about all of the rave reviews I'd been reading, and what an amazing chef Bill Kim is........and then we pulled into the parking lot and kinda looked at each other. Really? My friend was starting to question my choice for dinner. We stood at the counter and ordered dumplings and Soba noodle bowls and sat down to wait for our food. The restaurant has communal tables and the seats are not the most comfortable things in the world, so why on earth was this place so crowded? As they say, you obviously cannot judge a book by it's cover. The dumplings were outstanding and the Soba noodle bowl had us drooling and SO happy that we came. This is a no fuss restaurant that is all about the substance and not all about what kind of centerpiece is on the table. The food truly speaks for itself. The flavors are distinct and not overwhelming. The noodle bowls are delicious, and perfect on a rainy night. Grab a friend and a bottle of wine and try it out! And you can always do takeout.

LOVE to go to Urban Belly, but hate when my friend the J-Bomb goes without me. But he loves his lunch missions, and this is one of his top picks. Udon with spicy pork, pineapple and bean sprouts in corn broth. As a kiddo he used to live in Japan, so he is an expert when it comes to the noodles. I’d take his word for it!

I have always heard great things about Urban Belly and it did not disappoint. It is located in a strip mall and the inside is a small, contemporary space and you walk up to the counter at the back to place your order. They will find a place for you at the communal table and give you a number for your order. We ordered at least one item from each menu and it was all good, some of the highlights were the pork & cilantro dumplings, soba, and phat rice. Urban Belly is BYOB and closes at 9 pm each night so be sure to go earlier rather than later!

Don't miss them...so satisfying!

From the moment the first bowl of slippery noodles was placed before us we were in love with this place. Get over the fact that a stranger may be sitting next to you at the communal tables. If the seating weren't set up this way you’d be waiting in line a long time to get in to this place. Although we liked the dumplings it's the noodles bowls and fried rice dishes that really rock the house. There are no wimpy flavored broths or boring stir fry dishes available here. Your senses will be heightened and your palate will be satisfied after a meal at Urban Belly. The rice cake bowl with mango and breaded chicken is my favorite. Chewy sliced ovals of rice cake slipping in a slightly spicy and flavorful broth. Can’t ever get enough of this one! The pork belly ramen is another favorite with squiggly perfectly cooked ramen and deliciously fatty but pork belly pieces flavoring the dish. We have yet to try the Asian Egg Noodles with Spicy Garlic Chili, Tofu and Chinese Eggplant but it will be ordered on our next visit. Short rib fried rice is so good you'll feel quite gluttonous ordering one for each of you but do - it's too hard to share this sublime composition of sweet and salty short ribs, bits of egg and scallions. The wrinkled beans and Chinese Eggplant with basil are side dishes you don’t want to miss with incredibly intense flavors - a little side dish of rice helps to clear the palate so you can taste the next mouthful and appreciate its intensity. Also don’t forget to look up at the specials off the day posted on the wall above the register BEFORE you order. Too often we’ve forgotten to look and regret missing another tasty option.