By Addison Schwing – Editorial and News Editor

At first glance, Mecha Noodle Bar is quite unassuming. It’s tucked away in a side street off of US Route 1, nestled carefully among boutiques and grab-and-go restaurants, with only a bright orange sign out the front. They don’t take reservations or call ahead seating, and they don’t deliver either. With locations in Stamford, Norwalk, and New Haven, one would assume it’s just another chain. However, once crossing through the double doors and past the curtains, you’re immediately greeted with quite the spectacle.

Every surface of the restaurant is covered with black metal and hardwood furnishings. Diners sit at communal tables chowing down on soup as waiters weave their way through the crowded dining floor. Behind a counter of noodle chefs sit shelves stocked with various Japanese foodstuffs. A portrait of the late Anthony Bourdain hangs behind the diligent chefs behind the counter, tucking into a bowl of ramen. It’s small and crowded, packed to the brim routinely with hungry patrons looking to warm up with a hot meal.

I was seated after a while and presented with the menu, which offered both ramen and pho, a handful of appetizers, and an extensive drink list on the back. The menu, while small in terms of individual items, offers many customization options for its dishes, such as soft boiled eggs, scallions, and corn. I opted for the Red Oil Dumplings and the “Tonkatsu Ramen,” two obvious favorites given everyone else’s orders at the tables nearby. To drink, I ordered one of their house-made sodas, a ginger beer. 

My appetizer arrived; four hefty dumplings sitting in dark red chili oil garnished with scallions and fried shallots. They were big, stuffed to the brim with pork and shrimp, and perfectly pan-fried, with a satisfying crunch to boot. The heat and acidity of the chili oil cut through the richness of the dumpling, which acted more as a vessel with which to deposit some of the hoisin sauce sitting at my table. It was fantastic; rich and spicy and flavorful all in a hand-sealed package. My ginger beer was spicy with a sweet, tart undertone – a perfect palate cleanser.

Eventually, my ramen arrived, and what a sight it was. It was unlike anything I had ever seen; a big blue bowl of thin noodles swimming in a light brown-ish broth, with a slice of chashu pork belly, a half of a soft boiled egg, and wide strips of nori flanking the bowl. At first bite, I was enthralled by the complexity of the broth, offset by the firmness of the noodles. The taste was indescribable; traditional tonkatsu broth takes anywhere from 24-48 hours to make, and its time on the stovetop certainly lent it a rich umami sensation accentuated by fragrant spices. The pork belly was tender and pleasantly fatty and not at all conflicting with the rest of the dish, the soft boiled egg was soft and, while a little bit strange to eat, was still delicious in its own right, with delicate savory notes poking through the richness of the broth. The nori served little purpose other than some textural difference, but it was a welcome change of pace from the rest of the dish. By the end, I was totally full, and after paying my bill, I actually had some difficulty getting back to my car, thoroughly incapacitated by the delicious meal I had previously consumed.

Fairfield, Connecticut is a haven for restaurants such as Mecha, boasting a wide array of restaurants, from simple pizza and sandwich joints to upscale gastropubs. Mecha Noodle Bar is an unpretentious, yet satisfying restaurant that serves filling meals made with quality ingredients and prepared with care. Even if it may be a little pricy (my meal for one ran me around $30), it’s well worth the cost and the drive to get there. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars