A popular downtown Boston eatery is getting ready to serve its signature Asian fare in Cambridge.
Noodle Lab is preparing to open its second location at 238 Main Street, according to a recent Instagram announcement. Located in the heart of Kendall Square, Noodle Lab is positioning itself to serve the neighborhood’s biotech workforce, MIT community, and lunch crowds seeking quick, globally inspired meals.
“Noodle Lab Boston is opening up at Kendall Square,” the business shared. “The kitchen’s coming alive, the energy is rising, and we’re getting closer to serving bowls that hit with flavor and heart. Boston, stay ready.”
Founded by chef and entrepreneur Audrey Yap, Noodle Lab first debuted at the Boston Public Market in 2015 as one of the market’s original vendors. The restaurant was forced to close in 2020 during the pandemic but made its return to the market five years later.
Created with a mission to bring approachable Asian and Southeast Asian comfort food to dense urban neighborhoods, the concept quickly built a following with its customizable noodle and rice bowls and street-food-inspired offerings. Yap draws inspiration from generations-old family recipes and culinary influences from Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
The menu is built around customizable noodle and rice bowls designed for “speed, consistency, and high flavor impact,” with most dishes served in under five minutes. Guests can choose from ramen, wheat noodles, rice noodles, or rice bowls paired with proteins such as roasted chicken, chicken katsu, seared beef, soy-braised pork belly, spicy ground pork, tofu, and soft-boiled eggs. Vegetable toppings include Asian greens, bean sprouts, pickled shiitake mushrooms, and edamame.
Guests can customize their bowls with a variety of scratch-made broths like tori paitan (chicken broth), shoyu, shio, and curry. The menu will also feature small plates such as dumplings, roti, wontons, and pork belly bao, along with beverages including tea, coffee, beer, shōchū, sake, and sodas.
According to the team, the new 1,200-square-foot restaurant will feature a modern, minimalistic design with seating for approximately 50 guests, plus a standing counter. A dedicated yakitori station will serve skewers of chicken, pork, beef, and vegetables cooked on a Japanese-style gas grill and finished with either tare sauce or a simple salt seasoning.
Once open, Noodle Lab will offer counter service, dine-in, take-out, digital ordering, and a tech-forward guest experience designed to accommodate the area’s busy professionals and students.
“Kendall Square continues to see strong demand for fast, flavorful, globally inspired lunch and dinner options,” the team told What Now Boston. “Noodle Lab fills a gap between full-service Asian restaurants and generic fast-casual chains.”
Noodle Lab general manager Chris Yap said they are currently awaiting final approval of the liquor license from the City of Cambridge. If all goes according to plan, the restaurant will celebrate its grand opening in late July 2026 and operate daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
