Ollie's Noodle House near Broadway

[hungry100]

I'm considering this for a pre-theater lunch on Sunday. Good idea or bad?

[Daniel76]

The place is clean. But if you care about food or eating food, this place is not for you..

[laurarosebud]

I just have to say, going to Ollies has been a pre-theater TRADITION for my family for the past 15 years! No, it is not a supreme culinary experience however, considering the fast pace of NYC and who is ever on time for a show, you will be in and out in 40 minutes flat with a happy belly! We ALWAYS order the exact same things...Peanut sesame noodles (you gotta love peanut sesame sauce!), mixed steamed dumplings, orang beef and CORAL SHRIMP! or, there's plenty o good pizza to be had somewhere else...

[binkis]

Steamed Pork dumplings and Singapore Mai Fun are good bets at Ollie's.

[DeisCane]

Ollie's is crap, imo.

[floretbroccoli]

Has anybody been to the China Fun in the theatre district lately? Any opinions?

[LoDega]

I'm a fan of anything noodly there. Veggie dumplings especially. And the whole fishes are also fairly delicious (rhyme unintentional).

[jenniebnyc]

Yes, good veggie dumplings and roast pork chow fun. And yes, UWS location is better...but if you are going to a b-way show just stay in times square.

[Striver]

Their potsticker style pork dumplings are fine, and I've always liked their pan-fried noodles with roast pork. As others have said, not a destination, but good for a quick bite if you're in the neighborhood, especially if you stick to the noodle dishes and apps. Big noodle soups are good in winter, too.

[vick23]

tasty pork buns there

[MikeG]

I think Chandavkl hit the nail on the head. People on this board love to dump on Ollie's, and the first one, on Broadway in the 80s is really pretty nasty at this point, but the one in Times Square isn't bad at all for what it is (from me, that's a complimemnt), and for that matter the one on Bway near Lincoln Center is a little better still.

None of them are fine dining establishments where one goes to linger over 2 hour meals, but then at those prices, they can't afford to be. Try keeping a table for a long time during a busy period at any restaurant where the total bill is going to be $20 a head max and see what happens. LOL They'll happily let you sit there as long as you want as long as you keep ordering stuff.;)

[welle]

I would recommend the Ollie's by Lincoln center in a heartbeat (they had this really good lamb sichuan style dish, which I yet to find a place that would beat that). However, in Midtown, I personally would chose something else (they have many dishes that overlap with Grand Sichuan), but then again I'm not much into cantonese, so I'm not a good judge here.

[lvecch]

I couldn't agree more about the wait staff, but they do some very nice dishes, including excellent homemade dumplings and a very different, slightly thick hot and sour soup.

[Chandavkl]

Well if you're in the theater district and are dying for somewhat authentic Hong Kong/Cantonese style food, it's fine. But it certainly isn't a destination type of restaurant.

[welle]

I would much rather go to the Mee Noodle shop on 9th ave. For better chinese fare there are Grand Sichuan on 9th ave or Wu Liang Ye on 48th st., and Joe's Shanghai. Sapporo on 49th st. is also a good choice if you're looking for inexpensive but good noodles dishes (Japanese).

[erikka]

Cheap, very loud and hectic, no charm to speak of (waitresses want you in and out NOW and will not hesitate to let you knwo this), but if you're just looking for a quick bite you could do worse.