Fusion Noodle Company – Athens, OH
Asian noodle spot which is popular with students and faculty. The OH Food Guy was less impressed.
What a difference 9 years make. The OH Food Guy has been to Fusion a few times, first in 2013 when the restaurant appeared to be relatively new and then again in 2022. Seemingly, Fusion has broken the curse whereby this location has been many different failed restaurants over decades.
Fusion is rightfully popular with students and offers quick Asian take out options with a focus on soups and simple Chinese options and basic sushi. The menu is simple and short, which is a good thing to find since many restaurants try to be all things. However, while the OH Food Guy was very impressed on our first visit, he was less impressed when we returned 9 years later and found the food to not be as high quality as it was before.
The dining area is small, with an inviting, but largely nonfunctional, sushi bar (it is largely taken up with staff items) and a few tables. The bulk of the business here is takeout. Sadly this shows as dining in sees relatively poor service while the takeout orders are constantly handled.
We ordered a few options off their menu: the Bobcat Spicy Noodle Soup which appears to be modeled on a pho, a basic chicken pho, and a stir fried dish which had tofu. Overall, the service was relatively slow, but the food was hot and came out together. When sampling our order, the tastes were fine but not that special to us. The broth in the soups was very basic and not much meat. The flavor profiles were decent though.
The soups did come with sample chili sauce and vegetables and was a good accompaniment.
The stir fry we had was typical Chinese takeout, nothing to complain about or to request again. It was only sufficient to eat from a basic necessity standpoint since it was very heavy in sauce.
Overall, our host (who dines here often) loves the restaurant, we were not impressed and won’t come back. The target demographic appears to be students who have limited cultural culinary experiences and want some basic Asian foods. For that purpose it might be fine. However, 3 of 4 in our party had a slight stomach sickness the next day, which we think was due to Fusion. All in all, this wasn’t the best nor the worst dining experience of the OH Food Guy.
Fusion Noodle Company – Athens, OH
Portsmouth is improving in its restaurant options and Maestro’s is among the best in this area, both new and old. This is certainly a restaurant to visit again and again.
- Ask them to limit the cheese added to dishes
- Ask for the spicy salsa
- After getting inspired here, explore the Sunrise Asian market next door.
Details
Before you go
Dining area is small, this is more for takeout.
Date of Last visit: December 2022
2
Times Visited
2
Rating
$$
Cost
3
Décor