Asian Restaurant Gives Back To The Denver Community

Photos courtesy of Kevin Austin

Hello my fellow foodies and welcome back. As you know I love to write articles that involve communities helping communities. I have written about many restaurants in Denver doing just that. However, when I heard about Mecha Noodle Bar, a restaurant company that was born hand in hand with a nonprofit that has the vision to always give back to the community, this was something different for me, and something I believed to be special. So, I had to go check it out and since I am an Asian food lover, the trip to the Mecha Noodle Bar made it even more awesome!

Mecha, Vietnamese for “Mom & Pop”, creates family comfort food recipes including five styles of Vietnamese Pho served alongside 6 styles of artistic Japanese ramen. Additionally, there are street food Asian snacks on the menu, all of which I could not wait to try. Tony Pham and Rich Reyes, childhood friends, and both sons of immigrants, started Mecha Noodle Bar in 2013, and Eat Justice, their nonprofit, started shortly thereafter. Eat Justice gives back to the community by fighting food insecurity and serving the local Denver area. Mecha Noodle Bar donates $.50 cents of every single ramen bowl to a local charity each year. This year the nonprofit is We Don’t Waste. This nonprofit is on a mission to feed people and not landfills by repurposing food to decrease waste. This alone is a reason to go to Mecha Noodle Bar, order Ramen and “Pay it Forward’.

The restaurant is woodsy and fun, with lively tunes playing while you are slurping your ramen or Pho. And yes, slurping is encouraged at Mecha Noodle Bar. I always start with a cocktail and the “Grow a Pair” was fruity and refreshing. My husband had the Bees Knees, a gin libation made with honey which was also perfection.  House made sodas and nonalcoholic inventive drinks are also on the menu, and don’t miss their selection of bubble teas, which you can “spike” with your alcohol of choice. We ordered some snacks next. The Roasted Mushroom Dumplings were so good, I ordered another order just to take home. We also had a spicy tuna hand roll which was bursting with flavor. They are famous for their Bao Buns and the KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) bao buns were different, spicy, crunchy, and most of all something I could order ten of. We had several kinds of ramen, but the most memorable was the Kinoko Vegetarian Ramen. I am not a Vegan, nor a vegetarian, but this ramen, brimming with earthy mushrooms, was the star of the show. You can always add a protein, such as brisket to the ramen if you are feeling it. The ramen came out looking like a piece of art, and every bite included a hearty helping of mushroom goodness. There are large plates on the menu as well if soup isn’t your thing, and they all looked divine!

 Mecha Noodle Bar is open from 12-9pm daily with Happy Hour Monday – Friday from 3-6pm. Happy hour includes half off most munchies and lots of Sake specials. I left Mecha Noodle Bar with a full stomach, but most of all, with a full heart. It’s great to have a fabulous restaurant with some of the most innovative Asian cuisine I have had in Denver, but it is another thing that the building blocks of your company are based on the concept of “paying it forward” to others. I believe it is a motto to live by always, and why I am signing off a little differently this time. My fellow foodies until next time, eat well, drink well, and always give well.