Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe at 86 Bedford St. is a small noodle counter that built its reputation on one thing: hand-pulled noodles from Xi’an, in northwest China. Chef-owner Gene Wu opened the Boston shop in July 2013 as his second restaurant, and it sits near Downtown Crossing, a short walk from Chinatown, not inside it.
Part of our Boston Restaurants coverage. Browse more in the Restaurants category. We build these guides from published sources; we do not visit, taste or rate restaurants.
How Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe Got to Bedford Street
The Boston Globe described the Bedford Street shop in 2013 as chef-owner Gene Wu’s second restaurant, after the original Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe in Chelmsford, which had already gathered what the paper called a cult following. According to the Globe review, Wu is a native of Xi’an, and the Boston menu was built around specialties from that city.
Eater Boston reported on July 24, 2013 that the Boston location had opened, and added a correction after readers pointed out that it is in Downtown Crossing rather than Chinatown. That is still the right way to think about it today: the restaurant is on the edge of the neighborhood, which is why many Chinatown food lists mention it as a nearby stop. Eater’s venue page for the restaurant also links coverage of later changes, including a Westford location and expanded Saturday hours at the Boston shop.
What to Order: Hand-Pulled Noodles and Xi’an Flavors
The Globe wrote that the menu had only a handful of options when it reviewed the restaurant: a flatbread sandwich, cold noodles and a soup, with the thick, chewy hand-pulled noodles as the draw. It described them as topped either with chili oil, cilantro and raw garlic or with cumin-seasoned lamb, and noted that they are best eaten in the restaurant before they clump together, which matters if you are considering takeout.
The menu has grown since then. The restaurant’s own website, which bills the food as “authentic Western Chinese cuisine,” currently lists these dishes, among others:
- Hand-pulled noodles seasoned with minced garlic, crushed cayenne peppers, scallion and cilantro.
- Hot sour noodle soup, with hand-pulled noodles in a spicy sour broth with bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro and pork, plus a vegetable version.
- Lamb noodle soup, marked “new” on the site, with slow-cooked lamb, dried lily flowers and wood ear mushroom.
- Hot sour dumpling soup with handmade pork dumplings.
- Xi’an cold noodles with cucumber, bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro and a tea egg.
- Spicy cumin lamb skewers and a pork intestines noodle soup for more adventurous orders.
The site lists individual bowls in a range from under $7 for plain hand-pulled noodles to about $17.50 for the skewers. Those figures are what the page showed when we checked it, and prices can change, so confirm when you order.
What Eater and Diners Say
Eater’s venue page for Gene’s links to its guides on Chinese restaurants and hand-pulled noodles around Boston, and the site has covered the shop repeatedly since its 2013 opening. The restaurant’s site also carries testimonials from Google reviewers, who praise the noodle texture and fast service; those are customer opinions the restaurant chose to publish, not independent reviews. As always on The Boston Report, we are summarizing published coverage, not our own tasting.
Plan Your Visit: Address, Hours and Nearby Eats
- Address: 86 Bedford St., Boston, MA 02111.
- Phone: (617) 482-1888, per the restaurant’s website.
- Hours: The website lists Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and shows no Sunday hours. Eater’s venue page shows the same weekday window. Check before you go, since small shops adjust hours.
- Getting there: The shop is in the Downtown Crossing area, so it is easy to pair with a longer walk into Chinatown.
If you are building a day around noodles and dumplings, our Boston Chinatown restaurant guide covers the neighborhood next door, and our profile of Shojo on Tyler Street shows a very different, bar-style take on Asian street food. For modern Asian cooking in the South End, see Myers + Chang. More dining coverage is on our Boston Restaurants hub and in the Restaurants category.
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