Mecha Noodle Bar Opens Coolidge Corner Location in June 2022 | Eater Boston

"I learned that Mecha Noodle Bar opened its first Boston-area location on June 30 in the former Peet’s Coffee space at 285 Harvard Street in Brookline's Coolidge Corner; the Connecticut-based chain has been around about a decade and plans a Fort Point location in fall 2022. The menu leans into “some of Asia’s most comforting dishes” — from pho (each made with a beef and chicken broth) to ramen (offered in several broth styles, including a mushroom-packed vegetarian version) — and riffs on Southeast Asian street food such as Korean fried chicken bao, Vietnamese egg rolls, red oil pork, and shrimp dumplings with Sichuan vinegar. Drinks include boozy bubble tea (think whiskey-spiked Thai iced tea or a strawberry-and-cherry tea with cachaça), cocktails, sake, a short beer and wine list, phin-brewed coffee and other soft drinks. Mecha donates $0.50 from each ramen sale to a rotating local cause each month. Its name, derived from the Vietnamese words for mother and father, is an homage to cofounder Tony Pham’s parents and drives the mission of Eat Justice, the restaurant’s philanthropic arm, which aims to generate over a million dollars annually to fund campaigns supporting nonprofits from youth development to cancer research. The Brookline location is open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and can be reached at (617) 675-7577; the menu may vary slightly between locations." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal