Charley Noodle & Grill 244 State Street, Los Altos, CA 94022

"I really wanted to like this place because the owner seems very nice and the service was friendly. But the food was mediocre. I love dan dan noodles, so I tried their Dan Dan Yimein -- hardly any sesame or peanut flavor (that's the whole point of dan dan), and the noodles were somewhat soft and overdone. My wife got a Dragon Roll, which tasted fine, but she noted that everything seemed quite cold, suggesting that it had been refrigerated for a while. There are definitely better places to go in downtown Los Altos."

"Pictured: Jellyfish, Braised Pork Ramen, Dan Dan Yi Mian Very good food for the price & good portion sizes as well. Would definitely go again next time when in the area."

"Really wanted to like this place because it came highly recommended. Could be the dishes we ordered so might go back and try again. Had the chicken don, katsu don, curry chicken, seaweed salad and another noodle dish. Should have gotten the ramen because when it came by our table on the way to another table, it looked good. The don bowls were a little flavorless while the other dishes' flavors were too strong. The place was packed on a Friday night. Lots of upper grade school aged students there. Service was slow but understandable that it's hard for 2 people to wait on a fully packed house."

"There are very few times that Yelp has led me down a wrong path and this is one of them. I'm not sure how this place receives an average 4 star rating. We ordered the ramen with spicy tonkatsu broth. You have to add each topping separately. Most ramen incorporates the spices to the soup base to make it spicy. When I received it, there was a layer of hot oil floating on top. The noodles tasted like the ramen noodles from a package. It has that same waxy exterior that is very distinctive. The signs of a good ramen is the noodle and the soup. Both failed. The egg was over cooked and the yolk had a grayish ring. The one redeeming thing is the minced pork. It was flavorful, but again on the dry side. My husband ordered the General Tso's chicken. The batter was light and crispy, but the chicken was super dry. The sauce was sweet without the spicy and tangy."

"The food was good, and the service was nice. Tasty Japanese food options available, I had the katsu don bowl and my dining mate had a ramen with boiled egg. The fried squid appetizer was also tasty, though my pic only represents one of 3 sticks, and it's partially eaten. They also served us a complimentary fried cheesy dish appetizer which was quite good."