Fortune Noodle House near the University of Cincinnati campus is no more. The restaurant, known for its hand-pulled noodles and other northern Chinese dishes, has been sold to Kung Fu Noodle, an Ohio-based chain with plans to open later this summer.
Kung Fu partner Esther Ding told me the company is currently remodeling the space at 349 Calhoun St. in Clifton Heights and is excited to enter the Cincinnati market.
Like Fortune Noodle House, the restaurant will specialize in the hand-pulled noodles of northern China. Kung Fu was founded near Dayton in 2019 by Dennis Zang, who grew up in Lanzhou, China. The menu will include braised beef noodle soup, dan dan noodles, soup dumplings, stir fries, pot-stickers and barbecue beef tripe skewers.
According to the Kung Fu Noodle’s website, the Cincinnati spot will represent the chain’s fifth location, including its original Kettering spot as well as restaurants in Columbus, Lexington and State College, Pennsylvania.
Kung Fu Noodle first gained acclaim when it was named to Yelp’s 2024 list of the Top 100 Restaurants in America. It was one of only two Ohio restaurants included. After opening in Columbus, Kung was recognized as one of the city’s best new restaurants of 2025 by Columbus Monthly.
Fortune Noodle House was opened by Steven and Rachel Sun in 2016 and soon became a fixture for students looking for authentic northern Chinese cuisine at the University of Cincinnati and beyond. It was also a regular vendor at Cincinnati’s Asian Food Fest and Taste of Cincinnati.
“We looked for a gap we could fill and noticed no one was doing handmade noodles,” Steven Sun told The Enquirer’s Polly Campbell soon after it opened. “They are delicious, we knew people would love them, so we decided to serve them.”
It is unclear when Fortune Noodle House closed its doors for the transition. The restaurant’s website, fortunenoodleuc.com, lists its hours as closed daily. Calls to the restaurant’s listed phone number were not answered.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A popular UC restaurant is closing. One of Yelp’s top 100 will take its place
Reporting by Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
