Supplemental Financial Information - Property and Equipment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jan. 03, 2023	Dec. 28, 2021
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 371,843	$ 344,726
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(242,457)	(225,450)
Property and equipment, net	129,386	119,276
Leasehold Improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	212,319	197,722
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	152,786	140,698
Construction in progress
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 6,738	$ 6,306

Amount of accumulated depreciation and amortization from plant, property, and equipment and right-of-use asset from finance lease.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128292326&loc=SL77918686-209980

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123391704&loc=SL77918638-209977

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentAndFinanceLeaseRightOfUseAssetAccumulatedDepreciationAndAmortization
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, after accumulated depreciation and amortization, of property, plant, and equipment and finance lease right-of-use asset.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentAndFinanceLeaseRightOfUseAssetAfterAccumulatedDepreciationAndAmortization
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, before accumulated depreciation and amortization, of property, plant, and equipment and finance lease right-of-use asset.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(18))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123391704&loc=SL77918627-209977

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentAndFinanceLeaseRightOfUseAssetBeforeAccumulatedDepreciationAndAmortization
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_LeaseholdImprovementsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=ndls_FurnitureFixturesAndEquipmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_ConstructionInProgressMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: