Cafe Da Lat

My first time here and I had the spicy beef soup. It was a huge portion and tasted great.

Among all the Viet restaurants here in ABQ, this one wasn’t really up to my expectations.
The last time I was there, I had to wait quite awhile for my water, food, etc. Although, the waiter did the best he could & was nice/​patient about it.
This restaurant is particularly good for groups — hence, my party was around 5 – 6 people.

Man, the Vietnamese have taken the old slogan «Variety is the spice of life» to heart, haven’t they? When you’re presented with a menu that offers something along the lines of 150+ options, where do you start? The reviews, of course.
More than a few mentioned the rare beef phở and spring rolls, so I figured what the hey. I wish life was as harmoniously uncomplicated as a solid bowl of phở. Some broth, noodles, protein and a few herbs, peppers, sprouts, I mean, why screw it all up with extras? It’s one of the only hot dishes I crave in the middle of a hot summer day, and once I doctor it up with some hoisin and red pepper, lawd help me, the chow session is on. Only, this time I didn’t feel the urge to drown the broth in other flavors, because there was plenty to discern in that there clearish water, no reason to dilute it. Honestly, some of the best phở I’ve ever eaten and once I get around to sampling what the rest of this town has to offer, I might add an extra star to this bad boy.
As a spring roll connoisseur, I’ll give these an 8 out of 10. Very good, exceptionally fresh, the cool watery burst to balance out the heat. Wonderful darkened ambiance, clean, maybe even a touch twinkly, a terrific escape from – let’s face it – one of the more bizarre and edgy areas of town. And I enjoyed my brief back-​and-​forth with the owner, he liked my bag. I pointed out that it had precisely the same symbol as the red sticker on his door. Apparently, people love this restaurant on a website, can’t quite recall which one. Had something to do with a dog, I think.

Ok, so this review is now 3 months behind schedule — my bad! Just blame it on the fact that when I was last in Albuquerque I was down with a terrible cold and then promptly forgot that I’d be here until now.
We came here on the recommendation of a co-​worker of my boyfriend’s. While it was in fairly sketchy part of town, it was actually quite comfortable inside. Service was unobtrusive and prompt… now let’s see if I can remember anything about the food…
I believe that we ordered the spring rolls and banh mi for the appetizers, followed by a bowl of Phở for me and a rice combo plate for my boyfriend. The banh mi was decent — I’d have preferred that the bread be more toasted. The spring rolls were pretty good, although the wrapper was somewhat chewy and not that appetizing. The phở was decently flavored, although I remember coming here because I was told that they had a spicy broth. I couldn’t figure out the menu enough to even begin to identify the spicy broth.
Overall a pleasant experience, even though it was in a kind scary and sketchy area. That being said, there are other places in Albuquerque that I’d rather go when I’m craving Phở.

Ok well decided to try one of our fav Vietnamese places. Yes still very very good didn’t have a bug mishaps this time! We will continue going back because it’s really good.

I eat here all the time and they never let me down. One of my favorite restaurants in Albuquerque. Everything on the menu is delicious but my go to items are the rare beef phở, J16 — chicken, bok choy, broccoli and carrots in a wine sauce and N3 — eggplant and garlic pork. The spring rolls and pork buns are a sure shot as well.

One of the best in the SE area of Albuquerque! Never had anything that wasn’t fresh tasting and delicious. Very personable and attentive wait staff — I eat here about four times a month for business meetings.

I wanted to like this place, I really did. But it’s just ok. The phở broth is a little weak (not richly flavored or with a lot of body), the spring rolls usually taste pre-​made (cold, hard, chewy wrappers), and the egg rolls are usually noticeably underseasoned. On the plus side, the chicken salad is excellent, heavy on the chicken and made with a bright, tangy dressing and tons of lightly pickled cucumber and carrots than make it a light, tasty, but satisfying dish. The service is prompt and friendly, the décor is inviting, and there’s plenty of parking. Definitely not your worst option for Vietnamese, but not my first choice.

When you’re looking for authentic Vietnamese food that’s tasty and well prepared with a great variety of choices and reasonable prices try this long time favorite. From the best spring rolls, lots of great noodle and rice bowls to meat and shrimp dishes, stir fry and plenty of veggie choices. They’re at 5615 central. Try it, you’ll be very glad you did.

My favorite place for phở in town. Their spring rolls are large and awesome (they’d be even more awesome if they had mint instead of cilantro). I had the rare and well-​done beef phoand an order of spring rolls tonight. Their broth is so good. I’ve made phở before (and it was damn good), so I know what goes in it, but I have no idea what the extra special something is that Café da Lat puts in their broth. It blows every other place’s out of the water. It must be love that they put in it. Pure, unadulterated love. The plate of bean sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, jalapenos, and limes were fresh, crisp, and dripping wet (just rinsed). Some day I’ll try something else. Or not. Phở is the perfect meal. Especially from here. And yea for leftovers! That makes my workday tomorrow just a little bit better.

Was not impressed in the least. My grilled curry chicken came out du and burnt. …Not the burnt like a bit over cooked– I’m talking burnt life I could taste the char. That’s about all I could taste.

Highly satisfying phở tai that is rare beef soup, and spicy beef stew. Broth was excellent. Beef was very thinly sided and noodles were cooked perfectly. Comes with abundant herbs and fixings.
Eggs rolls were edible, but kind of flavorless. Very crunchy casing but mushy inside.
Would get soup again most definitely but would pass on egg rolls.
People say spring rolls are where it is at here. I would like to try the bahn mi next time. Service was quick and polite.
Slightly seedy area of central ave but safe. Interior is fancier than some other Vietnamese restaurants around town. Prices are kind on the wallet. Beer and wine only.

I don’t have a lot of experience with viet food so take this review with a grain of salt.
I ate here for lunch and I was the first customer in the door at 11:15.
I had an iced coffee, pork buns, and stir fried noodles. The iced coffee was served in a French press at the table. It was very good but took a good 10 – 15 minutes to brew. The pork buns were quite tasty and a good value. 3 of them for $ 2.75. The stir fry was decent, the portion size was awesome the meat and veggies were cooked well and the price was right. I did not like that there was a sweetness to the dish. This is probably a standard viet flavor.
Knocking a star off for cleanliness. The window sills were very dirty. The chair stiles had a thick lair of dust on them. You can tell that deep cleaning is not on the weekly (or monthly) to do list.

I expected a lot more from the food based on the reviews here. Disclaimer: I got take-​out
1. Pork Buns: obviously steamed pre– packaged that you can buy at your local asian grocery store
2. Spring rolls: decent, had pieces of fried– egg in them which made them a bit different from the usual
3. Chicken, tomato, beef, shrimp dish with rice: none of the meats were tasty, small shrimps. too spicy. I ended up throwing most of it away.
Bit disappointing since I had such high expectations for the place.

One of my favs in town. Love the lime beef, phở, and spring rolls. James is so sweet (owner).

Visiting the ABQ this weekend and really wanted some local phở. I wasn’t asking for multiple course sustentacugasms. I didn’t need a religion-​changing experience. I just wanted to get my culinary rocks off for the night with a spicy stranger. Alas, no love, my friends. No love.
Checked out Café Da Lat on the reco of our hotel concierge. Ambiance was cute and the customer service both quick and friendly. The conversation overheard from the cybercouple on their first date at the next table over was quite amusing («OMG, your Facebook updates are as cute as YOU are in person!»). And although the foodie fetish fulfillment had potential with 80 items on the menu, the follow-​through was pretty phucked.
The phở broth wasn’t seasoned differently – it just wasn’t seasoned at all. Same goes with the five-​color rice and overlying seasoning pork. Yawn. Halfway through the meal I found myself contemplating painting the figurative culinary ceiling beige. Meh.
Grabbed a pint of Cherry Garcia on the way home and called it a night. Wouldn’t you know – sometimes a little self-​satisfaction is just safer.

A friend of mine who recently visited Vietnam was craving some Vietnamese Coffee, so, one our way out of town to go camping we stopped here. The coffee was amazing as well as the food being excellent! The waiter was super kind and let us know of some neat places in California if we were ever in the area. The serving sizes were huge! If I am ever in town again, I will most definitely come back!

The ambience is really «romantic», prices are decent, portions are generous.
I didn’t have much of an appetite so opted for the fried egg rolls. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have a lettuce for each egg roll and had to cut the lettuce in half.
Other than that, we approve ;)

A friend brought me in here a while back while he was back in Albuquerque for the weekend. He said it was one of the places he used to frequent often when he lived in town. The parking lot and building leave a bit to be desired and are sketchy. Once you make it inside, the restaurant itself is not nearly as bad.
The food is fantastic. We had the spring rolls, which were delicious. I also chose the curry chicken which was wonderful. Not too spicy but just perfect. There was a large enough portion that I was able to take some home for lunch the next day too!
Overall, the location is unfortunate, but the food is worth it! I recommend for sure!

My fiancé and I went here on the fourth of July while on a roadtrip. I was craving a bowl of phở and I asked him when he said that he had no idea what that was. ._​. long story short, this was a needed adventure and the food was great! I had a vegetarian phở bowl and he had the chicken. I’m pretty sure we’ve finally reached his inner asian! The waiters/​waitresses are nice, but nothing above and beyond.
The only downside, which is really no big deal at all, is that the ice tea is quite bitter. I put 8 spoonfuls of sugar in before i actually started to taste a slight sweetness. lol. I would definitely come here again when I need my phở fix (: