Pho Da Lat Restaurant

Old mainstay for my Merrimack Valley Vietnamese lunches, back when I lived there. Still go to this place if I’m in the area because, they’re still great and they’re still there LOL. I’d like to see some broken rice on the menu but otherwise I’m a fan and either way I’ll be back!

We decided to give Phở Da Lat since we had driven by it several times and we love phở. We should have kept driving.
The service was on the average side but overall friendly.
We tried a Vietnamese vegetable crêpe which was large, and plentiful for two. It really could have served as a small meal.
The phở was plentiful in size but lacked flavor. As soon as it was serviced, all I could smell was what seemed like boiled chicken. And this is exactly what it tasted like. The phở broth had no flavor at all. When I asked if they could add spice, I was directed to the sirachi sauce on the table. The chicken tasted liked boiled chicken was it was not cleaned well. Good think I got extra noodles… because that was all I ate from the bowl. I left still having a craving for phở:(

Went for lunch today, and ordered a xtra large chicken noodle soup, was pleased with the taste, and how much they give you, no complaints,

authentic food with a cozy atmosphere, somewhere I’d imagine a grandmother cooking the food. bun Bo hue was a star and the egg rolls as an appetizer are a crowd pleaser. definitely try this place if you’re in the area. you won’t be disappointed! there are also vegetarian options available as well!

PHO for you PHO for me! I love beef Phở (noodle soup). I always get the extra large beef noodle soup and have them add beef balls to the order. (I usually have them exclude tendon and tripe as a personal preference).
The soup is a very rich broth that when you add the fresh ingredients from the package makes this amazing.
I love the strawberry bubble tea with the tapioca balls. (bubbles)
We have eaten from this location more than 10 times so I’m happy to give them a positive Unilocal review. If you are in the area give them a try you won’t be disappointed.

Very disappointed in the phở at this location. Last week, I ordered the wonton and yellow noodle phở at the Drum Hill location. It was fabulous. Tasty, lettuce was fresh and wonton were good. Tonight, I ordered take out from the Middlesex st location. I got fewer wontons and they were poorly made (fell apart).
Lettuce was rusty looking. Next time I will take the extra time to go to drum hill. Big difference in quality.

Have been to Phở Da Lat several times — never disappointed! Great soft-​shell crab, bun and phở.

We’ve been going back and forth between Phở 88 and both Phở Da Lat locations for two years now. Phở Da Lat is the more consistent of the two. I have never had a bowl of salty broth here. The portions may not be as big, but each bowl comes with chili pepper, you don’t have to ask for it. The utensils are clean and the décor nice enough to take out of town visitors. This restaurant is my favorite in Lowell. There are some outstanding places in Dorchester if you are willing to venture out a bit.

There are three Phở Da Lat Restaurants within proximity of each other. This location (off Middlesex Street) is located on a busy street. Parking was difficult. There was a small lot with a few spaces in the front and side of the restaurant. When you enter the restaurant, the first thing you see is a fish tank with a few medium to large fish. To the right of the fish tank, there’s a hostess booth. There are tables and tables surrounding the fish tank. There’s a fully stocked bar behind the fish tank. The restaurant played Top 40 and popular songs. The restaurant was decorated with typical Asian décor — pots of lucky bamboo and vases with red roses, clementine trees with lanterns, framed calligraphy art, lit lanterns of various sizes.
Tonight, my parents and I came here for what we thought would be an authentic Vietnamese cuisine. The Thai Iced Tea was made with Thai Iced Tea flavored powder. I’d admit they have good appetizers. For appetizers, we ordered Egg Rolls and Crispy Tofu. The Egg Rolls were crispy, deep fried and filled with ground chicken and shrimp, carrots, onion, rice vermicelli, and mushroom. The pair of egg rolls was served on a green leaf, garnished with pickled carrots and radish, and served with fish sauce. The Crispy Tofu was lightly battered tofu. It was served of a bed of shredded lettuce and served with a mildly spicy duck sauce. For entrees, we ordered the Special Beef Noodle Soup, which was noodle with slices of rare eye round, well done flank, brisket, beef flank, tendon, and tripe. It was garnished with spring onion, raw onion, cilantro, and parsley. Their Phở noodle soup, which comes in small, medium, and extra large, had great flavor. The extra large was perfect portion for a hungry soul or to share among guests. However, the soup was not very hot but rather lukewarm. We were surprised that there was not a traditional Pad Thai dish but rather a Crispy Pad Thai dish. It was crispy thin egg noodles with a choice of meat (in this case, tender beef), ‘sunny side up’ egg, carrots, green peppers, spring onion, onion, and parsley. It was hard to eat and digest as noodles got stuck between the teeth of those who consumed it. Lastly, we ordered the Vermicelli Bowl with Grilled Meats. The bowl consisted of a choice of meats (dry /​overcooked chicken), vermicelli, shredded lettuce, mint, raw bean sprouts, cucumbers and served with fish sauce.

So the food was decent, came in and got the chicken Phở for lunch. I enjoyed the big fish tank in the middle of the dining area.
Service was a little poor though, hence the lowered rating. My waitress was talking on her cell and eating a pastry with her fingers, in between waiting on me.
Kinda unhygienic and probably against a code. def a little rude. Do that stuff in the back if you have to, not two tables away from where I’m sitting! =P

Overall, the food is pretty good. However not that great of a value. We thought it was a little skimpy on the shrimps.
We ordered:
Vegetarian Pad Thai.
Seafood Medley.
Lemongrass Shrimp.
The Seafood Medley didn’t really have much seafood pieces. Only to prices of fish cake, 2 shrimps and some calamari. $ 13.95
The Lemongrass Shrimp only had 6 shrimps. $ 12.95.
The Pad Thai was good but unexciting. A good combo of tofu, egg and veggies.
Drinks — I was going to try a Scorpion Bowl, but the price was outrages! $ 11.95 for a single and $ 17.95 for 2 people. Ouch! I had a Mai Tai for $ 7.95 instead.
The Mango Bubble Tea was good.
Service is a little slow for an empty restaurant.

The food here is always great. The service is consistently good. See the tip for a good dish recommendation. The fried rice is also great.

Awesome place for Vietnamese food
Fish tank is nice and fun to look at
I got the Vietnamese Bun Bo Hue and spring rolls
Hands down best place for bun bo hue in MA
Spring rolls were fresh
Manager is an awesome dude and is very patient with all my questions

I was not impressed with this place. They use phở noodles that are original dry & then soaked in water. They have no flavor or texture. I like the fresh phở noodles instead. The tripe and tendons were not cooked long enough, therefore tough and rubber like. I would have choked if I tried to eat it. The tripe & tendons were a little yellowish too — not cleaned well. The broth wasn’t great either, mostly salt.
My Thai ice tea was good though. Service fine as well. But I wouldn’t go back again. Sorry… just my 2 cent.

Parking is a bit tricky as there are only 5 – 6 spots in the front and side parking lot. The restaurant is just your average Vietnamese restaurant with basic décor. When we arrived, there was only one other table and one waitress working that evening shift.
We were starving and I wanted everything on the menu. The Mo and I shared a few different appetizers and kept it «Tapas-​style» like. We started with the Vietnamese fresh spring roll «Goi Cuon» along with an order of fried tofu and eggroll. The apps were good but nothing spectacular.
My favorite dish was the Fried calamari. It was crispy and flavorful.
We shared a large bowl of sliced rare steak and meatball Phở Noodle Soup. The broth lacked flavor and it wasn’t great.
Overall, it was a «Quick Fix» but we probably won’t be back for a while. We will just stick to our «Go-​To» places like Viet-​Thai in DTL or Pho88 in Drumhill.
To see pictures, visit

I was driving through Lowell on business and stopped in to the same complex for a coffee. This place caught me eye. It was very windy and cold. I had a few extra minutes and a warm bowl of soup was too appealing to pass on. I’m glad I found this place!
The dining room is immaculately clean and has a relaxing understated décor. Some reviews mention neon however I didn’t see any and based on the age of the reviews believe it’s been redecorated and updated since then. There’s an attractive fish tank separating one of the bar areas, there are two, from the dining room. The room looks great. There was nothing cheap or cheesy feeling about it. Whoever updated the interior knew what they were doing.
The dishes on other diners tables looked great and I couldn’t wait to warm up and try the food. The menu is an extensive mix of Vietnamese entrees and phở (pronounced ‘fah’ not ‘foe’) style soups with a few Chinese favorites as well. The menu is about four pages long. There are so many tasty looking options it was difficult to decide.
We ordered fresh (not fried) shrimp spring rolls and two bowls of phở, one chicken and one mixed dumplings. The spring rolls were excellent; fresh, with very large shrimp and a fantastic peanut sauce. There were jalapeños hiding under the pile of shoots. I wish we’d found them before we finished.
The phở bowls were huge and tasty. I don’t normally eat that much however it would have been criminal to leave any behind. This was the perfect entrée for a cold evening. There were generous servings of meat in both bowls and both the broth and noodles were excellent. There is a full bar. The St. Germaine cocktail my companion ordered was good. There were also a couple of drink specials offered table side.
The service started strong and fell off from there. We were promptly greeted and our drink orders filled. The appetizers and entrees were delivered quickly. Everything was going fine until after the entrees were delivered. Then it was as if they forgot about us. It took a solid twenty minutes to flag down a passing server and request the check. I suggest requesting the check when your food is served. I would not hesitate to eat here again and look forward to try other menu offerings. Next time I’ll both order a ‘medium’ and ask for the check in advance. The food was so good I really don’t even regret the extra time the experience cost in getting back on the road.

Great food. I feel the eat in experience is better then takeout, but I don’t hesitate to get takeout. The 4 star rating is just for parking its the city and a main st so parking is limited to the few spots out front and on the side. The curry here is some of the best around .
Joe G.

Just what I’ve been searching for! Had the phở with rare steak and meatballs. The broth was rich and delicious. Highly recommended.
A nice plus– the restaurant is cute inside and the servers were very nice. (I’m talking about the new Drum Hill location. The original location has a less cheery atmosphere but the same excellent food.)

DO NOT COME HERE and if you do go DO NOT order chicken. I went here about 3 weeks ago and ordered the chicken lemon grass dish. A couple of hours later I suffered from food poisoning. It was a horrible experience that I hope no other customer over there has to suffer through.

Food:
Chicken Wings — Not anything too fancy, but they do give you quite a bit.
Phở (Chicken) — I like it, but it has a strong sweet flavor to it that I’m still not used to.
Phở (Beef) — Yes, it tastes like phở for the most part — but something is a bit off about it. It’s a little too sweet like there’s too much MSG in it or something.
Atmosphere:
The décor is nice, and there’s a lot to look at — but it’s a little tacky here and there.
Staff:
Depending on who you get (and if you’re Vietnamese or not), you may have a good time or a difficult time. For the most part, they are pretty attentive — but sometimes you have to just flag them down.
Final Thoughts:
There is more than one Phở Da Lat in Lowell, but it’s owned by pretty much the same people. It’s a good establishment, but it requires minor tweaks here and there to make it very good or even great.