Đà Lạt

This place dates back to the late 70s when Dionne Warwick was singing about San Jose. Da Lat itself is a large city in the central region of Vietnam Food is solid, decor not so much. Prices are about 15 to 20 percent lower than most other places, especially the newer trendier places. This is your grandparents' Vietnamese restaurant and the clientele is there to match. There is a little bit of everything here but is seems Da Lat is better at rice rishes and cold noodle bowls. Pho is a southern Vietnamese specialty and may not be what Da Lat specializes in. I could be wrong. The egg rolls and spring rolls were hefty and good. I had the grilled pork chop rice plate. The portions are easily enough for 2 people. Ask for a fried egg on top. A mix of locals, students and even cops eat here. Some people park on the sidewalk, but most park on the street. Don't go to Da Lat for the atmosphere but do go there for the food. Other people have for over 40 years.

Had order the pho tai. It was not great at all. Will never ever order pho from this restaurant ever again. The rare steak was already cooked when I got it. The broth is too sweet. There is definitely msg in the food as I was having to drink water with my food constantly.

Da Lat has been around since I went to San Jose State. That was a long time ago. There are better hu tieu restaurants in SJ. Da Lat will suffice if you don't want to drive. We had the hu tieu dac biet, (around $15) and a combo crispy noodles $16. The hu tieu was OK. The soup weren't all that. It needed more bone in the broth. The combo crispy noodles was rough. It looked good but didn't taste great. First, the noodles were overcooked giving it a stale crunch. Too rough. The gravy was too watery. The toppings were a mishmash of meats, seafood and vegetables. We didn't regret coming here but if we drove a bit further, dinner would have been better.