La Dalat Restaurant

It says they take reservations but I guess it is only for big parties. I was worried that it would have a wait but we got there around 6 and were seated quickly. However, it did get busier quickly. I got the strawberry basil martini. It was really good. They kept coming over and checking in with us but we were so busy catching up. Finally, we ordered the same appetizers. The edamame was alright, wasn’t really hot or salted. We got an spicy tuna roll and cucumber/​avocado roll. These were really good. We decided to split an entrée and got the Szechuan dish with chicken. It comes with a side of rice. It was good. Staff was attentive. I would go back again if I was in the area.

I was pleasantly surprised with how great this restaurant was. I’m spoiled with the food in Manhattan and am always skeptical when eating in the suburbs.
The service was so great and the sushi was quality. Everything is spotless and the the place is filled with fresh peonies (so beautiful). I came with family I haven’t seen in ages and not once were we rushed while taking our sweet time.
They have a few specialty rolls but the Fitsy and Summer Roll are must haves. You can taste the quality in all the ingredients. I highly recommend this place if you’re in the ‘burbs!

First time here. Ate at the bar. Had the chicken eggplant with brown rice on the side. This was marked spicy, I thought, yeah but mildly. It was very good though. The place was hopping soon after I got there. It seems popular with the locals as the employees knew most people there. Overall, I’d say it was very good with a diverse Asian menu.

I didn’t expect to like Delat as much as I did. We’re sorta trapped out here in the suburbs: there aren’t many choices. But a friend was coming up from the Cape — where they have even fewer choices — and wanted something different.
The location is ocean front. Parking is plentiful, both on street and in the lot across the street. I’ve been coming here for years and have never had trouble parking. Last night on a Saturday night at 6:50, I parked right in front of the place.
And when I got inside, I found my friend asking about a table for two. I’d called earlier in the day and was told that they don’t take reservations for two. Maybe they take reservations for larger parties? I suppose that would make sense. As it was, they told us there’d be a 40 minute wait for the dining room.
They have a small bar, which was also full, but there was one lone bar chair by the windows, which were also crowded with people eating and drinking. So we grabbed the one seat and waited by the windows. But even at that, one of the bartenders came around the bar to take our drink order, which was nice. And when a single seat opened at the bar, I grabbed it and eventually it became two. Having seats at the bar, we never looked back.
We ordered two rolls (yellowtail and spicy)($ 7 each for six pieces) and the sesame beef (which we’d seen others eating) (around $ 13). The woman tender offered us a choice of white or brown rice. My god, it was all so civilized! But when we asked that the rolls come out first, she said she couldn’t promise that would happen because the sushi bar was so backed up. (And, yes, they have a separate sushi bar.) I’m not sure how she did it in the chaos, but our food was perfectly timed. After we’d had long enough to enjoy the rolls leisurly, out came the beef.
The rolls were perfect size. The tuna was plump and delicious. It was big enough that it wasn’t lost in the rice, but small enough that it was easy to eat. Heaven!
The sesame beef was really good. We hadn’t intended on ordering it – and in fact, it’s not the kind of dish I usually order — but we’d both noticed others at the bar eating it and decided to order it based on looks alone. It was both tender and crunchy, with a sweet sauce. A huge portion, too. The only thing it lacked was heat. Next time I’ll ask if they can add a few hot peppers. (Oh and the couple to our left asked about it and ordered it like we did, after having seen the dish.)
The food was good. I would go back for the food.
But the service was extraordinary. And I can’t emphasize how slammed they were. It was the kind of busy most places use as an excuse for mistakes and misteps. But they were flawless.
After we sat at the bar, the area filled in behind us with swarms of people drinking and waiting for a place to eat. Even so, the bartenders were still taking care of us. The woman tender answered every food question patiently (while working at Cocktail speed) and knowledgeably (what is in a dish and how it’s made). They both paid attention to our empty beer bottles. They cleared our empty plates without even a hint of rushing us. The guy tender even wiped the bar so we could linger at a clean space, which is the utmost in civility. And even though they were making drinks non-​stop, not once did they serve a drink past us to someone standing behind us.
Feeling confident in their service, I decided to order a cocktail for dessert, but not a mai-​tai or one of the fruity drinks they’d been mixing all night. Almost tentatively, I asked the woman if she could do a sour. It’s not a complicated drink, but I’ve had bartenders (at very nice restaurants; at not-​busy restaurants) shrug and ignore my request. Without a hint of impatience, she asked the ingredients and then proceed to make one of the best sours ever using all fresh ingredients and the best rye in the house — the whistle pig.
It was a great night of food and drink and happiness. What more can one ask?
tl;dr
good food, great service; crowded but happy and civilized

This is the best place to get food. Doesn’t matter what you’re looking for this is the place. Amazing bartenders. Best sushi chefs. Top notch kitchen. If you don’t go here you’ve given up. You’re not that old. You’re not that young. Come join the Dalat team. Tell momma, Jason sent you.

Always consistent, always great. The sushi portions are enormous and always very fresh. It is absolutely the best sushi on the south shore.

Sat at the sushi bar the other night. Was excited to try as reviews were positive. Had a total bummer of a meal. Edamame was over steamed. Yellowtail sushi still had bloodline running through it and tasted overly fishy. Tuna avocado roll was mushy (the rice was overcooked) but the worst was the spicy scallop handroll. Scallops were cooked and hot (they should never be presented like this on a handroll). Plus there was an over abundance of mayo mixed in. It was basically inedible. It reminded me more of a dynamite style dish, not a traditional handroll. Anyways only 2 of our sushi pieces were decent. One was the uni, and the other was the tobiko with quail egg. Maybe we’re picky with our sushi (but shouldn’t you be when you’re paying the prices they are charging?) but I expected more for reviews that claim this is the best sushi on the south shore.

The food was excellent. We had sushi, scallion pancakes, dumplings and fried rice. All were cooked and seasoned perfectly. We brought our two little ones who behaved like animals but the servers were so sweet and accommodating! We are new in town and this place will certainly become a regular stop for us!

Super clean and friendly environment, quality Asian cuisine and grrrrreat sushi! I always come back to dalat on nantasket. Grade A

Great food, wonderful service! Superb sushi and lamb chops! Great birthday celebration!

This place is incredible! If you haven’t experienced this food, you simply must. Clearly the tuna pizza is awesome but every bite of food is always awesome here. Tonight Chef Hy Tran prepared us a few off– menu items; a lobster ravioli topped with sweet tomatoes and fresh summer corn. The next adventure was a tuna, ginger sushi roll with spicy Korean barbecue sauce. The drinks are strong, the atmosphere is laid back and the food is worth the 2 hour drive from Manchester CT.

AMAZING.
I was here two years ago and I found the waiter offensive.
REVIEWED MY OPTION TWO YEARS LATER.
My son & his bride had their wedding party catered here and every aspect was amazing. The food did not stop arriving. All perfectly presented. All tasty and perfectly served temperature.
The service was wonderful. Kind, thoughtful, anticipated our ever request.
All 30 guests loved every single item and there were lots of left-​overs that they packaged for us to take with us.
They were so eager to please that the final cost was actually a bargain for the high level of excellence and accommodation that we received.
Each one of our guests remarked that they would return as regular customers.
Try their bubbling sake. AMAZING.
Ten stars to reverse my previous single star.

The very best food ever. Tuna pizza: soooo good. Tornado roll: it’ll blow you away. Volcano roll: pow, you’re head will explode. And don’t forget the crab rangoons, they are yummy packets of love. Best bartenders around. The best place to go on a Friday or Saturday night. Go, go, go!!!

We have gone to La Dalat on and off for years, mainly used to sit at the sushi bar as there was a particularly good chef there who would hook us up with specials (and of course everyone else who went there, but you always felt like you were getting personalized service).
When Feng Shui opened in Cohasset, we started going there even though the quality (at its best) was never as good, but we are always loyal to the restaurants in our town. As you can see from the other reviews, however, Feng Shui has become so bad, we can’t go there any more. The last three orders we got we ended up throwing out the majority of it as it was just inedible, so we have been looking around for somewhere else.
We have gotten sushi take-​out from La Dalat, which is always good, but hadn’t done actual entrees in a long time. Last night we did — I can’t we have denying ourselves for so long! It was sooo GOOD! The closest in quality I have ever had is/​was Changsho, but this was better. EVERYTHING was good, but just to single out one entrée, the «Orange Flavored Beef» or at La Dalat, the «Orange Flavored Filet of Beef» — which it in fact is.
At other places «Orange Flavored Beef» is usually small, gristlely chucks of not easily identifiable meat. But we still get it. At La Dalat, however, it was 4 actual filets, which were light pink when sliced and clearly beef filets of very good quality. The sauce was outstanding and SO savory. Just plain delicious. It was a little spicy, but everyone enjoyed it. There was virtually nothing left and I was tempted to finish it, but really want to experience it again, so I pack some away the next day’s lunch (today). I just finished it and ate EVERYTHING. I never do that. Usually, even with better places and dishes, there is a lot of filler left over that we throw out — but I ate it ALL (including some orange rinds which was partially by mistake and I regret, but I couldn’t help myself).
This is going to be a new weekly tradition. It is such a treat to have really GREAT Chinese take-​out where enjoy every aspect of it. La Dalat’s prices are very reasonable — and the remodel spot is great. There are three sections: a full bar with a lively social scene, flatscreens, etc.; a sushi bar with typically two itamaes working; and a dining room which is in the same room as the sushi bar, but more quiet, and not overly crowded.
I had always thought La Dalat was more expensive due to the higher quality, but it is literally the same price. For example, $ 13.95 for «Orange Flavored Filet of Beef» at La Dalat and the same price for «Orange Flavored Filet» (e.g., ‘mystery meat’) at Feng Shui, and $ 12.50 at «China Gourmet» in Scituate (which is typical take-​out only place, better than Feng Shui but no where near as good as La Dalat). Other prices are also consistent, again with far better quality.
TL;dr — La Dalat is great for drinks, great for sushi (arguably the best on the South Shore), and has great traditional Szechuan Chinese as well as more exotic Vietnamese staples, all of exceptional quality. Highly recommended.

Eh. Really average food here. It was pricey and tasted exactly like cheap Chinese (which is better). There wasn’t much flavor and nothing was spicy — not even the extra chili paste helped. We ordered the following dishes–
Duck tataki– Chewy. Super chewy. Gave it to the rest of the table. It was pretty salty as well.
Szechuan beef– average. My fave dish at the table but only because it was okay.
Broccoli with chicken– plain, but okay.
Chicken with udon noodles– flavor was good but the noodles were a little over cooked. Squishy.
Nantasket roll– ahhh very yummy! The shining star of the meal. Too bad everything that followed didn’t live up to it!
We came here because Jake’s was insanely busy. Sigh!
Service was good and drinks came quickly.

First let’s start by saying that the only thing that’s authentic Vietnamese about «Dalat» is the name which comes from a city in Vietnam. The lighting is «Dim Sum», so it’s difficult to see the menu, or much else for that matter. And this is where the story begins. You see, «Dim Sum» is Chinese soup, not Vietnamese. Almost the entire menu is everything but Vietnamese. The name of the restaurant was recently changed from «La Dalat» to «Dalat». Maybe someone told them that «La» is FRENCH.
But just in case you might want to compare a traditional, typical Vietnamese menu, check these out.
The food at Dalat is for the most part processed and not fresh. Who would put «imported» on a non-​Vietnamese seaweed salad? If you love sushi and really know what the difference is between fresh and poor, you’ll understand completely. What color is sushi grade tuna? It’s not brown…
Someone commented that the service was efficient. We sat and watched dishes brought out from the kitchen only to see them sit for up to 15 minutes on waiter trays before someone figured out that there was a party waiting for their food. Finally the waiting party got up and grabbed their own dishes.
Call it what it REALLY is, a dressed up version of an «ok» Asian-​style restaurant that dresses up for their clientele with a vague attempt at atmosphere and presentation. Because of the location, Dalat will always do ok. It’s like having an ice cream stand on the beach. Who’s not going to go, if there’s nothing else around?

Have eaten here a number of times over the years. Went with my wife, two boys and their friend. Sign at the door indicated that due to a family wedding, they would be short-​staffed. If this is them short-​staffed then other restaurants could take a lesson in efficiency. Dining room was ¾ when we arrived, but filled up quickly. It became a bustling scene. Kwang, our server, was superb. Very friendly and extremely efficient. (He filled the water glasses, maybe seven times.) Other staff were really hustling, but were friendly.
Food was very tasty and fresh. We had some of the best scallion pancakes we’ve ever had. They were light and airy and crisp, but not at all oily. Boneless ribs were good, not great (slightly dry.) Sons liked the chix fingers. Shrimp with scallions and ginger was very good; General Gau’s chix was also good, but sauce tasted different than the usual (unique);and breading was a little on the heavy side. Chix fried rice was good, yet some of the chicken tasted like it was from leftovers (which undoubtedly, it was.)
Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal, a fun dining experience and a good value.

This is an excellent family run business.
Very thankful to have such good food in the area.
Excellent sushi and Vietnamese food in a waterfront location with plenty of parking. We eat here weekly. Ask Pete. (He) to make you a nice sushi platter. Nuff said… we always dine at the bar. It’s fun and all the patrons are nice, couple of large screen TVs in bar area. try the red curry beef or house special rice pot.

I had to review this when I saw one and two star reviews — I have been eating at La Dalat for many years and have ordered many different items on the menu and everything I have tried has been delicious (including the spicy tuna salad that a complete stranger forked into my mouth at the bar one night before I knew what was happening (ewww!!!) but that I proceeded to order when seated…) I second (or third or fourth) the tuna pizza — heaven on earth (think Tuna Doughnut).
I don’t know the owners or anything but everyone here is always very nice and polite and I have come in with everyone from my husband to my kids to my rambunctious girlfriends. Service has always been very good. The sushi is the best I have found on the South Shore and the cocktails are generous and yummy! Also a fan of the salmon hot pot and the striped bass dish.
Don’t be thrown off by my uniformly good reviews for other places — there are plenty of places I do not like, I just don’t waste time rating them unless something truly horrible happens. But La Dalat is a winner and I’d recommend it to anyone, don’t pay attention to the bad reviews!

We used to come to this place fairly regularly some years ago. Hub and I couldn’t remember why we stopped coming when we decided last night to celebrate his return from an L.A. business trip with dinner here.
For starters, they’ve dropped the «La» from the name. The sign out front simply says «Dalat» as do the menus. I’m guessing they wanted to withdraw the «French» influence from the name. Dalat is the name of the capital of Lam Dong province in Vietnam and is said to be a tourist mecca.
The Dalat we found after our long absence is mostly the same inside with the addition of a new sushi bar. And what we found is this is now more of a pan-​Asian effort than a Vietnamese one. Pity that.
Nevertheless, it’s got a pretty interior with tables covered in white tablecoths with roses on each table and a striking orchid display in the center of the room. There is attractive track lighting along the sides and a huge tropical fish tank separating the dining room from the sushi bar.
It was early evening when we got there with only two other tables taken. The host, first tried to sit us right next to one of the other couples. With many other tables open, this seemed silly and we asked to be seated elsewhere.
We started with Beer 33 which is a Vietnamese brew… quite tasty… as we perused the menu. The menu itself is an odd fold-​out affair with wooden covers. It’s a little awkward to deal with but I give them points for creativity.
As we looked over the menu, the oddest thing occurred. The waitress brought over a plate with two popovers on them.
Yes, I said popovers. Popovers as in the American hollow roll derived originally from Yorkshire pudding. As in Yorkshire England not Dalat Vietnam.
The waitress said they were something new they were thinking of adding to the menu and for now they were on the house.
Now don’t get me wrong, I like a well-​made popover as much as the next person. Just not when I’m in an Asian restaurant… but whatever, we’re an open-​minded duo. Popovers it was.
We returned to contemplating the menu. We struggled with it.
Overall, it was an odd menu with an assortment of offerings that just didn’t seem to hang together.
I rarely have a hard time finding something to eat on a menu even if I’m cobbling something together from an assortment of side dishes.
In my opinion, the problem here is that Dalat is trying to be too many things.
They may even be muddying the water even more with this crazy idea of wanting to add popovers to the menu.
As a general rule, I’m not a lover restaurants that mix it up too much.
We went very pedestrian and ordered vegetable spring rolls, vegetable dumplings and a California roll for starters.
All of these choices, ordinary though they may be, were tasty and well-​made although the California roll was smaller than what I’ve been used to elsewhere.
I then ordered squid sushi. This was not good. It tasted off to me. Warm and off.
Points to the server who immediately took it away and without prompting, said he would take it over the bill.
At this point, I wasn’t really hungry anymore. The starters had really been plenty for me but I did order some fried rice with shrimp. Hub ordered beef with pea pods.
When our dishes arrived his pea pods showed up as asparagus. A worthy vegetable that he normally loves, but not what he ordered.
Again, nicely and seamlessly his dish was removed and several minutes later the right dish appeared.
My fried rice was okay, not the best I’ve had but in all fairness because I was full I probably wasn’t in the right frame of mind to assess it. I took the majority of it home.
Hub was thought his dish was good but nothing special.
And to me, that sums it all up. Nothing very special here. It’s pretty but very mediocre.
What was amusing in an annoying sort of way was the family of 3 (mom, dad, older teen son) who came in toward the end of our meal. I’ll call them the Loud Family. They decided to come to Dalat it seems to loudly play their version of Trivial Pursuit.
It went just like this:
Mr. Loud: How many Supreme Court justices are there?
Mrs.Loud: 9!
Jr. Loud: 7!
Mr. Loud: 9 is the answer but I thought it was 7 too!
Mr. Loud: What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
Mrs. Loud: Uh. Uh…I know, give me a sec!!!
Jr. Loud: The Bill of Rights!
Mr. Loud: Yes! The Bill of Rights! You’re amazing!
Mr. Loud: Name one of the U.S. Territories!
Mrs. Loud: Guam
Jr. Loud: Puerto Rico
Mr. Loud: U.S. Virgin Islands
Mr. Loud: We all got one! Amazing!
(High-​fives with very loud hand-​smacking ensued all around the table.)
Anyway, our waitress was lovely, the server, a gentleman, the décor pretty with a great view of the beach across the street.
That said, nothing was interesting enough to bring us back anytime soon.
But I’ll leave you with this courtesy of the Loud family:
What’s the 10^th amendment?
I’ll wait.