Da’s Kitchen & Catering

All I have to say is overpriced. I don’t mind paying more if the food is worth it but food is just ok and that’s being nice. Small tom yum soup w shrimp was $ 11. Flavor was so so but a little too sweet. Also got Thai dumplings that looked like they were shrunken and were came from the freezer for $ 8. Think we’ll stick to Ricky’s Thai instead.

Having gone to Da’s quite a few times when Da was still chef and the food and presentation were exceptional, I am very sorry to have to say that neither still holds true. We were very excited to return as it’s been over a year since we’ve been out Hopewell way and we made a reservation since we remembered how packed Da’s always was. Upon arriving albeit early for a Friday, there was only one other group there. There was one other group that arrived after they left. The place was dead. The food lacked any imagination, presentation was minimal, the fried orders we received (fried spring rolls (though we ordered the fresh ones) and fried ice cream for dessert) were both very greasy, as though fried in oil that wasn’t hot enough. The «Thai dumplings» were merely not — they were shumai. The squid dish was good, nothing special. The noodle dish was good, nothing special. The green curry was good, though the beef was very tough — good, nothing special (notice a trend?). The mango with sticky rice was supposed to be Da’s recipe but certainly was no where near as good. Sadly, Da’s has turned into a mediocre generic Thai — ish restaurant. They should change the name — keeping it as Da’s is deceptive and disappointing to those of us expecting her level of creative cooking genius.

I stopped in for lunch today and I’m so glad I did!
I’ve been here before, but I almost forgot what a gem this place is. The food is always great, good sized portions, and pleasant atmosphere. I ordered the Thai Noodles from the specials menu. It was delicious, with just the right amount of heat. They ask how spicy you want it when you order, so no need to worry about it being too mild or too hot.
When I order takeout, I tend to stick to my favorites like Pad Thai and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve ordered take-​out from here several times with no complaints. Friendly service both on the phone and in person, and large enough portions that I always have leftovers.

Ordered Shrimp Pad Thai and Green Curry. Pretty delicious, especially the Pad Thai. Service was good and outdoor seating was nice. Indoor seemed to have an odor though so I probably wouldn’t come back in the winter

My husband took me to dinner for my birthday, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
It’s BYOB so you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank!
We had purchased a great deal from groupon which applied to everything on the menu. Despite the amazing array of options, I couldn’t resist my usual favorite and ordered a giant platter of Pad Thai. I’m sure I’ll still be consuming the leftovers next week.
I even received a glorious rendition of «Happy Birthday» from the staff despite not ordering dessert.
Make sure to ask for Sylvester. He and his team provided phenomenal service. We will definitely be back.

Da’s kitchen is a great starting point for diners unfamiliar with Thai food. This is as one reviewer stated, Americanized Thai. But I am ok with that, as most Asian restaurants around here are as well. I’ve not had much luck with the apps here, they are ok, but I’ve never tried any more than once. Instead I opt for the Phở which is pretty good, and a good choice for sharing. For mains I usually get the duck, since it is available in 3 dishes. This is not a medium rare duck like you would find in a fine dining atmosphere (and I do like that preparation too) but a marinated huge breast that is deep fried (or similar technique) and the skin comes out crunchy crispy. While it is cooked longer than I am used to, I don’t feel that is necessarily dry, especially since the sauces that come with it are good. I’ve also tried the thicker noodle dishes, they are satisfactory as well. I came here on a recommendation from a chef that worked with Da, but I am not aware of her status at this time. If/​when I go back I will inquire, Service is friendly but not always informed as to the ingredients of each dish. Wait for a groupon before before planning a visit, unless you are in the area at lunchtime.

I guess that I’m the only Thai person writing a review on this restaurant. The food is very Americanized. I took my mom and my niece there a month ago. I ordered the grilled shrimp satay appetizer… there was literally four pieces of panned grilled shrimps devided into two skewers. Ordered the summer rolls and it wasn’t fresh, the rice paper was a bit hard, like it’s been pre-​prepared for hours… it should always be a la carte.
For our main course we ordered Pad Thai, which was tasty. Ordered chicken green curry, also good. I won’t knock it since I’m sure that, again, it’s for the Americanian palette. We ordered the massaman curry… yuk! Traditionally it’s a sweet curry but the chef argued with me saying that it’s suppose to be sour, tamarind sour. Wrong! It’s not a sour soup. It’s suppose to be a sweet curry.

We had a Groupon to try out Da’s for the first time. It was pretty good, but I’m glad that we didn’t pay full price. (For example, the Shrimp Satay appetizer consisted of 4 pieces of shrimp and cost $ 8. Yikes.)
The food itself was good, though perhaps not outstanding. My husband commented that the sweet and sour dish that he got kind of tasted like a frozen dinner. It wasn’t bad, but just not as flavorful as what he might have hoped. I felt similarly about the Pad Thai.
That said, though, the service was outstanding. The waitress was friendly, attentive, helpful, timely, and ready with plenty of helpful suggestions when we couldn’t decide what we wanted.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience. I’m glad I got to try it, even if it won’t make my «Top 10» list.

The food is mediocre and overpriced. We’ve done take-​out because it’s convenient, but there’s much better Thai within driving distance.
ALWAYS ORDER TAKE-​OUT OVER THE PHONE. They may try to direct you to the website to order online but do not do it. Sometimes it works OK, but if it doesn’t the staff doesn’t know how to address any problems. The last time we used the website, they lost the order, tried to double bill us, and then later charged an additional $ 9 (!) to my credit card after I left with the food. Total chaos, and I think a hostess or waiter might be skimming the till.

The curry is amazing! This is my first time here and I am blown away! Not for the anti-​spice, even their mild will blow your mouth away. Beautiful décor, lovely staff and amazing food!!! We had a strange appetizer that was so weirdly amazing tasting!
Definitely try the pnang or green curry and the specialty appetizer Meang Kaba!

This place deserves a good review. Service was kind, friendly and knowledgeable. Food was delicious. I would like to see this place succeed.

7:30 on a Friday night and we were the only ones there. That should have been a warning and we should have left. One of the menu items on the website that drew us there was not on the menu when we got there.
Service was fine.
We ordered 4 items and there were 2 things right across the four dishes.
Tom Kha: broth tasty but strangely white (tom kha usually has a little pink or brown from the spices), vegetables undercooked
Dumplings: $ 9. You know how big dumplings are? (2 inches, usually 6 – 8 in an appetizer order). These were the size of a quarter and there were only 5 of them served in a mostly empty basket with bland sauce.
Duck over steamed vegetables: The sauce was so thin the duck was very dried out and the «steamed» vegetables were raw. A small amount of broth/​sauce gathered at the bottom of the rice, deeply unappetizing. Illness proceeded from who-​knows-​how-​old duck.
Chicken Fried Rice: the seasoning was tasty but the preparation made little sense. Chinese Chicken Fried Rice has onions with carrots and/​or peas. Thai Fried rice has onions with perhaps tomatoes and cucumbers on top. DTK decided to serve me (again very well seasoned) fried rice mixed with giant carrot rounds and some kind of boiled green (rapini perhaps). This definitely felt like a «we only bought three vegetables this week» issue. Giant carrot rounds also featured with the duck.
Total cost for these four dishes plus a pellegrino was about $ 70

I’ve read the other reviews and they seem a little harsh. Maybe I would feel the same way if a restaurant I really liked had changed hands and my expectations with the new owners were not met. That being said, I was never at the old Da’s so my opinion comes from someone visiting there recently (yesterday).
I agree with the food being a little pricey. I just assumed that all the restaurants in Hopewell were priced similarly because they’re in Hopewell. The food was good; I ordered a soup dish with chicken. It was very tasty and I was very pleased. I thought the service was very good and attentive. The host was extremely friendly and the waiter was just as friendly (btw, there were only two other tables with customers).
An overall good experience and I will definitely come back.

It’s been a few years since I’ve tried this place and figured if they were still in business it must be ok. Last time I went the food was very interesting and seemed very authentic. But I got sick which may or may not have been their fault and stayed away.
I got take out but I can tell you the service at the front was very cordial — so I assume all the bad reviews created some change.
Problem is the food is pretty bad. I don’t expect authentic Thai in Hopewell — but at least it can taste fresh and be well prepared. This is especially true if they charge a premium ($ 10 for scallion pancakes!).
let’s start with the masaman curry ($ 17) — one of their recommended special dishes. Listed as slow cooked beef for hours. Was a funky mess of cheap sirloin that was tough. There is no way this was cooked according to traditional recipe. The pad thia was almost ok — nothing but noodles a few pieces of chicken and a few bean sprouts. Worst of all on all the dishes was how little protein they put in it. We got a few other dishes equally bad.
So I just paid $ 70 for three dishes and a small appetizer that had about $ 1 of beef and chicken (no exaggeration) that was borderline terrible.
I think they need a new chef…

I’m pretty bummed to be writing a negative review of Da’s. This used to be a great restaurant, and I’ve been pretty regularly over the past couple years.
But even if the name is still Da’s, this isn’t the same place it used to be – no really, Chef Da is no longer associated with this restaurant. Nor, apparently, is anyone who knows how to cook Thai food well or how to run a restaurant properly. Seriously, I wouldn’t rely on any reviews prior to June 2014, as the restaurant is very different than before the staff totally changed over.
I’ve had spotty service and occasional misfires in the past, but recently the food and service has been so poor that I won’t go back to Da’s ever again. Highlights (lowlights?) from today’s meal:
— No less than 4 items on the menu were described as «not sold anymore».
— What used to be house made spring rolls now clearly come out of a freezer. And at $ 8 for 4 tiny spring rolls, a total ripoff I might add.
— Kao Soi used to be one of Da’s signature dishes. Now it’s missing the touches that made it special, like lime and fried shallots, and is½ the portion size of before.
— Even Thai iced tea managed to be underwhelming, and strangely the two we ordered tonight were very differently colored.
To top of itt, the service was disorganized and basically consisted of a bunch of untrained teenagers and no one able to effectively manage the place.
So basically they now have worse food, higher prices, and crappy service. This place gives Chef Da a bad name, and it seems almost misleading that they continue to keep the name even though she’s not there.
From now on, I’ll be going to Rhong Tiam in Plainsboro for Thai.

Overpriced for no reason other than being in Hopewell. Tiny spring rolls with just veggies was $ 8. Their specialty Vietnamese phở was nothing to write home about. $ 14 a dish for something you typically pay more more than $ 8. Their other Thai dishes tend to be overly sweet. For the money go across the street to Nomads.

My first time here. The food was pretty good. Our waitress was nice and attentive. I liked that it was BYOB. The prices are not bad in comparison to other Thai places I’ve been too. I got the Penag Curry with chicken for my main entrée and the chicken satay for my appetizer. Both were good. I’ll dine here again.

Decided to eat here for lunch on a Friday because all of the outdoor seating at Peasant Grill was taken and honestly, I could probably eat Thai for every meal!
The restaurant was empty both inside and out and I couldn’t understand why until I saw the menu. $ 14 for pad Thai + $ 3 if you want shrimp or anything other than chix, tofu, or veggie… That better be some dang good pad Thai!
But was it, you ask? Ehhh… It tasted a little bit too tomato-​y, but was still pretty good. A little skimp on the protein. Worth the price for a lunch? Certainly not.
With the clear turf battle going on between Peasant Grill and this place, please take the glaring hint and lower your prices to compete!

The first time I ate something from this place I was thoroughly underwhelmed. In fact, I was so underwhelmed, that I can’t even remember what I ordered, but seeing as to how there are no other Thai places around where I live, I figured I’d give this place another shot rather than trek to Somerville for either Origin or Thai Kitchen and I’m glad I did because the Green Curry dish I had was actually memorable — a perfect amount of heat and all the vegetables simmered to perfection. The chicken was overdone, but that’s ok — next time I’ll rock the dish sans meat.
I’m not in the know but it looks like this place was once a little known commodity that got too popular too quickly and they just could not keep up with the demand (the restaurant itself, tiny as it is, seems to want to tell that story), but it looks like they’re straightening up — I was there on a Wednesday night and the place was hopping mad yet my dish was nearly perfect.
One more thing — I think it’s possible some people are withholding a star or two because of the perceived value of the food. I’m used to paying around $ 10 – 12 for a Thai curry dish but that’s not the case at this joint; its dishes are more in the $ 15 – 18 range.

Terrible. Don’t ever come here
Awful service and they were mean.
Yes they were actually mean and unapologetic about what happened.