Dac Phuc Restaurant

Went for the first time the other day… Interesting how sometimes you can drive by a place and never know it exists, but thanks to Word of Mouth, you get the chance to experience and try places/​things you might never have known.
Pros
(+)#1 combination is a safe bet
(+)Known for the special spicy sauce. I am pretty tolerant on spicy but I am glad my friend stopped me from putting a lot at once in my bowl bc the kick is like bwahhhh
(+)Downtown San Jose location
(+)Server was extremely nice
(+)Tea to cleanse your soul
Cons
(-)Parking is limited, can park at meters or parking garage if full
(-)Not sure if the bowls are an illusion but they seem a little Medium for a Large
(-)They have napkins but they aren’t readily available on the table
Note:
If I am ever downtown on a Sunday after a long weekend you might just find me here.

If i ever eat at this place it would only because of convenience.
Lets talk about the place first. It’s a small restaurant in the corner that kinda hard to spot if you’re driving by. The interior is old with wooden furnitures (not the good kind) i only come here to pick up my food for lunch.
Customer service of this place is just one of the worst. Every time i come here to pick up my food i feel like they’re GIVING me food for free, no «what can i help you with nor even a thank you» i told them what i ordered on the phone and they push the food out to me then take my card and thats it!
I called in to order some eggrolls and beef vercm and the guy on the phone told me with a very firm and rude tone «no more for today, tomorrow» i had to ask him if he has another dish, why??? You’re having a business dont you want customer to stay? At least ask if you can recommended something. Because i was hungry so i ordered a deep fried beef noodle. When i come to pick it up no one greeted me they all stared at me as if I’m not in the right place. Then a woman looked at me so i told her i ordered that and that then she handed it to me, like rxpected no thank you whatsoever.
My food was in a togo box and a togo soup cup. But the messed up thing is that the put my togo box that has food in there vertically, really?
Before this horrible experience i only came here when i didnt bring lunch and don’t want to drive and craving for vietnamese food, but now I RATHER STARVED

I remember now why I don’t frequent this restaurant. Their pricing is shady. I ordered a dish that was $ 7.50 and asked for a side of broth to go. I was charged $ 11.47. I asked the guy how much the soup was and he was like, «like two dollars. First of all, that’s pretty sketch. Second, that’s a rip off. Third, even still, that doesn’t total to $ 11.47.
I don’t get it.

Me and my wife didn’t even try the food, the service was just horrible, we got in there and the waiter just pointed at our table and then he practically threw the menus at us, he took our order and I asked a question about something about the menu and he ignored me and we finally order and I ask for more lemons and he ignores me again and he walked away from us so we just simply left with our food on our table, it’s not hard to have decent customer service I never would go back or recommend this place

I don’t get why there are any reviews below a 3. I came here with my husband and mother in law and the food was excellent. My husband loves hot sauce and tried their homemade hot sauce, thinking it wasn’t hot. Boy was he wrong! :)
My mother in law had the beef phở and my husband had the phở dac biet. I had phở ap chao and we all thought it was well-​made. It wasn’t greasy like some other phở places, which was much appreciated. The deep fried banana was delicious! We also had the egg rolls and spring rolls. The egg rolls were nice and crispy and the spring rolls were refreshing.
It’s a nice mom and pop shop with good food and affordable prices. I am definitely coming back if I’m ever in San Jose.

It was a cold gloomy day and I was craving some Phở to stay warm. Came here with my coworkers during lunch hours and surprisingly it was really crowded when we arrived at 11:45 AM.
I was surprised to see there was only 2 Phở options on the menu. The menu was really limited and I wish they had more noodle soup options like Chicken Phở or Bun Bo Hue. I ordered the #1 Phở Combo and it definitely satisfied my cravings. The noodles were cooked well, there were decent portions of beef, and the soup was pretty delicious with Siracha. Overall I would come here again since it’s walking distance from my work.
The only complaint I have is the service. The restaurant seems to get really crowded during the lunch time and there are only 2 servers working. It took a while for the server to take our order, let alone give us cups of water. A good perk is at least this place takes card. :)

Maybe 15 years ago, this was a decent phở place, but the food has gone downhill. Supposedly, the owner is an intellectual and entertains his intellectual friends here. This explains why the service is so cold and they act like they are doing one a favor by allowing one to eat there. Back to the food; my visit this week found the phở to be less than mediocre. The broth is bland, and the meat and tendon tough. They will continue to have a lunch crowd, so this review won’t matter, but you’ve been warned!

Super affordable! I love coming here for the Phở! Always with urgency to get us served!

Everyone who has spent enough time in San Jose seems to consider themselves an expert on phở. For myself, while I am not Vietnamese, having had the opportunity to eat at many Vietnamese restaurants, including during my visit to VN, I feel I’ve experienced enough breadth and variety to have a solid base for comparison.
That all said, the best Vietnamese restaurants I’ve eaten at have usually been «dirty hole in the walls» (correlational only of course :)), and Dac Phuc is no exception. Don’t come here expecting pampered service, but they do bring out your food very quickly.
I almost always order phở here (the broth is usually really good and I don’t like to tamper with it but I if you like they have homemade hot sauce that is pretty hot and tasty). However, I’ve had a chance to try several dishes, and they’ve all been good. If you don’t want wet noodles, you can try their vermicelli or phở ap chao, which is exceptionally tasty. The banh cuon is not bad either. If you are with friends it is also worth ordering a fried banana as it is not too heavy and very tasty. Lastly, they do have good Vietnamese-​style coffee if you are craving or haven’t tried.
Overall quick, tasty, and cheap — a winning combination and why this is one of my primary places for Vietnamese food in SJ.

I found this place through a friend. Wow can’t believe I’ve never been before that! Yummy phở is what I get here and my husband gets a rice plate. In my opinion it’s a great phở spot but everything is yummy here. My only wish is they start serving ice cream with the friend banana.
Ambience is lacking but it’s just a casual restaurant so who cares.

I had known about this place for about 15 years, but hadn’t stepped inside until today. I was talking with my coworkers before lunch, telling them I had a craving for Vietnamese food, and one of them recommended I try the Phở Ap Chao here.
They ask you to seat yourself where ever you like. They are quick to take your order, and quick to deliver your meal. I think it was less than 3 minutes from the moment I stepped in the door to when my food arrived at the table.
The waitress asked if this was my first visit to this establishment, so I informed her that it was, indeed. She then ‘warned’ me about the hot sauce, saying to only use one or two drops. I put a drop on my fingertip to taste it, and yes, it was hot, but nothing I can’t handle. I tried the Phở Ap Chao without the hot sauce first, and it was good, but then I doused the dish in about 2 tbsp of the stuff. That’s more like it.
The noodles come out nice and crunchy, but since this dish is smothered in gravy, they will get soggy quite quickly — so dig in right away. I love how the veggies are lightly cooked. The broccoli and bok choy are nice and crisp. I don’t like mushy veggies. The only thing I didn’t care for was the cooked tomato chunks. They made the other food taste sour /​acidic. Next time I’ll ask them to hold the tomato.
When you’re done eating, don’t wait for the check to come to you. Just walk up to the counter to pay.
I’ll definitely be back.

Just a dive hole in the wall, but I love the food. If you are looking for some authentic Vietnamese cuisine in a non pretentious place this is the joint for you. Always fast service and the soup comes out hot.

Cheap Vietnamese food and great taste, this is your place. Located in downtown San Jose. I usually order Phở Dac Biet (beef noodles) or Bo Bun Cha Gio (vermicelli w/​beef and fried egg rolls). They usually make the meals pretty quickly as well.
The only down fall is that they don’t have communication with each other. They completely forgot my meal and not knowing how many drinks we ordered. Other than that, the food is great.

Pretty tasty place for a reasonable price. Got the vermicelli with egg roll and it was yummy and filling.

I’d choose a hole in the wall over fine dining any day, but that’s just me. When you’re feeling a home cooked meal, this place definitely gives you that feel and taste.
I come here every weekend and always get phở with some Viet coffee (my favorite coffee I’ve ever had in a restaurant) followed by their fried banana for dessert and it really is the best combo in existence.
I started typing this review as I was waiting for my food but couldn’t even finish since the food came out so quickly. It always does. *thumbs up*
And no MSG! Score.

This is the only place where I eat phở. Been coming here since I was a kid, and the phở has not tasted any different since then.
They actually just renovated a little and put in new booths, tables, and chairs. Place isn’t that nice, but the food makes up for it.
The phở, ap chao, and fried banana is the only thing I get here.
Tips: Get hot tea and wash your chopsticks and spoon in there.
The hot sauce in the red bottle is hella spicy so use sparingly.

Visited for lunch. Small, family run place, with a fairly limited menu and good service. There were about 25 customers, mostly Vietnamese families. I only had the chicken Phở after the waiter recommended it as the best option on the menu.. Broth was for the most part, flavorless. White meat chicken was tender. I added all the accompanied basil and lime, but still couldn’t add enough flavor to the broth to make a difference. For the most part, the soup was forgettable. Sorry, but I’ll be trying another Vietnamese restaurant next time or visiting my all time favorite, Ca Mao

I’ve been to this place many times over the years. Their menu is somewhat simple but the soup is very good. Just get the large combination beef, finish every drop & thank me later.
If you like adding sauces to your broth they’ve got you covered. They have several different bottles and jars with everything you need to spice up your broth. I generally feel their broth stands up on its own, but if I’m sick, I like to add their hot sauce. I swear by Phó Ga as a cold remedy.
Their spring rolls are good here as well as the banana flambé. I normally just get the large Phó, but from time to time I splurge.
When you pay, they give you little mints that taste pretty good.
The service here is really nice. The lady who runs the register is very sweet. She has always been nice, and seems genuinely thankful for my patronage.
I’ve read other reviews saying that this is a hole in the wall. As a seasoned Phó veteran, I’ve sat in many restaurants that are much worse. They have nice comfortable booths & spacious tables. It’s kinda dark, and there are no TVs, so I guess it’s a hole in the wall compared to San Pedro Square. I think reviewers might have meant it doesn’t look like much from the outside.

I’m sitting here at Dac Phuc writing this review as we speak. Let me just say my experience so far is rather unpleasant.
The place itself is family owned and a total hole in the wall. Cramped and small but it seems to be consistently packed with people.
From start to nearly end out service sucked. Constantly calling and being ignored or unheard of is getting annoying. The phở tastes bland but with enough siracha and hoisin sauce you’ll be able to give it some flavor.
The HORROR of the meal was when my uncle found a little bug in his phở. That was more than enough to make me completely lose my appetite.
Now we’re probably 10 minutes after finishing our meal waiting for our dessert; fried banana. Oh on that note it’s here and it’s on fire! Never seem that before. I’ll taste it and let you know that it’s… alright.
Lol that concludes my review. I wouldn’t be coming back, would you?

***************************** 992 *******************************
Beside Phở Cong Ly on William Street and Alum Rock, Dac Phuc on McKee, I come here for combo Phở. They know how to cook the broth clear, tasty, no MSG, and consistent every single time as Northern Style Phở.
They also cook their soy bean milk fresh daily, love it when it’s hot. Reasonable price, family owned for over 15 years. Good, authentic and cheap eat.