Pho Dai Loi 2

6/26/2016

• Listed in Taste of Asia

I'm really terrible at distinguishing the taste of pho, Pho Dai Loi 2 definitely does it right. If my Vietnamese friends take me somewhere for pho, I'm probably going to leave with happy taste buds.

A quick summary: Pho Dai Loi 2 has quick service, great food, and reasonable prices.

I always order a small bowl, which leaves me relatively content. Medium might be a more reasonable size for the average person. After ordering, the food comes out surprisingly fast with plenty of fresh sides (bean sprouts, basil leaves, jalapenos, limes) to drown in the broth.

Not much else to say. Just go if you want to try a new pho place.

6/25/2016

• 1 check-in

This was my first time trying Pho! I had a #24 and the fresh spring rolls. Like others have said, I think there was a little too much lettuce. It was good though, just a little too much lettuce.

I also LOVED my beef pho! I was full for HOURS! I'm writing this review roughly eight hours after I went there and I'm still full! Crazy!

I didn't event finish my whole bowl because I was so full. I really enjoyed the taste of the fresh basil and the different spices. Customer service is not the strong suit of this particular location, but oh well it wasn't terrible.

Overall, this was a good experience!

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  Fresh spring rolls!

  Fresh spring rolls!
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  #24 and the fresh spring rolls!

  #24 and the fresh spring rolls!

6/16/2016

Pho Dai Loi 2 has saved my life at least four times. This place has THE BEST pho that I have ever had - and there is just something about pho that brings you back from the edge (especially when you're hungover).

In terms of appetizers, you can't go wrong with the fresh spring rolls. They're stuffed with several entire shrimp to each roll. The peanut dipping sauce is sweet and just the right consistency to coat your spring roll without overpowering it.

For mains, I've had most iterations of the pho ("noodle soup"). The right meat choice for you is going to vary depending on your comfort level with various cuts of beef, but if you're new to the game just start with #13 (Pho Tai) and work your way up. Everything is high-quality so no need for concern if you're not sure about trying tripe in soup.

The Bo Kho is also an interesting dish. It's described as a French-style beef stew, and I'd say that's pretty accurate (except for the addition of rice noodles, obviously). The broth has more of a red tint to it than the clear-looking pho broth does, and a significantly different flavor. It's served with crusty French bread, perfect for dipping.

In general, the soups come in different sizes and the servers will also drop off a plate of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lime wedges, etc. If you like your soup spicy, there is sriracha as well as a housemade hot chili garlic sauce already on your table.

If you're not looking for soup, I would also recommend any of the noodle dishes. (To be perfectly honest I come here for soup but I will also occasionally go out of my way to order a vermicelli dish to go for leftovers.) In particular I like the Vermicelli with Grilled Shrimp.

Pho Dai Loi also offers delicious smoothies and bubble tea. I recommend the avocado flavor. It's strange but has a great creamy texture, like what you'd expect from bananas.

A few notes:
- Pho is not meant for take-out. You'll risk ruining it if you don't enjoy it here.
- When you're done take the ticket stub up to the cashier's desk and they'll take care of you.

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  Bo Kho and fresh spring rolls

  Bo Kho and fresh spring rolls

6/25/2016

• 1 check-in

I ordered the vermicelli with grilled pork and egg roll. I came during the lunch hour and they gave me the wrong order twice. Regardless, it wasn't a big deal, and they were super apologetic. The food was okay though; I've had better vermicelli. It could have used some mint leaves to bring out the flavor.

5/9/2016

Looking for a kick ass, authentic and inexpensive pho spot that also doubles as an excellent place to get in a fistfight with my cousin Jay? Then this place is a must for all Atlanta residents.

The bowls of pho are big, piping hot and downright delicious, and will provide you with the necessary sustenance to engage in a rage-filled brawl where all of your childhood insecurities come to a head against my cousin Jay. Strangers will cower in fear as you stealthy deliver punch after punch to my cousin Jay's smug face after he dared to make a disparaging remark about your hot pants.

"These are good hot pants," you'll tell my cousin Jay right before throwing him over a bench, causing him to burn his genitals on a sizzling plate of Vermicelli.

The staff is also extremely friendly and prompt, and will almost immediately bring my cousin Jay a bag of frozen peas to keep the swelling down on his busted eye. Some staff members will even sweep up his teeth in a neat little pile for him to collect following his visit to the ER.

There are probably a few other pho places in this Vietnamese enclave that are serviceable, but I'm quite certain none compare to this establishment. If you too are in need of delicious pho, which is probably the best I've ever had, and are looking to settle a festering beef with my cousin Jay, then you gotta roll over here, ASAP. Just make sure to book an appointment with my cousin Jay, because I'm fairly certain thousands of people in the area want to devour pho and gouge out his eyes.

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  Who's up for pho and fighting my cousin?

  Who's up for pho and fighting my cousin?

6/28/2016

• 1 check-in

The Pho Dac biet was very flavorful and came out quickly. The vegetable plate was fresh as well. The servers don't really speak English but they know the numbers on the menu so ordering is pretty simple.

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  Pretty chandelier and cozy atmosphere

  Pretty chandelier and cozy atmosphere

6/11/2016

Hands down the best place to get Pho in ATL! I have tried my fair share of pho houses and will definitely put my finger on Dai Loi as the best of the best. I came in with a few friends on a casual Monday for dinner. Sometimes, a hearty soupy meal is just the right thing to get you started for the week. I generally always get their P3 pho, which included all their choices of meat. But today, I decided to go with something a little different. If you are someone who always orders Pho and is not afraid to go out of your comfort zone a little bit, I suggest ordering a bowl of Bun Bo Hue.

Bun Bo Hue is a little different from your regular bowl of Pho in that this noodle dish is spicy, thus having red colored broth. The noodles are thick and round rice vermicelli. The meats include beef brisket, pig blood curd, pig feet and leg, pork balls and others. It of course also comes with your regular veggies, such as cilantro, basil, and bean sprouts.

I know, the meats can sound a little off putting! But if you can get over it, I definitely push for you to try this. The noodle soup is just packed with sooooo much flavor! Take the pig blood out for all I care, just try Bon Bo Hue for its broth and noodles. You will not regret it!

Anyway, order any Pho or noodle dish at Dai Loi and you will not walk out disappointed. Add a little bit of sriracha and fish sauce to taste, and your noodles will be perfect!

Just a finishing note, although I do think Dai Loi makes the best NOODLE dish. I do not think they make the best rice dish. The rice dish is good, but just not as great as some other restaurants. A little more expensive and a little less food; mostly just rice. So, if you're looking for the best noodles, come to Dai Loi!

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  Shrimp spring rolls

  Shrimp spring rolls
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  Medium Bon Bo Hue

  Medium Bon Bo Hue

5/2/2016

We have been coming here for the past couple of years. There are a few things that have not changed during this time: 1) The boba smoothies are among the best in the city! 2) Green apple and green tea flavors seem really hard for the employees to distinguish and I have gotten the wrong smoothie several times. 3) Customer service is an unknown, but at th end of the day that's not as important to me. 4) The pho is brought out very swiftly, is always served with fresh basil etc., and the broth is good.

The reason for only 2 stars is that they do not properly clean their shrimp. I have noticed this several times, always hoping for a better experience next time, but last night the shrimp reached a new level of diagustingness. Also, the beef in my husband's pho looked pretty yucky, too. See pictures.

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• See all photos from Caroline R. for Pho Dai Loi 2

1/12/2016

• 6 check-ins

• Listed in PHO and other Asian cuisine in Metro Atlanta, WONDER-PHO-L and not so wonderful places to eat PHO!

How do you rate pho? What is your criteria for good better and best? Although I'm still developing my palate, I would say good pho has a tasty broth that I like, but may require a little doctoring with sauces or even salt to make it just right. A better pho, is one that is perfect just the way it is and no real requirements to add anything else. And the best pho is one that even 20 minutes after I've eaten it, I can still taste that lingering delicious depth of flavor.

I have been an enormous fan of I LUV PHO and Lotus Vietnamese, but not a fan of Pho Dai Loi 3. I can't explain it, but their third location is the bottom of the barrel in terms of flavor. Hence my reluctance to coming to this, their second location. However, I have grown to love this noodle soup so much that I have added it to things I must try whenever traveling. So after getting home from a recent trip to Florida and having sampled pho at 8 different restaurants over 2 weeks, I decided it was time for me to give this location a try. After all, I have been told by many yelpers it is THEE best pho in the city. Well, I must say I whole-heartedly agree!

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THE FOOD

BEEF PHO & MEATBALL PHO (5 stars) | $6.50 small - $8 medium - $8.75 large
On my first visit I didn't see the meatball pho, so I ordered the beef flank and it was awesome. But I was sorely disappointed they didn't serve meatballs. On my second visit I asked the server taking my order why did they not serve meatballs. To my surprise it was actually on the menu, it was just listed on a separate page and I didn't see it. All is well in the universe again because my beloved pho bo vein was available and it was delicious!!!!  The broth here is as perfect as you could probably ever want and adding anything to it should be considered a sin punishable by a foot spanking or a really painful deep tissue massage. It was absolutely amazing just as it was.

BUN BO HUE (3.75 stars) | $8
Highly recommended by our new community manager Jonathan in his review, I decided to give it a try. His review stated that it was "even better than pho". So of course my food adventurous curiosity had to see if such a claim was true. I must report that for me it is not. I ordered the less spicy version and although I grew to like the overall flavor of the soup after several sips, the broth initially tasted a little suspect to me. I was expecting a spicy pho flavor but instead I received a slightly bitter and heavily 'fishy' flavor. It was kinda like drinking water expecting it to be a Sprite. It's not that it has a bad flavor, just not what I was expecting.

I can't tell you what the meats were in this dish since there was not description on the menu, but I didn't like any of them. Everything looked and tasted weird including the one meat  I did recognized, which was a fatty brisket. Another was either liver or possibly congealed pigs blood, which for me is a taste I have not yet acquired (and possibly never will). Not a fail, but will take several more taste tries to possibly get my taste buds conditioned for the unusual flavor. I will say that I switched back to the pho after eating 1/3rd of the Bun Bo Hue. It made me appreciate their pho broth all the more!

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SERVICE

I've never had service this lightning fast before. On both visits, my bowl of pho was steaming in front of me before I could even type a comment into my yelp check-in screen... and that is not an exaggeration.

I honestly am still somewhat in disbelief that is was so fast and it's been two days since my second visit. You are given a ticket stub to which you use to go pay your bill once you are finished. The clean up crew seems to activate like automated robots when you leave your table and it is ready for the next customer before you have finished paying at the registers. I've never seen anything like this although I LUV PHO comes marginally close. IF every restaurant performed with this sort of speed and well-oiled precision at such a reasonable cost, I doubt if I would ever try to cook anything myself!

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Okay, I concede. This is indeed the best pho I've tasted in the Atlanta area. Not only the best pho, also the fastest and most efficient service of any restaurant probably on this planet! However, I LUV PHO and Lotus Vietnamese in Duluth, GA still round out my top three for the metro area! To pho lovers who read this review but live outside of Georgia, know this: THIS IS a destination restaurant. If you are coming to Atlanta for ANY reason, do not miss this place!!!!

2016/13

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  Shrimp & Veggie Fried Rice minus the Vietnamese sausage.

  Shrimp & Veggie Fried Rice minus the Vietnamese sausage.
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  I could not figure out what meats these were!

  I could not figure out what meats these were!
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  Entrance

  Entrance
• See all photos from Richard R. for Pho Dai Loi 2

6/25/2016

• 5 check-ins

typical Vietnamese restaurant with typical service.  I like their bun bo Hue.  That was it!

4/10/2016

• 2 check-ins

The best Pho by far. Love the eclectic groupings of people. Great community seating atmosphere. The flavors in this soup are so delicately perfect and then the added meats, noodles and fresh sprouts, basil, lime and peppers (to add )make the finishing touch.

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  Pho with Brisket and Tendon...and fresh lime, sprouts and basil

  Pho with Brisket and Tendon...and fresh lime, sprouts and basil

3/19/2016

• 1 check-in

A no frills place with booth-like and communal seating.
Very fresh tasting spring rolls and yummy peanut dipping sauce!
The pho was filling and very tasty too but it went below good eating temperature a lot faster than what we're used to. We like to add the accompanied plate of greens and squeeze some lime juice over the bowl for extra freshness taste.
The Bun Kho was our least favorite dish. The meat was not as tender as we hoped it to be and the soup's taste wasn't to our preference, and so, we won't get next time. It was also too hot to eat even after waiting awhile. It does come with a plain baguette for dipping.
Both bowls were very generous in portion but still enough for the two of us to finish eating.

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  accompanying plate of greens for the pho

  accompanying plate of greens for the pho
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  spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce, bun kho with baguette, and pho bowl

  spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce, bun kho with baguette, and pho bowl

10/15/2015

• 12 check-ins

• Listed in Atlanta Businesses, Atlanta Favorites, Buford Highway Bliss, Vietnamese In The "A!"

Jonathan T's Guide To Determining Legit Vietnamese Joints
*****
Every week, a friend or acquaintance will ask me, via text, Facebook, or Yelp, about my favorite, traditional Vietnamese eateries and what I should order at each respective one. And often times, I'll provide him or her with a thorough reply. (I love that my people's food is growing in popularity.)

But lately, life's been hella crazy, and I haven't had time to reply back to all of these inquiries. Thus, I've decided to write a review that incorporates all of the essential factors I look for in a Viet restaurant, and Pho Dai Loi #2 has practically all of them.
*****
CRITERIA I: ELDERLY VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
Upon walking in, scan the room for large groups of Vietnamese grandpas and grandmas. It's even better if they're loudly slurpin' up on soups or yelling at their significant others or grandchildren. They don't care about making a scene. They're there for the food! And if it's good enough to get them out of their homes, then the food must be decent. At this Pho Dai Loi location, elderly Vietnamese people roll deep, and the parking lot is flooded with Hondas, Acuras, Toyotas, and Lexuses. #IcanstereotypecauseImViet

On the flip-side, if you don't see elderly Vietnamese patrons, then take that as a mediocre-food-might-be-heading-your-way warning sign.

CRITERIA II: THE LITTLE BOY PLAYING POKEMON ON HIS MOM'S IPHONE
You might think it's ridiculous, but every great Vietnamese restaurant I've eaten at  (in the US) has had some child playing Pokemon on an iPhone. I don't know if a correlation truly exists, but like the phrase, "where there's smoke, there's fire" a similar metaphor can be made: "where there's a little boy playing Pokemon on an iPhone, there's great Vietnamese food."

CRITERIA III: INCREDIBLIY FAST SERVICE
Did your server deliver your steaming bowl of pho faster than the time it took for you to walk to the bathroom and take a leak? Do they clear dishes at lightening speed? YAS TO ALL OF THIS.

CRITERIA IV: MIRROR + CLOCK COMBO IN THE SHAPE OF VIETNAM
Vietnamese refugees miss their home country, so ridiculous Vietnamese decor pieces, like these mirror clocks, were made in the late 80s. If a Viet restaurant has one, then it's possibly a sign that they've been around for a long time. And if they've been around for a long time, it probably means great food.

CRITERIA V: PARIS BY NIGHT POSTER ON THE FRONT DOOR
Paris By Night is this corny, monthly entertainment show that's sold on DVD and bought by Viet communities all over the world. To advertise their show, they have women from episodes pose on their posters. These posters can be found at Viet restaurant entrances. Also a good sign. Don't watch Paris By Night and their lip-singing, though. #trulyawfulentertainment

CRITERIA VI: SOUPS HAVE DEPTHS OF FLAVOR IN THEIR BROTHS
*Pho Dac Biet: Broth actually taste like it's simmered longer than six hours, and it's passable for a restaurant. (I haven't said that in a very long time, so it's a compliment.) The other meat fixings in the pho and condiments are pretty standard.

*Bun Bo Hue: Even better than the pho! The bun bo hue there rocks. Why? The pork broth has the right smell and saltiness to it. Love this dish.

CRITERIA VII: SOLID APPETIZERS & DRINKS
*Spring Rolls: Way too heavy on the lettuce and could use some herbs, but I dig the morsels of shrimp and slices of pork. Their peanut sauce rocks, too.

*Egg Rolls: Just A-OK. Needs shrimp and more bean thread.

**Café Sua Da: Strong and sweet. Pretty good.

OVERALL: I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things, but I hope you find this list helpful. And if you just scrolled to the bottom of this review, know that Pho Dai Loi 2 serves as the best overall Viet joint I've been to in the ATL. At least for now.

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  Pho Dac Biet

  Pho Dac Biet
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  Spring rolls.

  Spring rolls.
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  Egg rolls.

  Egg rolls.
• See all photos from Jonathan T. for Pho Dai Loi 2

12/29/2015

• 1 check-in

Little old Asian ladies everywhere!!! This place is LEGIT!

Seriously, nothing but little Asian ladies bustling about with huge bowls of pho and plates of food. And boba, I love boba tea.

We had the #5, very delicious. The soup wasn't greasy like this one place down the street from it, and the meat wasn't tough. I also got the #46, which are marinated beef chunks with rice and it was very tasty and the beef was tender.

They didn't rush us, even though we were slightly camping with our friends, and were quick and efficient with our dishes. It's nothing fancy, but when you are craving a good bowl of pho, I highly recommend.

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  #46 marinated beef and rice

  #46 marinated beef and rice
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  #5 pho large

  #5 pho large

3/10/2016

Pretty yummy. The pho broth is EXCELLENT! I couldn't stop slurping it up after my first spoonful. The fresh spring rolls didn't taste as fresh as they should've... Perhaps they're made as a large batch and remade once out? That's the only reason for the four stars versus five. Lots of bubble tea flavors (not in the menu, but on the side of the napkin dispensers), though I will say that my Thai tea bubble tea had some but fully cooked boba and was on the sweet side.

Thick Vietnamese accents, but be patient. You're on Buford, after all. Good pho flavors. Will definitely return when in the area.

6/23/2016

Another Gem on Buford Hwy.  Typical of many of the restaurants on Buford Hwy, the setting isn't the cleanest and the service is usually lack luster at best, but the food is what we come for and the pho here is up there In quality.

10/26/2015

• 1 check-in

Awesome place!

Service is super fast here.. Too fast that I was really worried about the quality but I was super satisfied with all the food I ordered

Bo luc lac- I wouldn't say this is a traditional style Bo luc lac but it was different and tasted great. The rice was of a fried rice flavor with no veggies just egg. The meat was on the sweeter side and lots of flavor.

Bun Bo hue-  pretty damn spicy, but just make sure you stir the soup up so you don't get all the pepper flakes floating at the top. The broth was good, and noodles cooked perfectly. The meat tasted a little over cooked.

Spring rolls- big rolls with lots of lettace. One order comes with two rolls

Viet coffee- very sweet

Coconut water- they only give you two slices of coconut meat on top. :/

I think I've found my go to spot for viet food.

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  Coconut water

  Coconut water
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  Shrimp and pork spring rolls

  Shrimp and pork spring rolls
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  Bun Bo Hue

  Bun Bo Hue

2/27/2016

• 1 check-in

Pho Dai Loi 2 apparently has a lot going for it since two coworkers have recommended the establishment, and I went with a family who has patronized the joint repeatedly. All favorable signs. So on a drizzly cool evening, the time had come to pho it up.

The restaurant is in a small strip mall called Little Saigon.The parking lot was stuffed; everyone was inside Pho Dai Loi 2. The clientele looked to be a mix of families and friends of all different ages and ethnicities. The man waiting on us perhaps wasn't the most outgoing guy and could have been more attentive but this is a basic spot, one of those where you pay at the counter at the end.

I shared an order of the steamed pork rolls (yum, a recommended appetizer) to start before slurping into my Pho Dac Biet, the combination pho, since I couldn't decide which meats I wanted. This one has it all, sans meatballs. The large size is just under $10 and was too filling for me. Wonderful comforting broth, a hearty amount of meats, including bible tripe (from the third stomach apparently, thanks Wikipedia). I'll have to downsize to the medium next time. Yes, there will be several next times!

5/3/2016

Had pho here couple days ago with my brother. We both loved the pho! The broth was tasty, fresh, and the meat was cooked right so it was soft. Amount of food was right not too much noodles or anything. Hadnt been back for a while but the taste still trumps over most other pho places in Atlanta. Food was quick. Boba smoothies were also quick too. The smoothies were ok.

Place was not perfectly clean though and the staff were very laid-back they have been there forever so they talked and laughed as they please. Haha. I dont have a problem with it but i can see some people might if they want a quiet cozy place to take their significant others to.

Price was ok. Similar to other pho places.

I definitely will come back for pho and try other dishes out too.

2/11/2016

Late night Asian food that NYC doesn't have? Count me in.

Pho is already amazing. How about at 2 in the morning after a night of karaoke? Even better. We stumbled in and quickly got a large table for the group. To be honest, we were very obnoxious and loud given it was a Sunday night, but we couldn't keep ourselves contained with all the smells coming from the kitchen. I went with the classic pho tai, and a side of papaya salad.

Our food actually took a while to come out, and there was some confusion when people's dishes got mixed up (our server wasn't very clear which bowl was which). The food itself was pretty decent. The papaya salad was fresh and had twice as much shrimp as I was expecting (a good thing). Not the best bowl of pho I've ever had, but the broth passed my bar. I wasn't used to the cuts of beef they used, and by the time I started to dig in, the meat was already too well done. They also didn't serve the toppings right away (bean sprouts, limes, jalapeños, etc) which caused further delay.

The interior is definitely no frills, and I think they do a pretty decent job of pushing out pho from that kitchen at all hours. I'd come back for late night noms again.