Given the plethora of Vietnamese restaurants in, and around, San Jose, I'm genuinely surprised I had never come across a place like Com Tam Dat Thanh before. Tons of banh mi shops and pho joints are around, yet I'd never seen one before that specializes in broken rice plates. So, just for that reason alone, it's not hard to see why I was so excited to come here! Of course, it's not just that they seem to be the only one - the fact that the Yelp reviews are so positive certainly doesn't hurt either!
Pulling into the complex, I was quick to discover that my fellow Yelpers weren't lying - parking here can be tough. Although we were able to snag a spot almost immediately, we saw a few cars having to do a few loops around the lot and/or stalk folks walking to their spaces (the lot emptied out a bit by the time we left, though). As far as the menu goes, it was actually kind of weird to see how it's the reverse of what I'm used to - a ridiculously wide range of rice dishes flanked by just a handful of noodle soups and apps to choose from. In fact, there are so many options, you'll find pretty much every type of meat, and combination thereof, you can think of - BBQ chicken, BBQ beef, BBQ shrimp, BBQ pork, BBQ pork chop, BBQ beef ribs, and so much more.
-- (#68) MOT PHAN NEM NUONG - Grilled Pork Rolls...$6.50
I've definitely had better, but this was solid, especially for the money. The pork felt closer to grilled pork than sausage, but I liked how juicy it was and the thickness of the cut. The dipping sauce was just okay, but it also didn't need to be amazing, either.
-- (#31) COM TAM BO NUONG, TOM NUONG - Rice with BBQ Beef & BBQ Shrimp...$14.75
Honestly? Underwhelming. In terms of taste, the beef was solid - tender and well seasoned (the lemongrass wasn't overpowering). However, the shrimp had an odd texture for being "BBQ" and, while I get it's partly due to getting two meats, this felt incredibly light on beef (just three small pieces??).
-- (#1) COM TAM NEM NUONG, TAU HU KY, BI, CHA, TOM NUONG, CHAO TOM - Rice with Broiled Meatballs, Fried Shrimp Cake, Shredded Pork Skin, Egg Cake, BBQ Shrimp, and Grilled Shrimp Meat on Sugarcane...$22.50
Compared to our other dish, this was ridiculously generous, but each item was hit or miss. The meatballs were rubbery (frozen?), and the BBQ shrimp felt off, but everything else was pretty good. In particular, I loved the fried shrimp cake (so crispy!) and the grilled shrimp meat on the sugarcane (juicy).
While the food was mostly decent overall, service here wasn't too shabby either. I know some folks have had less than stellar experiences, but I thought the server (owner?) was nice and our food came out fairly quickly. That being said, and despite how many stars I'm giving, I wouldn't go out of my way to come back here again. Besides how small one of our dishes was and those disappointing meatballs, none of what we ordered tasted significantly better than what I've had elsewhere. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I lived out this way, but if I'm making the drive down from SF, I'd rather explore one of the many other Vietnamese restaurants in the South Bay instead.
THREE AND A HALF STARS rounded up. read more