Decent Thai spot that opened recently. We tried the pad kee mao and pad see ew which were both good and flavorful. We ordered take out and the food was prepared quickly so it was ready for pick up ahead of the stated time. Will be back again to try some other dishes! read more

Dara - Pad kee mao - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I have green curry chicken for lunch, it's very good and not that spicy. The waitress is friendly and the food came out quickly, piping hot! Presentation po food is great. Ambience is nice also. Go for lunch! read more

Words cannot express the disappointment regarding my abysmal adventure at this restaurant. We made reservations ahead of time and arrived and were taken to a table not fully cleaned. We agreed on appetizers which were brought to the table fairly quickly with our drinks. This is when tbe adventure began. The waitress took our order repeated it and the wait was on. The first dish to one of our friends was brought to the table after a 15 minutes however it took another 20 minutes for the next 2 more dishes to arrive. then for the 4th friend another 10 minutes wait then finally my dish arrived after over 50 minutes. The tofu dish my wife got was inedible greasy, spongy blobs. I ordered the pineapple rice at a medium spice level , it had no spice. The other guest ordered a vegetable dish vegetables looked as if the "chef" was too busy to chop the vegetables so full size vegetables were delivered in the dish. They did not provide knifes to cut the vegetables so it made for a lot of fun eating them. On another note the table was not cleaned well and a dish was dirty. Finally after waiting for the food the waitress came to bus the table while one of our party was still eating. To add insult to injury a 20% tip was added to my bill for a total charge of $185. Who ever owns this establishment really needs to take a hard look at how they are running this business and how they treat customers. It is an abomination. Continue this way and you will soon be out of business. Regarding the food 2 guest said their dish was adequate. The others not good. Do not spend your money here you will certainly be disappointed. We were. read more

Great service and excellent Thai dishes! Our multiple time visits here and so far everything was delicious. read more

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I saw this place on IG this morning and this afternoon I placed a pickup order for the crab fried rice and chai tea. The 20 minute walk was worth it. The rice was good and there was a good amount of crab in the plate. The chai tea was sweetened perfectly and the servers were very pleasant and quick. I would like to come back to sit down and try the pineapple bowl. The front desk area is a little cramped with the sit down couch too close to the desk. Hopefully they can rearrange that part. read more

Dara - Crab Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fantastic restaurant delivering delicious food, warm hospitality, and a welcoming atmosphere. Everything was perfectly executed, leaving us delighted, relaxed, and eager to return for another wonderful meal very soon again. read more

New small Thai spot in center city, right amongst many other Thai places, but it won for the taste and quality so far. The place looks simple and small, a bit dark, nothing fancy. Good menu options and helpful staff. The star dish for us was the tom yum soup, which only comes in a pot for share, a bit richer than the regular tom yum we've had before, with big tiger shrimps inside and full of fresh Thai herbs. Very flavorful. Highly recommended and hope they keep up with this quality! The crab fried rice is also a favorite, not greasy at all, very light and fresh, with good chunks of crab meat. We had this dish at other southeast Asian restaurants and another executed slightly better on flavor, however this is still very good quality and worth trying. The next highlight for me is surprisingly the homemade hot sauces (especially the ginger herb based one), adding a bit to the fried noodles or rice will take it to the next level. The crispy duck curry and pad kee maw were pretty good too, but not too different from other spots. The duck is a bit fatty, could've been a bit more crispy. Noodles were pan fried well, good texture, not too greasy or mushy, the chicken was slightly dry and very small pieces. The side of sticky rice came in a cute bamboo case to keep warm, but for the small side portion costing $5 is a bit much. read more

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Excellent service and ambiance. They were so accommodating with our small dog as we had to bring her to see her owner in the hospital before brain surgery. They made our really hard day today easier as we waited for the news on the surgery. The food was fantastic! We really enjoyed everything we ordered! Especially the tom yum we shared as a family. read more

This place is really cute on the inside and could be a good time for a Friday or Saturday night date. I usually try the pad see ew when I go to Thai places. I've had better ones before. The drink that I got was also a little bit weird tasting, but got better as I drank more of it. read more

Tried something new and this is probably the best most real tasting Thai food in the area. Most issues that plague other delivery places ppl say nice things about - too sweet, bland toned down flavors, and the worst of all: bottled and not fresh lime juice - are not present here. The pad see ew was a little sweet still but at least that dish is supposed to have sweetness. The curries were flavorful and aromatic, the papaya salad had a fresh dressing. The jaew with the pork jowl was salty and fishy. The fried chicken was super super crunchy but quite dry. The only thing their food is missing is some char where there should be. The jowl, the pad see ew, the mama Kee Mao. All begging for some wok or grill flavor. Regardless I would definitely order here again! It's aal bit pricey for the portion even in today's economy but it tastes good. And I'd want to try more of the interesting specialty dishes that aren't on every default Thai menu. read more

Came here for a friend's wedding dinner and the food was amazing! the steamed fish was so delectable, i will be thinking about it for a while:) read more

Some of the best Thai food I've had in the city My group was already planning our next trip back before we paid Don't miss out on the fried mushrooms and fried chive pancakes read more

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Not sure why the owners looked at Walnut Street where there are THREE OTHER THAI RESTAURANTS within like a block of one another and thought..."hmm...you know what this area of the city is missing?" And decided to open yet another Thai restaurant... ...but Dara has got a chance. A really strong first impression. This star of a restaurant might end up shining brighter than Grandmas Thai, the consensus Midtown champion of Thai. read more

Dara - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Coworkers and I made the trip to try this place today for lunch after hearing a buzz about it. I was not disappointed at all. I will admit I'm not an experienced Thai food guy so I don't have a great point of reference but I will tell you this everything that was recommended to me was on point. They offer lunch specials which includes spring rolls or the chive pancakes (American palettes like mine wrongly think of pancakes differently) and a drink. Btw I didn't order the Thai iced tea but I saw one at the table next to me and wish I did. What I did order was the Pad Kee Mao which for American foods guy is shrimp with noodles and vegetables. DID NOT DISAPPOINT. The flavor was sweet not spicy although I love a little spice in the right situations. We also had the apps: more chive pancakes (recommended), chicken puffs and a crabby pork thing that I don't remember the name but remember the flavor! Ohhh how could I forget we shared a seafood pineapple fried rice with all kinds of shrimp and squid which was awesome. It's just exotic looking. I'm including a pic. Place is on the smaller side and that meant plenty of attention from the staff. Food was brought out very quickly and every request quickly dealt with. Friendly people to say the least. I love when they bring the food to your table with so much pride. It's BYOB which I love because that means no overpriced wine or cocktails. Bring your own hooch is my style. Unfortunately I had to return to the office so no partaking but I could definitely see spending an extended time there with a couple bottles and getting fuzzy. I'm going to come back to try other things on the menu but for now it's 5 stars. A gem of a place that just opened and will get very popular. Recommend going now before they blow up and have a waiting list. read more

Dara - Seafood pineapple fried rice - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dara is a bit unassuming from the outside, but the space is decorated nicely inside. A bit small, but the mirrors and wall decor create a nice simple look. The menu is pretty large, there's lots to choose from, and the vegan menu is a good size as well, which was great for a vegetarian like myself. We started with the chive pancakes, which were nice and crispy on the outside, though a little chewier than I'm used to from this dish at other Thai spots. Overall, still very tasty and the spring rolls were served with a delicious plum sauce. The entrees were warm and tasty, and my Pad Kee Mao had a nice spice level to it with the level 5 spice (though even hotter would've been nice). My friends got the crab fried rice, which they said was a little bland, and the Massaman curry. The curry I tried myself, and it had a nice flavour, but definitely didn't blow me away. For dessert, we had two: the coconut ice cream and the thapthim krop. The ice cream was delicious, and the pairing with sticky rice was a great choice. The thapthim krop was new to me, warm and slightly fruity. It wasn't popular with my guests, but I rather enjoyed the taste and texture, it was refreshing! The place is BYOB, but they have a mocktail menu so we each tried a different drink. I got "the moon" which was a tropical tasting drink, but to be honest the cup was mostly just ice and very little actual drink. The server was kind and helpful with choosing from the menu, so there are no issues here with service. The place was mildly busy on a Monday afternoon, but we didn't feel rushed and everything was paced well. Overall, the food was not bad, but nothing wowed me enough to want to return, especially with the prices, which were moderate to fairly high. For that price points there are other Thai restaurants in the city that have blown me away. Again though, the food was not bad, and I'm glad to have tried Dara once at least! read more

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Go. Here. Thai food. We search for good Thai food. We are a Thai family. This place has authentic food. They will do Thai spice if you like it that way. We had fried tofu puffs, northern Thai sausage, papaya salad Lao style, half chicken fall off the bone. Sorry mama you're not as good. read more

I ate at Dara back in May for my birthday and I had a wonderful experience!! My friends called last minute and they took us in towards the end of the night! We got in and were immediately greeted. They sat us down and gave us time to look at the menus. The vibe and atmosphere of the place was very calm and pleasant while also giving this fancy appeal. The decor was modest yet charming. I felt very comfortable in there! The menu itself had many options; I'm vegetarian so it was nice that there were enough option for me to choose from. One of my friends also has a nut and sesame allergy which they accommodated for, so that was fantastic! The food itself came out great and was really tasty; I like food with flavor and spice so it definitely did the job! When it came to dessert the staff surprised me with a little cake and sang happy birthday for me which was so sweet (I know it may seem cliche but I never want to expect a restaurant to do something like this so it's really sweet to them go out of their way for me!). Also our host Tan was super sweet! All the staff memeber were so pleasant and lovely. This place is POC, LGBTQ, and women friendly. Overall, I highly recommend this place and would definitely go back! read more

Dara - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Kind of good until the end. The end = a disappointing dinner experience. A friend came into town, who we hadn't seen in 5 years. He wanted Thai food. We saw the 4 star reviews on Google for Dara, so we made a reservation. The restaurant look super chill. We ordered three dishes + spring rolls. One dish was 'okay', one was 'good' (pineapple rice), and the third was 'excellent' (curry). We were having a great time until they started clearing the plates. They asked three times if they could clear the plates. We felt rushed. On the 3rd time was said, "okay". The waitress then asked if we wanted coffee or dessert. We said, "no" and within 1 minute (literally 1 minute) she was at the table with the check and credit card machine. I said, "wow, that was fast." As soon as I paid, they cleared the water glasses as we sat there with raised eye brows, murmuring "what's going on here? are we being rushed out?" Then, the waitress walked up and leaned in to whisper, "Sir, I'm sorry, but are you and your friends finished? We need the table. I'm so sorry, but ..." (as she used her hands to 'move a bit'). I said, "you need this now?" She said, "Sir, I'm sorry. We have tables waiting." Mind you, there were three empty 2-person tables against the wall. She walked away but returned a few minutes later and said, "Sir, again, I'm sorry, but we need the table." It was simply rude. From the time we entered to the time we were rushed to leave only 45-50 minutes had passed. The tastiness of the food faded when we realized that we were being PROCESSED as a customer instead of receiving customer SERVICE. The ending of the dinner was simply rude, bookended by "I'm sorry" and smiles, but gestures to move on. If you want 'okay food' to 'good food' but don't mind being and feeling being rushed, then by all means, go to Dara. But if you want a tasty dinner all the way through and enjoy time with friends, without being rushed, then try another restaurant. read more

My family really enjoyed Dara! The food was delicious and the staff super friendly. We had the Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. At one point the table went quiet because we couldn't stop taking bites of food! We definitely recommend Dara! read more

Dara - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Great portions and amazing lunch specials. Staff are friendly and so attentive to make your dining experience enjoyable. Such a great find and will share this recommendation with many. Will return again. So much good had leftovers. Very comfortable dining atmosphere. Must try any of the curry dishes to delight your tastebuds. Hidden gem! read more

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Dara is a new Thai restaurant with an intimate dining room. The design is open and good for a date night or small group. It is a bit difficult to do family style sharing plates, but it is worth it to get multiple dishes to try more. The food is so flavorful and just the right spice levels. The service was very quick and attentive. The other three people that came with me each had different top favorites between the curry, noodle and rice dishes. I will say that the amount of meat added to the dishes was well worth the price and not overly done. read more

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We are obsessed with Dara! Always been a fan of Thai food, but this menu is different. We have only had its delivered, but have enjoyed it immensely each time. Great descriptions of each dish accompanied by beautiful photos-- we haven't been disappointed yet! read more

Pretty good Thai food, though I wish it was less oily/greasy. Even the steamed chive dumplings were very oily. Prices are average to high, it was about $30 for everything. I ordered pickup on DoorDash and it was ready in like 10 minutes, hard to beat that! read more

the food here is so good!! also comes out pretty quick. highly recommend the red curry

Dara's - people there were really friendly and warm and gave us a lot of tips about visiting Thailand! Portions were huge and well priced :). We got the khao Soi and crispy pork! The khao soi was REALLY SPICY ! But I guess that's authentic . The crispy pork could have been crispier but it was good. The best part was the friendly service and they were all Thai people so it had an authentic feel :) I felt transported! Vibes are dark and celestial read more

Food was standard. Egg for the ka prow was wayyyy overcooked and the Penang curry was very very sweet with lots of nutmeg flavor (tasted overpowering). Though service wasn't bad the restaurant seemed like it had difficulty with management and we were given a time limit to eat LOL. Mid for the price point, very pretty interior though and desserts looked cool. Go for the vibes not the food maybe... read more

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I read the great reviews and ordered thru uber eats. I had the papaya salad/duck green curry/pad Thai. All three were average and not great. The curry lacked flavor and the duck was dry. The pad Thai needed more sauce/flavor. The papaya salad was fresh but also lacked flavor. I love Thai food but this place is not great. I think everything needed FLAVOR read more

Had lunch at Dara yesterday and everything was so good. Great food and really generous portions for a Thai restaurant. We ordered from their lunch menu and had leftovers to take home. I usually go to Queens NY for authentic Thai and Dara comes close especially given the options we have here in DE/PA read more

The seafood fried rice...Excellent!!! I did a pick up order ....wait time was really quick... food was fresh and delicious!!! I'm going back

Dinning space and food. Food was in small serving. Staff should be more attentive. Good location.

Lunch special was perfect amount of food to even have leftovers for later while being under $20. Watch that chili oil...it'll get ya. Space decorated nicely with attentive staff. read more

This might be the best Thai restaurant in Philly. Only complaint is that the portions were a little small for the price but other than that, everything else was amazing. read more

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Has potential. Service was great and the food looked really good. Unfortunately, only one vegetarian entree on the menu which I found odd for a Thai restaurant. There maybe three other items, mostly appetizers on the menu. I was offered no customization. So I had an appetizer and went across the street to Chipotle. At the time they were running 30% discount because they had just opened so maybe they had a limited menu. They are open until 10:30pm which for Philly is amazing. Design aesthetic was nice too. If I were being picky I would paint the inside of your vents the same color as your ceiling. read more

Shrimp tomyum so yummy , very recommended to try. All the dessert also very good. I'll be back soon to try the special menu. read more

Very cute new thai restaurant in center city! Food was delicious, service was fast, and decor is beautiful. I'll definitely be back. Only downside is that you can't customize the protein like at a lot of thai restaurants. I love drunken noodles with shrimp but they only offer it with chicken. read more

I hadn't realized this restaurant was new - I stopped by on a Sunday for lunch with a friend while in town for a conference. The space is impeccable and beautifully decorated and the service was great. They had a very limited number of vegetarian dishes, however; unlike most places that have you pick your main meat, tofu, or veggie, this place had mostly dishes with a sole meat or fish option. The waitress told me that they would soon have more vegetarian options, however, and they also were helpful in making my somtum salad without shrimp (though I realize now the fish sauce probably should have been a no-go, too), so I was very happy with my experience, and hope to visit again soon. read more

Ordered Pad See Ew and crispy duck green curry for takeout. The pad see ew was good, but the curry was exceptional. I suspect the kitchen was quick and they just didn't notify me that the order was ready early; food temperature was a bit cool. Looking forward to trying this one again. read more

Very solid takeout Thai spot that recently opened in the center city area. They have competition from grandmas across the street and chattaya next door, however their food seems more authentic. read more

Stumbled upon Dara while on the hunt for a different place, and so glad we tried it! Food was delicious, staff was friendly and efficient, and prices were good. Cute little place read more

Amazing food and great service!!!! And the ambiance was so good - very intimate !! Our food was awesome and delivered on time to the table!