Đại Việt — Restaurant in Melbourne

I am writing this as a Level 7 contributor, having reviewed numerous restaurants. This venue is worth coming for their delicious meals.

30 May 2024 update: the promotion prices have finished, but the food is so good. I decided to have the pho (beef + balls) to compare it with Co Thu Quan. Dai Viet's use of rare beef slices makes its dish nicer because you can feel the softness of the sliced beef. I paid $15, and it's worth it. The lady boss is very friendly and polite. Dishes that I tried during the promotion: I ordered the broken rice special. The shredded pork and grilled pork chop were delicious. Shredded pork has a hint of garlic. The pork chop was not too dry, and you can see lemon grass shavings on it. The homemade chilli sauce was delicious and had a hint of lemon grass flavour. I paid $13 because the dish was on special. I ordered the Bun Bo Hue on my second visit. Absolutely delicious. There's 1 piece of pig's blood jelly, no pork knuckles, but slices of pork meat, together with beef. The soup has a rich lemon grass aroma, and you can see the lemon grass shavings. It tastes as good as Nam Giao next door. I paid $13. I came on another occasion to try the Bun Mam. I previously ate this at Bac8 (see my review of Bac8) and did not like it. I wanted to check out this restaurant's version. I am satisfied with the generous amounts of ingredients: 3 pieces of roast pork, 2 decent-sized prawns, 1 basa fillet, and many pieces of squid. The soup was clear and did not taste too fishy. The tamarind sauce was sweet and sour, which you can dip the seafood in. I paid $15. I ordered the salt and pepper deep-fried chicken ribs. There were 6 pieces of the ribs. I find the meat too dry, and the portion smaller than that from Mekong restaurant. It's average in taste. I paid $14. I came here again on a Monday because the pho is on special. Oh my gosh. The broth is so tasty, with no MSG, and its taste is elevated with the generous serves of herbs. The rare beef and brisket are delicious. Of note is that the brisket is not fatty. I love their homemade chilli sauce that has a sweet taste with hints of lemon grass. Overall, the quality is similar to Pho Hung Vuong and Pho Nho, but cheaper. I paid $13. I ordered the chicken version of the broken rice. Delicious. Paid $14. I had the pork and prawn noodle soup. It's similar to the Cambodian noodle soup. No MSG in the broth. Generous servings of chives and pork lard. There was 1 prawn,1 pig's blood, and several pork slices. Paid $13.

Aug 2025: paid $18 for their Bun Cha Hanoi. The spring roll is delicious, so is the broth. But they grilled mostly meatballs. I would have preferred more...

Bought the Bún Bò Huế Thố Đá, 2 Phở Bò Thố Đá, and Phở Tái Bò Viên Thố Đá. I got the Phở Tái Bò Viên Thố Đá. I've never tasted Phở in a stone pot before. This is the best Phở in a stone pot I've eaten, in my entire life. The broth tasted amazing. It has this sweetness and savoury flavour of the beef. The rice noodles were not too chewy. The beef, cooked in the stock, in the stone pot, cooked really quickly. But wasn't overcooked. The beef balls are delicious. A bit of a bouncy texture and beef flavour. What impressed me the most was that the stone pot was able to cook the raw beef, the noodles 'till it's still warm. The pot, especially the soup, was still hot, and it was able to keep the Phở to that temperature. Overall, one of the best Phở I had, and a must try, if you're into Vietnamese food...

⭐️ 2.5/5

The bún chả would’ve been much better if the grilled pork had been cooked a bit longer — it lacked that smoky, caramelized flavor that makes the dish stand out. The chả nem (fried spring rolls) were decent, nothing particularly memorable. However, the vermicelli was also quite dry, almost like it had been sitting out for a while — not fresh or soft, which really affected the texture of the whole plate. 🫠 The dồi sụn was extremely dry, too — honestly, a bit of a disaster. 😅 Surprisingly though, the mắm tôm wasn’t bad at all — pretty acceptable.

As for the phở bò thố đá, although I enjoy the concept of serving pho in a hot stone bowl, the broth had an obvious msg taste that didn’t sit right with me — ugh...