Moon Dining — Restaurant in Da Lat City

We booked a table for 8 (4 Vietnamese, 3 English and 1 Australian) at Moon Dining based on the glowing reviews that I read online. We'd already eaten at both Emai and BOTEA, so thought we'd give Moon Dining a try.

Staff were very courteous showing us to a nice private room on the 1st floor, but there was some issue with the tables. Due to the design of the tables, 4 of us couldn't actually get our legs under the table (?!), so had to sit sideways at the table. A little odd, but nothing major.

We ordered a large cheese platter to start, and a bottle of the house red (no beer - not a problem, if that's their concept, then fair enough). We order beef carpaccio, bacon salad, and a few portions of garlic bread to share. Most of us order pastas for main, and one member of our party ordered a steak.

All going well, but very loud as all the doors are open and the restaurant is situated very close to a main road. We closed the doors to keep the noise down and asked for a fan to keep the room cool. No fan. Ok, not a big problem, we will just talk louder.

First issue - the waiter comes in and says there is no cheese today. No beer or cheese at a French/Italian restaurant? A little odd. We order the smoked duck and spicy sausage as appetizers instead.

Bacon salads and garlic bread arrive. Bacon salad looks beautiful and tastes fine. Very nice choice of tomatoes. Garlic bread is inedible. Dry and without flavor.

Pastas arrive cold. Not only cold, but drastically overcooked. Carbonara was essentially mushy children's pasta with cheese, and my cá trích pasta was equally as overcooked in a flavourless tomato sauce. The only detectable sardine appeared to have been dried sardine, sparsely added to the flavourless sauce. Inedible. All pasta dishes looked nice, but were very overcooked and void of flavor. Also, why are they arriving cold and before the appetizers? If Moon Dining chooses not to serve beer in order to maintain a more 'authentic' French/Italian vibe, at least honour that by bringing the food out in the right order (should it even arrive...).

Only one of our party managed to finish their pasta. We asked for a bottle of white wine to try to wash it down - surprise, surprise, no white wine available. So, no beer, salmon, cheese or white wine available at a 'fine-dining' Italian/French restaurant. Pull the other one...

By this point we really didn't want to stay any longer. We requested that the waiter bring no more food to the table, and we paid for what we had (2.2tr VND for essentially mushy children's pasta and stale bread with some nice tomatoes.

Moon Dining needs a LOT of work to become a credible restaurant in a town with some EXCELLENT Italian/French restaurants. From Moon Dining, we took our party to Le Apli who provided us with a fantastic meal. I suggest the staff at Moon Dining go to Le Apli to try their carbonara if they really want to know how to cook one.

Positives - Staff were courteous and setting was nice.

Negatives - Bad food. Depleted stock (on a Friday night?? Come on, guys!). Very overpriced for the quality of ingredients.

Overall - a restaurant for those who value photographing food more than...

TL;DR: 🌟 Moon Dining in Da Lat dazzles with a special Christmas menu (it’s still available as of end of January, yay for us) where each dish scores a stellar 10/10 for an exquisite blend of flavors, exceptional service, and an intimate atmosphere.

🍣 Smoked Salmon Toast: A delightful starter with vibrant flavors that set a high bar for the courses to follow.

🥗 Butternut Squash Salad: A refreshing and beautifully composed salad, balancing sweetness with a savory edge, cheese, bacon and everything good (and just the right amount of each)

🍝 Seafood Pasta: Rich and aromatic, the pesto-infused pasta with a bounty of seafood was a dish to remember. I am not a fan of seafood and I LOVED it.

🥩 Ribeye & Truffle Mash: A succulent steak paired with delicate truffle mashed potatoes, this main course was a masterpiece.

🍷 House Chardonnay: A lovely Italian Chardonnay that paired flawlessly with our meal.

🍨 Creme Brulee Ice Cream: A dessert that pleasantly surprised us with its rich flavor and texture.

🎶 Ambiance: The restaurant exudes coziness with dim, calm vibes, romantic lighting and soft background music, creating a perfect dining setting.

💸 Value: At less than 2.2 million dong, service included, the price was incredibly fair for the high-quality experience.

👩‍🍳 Service: From being seated immediately without a reservation to the attentive care throughout our meal, the service was impeccable.

Moon Dining's Christmas menu is a culinary delight, making it the go-to spot in Da Lat for a festive and memorable meal.

Would definitely eat here again - which is the biggest indicator of a pass/fail test for a restaurant as far as...

Last night, my partner and I had a celebratory dinner at Moon Dining, and we were blown away by an unforgettable experience.

What compelled me to write this review immediately was the steaks in the set menu that I ordered. I ordered the steak cooked medium-rare, and it was an absolute masterpiece. It arrived perfectly executed—seared to a beautiful golden-brown crust that was incredibly fragrant. The cuts revealed a wonderfully tender, juicy, and beautifully pink interior. The sublime combination of smoky char and the garlic, rucola was intensely savory and elevated the meat to another level. It was so flavorful on its own that it needed no rich sauces.

However, what truly elevated the evening from a great meal to an exceptional experience was the impeccable pacing of the service. Each course was thoughtfully timed, with perfect intervals that allowed us to fully savor each dish, enjoy our conversation, and build anticipation for the next. The meal unfolded over a leisurely hour and a half without a single moment of feeling rushed or, conversely, neglected. It was a true demonstration of "dining" as an event

The ambiance was both sophisticated and cozy, and the staff was exceptionally professional. This was, without a doubt, a five-star experience worth every penny. We will absolutely be returning and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a truly quality...