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

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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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

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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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

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

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

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

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

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!

Tried the new Thai restaurant. The food was really good. However, they are a byob and charge a $10 corkage fee for each bottle of wine and a fee for each type of beer that you bring. I understand a corkage fee if they have a liquor license, but it is unheard of for a byob. We also had to stand out on the street for 20 minutes with a reservation. Probably would not go back. read more

I have been wanting to try Dara (a new byob Thai restaurant) for a few weeks now - we are very big on BYOBS... So I decided a couple weeks ago to make reservations for a group of 6 of us, well after making the reservations I thought to call and confirm, well after confirming that they had my reservations I wanted to make sure they were byob - well I was told they were but they charged 10 dollars a bottle for corkage fee which I found ridiculous as no byob I have been to in the city does this and ask do you mean 10 dollars a table and the host confirmed no it was 10 dollars a bottle and there was no negotiating even when I told them we are willing to open and pour our own wine but the host wouldn't budge on that, so I cancelled the reservations. Last night I walked by Dara after dinner and decided to go in and bring the subject again, the host gave me the same answer but also told me that they were not sure why they have this policy as they are aware that majority of BYOBS do not have a corkage fee policy and stated I could talk to the manager, well after 10 minutes of waiting, a man comes up to the counter and introduces himself as the owner of the restaurant and restates their policy, I ask them the reason why he goes on to tell me first it's because if the cost of servicing is, I told him we would service our own wine (open/pour) but he then said well we still have to give you glasses and then want on to say it's more to protect them because he noticed when people come in with multiple bottles of wine people break glasses more often - though they were thinking if reevaluating there policy to only charge up to the first 3 bottles of wine (which is still ridiculous for a byob in Philly) - at this point I knew he was not going to offer any type of concession even after telling him I usually come in with larger groups between 6-10 people, so I thanked him and he said thank you for coming in and to come again with a very dismissive smile and demeanor. I don't understand how a restaurant that is a BYOB can be so dismissive in the current economic situation we are in and not even compromise - customer service appalling - reasoning for corkage fee completely ridiculous - owner cocky and dismissive - the only positive - the aromas in the restaurant smelled amazing. read more

The food had some very authentic flavors that I remembered from my time in Thailand ! Fried chicken , Pong Garee and their hospitality were lovely. The ambiance is "dreamy" as is their theme haha and Minnie I wish you very well in joining the Thai restaurant scene in center city!! read more