Duc's Place

Oh my gosh. Ate here recently and the fish was just to die for. Fresh and delicious. My boyfriend had the pork and he loved it as well. The service was great. Super friendly place. They only have a little bit of seating but it's comfortable and pleasant to sit in. They also do take out which I'll definitely be doing in the future. LOVE Duc's. Will be back!

So first of all, I just happen to have the same name with the owner of the restaurant, I’m not him! But anyway, about the food, this place is absolutely fantastic! I and my friend have tried grilled fish rice noodle, cha lua rice noodle and Pho, all of them are amazing. Pho here has the southern style, so if you are from Hanoi, it will taste different, but it is delicious, definitely recommend it (they only have Pho on Friday tho). My friend loved the broth so much that he asked for extra rice to finish the soup. The place, however, don’t have rice so the owner gave him a loaf of bread for free instead! 100% coming back!

I have come here faithfully like every week for several months. Service is great, food is great. I love the lemongrass tofu. Yuba is also good, but lemongrass is where it's at. The veggies are fresh and when I was having stomach issues this was one of the few things my body didn't kill me over eating. Bahn mi, does a body good. They have a watermelon juice for the summer that is absolutely bomb.

EDIT 9/11/19 UPDATE: I came back to get coffee for my coworkers after I posted my original review and the owner recognized it was me that left the most recent review (seen below). He said that I left a "harsh review" and spent about 10 mins complaining to me about the hardship of running this business. As for the pate spread, the owner explained to me that they do not offer that anymore but it still shows on the menu. I asked why did you not update the menu if we are anticipating to have certain things on a banh mi. As a Vietnamese American, I understand that not everyone can be catered to having an authentic Vietnamese meal. But it was very unnecessary to attack me for my "harsh review". I felt uncomfortable while I was waiting for my coffees to be made and was late for work due to this wait. Thankfully there was nobody there during this confrontation. I am not coming back to this establishment after this visit and I definitely would not recommend anyone coming here. If the owner cannot take a constructive criticism, I would not trust them with my food. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I very much enjoyed their coffee! It is strong and brewed with the French press like it is in Vietnam. However, the food is too overpriced for me. The broth for the pho was on the sweeter side. I went out for lunch with my friend and she was still eating, the cashier takes her bowl away as she asked if she was done with it. The fish sauce is very inconsistent, I had ordered bun one day and it was too sweet for me; got a different bun bowl and the fish sauce was on the sour side. My friend got herself a classic banh mi and it was missing the pate spread. The coffee is the reason why I gave it 3 stars, really want to give it 2.5 stars. I'm not sure because the times I've came, they were getting ready to close but the cashier person definitely made me feel rushed. I start off with two bowls of pho and she already gives me my total when I'm not even done ordering. There are other cheap Vietnamese restaurants in CT. I would only come back here for their coffee.

The couple that runs the restaurant seemed really nice, so I kinda feel bad for posting this--- but I have to say this restaurant is super pricey--like needlessly so, given that it's geared towards the takeout market. As a Vietnamese person, I don't like that they put everything only in English--- takes away the authenticity and I can't even find what I want. The food itself is good, but due to customers having to pay for parking in that neighborhood, the price really freaks me out. I get that their main clientele work in the nearby office buildings, but still. Vietnamese food has gotten to be such a big hit in the US precisely because of affordability. Viet food that is expensive is less authentic because it's less accessible to the common man. I gotta add that not everything on their menu is expensive but the items that should be cheaper are indeed not cheap.