A torrential rainy day earlier....Gio & I first checked out a new Pho place on San Pablo south of here...menu didn't list all the different variations of beef one could customize your order with...so we returned here for the classics...Gio got fatty brisqet & tendon I opted for (the 1st time) 100% tendon....ah the joy of loads of translucent cartilaginous protein ...good for me ailing joints...along with the perfectly not too sweet broth and their one of a kind fried shallot condiment the only thing I wish is that they used their old ceramic rather than metal bowls but oh my oh my been a long hiatus & so good!! read more

The pho was the best I've had in a while. The broth was delicious and beefy. It perhaps has a bit of extra savoriness added, but it worked. The meet was good too. I'd be near perfect if the noodles hadn't been so broken up. Service was friendly. It's a pretty large restaurant with a comfortable interior. Good for a casual lunch read more

My go-to local-ish Pho spot. They're quick to seat you and take your order. Food comes out fast and hot, service is friendly and attentive without hoovering. I enjoy their pho ga (chicken pho). Their fish sauce wings and spring rolls are also very good. Have yet to try any rice plates. read more

Came back and tried their bun bo hue. It's the first time seeing this light of a color; bun bo hue are usually pretty red. Flavorwise I got a lot of the lemongrass flavor but I felt the overall flavors was a bit lacking. There wasn't a whole lot of proteins either. I'd say it's still pretty serviceable. In fact it's actually pretty good for the area. read more

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The food was fine, a little on the salty side, but I was thrown off by the color since I've never had a Bun Bo Hue that wasn't entirely red. That said, the broth was salty but not that strong at the same time. I am very particular with my Vietnamese food so take this with a grain of salt. My friends did like their orders tho! The staff were friendly, service was quick with no wait, and there's plenty of seating. It's a nice little hidden gem in Albany, and I'd definitely come back to explore more of their menu. read more

Ao Sen - Bun Bo Hue - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

If you're looking for traditional pho flavors, this is the spot! I've been coming here for over 5 years and have never left disappointed. I recently tried the fried egg rolls for the first time--10/10 TASTY! My go-to is the chicken pho, especially when I'm feeling under the weather. It's comforting, flavorful, and always hits the spot. The service here is top-tier--friendly, respectful, and consistent. The vibe is chill and casual, perfect for showing up in comfy clothes and enjoying some comfort food. Pro tip: Ask for their free hot jasmine tea Taste: 8/10 Service: 10/10 Portion Size: 10/10 Happy? Absolutely read more

Ao Sen - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

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It was cold and rainy, so soup was on our mind! I suggested we get pho and try Ao Sen. Both my friend and I had never been, despite living close, so we're excited to try it. We arrived on a weekday evening for dinner. The parking lot was busy, but the restaurant not so much. We were seated immediately and our order was taken relatively fast. The layout is quite spacious with lots of booth seats plus some smaller tables. Service was fine, your items were delivered and water refilled but you weren't checked on, it's self-service with the condiments and utensils on the table. I had the Pho Ga and my friend had the Seafood Noodle Soup. My pho had a light and clear broth. The chicken was fine but not tender, a bit tough. The noodles were okay but I found them to be short as if they were cut. The toppings were okay but they didn't give much. This area doesn't have many pho-specific restaurants, but I'd say it's decent if you're living nearby. The restaurant is located off San Pablo with a shared parking lot plus street parking. Glad we could try a new spot! read more

Ao Sen - Pho Ga - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

I can't believe after living in El Cerrito so long we finally visited Ao Sen over the break. What a huge space, and quite crowded for a Sunday afternoon. Service was quick and efficient, love that the staff brings out all meals on a cart. We ordered Vietnamese Egg Nog after glancing at the menu and wanted to experience/try something new. Tasted similar to an East Coast Egg cream, love the Perrier soda water add on. Essentially it's egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk, and soda water. Probably wouldn't order again, but hey, there's a first for everything. Also ordered Vietnamese Iced Coffee, egg rolls, chicken noodle soup, and a beef pho. For the chicken noodle soup I subbed egg noodles for an additional couple bucks and that was the winning ticket. Mixed with the broth, pulled white meat chicken, and a little hot sauce/hoisin, it was super yummy. My husband enjoyed his bowl and thought the meat was juicy/hearty. The chicken noodle soup was in my opinion the perfect fixture to feeling a bit under the weather ~ clean, simple, easy. My only qualms were that the egg rolls, although packed with flavor and all the pork/shrimp ground yumminess, were a bit excessively greasy (the kind of greasy where ya have to actually wipe your fingers on the napkin). Flavor was still there and maybe it was just our batch, but would try this spot again in future if we're feeling a pho trip, fasho :) I did love that they were playing Get Hard with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart, and the small koi pond/waterfall next to the TV. Plenty of parking in back/street parking, reasonable price points, and located next to Ocean View if wanting a fun local brew stop before/after. read more

Ao Sen - Cha Gio- Egg Rolls (3) - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

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Delicious food and big restaurant interior almost like a diner with plenty of seating and a parking lot outside. Extremely fast service with attentive waiters. Never had pho in a metal bowl before. It's simple and easy to eat from. read more

Ao Sen - Nem nuong was delicious. My favorite and good amount. The presentation was a surprise. - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

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Such a beautiful restaurant, with a large capacity to hold a bunch of people. They have a gorgeous wall of tropical plants like Monstera, Pothos, snake plants, etc. it was wonderful to admire the plants while waiting for the food. The service was pleasant, just not the fastest I've experienced. Not too slow, just a little noticeable that we were waiting for a while, but we went during a slow time so I'm sure they didn't have as many workers as normal. I got the rare steak pho, and it was great! This is actually my second time coming so it's definitely good enough to go back to. Great ratio of meat, white onion, and noodles. I didn't feel like it was lacking in anything. the broth was strong and flavorful, and the meat quality was good! Didn't seem like it had freezer burn or anything. read more

Ao Sen - Pho Tai - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

I was craving Asianfood and tried here.Service is very quick than expected.Ambiance is good. The interior is cute. read more

Ao Sen - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

My friends and I stopped by for dinner on a Sunday evening about an hour before they closed and the restaurant was pretty busy. We were promptly seated and our orders were taken shortly afterwards. Very attentive service. I ordered the extra large pho with a side of beef balls to share with my wife. While the bowl was large, I would recommend adding an extra side of noodles and meat if you plan on splitting. The key thing I'm looking for in a good pho broth is depth of flavor: the broth should have a bit of sweetness to balance the deep, savory beef base. While food was delivered quickly to our table, unfortunately, the bowl of pho fell short of my expectations. The broth was a little on the bland side and my noodles arrived overcooked, resulting in them being soggier than I normally prefer for pho noodles. One thing that helped out with the blandness of the broth was the house-made lemongrass chili sauce. This sauce had the consistency of XO sauce that you'd typically find at Chinese hotpot spots. The lemongrass flavor is bold and the sauce has a good amount of spice: it doesn't linger for too long, nor does it completely numb your palette to the point that you can't taste any other flavors. I would definitely recommend trying out the sauce on whatever you end up ordering. While the bowl of pho fell short, I felt like the grilled pork spring rolls were really good. I enjoyed how well the pork was seasoned and it had a nice bouncy texture to contrast the crunchiness of the fried wonton crisp and the fresh veggies. I owe it to Ao Sen to stop by again to try the pho when it's not an hour before closing. I suspect there's a possibility that because it was the end of the night, the chefs needed to stretch the remaining batch of the prepared pho broth to serve the last diners of the evening, resulting it it being more bland than usual. 3.5 rounding up to a 4. read more

Ao Sen - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

Came around 12pm on a Monday and was sat pretty quickly. The place is really big, lots of seating! There is a parking lot on the side. I got pho and it hit the spot! Good solid flavors, overall a warm hearty meal for the cold weather. Not too salty and not bland, sits perfectly in the middle. My mom got the vermicelli with pork. There were many different textures and flavors that just blended so well. The noodles were soft, the meat was flavorful, and the veggies were crunchy. It also comes with 2 egg rolls which was good for sharing! read more

Ao Sen - Pho Dac Biet and Bun Cha Hanoi - Hanoi Style Charbroiled Pork Vermicelli - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

The ambiance and service are a cut above most Pho and Vietnamese noodle cafes. It's a comfortable place and roomy. Their servers are very pleasant. The food wasn't as good as I was hoping. Not bad, but not outstanding. read more

Ao Sen - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

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This is my favorite Pho restaurant. Hands down! Short and sweet. They have gluten-free options. And a decent amount of parking. read more

Look. It's a type of comfort food at a good price with fast service. Not much else I want sometimes. Used to be a sizzlers and it still has the layout of a sizzlers. Something about that is kind of charming. When dining is so pricey these days that spots like this that aren't "dress up" go out or "fast food" are harder and harder to find. read more

They have really good pho, my kid loves the environment specially the fountain with fish they have. People there are really nice and food comes out fast. read more

Great pho! I love the in-house made hot sauce in the small round lidded container on each table. I think it's has lemon grass, onions, maybe black beans, and chili oil. Service is fast. One of the small problems is the pho cools off too fast. There is plenty of room. Great for large families.. read more

Need a fast and delicious lunch? Got a huge family to feed- try this place. I've been coming here for years and always come back because it's the best in the neighborhood. read more

I've been to the Oakland Pho Ao Sen and remember it being good so why not try their sister restaurant. For a group of 4 at 5:45 pm on a Friday evening there was no wait. Parking lot on the side and back that's connected to the Taco Bell. The service was fine and what you'd expect at most pho restaurants. As far as the pho, the #12 broth was lighter than usual in flavor. You do neeed to pay an extra $2 to upgrade regular to large bowl. If in the area and craving for pho, not a bad option. read more

Ao Sen - # 12 - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

Pho is always so reliably good here; this is my go to Pho spot. Everyone is nice and restaurant is clean and spacious. Prices reasonable too. Ao sen is the best!!!! read more

Get the BBQ short ribs! They are super smoky delicious! The beef stew with egg noodles...*Chef's Kiss!

Very affordable and good quality pho! It's hard to find a good pho place that's under $15 near Berkeley, but my bowl was around $13 before tax and tip! The restaurant is large and has plenty of seats. It's not too busy either. read more

Ao Sen - #3 - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

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Sent two orders of the pho ga to friends who are sick...they loved it and said "it hit the spot"!

I'm obsessed with this place! I'm really in to Vietnamese food and I've tried many Vietnamese restaurants and this is one of my all time favorites. read more

Good food and service. My family and I have come here a couple times and been happy with the food. I ordered the number 2 pho which was good. We also shared the shrimp spring rolls and chicken wings. Also good. The place is spacious and can easily accommodate large parties. They also have a parking lot which is nice. Overall a great spot read more

It's the best around - always fragrant and consistent Clean and fresh veggies Not overly heavy on any spice - hate when ppl use black cardamom to stupidity. Kid friendly read more

1.5/5 rounded up to 2 for the egg rolls and decent rare beef slices. Pho is bad. I was astonished to see that many reviews complimented the pho. Maybe I got a bad batch, but it tasted like powder flavored pho (you know like the instant pho in a cup?) The first flavor note, though, was that it tasted sweaty? I don't know how to describe it well, but it's that flavor that comes from cheap meat. Also, the broth was extremely salty, with barely any spice aftertastes. I couldn't taste any star anise, cinnamon, cloves, or anything else really! Usually, I feel refreshed after drinking the broth in pho, but after this meal, both my bf and I just kept chugging water all night because of how dry it made our mouths. - We both got Pho Tai (rare beef slices). Surprisingly, the rare beef slices were actually pretty good quality, and the noodles were cooked just right. It's just that broth- I don't know- something was just really off with it. My bf also got a side of meatballs $2.50. $12.95 Egg rolls were on point and this tasted freshly fried. Yummy meat filling. Mint leaves and lettuce were fresh as well. $8.95 Service is standard and efficient. It's a pretty large restaurant with tons of booths- not a ton of patrons on a weekday night, but they get a lot of takeout orders. Price is decent for the area, I just wish the pho broth was a lot better. Not sure if I'll be back, I have to try other Vietnamese places in the East Bay to compare, but of course, San Jose is where it's at for great Vietnamese food. read more

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The phone #19 was amazing and Korean bbq rice plate was on point. Super friendly staff and service

Pho comes out really fast and really delicious! Always come back time to time and has plenty of seats and parking lot

Took Moms here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. She was in the mood for soup as you know its been a lil chilly here in the bay area so we stopped in and grabbed lunch. Breakdown: I ordered the number #3 I believe. Moms ordered the rice plate with the short ribs. We had spring rolls for the table and we both had chai teas. The broth on the pho was traditional and it was very flavorful. Meat was tender and the rice noodles we perfect. Moms short ribs were also very flavorful. It was a big portion came with rice salad and soup. The spring rolls was also fresh and very good served with peanut sauce. Chai Tea was perfect not to sweet. I would come back here a million times over, Also food came out quick and it was busy in there. Sevice was good too. read more

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Went there for lunch. Had the beef stew with egg noodles and the pork spring rolls. Delicious! Service was fast and accurate, even with all the lunchers. And enjoyed the music too. Will be back! read more

The food was good ad the people That were working there were friendly. And the restaurant was very clean. a nd there was a lot of parking

This is my family's go to Pho restaurant in the area. Food is always served piping hot and their broth is always so good. Their service is always pretty good, too. The staff is very friendly and there are a few waitstaff who always remember me, which is nice. Wait times for food is always quick and they give a nice assortment of garnishes. I usually get the beef pho with meatballs, but I realized I usually only eat one meatball because they're pretty hard to bite into. The last time I was there, I got the Pho Ga, the chicken pho and it was sooo delicious. Each time I go I also always get spring rolls and eggrolls - always consistent quality. My suggestion is don't go around lunch time because it'll be packed. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted pho on a Wednesday, only to remember that is one of the days they're closed The bathrooms are usually clean - I'm a stickler for a clean bathroom. The restaurant is for the most part, clean. The pop of greenery everywhere is a bonus because the plant mom in me likes to eat and admire the long Pothos trails and the nice big leaves on the Elephant Ears. However, I have noticed they have some issues with the building. Some of the paneling on the ceiling is missing - most likely from water damage from all those heavy rains. All in all, I will always come here for Pho. Great food! read more

I havn't had Pho in a while but since it has been cold recently ee wanted some Pho after shopping at Costco. We got here at 7:30pm afraid they were gonna deny us since they closed 8pm. the service was quick. We were able to order by 7:40pm and get our food by 7:45pm. The restaurant was still full and people were still coming in and not getting denied. We left past 8pm and we weren't the lest ones to leave. I appreciate them staying open past their closing time. When did a bowl of Pho (regular size) start costing over $12? I ordered the beef stew. It was a lot lighter than most beef stews I had. It was as light as the pho broth. Still very flavorful, but I was expecting something different. read more

Pho Ao Sen is a hidden gem right on San Pablo Avenue, don't pass this one up! We had an order of the Egg Rolls along with the Pork and Shrimp Plate both were tasty, I will be coming back soon! The egg rolls are a crunchy, fried perfection, bursting with flavor in every bite and served in larger portions, making them ideal for sharing or enjoying solo. The Vietnamese iced coffee is a sweet and strong delight that will keep you awake and energized, perfect as a refreshing start or a midday pick-me-up. The pork and shrimp plate stands out with its juicy, generous portions of meat and seafood, complemented by a sweet cabbage and carrot salad that is marinated to perfection. Pho Ao Sen offers a delightful dining experience with its flavorful dishes and satisfying portions; we had to take some to go. If you're in Albany and craving Vietnamese cuisine, this spot should definitely be on your list! read more

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Brooooo I wrote a lengthier review for this and then it died in the Yelp abyss after I hit "post". Anyways, Ao Sen is a solid contender in the sprawl of pho joints in the Albany/Berk/El Cerrito area. For COVID safety purposes, masks are required, tables are sanitized thoroughly, and seating is socially distanced. This was definitely some Denny's or Wendy's before getting repurposed into a branch of Oakland's OG Pho Ao Sen (why's this location only "Ao Sen", anyways?). Lots of parking available in their personal lot. Interior is decked out with plants and cultural paraphernalia-- spacious but cozy. My bf and I were here for a late weekend lunch, seated immediately. Very empty, but probly popping during their peak meal hours. #3 BEEF BOWL: Loooove their rich broth. Great protein: noodle:veg ratio. They get the steak cuts right! CHE THAI: About standard. Comes with toddy palm, lychee jelly, pandan jelly, and a chunk of ice. I wish there were more of the other toppings than overwhelming amount of pandan jelly noodles, or that they were layered instead of lumped together with a singular ice block, but otherwise refreshing. Service is SO FAST. I don't think we waited longer than 5 min between items or water refills. They seat you and deliver your order SWIFTLY. But we were never rushed. read more

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This Vietnamese place DOES NOT play. I came in because I had seen someone online reccomend it on either Instagram or another platform and I wrote it down. I got around to trying it with a friend visiting and it was absolutely DECADENT. Truly such good food, service, and whilst there weren't too many customers at 2pm on a Monday as one would expect-- the lunch we had was nothing short of magical. I am always looking for my fixation favorite Asian-cuisine places and boy is this one authentic. Cudos to the chefs and sercers because I was treated so well by their ingredients and flavor. So so good it was baffling. I would get the seafood pho and the Lemongrass beef rice noodle. So damn delicious. read more

Ao Sen - fresh Bo Bia- Vietnamese Spring Rolls (2) - Vietnamese Near Me - Albany, California

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Pretty convenient place in Albany right on San Pablo ave. We were apartment hunting all day and had a gap between viewings so walked right into Ao Sen. The biggest negative was AC malfunctioning on the hottest day of the month :( so that was brutal. Food is good though. We enjoyed the fresh shrimp rolls, beef pho and pork vermicelli bowl. Yum. Service is prompt. Bathrooms are clean. read more

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Service is OK but the food is pretty authentic and good for Vietnamese. Food would definitely recommend the three color dessert drink my go to spot when I'm craving authentic noodles. read more