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Ao Sen

3.9 (502 reviews)
ModerateVietnamese
Closed • Closed

Order Ao Sen Takeout or Delivery

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AO SEN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Ao Sen

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John F.

We haven't been here in years but it's still delicious as last time. The service is friendly and we were immediately seated and placed our order. I ordered the "House Special " which is basically all meat and tripe also vegetables with a delicious broth. The place was busy since it was dinner time but our meal arrived quickly. The portion was generous and I ended up bringing some home to eat latet.

Chicken pho

Great portions and great pho! I love the chicken wings as well, they are really nicely flavored and crispy. Costumer service is great as well. My favorite drink that they have there is made with sparkling water, lemon, mint, and sugar. Very refreshing!

Gloria Z.

Pretty delicious pho for this area. I highly recommend asking for the beef on the side so it doesn't get overcooked in the soup when they bring it out. The service is fast and the restaurant is pretty massive and spacious. The broth is flavorful and very cozy. With so many good pho places in the south bay, this is a great option when you're not in the south bay!

Bun Bo Hue
Jacky H.

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.

Com Tam Tom, Suon

Ao Sen is probably my favorite pho/Vietnamese spot in the East Bay. I've been coming here since college and the service and quality of food has not changed. They have renovated the restaurant so it looks more modern with ample seating. We ordered 2 rice plates and 2 phos and both portions were generous and tasty. Would definitely recommend if you're in the area!

Steve B.

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

Edison H.

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.

Pho Ga
Kyra K.

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!

Cha Gio- Egg Rolls (3)
Gina G.

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.

Nem nuong was delicious. My favorite and good amount. The presentation was a surprise.
Danessa L.

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.

Pho Tai
Kyla M.

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.

Austin W.

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.

Pho Dac Biet and Bun Cha Hanoi - Hanoi Style Charbroiled Pork Vermicelli
Aerielle S.

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!

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11 years ago

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10 years ago

Best pho I've had so far in the bay. Really good chicken pho (21) - clear broth and very flavorful. Will definitely come back again.

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9 years ago

Definitely one of the best place for Pho in Berkeley/Albany area. I like their broth and the Egg Rolls.

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10 years ago

Ugh, I drank two litters of water after eating pho here. The thirst was unbelievable, not sure how much MSG was in the broth.

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11 years ago

Great pho, delicious rice and noodle combos - I go for the food, not the service and am super happy yo have an Ao Sen closer to home!

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11 years ago

Wow! This place is great! Excellent Pho. Good service, easy parking. A welcome addition to Albany.

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Page 13 of 13

Ask the Community - Ao Sen

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Ao Sen - vietnamese - Updated November 2026

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