Ao Sen

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.

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!

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.

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.

Authentic taste when it comes to their Pho. I've been coming here for years now and it beats all the bougie Pho spots in this location (Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond). The service is great and attentive. The vibes are chill and you can catch the game on their TVs. My go-to is their chicken pho. Con: the meat portion seems to be less than usual. (Only this time) Price for chicken pho after taxes: $16.56

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.

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

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

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.

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.