Bacogai

First I would like to start off with the service! As soon as we walked in, we were immediately greeted by the staff. First impressions are huge! As soon as we get seated, the table is set to perfection. 10/10We put in our order, I can't remember the names of our dishes but I will provide pictures for you.We had the salad with duck in it. I honestly would go back just for the salad alone. It had that a really nice bite to it. The shallots added so much flavor, and you know when you get a salad and sometimes they over dress it? Well that was not the case, it was dressed and definitely impressed. Had a squeeze of lime for that extra zing to it. Perfect! We also had the hotpot, and let me tell you! The soup base was flavorful. It didn't need anything. It had that sweet and sour taste to it, and the fact that you get to add extra little sides in it made it so good! Kayla our wonderful staff member told us to add bean curd, and that little bean curd soaked up all the flavor , and as soon as you put it in your mouth, the flavor bomb kicked in! So good The other item we ordered was a beef stir fry with rice noodle and lettuce, I am a big meat eater. The beef alone was epic, it was savory, and the rice noodles that comes with it was really good. It came with a dipping sauce, and just like the bean curd, the rice noodles packed all that flavor! This is definitely a restaurant you have to try. The whole setting of the restaurant was beautiful, from the cuttlery to the food it was amazing! Definitely a date night, a go to in alameda, a fun dinner with the family. I can't wait to come back to try other things on the menu. I'm sure they won't miss - (this means that they aren't going to fail for you people who don't know what that means).

Bacogai has been on my radar for a while now! It's definitely not common to see Vietnamese hot pot, so I was excited to try it! My party of arrived at noon and was seated right away. However, it definitely gets busy! Would definitely recommend checking the waitlist and jumping in line via Yelp! We ordered two items: 1) Duck Goi-Slaw Salad - this is a must try! Between the two items, I liked this one a lot! The slaw was cut really nice and thin and was dressed with a nice tangy sauce. Most importantly, the duck added so much good flavor without making it feel greasy! It was such a nice salad! 2) Lau Canh Chua - of course, I also had to try the hot pot! The broth was had a nice depth of flavor (sour and sweet). The variety of toppings was nice as well. Overall, a great meal and the servers were attentive and really friendly. Definitely worth a visit!

Food is top notch and 100% Devine!Our server is top notched! And service great!Ambiance is nice and for a Monday night was hopping but chilled!Get the chicken wings appetizer a hit!The whole menu on point!Excellent overall!

The bone marrow broth with pork hit the spot super well! I loved the veggie tray, as it made me feel like I'm getting a good amount of veggies and variety of proteins. I ordered a side of toro, and I kinda wish I got the wagyu instead because there's too much fat for me to chew xDService was extremely attentive, but flagging a staff member down did take a little extra time than our usual expectation. I do like how the guy waiter packed our leftover broths for us to take home.Ambiance wise, it is very lively and casual, there was a line at 7:30-8 but the line disappeared after 8:30 pm as it was nearing closing time. There was a large party (16 people) close to us so it was extremely energetic and wild

Saturday afternoons are definitely busy for Bacogai, rain or shine. We were seated immediately and chose the window seat at the front, but it took a few minutes for us to get their attention to order. It took about 20 minutes for our first dish to come out, and then took a little longer to get the bill at the end of our meal. There were only 2 servers so expect a bit of a delay, esp. with a full house all afternoon!Green Thai Milk Tea (4/5): Light and refreshing, not super fragrant but was still yummy!Beef Luc Lac (4.5/5): Meat is tender and buttery, noodles are a good texture, and I like their nuoc mam. Good sharing dish to try.Duck Goi-Slaw Salad (4/5): Duck pieces in the dish are just okay. I like the taste of the salad overall, especially with the crisps they give you. Refreshing and tasty.Mama Rose's Crab Cha Gio (3/5): Not the favorite, but not bad. Just wasn't anything special. Felt like it was missing something..Lau Canh Chua (4/5): A seafood hotpot, so no meat other than fish + fishballs + 2 shrimp. Platter came with noodles, assorted veggies, and enoki mushrooms. Personally I like a sour soup so this was up my alley, especially on a rainy day sitting by the window. I will have bowl after bowl of their broth alone!

You know, Im glad I gave this place another try. I remember the first time I had it a year ago it was just okay, mainly because of the portion sizes. But ever since then I think this place has stepped it up and really out did themselves.To start off the duck goi salad. This was one of the biggest surprises this time around because I didn't get to try it the first time. You get a heaping pile of duck salad and it's super flavorful. My only advice to management is please put it on a plate or bowl thats bigger. It makes eating it much easier, but we appreciated the presentation.Next the bone marrow lau. The biggest complaint I had last time was the amount of veggies/toppings that were given with the meal, but this time it was adequate and filling. Inside the bone marrow broth laid secretly more brisket soaking it, waiting to be cooked. By the time it did it was super flavorful and soaked up the flavors beautiful. Highly recommend this if this is your first time. My only advice to staff once again would be perhaps a slightly bigger pot? It was hard to cook everything at once because of the small size. But A+ for presentation as always.Last but not least the shaking beef. If you're a first timer here you can't go wrong with shaking beef. The meat is cooked perfectly and plated beautifully. The only downside was the beef to vermicelli noodle ratio, I wish there was more of it but for what it was it was still delicious.Overall this second time around really changed my views on this place. Im glad I gave it another shot and Alameda has a huge hidden gem among them with fresh, modernized, vietnamese cuisine. Can't wait to come back.Thank you to the wonderful staff as well who were on top of our tea and fire under the hot pots.

Really unique experience! I've never had Vietnamese hot pot before so I was excited to try. All the food we ordered was fresh and light. Particularly the duck salad, it tasted refreshing. The hot pot was delicious too but I did feel like there was a lot of filler vegetable items. Not a lot of meat. In general, I feel like none of the dishes tasted special or mind blowing. The service was fast and attentive. Ambiance was nice as well. Overall 3/5-decent!

This place is worth a try considering there are not many Vietnamese hot pot spots. It definitely is on the more pricey side considering the portions. It can get really busy here, but workers are friendly. There is plenty of parking as it is located in a plaza.

Sunday night dinner party of 4. We were greeted by Chen who was our very attentive server throughout the evening constantly checking on us We started off with the appetizer of Dungeness crab cha Gio which was excellent. The star of the evening was the duck salad. This salad had the right mix of duck meat and a flavorful greens in generous amounts. We split it among the 4 of us, however when I come back next time, I will order it as my entree. Each person can share a hot pot of broth with as staple variety of proteins and add on more toppings to customize your pot of broth. I ordered the oxtail which came with nice flavorful pieces of oxtail. The dessert which we preordered when we ordered our entree was the friend banana. This dessert came with a scoop of Tuckers I vanilla ice cream. The dishes here are unusual for Vietnamese and I enjoyed trying out something different than pho.

Nice casual Vietnamese restaurant located in Alameda. I came here with my family on a Sunday afternoon to check out their Vietnamese style hotpot. Customer service was very slow and we have to constantly try to get their attention to come to our table even though it was not busy. Duck Goi-slaw salad: very refreshing and flavorful. The shrimp chips on the side adds a good crunch to the dish. Lau Canh Chua (seafood hotpot): if you visit here, this is something that you must order. It is very warming to have on a chilly winter day. The soup base is sweet and sour which really opens up the palate. There are a generous amount of toppings to share between 2-3 people if you would like to try other items on their menu. However, they don't give you a lot of broth so I feel like it's not enough to cook all the sides especially if it's constantly boiling. Lau Pork bone marrow hotpot: the pork flavor is very rich but doesn't stand out too much. Shaking beef: delicious! I love wrapping the beef with rice noodle and lettuce creating the perfect bite. The beef chunks are cut into the bite size pieces that make it easy to eat. Lemongrass pork: the pork is a tad too sweet. This was not a crowd favorite. Overall, Bacogai is a pretty good restaurant of you want to bring your friend and family to an elevate Vietnamese restaurant. It is a little pricey for amount of food that you get compared to the South Bay.