Gao Restaurant

This is a hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant with a good variety of traditional dishes. All of their noodle soups have multiple noodle options like fresh vs dry and size of noodle. The service here is so warm and attentive. I noticed several regulars and one customer didn't even need a menu, they said a pho please! Gao means rice which is why they put so much attention to the types of noodles which are all made of rice flour. I highly recommend this place for your Vietnamese cravings.

I do not recommend this place. I've never given a 1 star on yelp because I understand a lot of these restaurants may be family-run, and every poor experience I've had at other places may have been redeemed by some positive quality. However, my experience at Gao was just a complete snowball of utterly displeasing experiences.The most positive experience I had in this entire ordeal was probably just being seated at a table that was clean....Everything was downhill from there. Once seated, we waited for 15 minutes before menus were even offered to us. At this point, I was skeptical about the service, but I had some hope. We asked for 2 waters and 1 vietnamese coffee for drinks (important for later), then we placed in our food orders. 10 more minutes passed... then 20 minutes... then 30 minutes... not even water was brought to the table. Meanwhile, in hilarious fashion, dishes and utensils were brought to our table 1 by 1. It was The Office-level comedy, in the worst way. First came a fork... then came spoons... then plates and napkins... then small bowls. It was like they were stalling. Still no drinks. At this point, we were pushing 1 hour. I waved over a waiter to share my concerns, and he tells me that they have a catering order they have to do first. I'm ready to get my food to go or just cancel the order. He tells me "they're preparing it right now". I ask, "what about the drinks?" Finally, we get 2 waters, but no coffee. 10 more minutes pass. I ask about the coffee. No coffee. At this point, I just want to leave. 10 more minutes... Finally, the food comes. I immediately ask for takeout boxes because I don't want to spend another minute in this restaurant. I tell them "cancel the coffee". The response: "oh no, it's ready right now!"10 more minutes pass... are you kidding?? And then, without even an apology, about 1 hour and 30 minutes after we had put in the order: "here is your coffee" Thanks, food was mid, and I definitely won't coming back.

Yeah, what an amazing place. It's even better than the last visit. Pho broth has depth and flavor. My favorite is still the yellow noodle. Service is fast efficient and wants you to enjoy their food. I'll be back !

This place was a comfort spot for me. It was the nearest Vietnamese spot to my hotel. The food and service were excellent. I really appreciated some of the finer details to their pho condiments, like the slices of pickled garlic and the addition of black pepper on top of the soup. I've never had that at other pho places before and will endeavor to provide the same when I make pho at home.

Came here for dinner with my wife. We had been here once before but it had been crazy busy and we didn't have the best experience. We decided to try it again and this time for dinner. I an glad we did. The staff and specifically Ted are very passionate about their food and helping us understand the differences in taste you can achieve by small additions of noodles , sauces and condiments. We started off with fresh rolls with peanut sauce. They truly were the best we have ever had including the peanut sauce which was wonderful. Then the meals came. Wow we were impressed. The broth was good, The noodles were good and everything just worked perfectly including the vegetables and the condiments. We both really enjoyed the meal and certainly will be back .

My bf and I went on Labor Day and they were relatively empty until 20 min in and they had a packed house at 6:30pm. Absolutely blown away by their flavors and quality. You can tell they curate their menu with love. The server gave great recommendations and was just a lovely guy. Even though it was busy with people coming in to place to go orders or pick up , the servers did a great job in looking out for everyone and it was a friendly service. I ordered the pho 5 and my bf had the #1 rice with grilled pork (he substituted it from the pork chop). I had leftovers because the pho was so huge. It was so comforting and you could taste the flavor profile. A delicious bowl of Pho requires a sophisticated and skillful combination of various spices to enhance the overall taste of the dish. While star anise contributes a mildly spicy flavor to the broth, cinnamon provides depth to the taste. It was like as if it was simmering for days because it had so much depth. It was rainy outside and such a great meal , very comforting. It felt so nourishing. The ambiance is chill and you can tell locals love this place. There is so much variety to choose from and all true to the Vietnamese culture. It felt like we truly were having a once in a lifetime experience in Vietnam.

Amazing Vietnamese coffee, amazing bun bo hue, i will come back every time i am in town. The anchovy paste that comes with the bowl is an excellent touch

I visted expecting the same experience as the photos on this Yelp page from the previous ownership. The menu now is much more limited. Hot noodle soup on a cold day Are you looking for a different kind of noodle soup to try? Gao has a few unique soup options: Seafood based broth Chewy, thick rice noodlesSince November, Gao has had new ownership and a revamped menu. This simplified menu is noodle soup based, focusing on Florida sourced ingredients.The owner also told me that new broth is fresh each day.Featured in reel:1 Bún Chả Cá - Fish broth vermicelli served with fish cake, a central Vietnam special.2 Chả Giò - Egg Roll 3 Bánh Canh Chả Cá - Thick rice noodles in fish broth with fish cake. These thick, chewy noodles were my favorite.4 Cafe Kem Muối - Iced coffee with condensed milk and salted foam on top.5 Cơm Đùi Gà Nướng - Crispy fried chicken leg and thigh with rice.

Been here quite a few times - had the rice / have had the pho & spring rolls. Service / Food taste - atmosphere & overall experience is a perfect 5 star worthy. The noise level is low & relaxing. It is however a small restaurant with limited parking. I personally recommend their fresh noodle pho special.

I ordered food from Uber eats this evening. The food arrived perfectly packed and hot. The Pho was delicious, the broth was like none other in this area. It's just absolutely delicious. The can meet​​ spring rolls were fresh and packed full. I have been to just about every Vietnamese restaurant in Tampa and this one by far passes the others for excellence. The Pho broth was delicious. I could sit and drink it. I love this restaurant. I hope that they do quite well in the Tampa area and that people will give this restaurant a try, they won't be disappointed.