GAO Vietnamese Kitchen — Restaurant in Essen

We visited the restaurant with high hopes, especially after hearing glowing recommendations about their duck dish. Unfortunately, the duck wasn’t available, which was a bit disappointing. However, the rest of the meal more than made up for it. We started with some delicious snacks—crispy spring rolls and fresh summer rolls packed with flavor. A perfect balance of crunch and freshness!

For the main dish, we went for the pho soup, and it did not disappoint. The broth was rich, aromatic, and deeply satisfying, with tender meat and perfectly cooked noodles. It was clear that a lot of love and time had gone into crafting such a comforting dish.

The atmosphere was laid-back and cozy, making it a great spot to unwind. The staff were friendly and attentive, ensuring we felt welcome throughout the evening. Bonus points for their excellent beer on tap, which paired surprisingly well with the food.

Despite missing out on the duck, we left thoroughly impressed. Everything we tried was flavorful, fresh, and authentic. It’s clear this place takes pride in delivering a great experience. We’ll definitely be back to try the duck next time! Highly recommend for anyone craving great...

I cannot recommend to go there on lunch time. Service was slow, we waited 30 mins between appetizer and main course, clearly something was wrong with our orders because two tables who arrived after us had time to order, eat, and PAY before we had received our plates. When I kindly asked what happened and if everything is ok, all I got was a "it's coming, it's coming". Then we got the wrong order (my friend ordered Pho and he got Bun Bo) but honestly we had waited so long and had to get back to the office so we didn't say anything. When I asked the waitress to pay, same thing again -- waited and waited and watched her deliver plates and make other customers pay, and when she was about take the neighboring table's order I lost my patience and said we had to pay or would go back to the office without paying. Since we are young and don't wear fancy suit, we don't deserve the service the other customers received, I guess. Food was good and the place is cute, but slow&bad service don't make up for it....

We’ve been here on a Wednesday evening with a group of colleagues. Even though we had made a reservation upfront, we had to wait 40 minutes until somebody came to take our orders. Food came another 45 minutes later. The restaurant was completely full, and people (even with reservations) had to queue to be placed, sometimes they had to wait for more than 15 minutes. That is truly unbelievable. Worst time management I’ve experienced so far in an otherwise nice restaurant. Food was really delicious though. Also, if you come before 20:00, they expect you to free the table at 20:00 - which can be challenging if you have to wait a total of 1.5 hours before you can...