Phở Ao Sen Restaurant — Restaurant in Oakland

I DO NOT RECOMMEND dining at the Ao Sen restaurant due to their lack of security measures and apathetic attitude in regard to vehicle break-ins in their parking lot.

About one week ago, after exiting the restaurant for a quick to-go lunch pickup that was ordered in advance, I immediately noticed the driver’s side of my vehicle had been smashed in their lot. Cash, credit cards, and phone were all stolen despite being hidden away. I re-entered the restaurant and requested security camera footage from the cashier employee. The employee said the cameras are not working. This is not true because I could see their security camera monitor in plain view.

I head home to deactivate my cards and track my phone via the Find My Phone app and then return to the restaurant parking lot only see that another vehicle now had their window smashed. Someone else had been victimized after I left. I enter the restaurant and inform the owner. She immediately tells her employee to check the cameras. I request, once again, to see the camera footage to provide the police and she becomes hesitant. She asks if I’ll be calling the police. She tells me, “This is Oakland. This happens all the time…” She points out the signs in the parking lot stating that customers are responsible for their own personal belongings. Then she instructs me to not call the police at her business, go back home, and that she will text me the camera footage after work. I never ended up receiving a text. I return to the restaurant within a few days to check for a status update and she says the camera isn’t working, the camera footage is too blurry etc. I am extremely disappointed after being a customer...

Food: 4.5 stars Cleanliness: 3 Service: 2 stars I've been coming to this place for years and always like their food. Their old location nearby Lake Merritt had more a homey feeling to it. Now the new location looks more like an overpriced Vietnamese restaurant. However, the quality of their food has remained consistent. Good choices are the beef pho, grilled pork vermicelli and the Hanoi vermicelli. Rice plates are good alternate choices. However they suffer from skimpy portion syndrome and you could end up going home hungry. A big plus is I hardly suffer from dry mouth and headaches after eating at this place. My guess is there's less MSG in their food. The dining area is clean for the most part. And tables are cleaned up right away after the customer leaves. Areas for improvement are the bathroom and parking lot areas. Service quality for the most part is average and acceptable. Workers are fast and efficient. Sometimes young workers tend to get caught up in coversations with their own or their own smart phone. Warning: workers speak little or no English at all potentially screwing up your order. My biggest pet peeve is workers, including the owner, NEVER say thank you. Did I say the owner. These include situations like leaving a good tip in front of THEIR face. I supposed this is a common experience in most Vietnamese restaurants. I wonder if there's even a word for thank you in Vietnamese. A reminder if this is going to be your first visit: PAY AT THE CASHIER after you eat. There's no visible sign anywhere. And remember your table number. You don't want to pay for somebody...

Now my Go-To in the area! Came here with a group of friends (~8 people) after an event nearby (around 4:45PM Saturday), they seated us to the long tables where it's easy to chat and have our own space. I appreciate that mindfulness.

They are quick to give us menu and help us with any questions we have. I order the Shrimp Spring Roll (Gỏi Cuốn) with their house sauce and it was delicious! The shrimp was a nice size, not like those small ones. I love the overall portion and the way they stacked the spring roll (see picture). This is now my go-to in the area for a well sized group. My friends enjoyed their pho, which undoubtedly looks great and have generous portions! I think you can't ever go wrong ask the server what do they recommend or is most popular too if you're ever stuck. This place gives me those classic southeast Asian family space with modern touches.

Bathroom: Yes; it's on the shorter side which is great if you have smaller stature or little ones that only need a bit of an assistance. They do have wheelchair friendly bars but is on the lower side.

Parking: Yes; there's a FREE parking...