Pho Ao Sen

Unfortunately this great place has closed and has been replaced with al alright place. Phở number one has taken over and i dont find it to be the same quality or ambience. Where are all the good restaurants going?

The food is delicious. I’ve tried dishes from the Thai and Vietnamese menus and have always been pleased with what I’ve ordered. I work nearby, so try to stop in several times each month.
I wonder, however, if this is a family run business, as the wait staff don’t seem particularly anxious to be there. They speak very quickly, and sometimes very softly. There is no real keeping the customer happy feel. It’s not rude, per se, just not friendly. No matter, the food is good enough & I leave happily satisfied every time.

Great food, spotty service… You have to take charge of your check, ask for the check and then bring your payment to the register. If you just sit there thinking they’ll come eventually your wrong!
I’ve tried the Bun, phở, all the spring rolls, curry. Delish :)
Worth it!
Update: I think this place changed owners :/​not sure if food will be the same

Pros:
–pretty décor
–very clean
–best sized portions for spring rolls that I’ve tried in the Phoenix area
–Che Thai (dessert drink) is really tasty
–Café Sua Da (Vietnamese coffee) is really strong and sweet, even a non-​coffee-​drinker like me liked it
Cons:
–broth for phở was good, not SUPER flavorful but still a good meal
–price is a bit higher than I would like, but not unreasonable
I will definitely be back here and hope to try dishes other than the phở!

Phoenix/​Mesa has some great Phở spots. Phở Ao Sen fits the mold.
Pros:
Well crafted egg rolls and dipping sauce.
The large Phở (#15) is delicious and colossal. You get some good size chunks of tender meat and lots of noodles (important).
Great ambiance and cool looking restaurant. Our waitress played a funky remix of «Putting on the Ritz» and when we inquired about it, happily wrote down the info.
Cons:
The flavor of the broth was great, but not stellar. I felt like it needed a pinch more seasoning (which I added — see tips below).
I burned my mouth because I ate too fast.
The parking was tricky. We got trapped in the adjacent bank parking lot trying to get there. Keep an eye out for that.
Tips:
Don’t forget to wrap the egg rolls in lettuce and veggies.
Add Sriracha and Hoisin sauce to the Phở for max flavor.
Overall, wonderful Phở experience. If you live nearby, definitely check it out. It’s just a tad far from me to break loyalty to my local place.

This place is amazing and my friends and I have been coming here for years! I have two favorites… The first is just regular phở with well done brisket. Simple but super tasty. My other fave is their #22… Bun Bo Hue. It’s like phở broth but spicy and it comes with the thicker noodles. I also like their Thai Iced Tea.
Their service is great… All the people that work there are really friendly. One of the guys there even remembers my order down to a T… Not just which phở I want but also that I don’t like white onions (I prefer cilantro instead), and that I use a fork and not the chopsticks that are already provided on the table. I’m a little picky so I think it’s really nice that he remembers.
Try this place, you’ll love it!

I went with my wife and her friend to spend a
coupon. I’m going to only comment on my food because I really didn’t try theirs, although they seemed to enjoy it so they may rate it higher.
Why 3 stars? 3 reasons: the service and my phở.
I ordered phở tai (rare beef) and was pretty disappointed with the results. Between having a Vietnamese wife and eating at so many phở restaurants I’ve probably tried more than 30 – 40 different variations of phở, so I at least have a reasonable idea of the quality. There were certain herbs that did not come out with the phở that bothered me. Also, it was by far the oiliest broth I have ever eaten. To be fair the flavor of the broth was above average.
In reference to the service, I’m used to Little Saigon where the service is very rushed and short with the customers, but this isn’t Little Saigon. This is one of very few Vietnamese restaurants in Arizona let alone Mesa. The servers disappeared for much of the meal and the method of payment wasn’t clear in the slightest. Once again to be fair the server was very polite when he did come up to us. I don’t expect them to be hovering over us every second of the meal, but with only a couple of other people in the entire small restaurant they should be in reasonable earshot.
Overall, I personally didn’t enjoy it very much but my wife and her friend enjoyed their food, which is why it’s not 2 stars.

This is the second time I’ve been here already this year. The first time was to redeem a Groupon on the day it expired and then again because it is close enough to walk to with Hubby and his two brothers visiting. The interior is very modern and clean.
Each time Hubby had the #15 House PHOnomenal. Brother-​in-​law #1 had the #7 Korean beef short rib rice plate. He ate it very quickly and enjoyed the ribs immensely, but there were no veggies other than the pickled cucumbers and carrots in the fish sauce that was brought with the entrée. I thought it the portion was a bit skimpy for the price. Brother-​in-​law #2 also had the #15 Phở to which he added the entire plate of bean sprouts, basil and lemon slices, and a dollop of hoisin sauce — no jalapenos though since he doesn’t like spicy. Hubby declined the hoisin sauce and the jalapenos, but added everything else. He also gave me the tendons from the soup since he doesn’t like the chewy, yummy delicacy.
On the first visit, I had the #25 Bun with charbroiled pork (very tender), shredded pork skin and julienne pork. This rice vermicelli dish was delish, but the shredded pork skin and julienne pork didn’t really enhance it. So, on the second visit I ordered the #27 Bun with charbroiled pork (again, very tender) and seasoned tiger shrimp. This was a much better combination.
The Phở and Bun were very large portions. Neither Hubby or BIL#2 could finish the broth, altho that was the best part, I think. I on the other hand had no problems leaving my Bun bowl clean! Adding the fish sauce and pickled condiments to the Bun was essential and enhanced the noodles. I also added the chili paste condiment that was provided at the table.
It’s nice having the option of using regular size chopsticks or disposable ones and having the soup spoons and napkins, hoisin sauce and chili paste available at the tables without waiting for the servers. I do get a bit uncomfortable and try not to think if maybe a previous patron has touched or sneezed on them. All that aside, we enjoyed our meals. Yikes… what a way to end my review. Oh, one more thing, service here is slow after your food is delivered. You may not get to see the waiter again without getting their attention. The server we had on the second visit was a gal who was very nice. The server during the first visit was a guy who was not very friendly.

Good option for omnivores and vegetarians who want a tasty meal made fairly quickly. I’ve had the chicken rice, and the vegetarian lemongrass beef with vermicelli. The chicken rice was OK, but I’ve had better chicken rice elsewhere. The lemongrass «beef» was excellent. The faux meat was very tender and went well with the vermicelli, vegetables, and sauce. The milk tea is pretty good, and comes with popping boba and coconut jelly.
Minus some points for putting bean sprouts in my meal when I specifically asked for no sprouts.

I wanted to review this place the first time I came, but I slacked.
In the two visits (yes two visits/​three dishes) I had the following:
#14-​Hai Nam style chicken rice. Never had this before, well now I have and I want more! A very fresh tasting dish with an explosion of ginger, yet not too overpowering. The accompanying sauce is ok, but the dish does fine without it.
#26-(charbroiled pork with vermicelli and egg roll). Can’t top this dish. perfectly charred and sweet pork loin topped with cucumber, peanuts, cilantro, et al. This dish comes in a big ass bowl, and I can tell you this dish is so good I could eat two bowls o’ this junk. smack yo’ momma good!
#15-​House PHOnomenal– decent broth, not too fragrant, a little stingy on the meat portions, but overall a good bowl of phở
If you like lechee, they have a drink pronounced hot-​ee and it has little pearls of lechee juice and tons pf basil seeds! Really refreshing! give it a whirl.
good service, nice atmosphere, dope ass grub.

Pretty good Vietnamese restaurant in Mesa!
We found this restaurant via Unilocal on our family vacation.
I had the #31 vegetarian dish… vermicelli with vegetarian meat. The vegetarian meat actually had the texture of MEAT, which was really good! I wish we had this dish in my city. I could eat it all day long.
The restaurant was very accommodating to our needs. Since we had eaten really heavy food earlier in the day, we requested a phở noodle bowl with just veggies and chicken broth & spring rolls without pork and with shrimp on the side. Thank you for doing this for us!
Pretty trendy and modern interior with great service and hostesses. Good find!

Food: A–
Service: B–
Environment: A–
Price: B-​/​C+
Onto the food…
Spring rolls: So good that I’m going to hit up an Asian market tomorrow and make them for lunch this week! Colorful, tasty, and arranged in a way that really appealed to me. I love how something so simple can look and taste so good! Loved the peanut sauce on the side.
Marinated Fried Chicken Wings: More tasty than they look. It was sweet with just a hint of spiciness. It’s like eating a fried egg roll with sweet and sour sauce but WAY better. Even the cabbage it was resting on was flavorful!
Bun Bo Hue– Hue Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup: Y-​U-​M. The spiciness content was just right. Just be warned that the spicy flakes may get stuck in your thoat and you’ll have to down your drink on the spot. It’s the one time I had Phở and there’s no need to add Sriracha or Hoisen Sauce! =O
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade: First thought: «I’ve had better.» It could’ve been more sweet or more sour… It was my least favorite thing.

Quite good, but the food doesn’t stand out too much from other phở places. Admittedly I haven’t been to many in the valley, but I have been to half a dozen in Tucson.
Went here with the family after I bought a
gift card. The décor was really cute and fit well with the theme of the restaurant; there were a lot of Asian people too, always a good thing. It is a tad on the expensive side from what I remember. I got the small size Chicken soup-​based phở, tasty and filling, with a side of egg rolls. Perhaps I will have to visit again when I buy another giftcard.

Was quite good xD
Though the prices were a little bit higher then the other phở shops in the area this place more then made up for it with its cleaner look and higher quality

I hesitate to review this place because I’ve only eaten one dish here: #31, the vegetarian lemongrass beef vermicelli (bun). It’s damn good and does a great job satisfying my Vietnamese cravings. Bun is one of my most favorite dishes, but since becoming a vegetarian, my choices were severely limited. I simply can’t bring myself to try any other dishes because this one with fake beef is so good.
I’m bummed there are no vegetarian appetizers, however. Most other places offer a tofu spring roll along with the pork ones.
All my omnivores like or love the meat offerings. In fact, my friend that introduced me to Phở Ao Sen drives 25+ miles from Desert Ridge and eats here more often that I do.

Came here on a Groupon whim. I’ve been around the Phở block a few times, so I was a little surprised with how quickly the bowl was brought out after ordering. Maybe all the other places I’ve frequented were really busy, but Phở Ao Sen served me in record time. It was ok. Not my favorite, not my least favorite.
However, the thai iced tea boba was a completely different story. Down in the depths of Davy Jones’ Locker, lurked bits of fruit and liquid filled balls that popped when bit… not the traditional spheres of tapioca I’ve grown accustomed to. If I were the captain, it’d be walkin the plank… or swabbin the poop deck.
Argh. Had to make a Boba Tea House run to get the taste out of me mouth

Wow. I don’t eat a lot of Vietnamese food and haven’t had phở for the better part of a year, but this place is fantastic. I had the #4 Bo Bia appetizer, the #22 Bun Bo Hue (w/​o the pork blood this time), and a Vietnamese coffee. The appetizer was two rolls, each cut in half, and stuffed mostly with jicama. While not overpowering, there was enough egg, basil, and sausage to provide a nice flavor. The entrée came with a plate of fresh veggies to add to the soup, and I pretty much dumped the whole plate into my bowl. I was impressed that everything was so fresh, but there was no way I could eat all of that food alone, so I took about half the soup home and ate it the next day for dinner. It was still tasty. Prices were very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food.
I will definitely be back, but I’ll wear a darker shirt to hide the little phở droplets that I know I’ll get on it while slurping noodles from the bowl. The group behind me was drinking milk tea and I’m going to have to try that next time.

so the first step is admitting you have a problem right? I admit I drive by places that are right by my house and then I try them eventually and find out i have been missing out on spectacular food all along. (shaking finger at self)
PHO HOW I LOVE THEE !!!
go here.
get phở.
love it.
go back
and
repeat
several times
a week.
I do.

Last night I tweeted asking for dinner recommendations in the Gilbert area. I did get a few responses thanks to @ericeatsout and @lynnekingsmith, but we were actually pretty far out in the middle of nowhere, so we ended up finding our way to Phở Ao Sen on our way home instead.
The restaurant itself is clean and has an upscale feel to it compared to most of the other Vietnamese restaurants in town. Service was friendly, but we found the menu a bit limited and the quality of the meat not amazing. We started with the (#2)Goi Cuon– Spring Roll appetizer (minus the pork). They came out quickly and were really good. For our entrees, I had the (#7) Korean style beef short ribs and Jared went for the (#21) Phở Ga (aka Chicken Noodle Soup). We both agreed entrees were just alright. I also had a coconut juice beverage which I later learned came from a can.
Bottom line: Is this place «simply PHO’nomenal» as their tagline says? Not so much… and we probably won’t be rushing back anytime soon, but it was A-​OK.

Ordered the nuoc mam chicken wings, and the goi cuon. Both really good but I think they used too much nuoc mam in the chicken wings. Yummy bun Bo hue. It is misleading because normally this dish is like red broth warning you of its spicy content. well, this place doesn’t have that so I was choking on the broth when I sipped it. LOL Thanks! It tasted great! I was surprised to find a fairyly large Vietnamese population in Phoenix so the food reflex that. Service was good as well since we over stayed and they also didn’t mind taking a pic of our huge family reunion.
They ran out of two of the 3 option for vegetarian food. So my parents both got the veg fish (soy based) with tomato sauce. They liked it a lot.