Phở Hòa Lão Vietnamese Restaurant

I randomly stumbled into this shop during an adventure last year, and I've already been back three times. It's the kind of place where you could close your eyes and blindly point at anything on the menu, and it'd still be amazing. You say the neighborhood's sketchy? Well, there are plenty of elderly Asian residents around, and the staff at the pastry shop and supermarket are all around 65. The fresh lemonade here is absolutely incredible—perfectly balanced between sweet and sour. It's so good that even the jackfruit smoothie and rice plates, delicious as they are, can't replicate the pinnacle of flavor this lemonade achieves in that moment. The owner and employees, unsurprisingly, are all elderly. Aside from the owner, who's cheerful and loves cracking jokes, the others may not be the talk

The foods good. The spring roles are kind of hard and the sauce isn’t that good compared to other places. The regular sized noodles are pretty small, and it’s little bit on the pricy side. BUT, unfortunately it’s cash only for payment which doesn’t make sense in this day of age. Had to go to the local 7 eleven to get cash just to pay. Really disappointed. If you’re looking for good vietnamese food, recommend Ao Sen in Albany. Also FYI there is NO signs saying Only Cash. Just says “For cash- Thank you” really small on top of the cashier.

this is one of the worst pho experiences of my life. the customer service was so horrible. poor communication and when my elderly grandparents were unsure of what to order, the lady ordered for them. before she arrived out old server gave us crazy attitude. every time i’ve returned, the food has gotten progressively worse. mushy noodles and missing ingredient in my pho. the whole experience was unacceptable and i will say confidently i will not return. this was really sad since i grew up eating here and to see how much worse the food and customer service has gotten breaks my heart. i asked for a to go cup for my drink and they tried to charge me 60 cents for it. only when they saw that i tipped they said i could have it for free. this was super disappointing and moving forward i will be go

They serve one of the best Vietnamese beef balls and all the intestines noodle soups in Oakland. However, it's a little on the pricy side. Parking is easy—many Seatings. Staffs are friendly too. Updated on 9/18/23 The business is returning—many customers sit inside and outside during lunchtime. But the prices are also getting prohibitive high. Customers, be warned!

Service is insanely fast. Some people say the staff are rude but I like the quietness of it, idk, I think they just spare the BS. Really Good pho Edit 3 months later: still the best pho in the a bay area