Your Guide to the Best Pho in Oakland

From new school fusion spots to old school veterans, Oakland has pho completely covered.

Thanks to a relatively large Vietnamese population, Oakland has plenty of amazing pho spots to choose from. The quintessential Vietnamese soup (pronounced “fuh”) is a whole meal in a bowl and consists of flavorful broth, noodles, beef or chicken, and a variety of other toppings you can add—like cilantro, lime, and sprouts. It’s was originally eaten for breakfast in Vietnam, and has expanded to other meals. After the Vietnam war, refugees brought pho with them to America and began opening restaurants in the early 1980s. California’s Bay Area has happily slurped pho at veteran restaurants like Pho Ao Sen and Binh Minh Quan for decades. Ready to dive elbow deep into a bowl of pho? Here are some of the best Oakland spots.

Known for its particularly large portions, Monster Pho is a favorite with Oakland locals. The owners are also great community members—they collaborated with World Central Kitchen during the pandemic to feed unhoused people.

Another favorite Oakland spot is Phở Vy. Besides their delicious bowls of pho, since 2021 they’ve added a new fusion menu item: Vietnamese beef stew tacos. The owner grew up in Oakland eating Mexican food and always dreamed of creating a Vietnamese-Mexican hybrid dish. This is a quintessential Bay Area fusion item!

With a history that spans over 20 years, Pho Ao Sen is still a pho favorite, and is known as having one of the most rich and flavorful broths in Oakland. It started as a hole-in-the-wall, but has now expanded to a much larger location in east Oakland and even added another one in Albany. 

A small restaurant in the middle of Oakland’s Chinatown, Binh Minh Quan is a veteran of the local pho scene. They serve an excellent roasted chicken pho. You can satisfy your sweet tooth there too, with fried banana and mochi ice cream or a cassava waffle.

If you say the name of this restaurant out loud you should get a chuckle! On the east side of Lake Merritt, Pho King is especially well-known for its bun bo hue, a spicy beef noodle soup that uses thin vermicelli noodles instead of the flat fettuccine-like noodles found in most pho.