Wow, we were really impressed by Gao's chicken pho and crepe! Absolutely we will be back. When we came a bit before noon there was just one other customer. But by the time we left, most of the tables were taken. Service was excellent with our orders prepared correctly. The conventional wisdom around these parts is that Pho 75 has the best pho, but I think Gao's delicious chicken broth just might have an edge over Pho 75's broth. The shrimp crepe was amazing. With the perfect texture it was delicious. Next time here I'm going to order this baby. We also ordered the crispy party wings. They had a perfect level of saltiness and the wings were only lightly seasoned with five spice. Lastly, we opted for the Vietnamese coffee. Gao's coffee is so tasty. Paired with condensed milk it's excellent. Love it! read more

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Gao actually deserves 4 stars, but I had to deduct a star because I left hungry! We found Gao after running errands in the Microcenter shopping center and came in around 6pm today on a Wednesday evening for dinner. There were plenty of open tables but no staff in the front when we arrived so we stood around for 2-3 minutes waiting to be seated. The restaurant was clean and nicely decorated with a subtle hint to Vietnamese culture. Like many casual Viet joints around here, there was a TV showcasing Vietnam tourism, although the TV in the back was also showing Japan tourism which was odd. We were brought two cups of water with no ice and had to request ice, which was also odd considering it was in the upper 80s outside. The menu has many Viet cuisine classics like pho, bahn mi, bun, bun bo hue, ba cua, and com tam. Although we're in peak heat of summer, I could never turn down a bowl of pho! I was a little confused as the menu was entirely in English and I usually know my order in Vietnamese and couldn't tell which English option it was as the English descriptors were kinda generic. It's a little saddening that the owners thought that a bilingual menu would be more of an obstacle than an opportunity for their customers to learn and connect with the food and culture. There might be something more there but I'll let my therapist unravel that one lol. I customized to my usual pho tai gan. Herbs, especially the basil, was very fresh and I appreciated the big leaves. The lime was kinda dry. Noodles were al dente and I like mine a little more done but the texture evened out as the hot broth kept cooking it while I was eating. The soup was good and flavorful, well balanced and not too "clean" and not too "dirty". The soup was the highest ranking component but the soup to noodles ratio was off, with too little noodles, hence, leaving me with almost half a bowl of broth and a half empty stomach by the time I finished the meat and noodles. The flank was cooked well-done and I would have preferred the traditional way of serving the meat raw in the boiling soup. My favourite ingredient in any pho is tendon and the tendon here I can only describe as displeasurable. The texture was too soft and goopy and the taste was very bland like it was added to the soup before serving instead of absorbing any of the soup flavour. It's like how honey or brown sugar boba is the norm now so when you go to a place where the tapioca isn't soaked in sugar it is a bland and unsettling taste. Overall I would rank the pho well, beating out local places like Pho Duong and Pho 4 ever, but not able to topple the OG, Pho 75. I'm hoping these quirks from my visit today are addressed to improve the dining experience and add more commitment to the Vietnamese culture. read more

Ordered online through a major ordering app, they claimed they "don't do that app" despite having the tablet and ads on the website. Huge waste of time. read more

I wanted a quick bite to eat yesterday since I didn't have much time on my lunch break. Gao was across the street so I placed a phone order and picked up my food in 20 minutes. Ordered a Thai tea (delicious) and vermicelli bowl combo. Well worth the price and trip. It's a decent size restaurant that was somewhat quiet for lunch but would happily dine in next time if I have the chance. read more

The Summer Rolls with fresh and tasty with vermicelli noodles, lettuce, carrots, and tofu. The tofu was a little stiff and the peanut sauce had a spicy kick. My kids enjoyed the pho with vermicelli noodles. Wish there was a vegetarian bahn mi. I'd come back to try the vegetarian pho or the crepe. read more

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I really enjoyed the Pho here, the spring g rolls were warm. The service was lovely. Their boba drinks were delicious, I had a lychee boba smoothie. It was very quiet and clean. I also ordered a wonton soup m, I could tell the wontons were frozen. I would say I'd come here again. read more

Local pho spot. I honestly think it used to be better two years ago. Portion sizes have definitely gotten smaller as well. It's convenient, clean, and local so I'll go here and there but it isn't the best. read more

Food is always delicious. Loved the fried tofu, wings, spring a d summer rolls. The beef stew is my favorite. Chicken pho was delicious. First time trying C1. Quite tasty. Cafe su da is delicious. Serve is always great. Folks are friendly. Ambiance is very casual. The restaurant isbysually quiet. One of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants. read more

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Stopped by for a quick lunch with my mom and stepfather and we really enjoyed our meal. The service was fast and friendly, which was perfect since we were on a bit of a time crunch. We ordered pho (P1 & P2) and the broth was absolutely delicious -- flavorful and not overly heavy with spices. Everything came out quickly and tasted fresh. If you're looking to switch things up and try a different spot for in the Fairfax area, I'd definitely recommend giving this place a try. read more

Very clean interior, prompt service. I have tried it twice now and both times I got the banh xeo. Comes with plenty of fresh herbs and lettuce. read more

Gao - Banh xeo - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

I visited Gao for lunch today - it's located in the Pan Am Shopping Center retail complex. The space it occupies formerly was occupied by Pho Thang Long. Not sure when it closed and transitioned to "Gao." I was promptly seated and ordered the Number 6: Pho Ga, Large, with white meat. Overall, the menu selection is rather small. The Pho came out in just a few minutes, steaming away. It smelled awesome! The plate of aromatics was fresh and in fine fettle! I sampled the broth first - it was rich and delicious! I added all of the aromatics and then dug in! The chicken was very tender, the bowl could have used just a bit more chicken - it felt like they skimped a bit on the chicken quantity. But overall, very tasty bowl of Pho Ga! Service was good, paid with Apple Pay! #Gao read more

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Mm so good pho and unique Vietnam based foods. Modest settings and a hard working staff. The food is a go! read more

Gao - GAO Rice Vermicelli Special and bai ham. - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Went here during the summer. They didn't have the fan or ac running. Water they serve was room temperature with no ice. The Pho is overall ok, nothing that really stands out. Service was some what slow. It was as if they don't want to be there, since it seems to be a family run operation. I would give this place more stars if the service was more lively they actually had the fan or ac on or atless serve the water with ice instead of room temperature water. read more

Haven't been here for over a year. It's under new management with an expanded menu. The interior is updated, clean, and elegant. As before, they have efficient service and you get your food quickly. I got the chicken pho and an iced coffee. Both were excellent. Will be visiting this place more often. read more

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Pho Thang Long was bad...this is disappointingly even worse. Thanks to new management for cleaning up the place but the food is not good. We ordered numerous apps to share - all bad. Spring rolls and shrimp rolls were over-fried. Shrimp rolls also looked/tasted like they were from frozen. Summer rolls were dry..like they were rolled days ago - the rice paper had hardened. The pho is even more bland than before and now there's also less noodle quantity. The bun bo hue tastes nothing like BBH. read more

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Service and food was very good! The other night my husband and I went to eat dinner. I vermicelli with pork, and my husband had pho. The pho broth was good, and better than some of the other pho places in the area. Food came out very fast, and I enjoyed my dinner. Prices were about average for the area. read more

My family is a true believer that any day is a pho day so we order takeout from Gao a lot. Our go to is pho and egg rolls but we have also dabbled in their banh mi and vermicelli dishes as well. It's a tasty meal and is on par with many other pho restaurants in the area + they take credit card/Apple Pay which is amazing. To take this spot from local neighborhood takeout joint to a destination dining, I would recommend the restaurant work on getting better quality cuts of meat in their grilled meat + pho dishes (cuts are very gristly or as my daughter says "gloopy") and use a true baguette in their Banh Mi -- currently they use something equivalent to a Safeway sandwich roll and it doesn't hit quite as hard. That being said, we are thankful to have them in the neighborhood! The servers are super friendly and I can often order takeout with a maximum fifteen minute wait time. read more

It's our fav to-go to pho/viet place since it's so convenient and close by. I tried the vermicelli noodles for the first time, and I loved the sauce. I just wish there were more veggies and less beansprouts. read more

Gao - #1 - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Rice is hard and meat don't taste right, I tried other dish and not good, need to stick with PHO

I was super hungry and craving a bahnmi. I happened to be in a shopping plaza for other things and stumbled upon this place. I ordered a side order of just the broth and a bahnmi. The bahnmi was MUCH smaller than expected and the broth wasn't particularly as good as I had wanted. It was too greasy and the scent of the star anise was a bit overpowering. The one thing I appreciated was the service. The guy at the front was very friendly and took my order with such a nice smile! read more

I wanted to give a 3 but thought there are enough things to like about the restaurant. We ordered chicken wings and hanoi-style grilled pork. The chicken wings were great: crispy skin and juicy meat. I just wish they were a bit more salty. The Hanoi-style grilled pork with vermicelli was alright. Things that I liked: the dipping sauce, flavors of the meat. Things that I didn't like: the grilled meat was too tough and dry, not enough pickled veggie. Also I would like them to serve the meat and sauce in a bigger bowl, so that it's easier to dip the noodle and veggie in the bowl. Quick services, clean restaurant. They take credit cards. I will come back and try other dishes. read more

Gao - Hanoi style grilled pork with vermicelli - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Okay, after another visit to this "under new ownership" restaurant that went from Pho Thang Long to now Gao, I'm upping my rating by one star to 4 Stars. This follow-up visit, I noticed the menu had changed slightly, adding some of the old Pho Thang Long favorites that we enjoyed coming to the restaurant to have (which Gao didn't have when we first visited). In particular was the G2 Beef Stew $14.95 which I had with egg noodles (THE best!)! Sooooo happy to see it added to Gao's menu because it was truly a well made specialty of the old shop - and I'm happy to report that the taste, quality and portion size stayed the same as we remembered it under the old shop name. Big chunks of soft pull-apart-with-your-fork stewed beef, rich flavorful broth, chewy egg noodles and stewed carrots. Truly a meal in a soup. THE BEEF STEW IS A REAL TREAT AND WORTH THE VISIT! They also added D2 Chicken Fried Rice back on the menu too. At $15.95, it's a bit overpriced for a fried rice dish even with the meat - but it was delicious, brightly colored with lots of fresh veggies, flavorful and served piping hot out of the kitchen. The Beef Pho continued to be a hit with my colleagues. As I said before, the cook appears to have stayed on with the new ownership so that was a good sign. But based on our previous visit, we still won't be ordering the P4 Pho Beef Meatball - very rubbery, tasteless meatballs. And we will try again with the crispy spring rolls which were not the same crispy crunchy deep fried treats from the previous place. Hopefully Gao will fix this. :) Gao is still feeling it's way since ownership has changed hands but slowly but surely, they seem to be getting there. Still, I recommend this place for good quality, fresh ingredients, delicious pho stock, offerings at a decent price point, friendly service and a clean, pleasant (no frills) dining experience. read more

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Amazing quality and broth and amazing service! The size of this bowl is huge !!! 10/10 read more

Gao - Amazing quality and broth and amazing service! The size of this bowl is huge !!! 10/10 - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Hubby and I have been looking for a Phô place for a while. I know there are many around, but this one fit the bill for us on flavor, portion size, and price. Husband ordered an eye round large soup, and a lemongrass grilled chicken plate. I got a kids size phô which is the one in the picture (with the veggies from my husband's soup, kids size doesn't bring the veggies), and a grilled chicken Bahn Mi for later. Boy I loved it all, the freshness of the ingredients, the flavor of the broth, the care put into the packaging. You may ask where did you go then? Well the place is called Gao, and it's located where Pho Thang Long was in PanAm shopping center. I am unsure if they just replaced the sign, or if this restaurant is under new hands (I hadn't tried it before), but I just wanted to share my experience with you. All in we spent about $50 plus tax and such. But boy I wasn't even able to finish the kid's size bowl read more

Gao - Rice platter - lemongrass grilled chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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This is my traditional lunch stop when visiting Micro Center. Been going here for years and knew the prior owners who retired. The pho broth is light but has depth of flavor. The soup is piping hot, meat tender and noodles cooked just right. Summer rolls were fresh with soft wrapper and crispy interior. I'll be back! read more

We love this place and my mom requested to go there for Mother's Day! The owners and staff are very attentive; the social food have a spacial flair which bring a smell to the dinners looking for culinary adventure! read more

Gao - Gao Special Vermicelli with one meat of choice is very good - Vietnamese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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They keep the sane soup base from the previous Pho Thang Long. But that's all they keep, the pho noodles are over cooked. For their pho noodles, the GAO special has everything, but all others only has one type of beef. If you want different parts of beef, it's $4 extra, and they don't have tripes, which is the favorite part. I tried their beef stew and it was okay not very impressive. Beef isn't as tender as I expected, flavor is just okay. They have a bigger menu than their predecessor. But everything else is not as good. read more

Come to this place, GAO!!! The food was awesome and the service was very accommodating ! (I eat w two elderly men in their late 80s) food came out hot and fast! Easy cc payment! everything was awesome!!! read more

Pho Thang Long was my favorite pho place- I was sad to hear it closed as it had my favorite soup and the peanut sauce for the rolls were to die for. I heard this place opened up/the bought the business, so I wasn't sure what to expect since the menu did shift a bit- things are for sure different, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The summer rolls have no bean sprouts and are thin but much longer, and the peanut sauce is still very good! I didn't love the spring rolls as much since the skin wasn't as light and crispy as before, but they are bigger. The pho is still fantastic, and I enjoyed my meal! The service was great as well, extremely fast and friendly, and food came out super quick. No complaints there either! read more

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Food was very good. Portions were excellent. We got there just before they closed, not realizing that. The front employee/server was relaxed and told us not to worry and to take our time. I recommend them for a delicious meal. read more

We tried GAO twice within a 24-hour period: once for dinner and once for a late lunch. Dinner was ok and we were treated ok. When we returned for lunch to order the same sandwich we had ordered the evening before, customer service was not good at all. And the sandwiches are just ok-- I just wanted to support this business as it's Vietnamese, fairly close to my house, and I used to come often when it existed as a pho place (Pho Thang Long). When we asked for a shrimp banh mi without pork paté, we were questioned why we didn't want the paté (we don't eat it, that's why). Then, the gentleman seemed to get upset that we ordered more than one drink, to go (strange, I assumed he was confused as to why we wanted only 1 sandwich, but 2 drinks). What made me most annoyed is when I asked if they accept Apple Pay. That question was met with the answer, "You're making this so complicated". Never again. So sad as I wanted to love and support this newly-established Vietnamese restaurant cafe. To management: be civil (I don't even expect "nice"). Apple Pay is a normal form of payment in this century. Wrap your sandwiches in paper instead of foil. Other banh mi establishments figured this out for you long ago. The baguette becomes chewy from the foil trapping in steam. We will not return, but this will help your future customers. read more

Food is ok. But today's experience is bad. We ordered extra topping with meatballs which is a small bowl with 4 pieces of meatballs only since my little son only like meatballs. We ordered 2nd bowl of meatballs and I tired one and it turned out the inside is still freezing and only outside is warm. At that time, my son already eat two pieces of meatballs and only 1 and half pieces left since I tried half. Then I told the restaurant owner that inside is still cold. After a second, she came and said that she will change. I said ok. So she came to our table and took that bowl with 1 and half pieces left and went to kitchen. After 1 or 2 min, she came back with the exact same bowl and exact same one and half piece of meatballs. I was so surprised that and I even didn't want to try it any more. This is not the way to customers if something is wrong. I was not sure how she cooked and warmed again. Maybe just put it in the microwave? Very bad experience, this is just not the way to to business. read more

Food is fresh, service is great. It's just good authentic amazing food. The pho is great but the bread on the bahn mi is... perfection. Get it. read more

Our old hunt Pho Tang Long is no more. It used to be the place every time we flew back from a vacation or on rainy days we wanted pho. We were loyal to our pho place any time we wanted it, and never pho-ed others. The old menu had a feature that allowed me to pick 5 toppings and customize my pho: half the noodles, extra cilantro and my choice of brisket, tripes and tendons. On the new menu, the #1 item has 2 toppings I wanted among the 5, which I asked to replace the steak with tendons instead. Waiter first said no, you have to pay $4 extra for the tendons. Then went to the front desk and came back to say it's ok to substitute. However, tendons never came in my bowl. And the soup wasn't piping hot. I told him after we were finished, and another guy came out offered to bring me a little bowl of tendons. I declined but thanked them for being nice. At the checkout, I asked the young guy at the front desk to please have the choice of meat back. I will give them another try when the weather calls for pho again... read more

My family loves this establishment and wishes to spread the word! My husband is Vietnamese and he and his family all approve of this place, including my father-in-law who is seriously picky with his food. We ordered a variety of dishes--everyone, including my toddlers, loved their choices. I even love their iced coffee. The service, especially Marco, is courteous, friendly, and efficient. The ambiance is a bit dreary, but we don't care. This has become our go-to Vietnamese restaurant and we wish it continued success. read more

Beef stew back on the menu, yay ! I've been a regular for years, and have been going since they changed to the new Gao name, I'm 100% thrilled to find Bo kho - Beef stew officially on the menu again, it's my favorite of their specialities. I haven't gone beyond the new Pho menu yet, I plan to as I like what I'm seeing. read more

This restaurant recently changed ownership and got a new name. I was a frequent customer of Pho Thang Long for 15+ years. I would often visit 2-3 times per week because the amazing broth was what would keep me coming back. The recipe has changed along with the menu and I have come several times and have been disappointed. Maybe we were just spoiled with the previous owners. The soup is good but not what it used to be. I will still come back but it won't be the top of mind restaurant that it once was. The soup is on par with the other restaurants in the area but not the "blow you away" flavor that it once was. read more

Seat yourself. Nice menu variety. Large pho is 1$ extra so it's a no brainer! Plenty of meat. Good rolls. Staff is on top of water refills. Very attentive. Bathroom is clean. Tv has decent programs. Will have to try more things when the weather is warmer. read more

Management changed but the food is still delicious. Price is reasonable as well. There weren't much change inside the store but thank you for being around! read more

So I came back and tried different Pho topping other than the meat balls which is really good to me. After trying other appetizers (only the grilled pork bánh mì stand out so far - I only wish it were bigger). This place seems to specialized in Pho and it's my new favorite to-go place to satisfy my cravings - good quality meat and flavorful broth. Thank you to Uber for the promotion to try this place out. Besides the Pho, we like all the dishes with grilled lemongrass pork and the beef stew so far. read more