Oc & Lau 2 Restaurant/Bar — Restaurant in Garden Grove

This was my 1st time here, and I ordered to go in person. I'll definitely be returning. They ran out of some dishes towards dinnertime, but the manager and another team member were really friendly. They didn't get annoyed with my Vienglish (Viet & English) accent, and they got me super easily when I ordered and stuttered on some of the dishes. They both made our interactions smooth, quick, and kind! I'm born in America, raised in a non-Viet area, and learned tieng Viet as a young adult. So, this made a huge awesome impression! (Usually, folks point out my accent, and make it more awkward for me.). They ran out of a dish I ordered, but they made it super easy for me to pick another dish, pay the difference, and not wait much longer than the 20 min they told me initially. Very transparent!

I was so hungry I didn't take pics. The fpod was really good overall, even to-go. I got the snails in coconut milk, escargot salad, mango salad, clams, coconut dessert/smoothie, and smashed avocado durian dessert. The salads were on par and served with shrimp chips or rice crackers. Mango salad was crispy and not too sweet or tangy. Escargot salad well-balanced in flavor and herbs. The salads are my favorites ever served in a restaurant. I'll order these again. The snails and clams taste good, but not my favorite. Some snails and clams weren't fresh, but I'll still return to try other dishes. I didn't eat the desserts until 2 days later (not recommended to wait this long. I stored the desserts in the freezer the 1st night and then the fridge for 24h), and they were still fresh! The avocado durian was with fresh scoops or whole pieces of fruit, not too sweet, just naturally sweet. The coconut had fresh fruit slices mixed in a smoothie that stayed thick and never watered down, topped with peanuts! They added ice on top of the avocado durian one, which I'd recommend asking without if you plan to eat it another day. Both may be too dense for some folks without ice.

While waiting for seating or to go orders, there are at least 5 mini claw machines and other games one can play. I went to the other side of the plaza and window shopped restaurants and a retailer. So, the wait wasn't bad, and I didn't have to be in the crowds who were waiting for tables. Overall, I felt safe enough at 8:30pm on Fri night to roam around by myself and walk back and forth to my car. It was kind of iffy walking around the backside of the plaza (where the front entrance of Oc & Lau is located) towards the street, as lighting is average. I had to park farther away from the entrance, as it was...

Snail lovers, you deserve better!

My mom and I came in on Friday night (7/18/25) laser-focused on two things: ốc len xào dừa and hột vịt lộn xào me. The place was slammed, packed to the gills, but impressively efficient! We were 19th on the Yelp waitlist and still got seated for a party of two in just 14 minutes. Service was quick, organized, and friendly!

Unfortunately, they were already out of hột vịt lộn xào me by 7pm, which set the tone.

What we ordered: -2) Ốc Len Xào Dừa – $28.00 -(2) Rau Má – $12.00 -(1) Sò Điệp Thái Thượng (4 scallops, no trứng cá) – $27.00 -(1) Live Steamed Prawns in Fresh Coconut – $60.00 Subtotal: $127 + $11.12 tax = Total $138.12

How it went: -Ốc len xào dừa arrived cold. They lit a mini burner to warm it up at the table, which barely worked. I asked for a reheat. The second batch took 7 minutes, 12 seconds, slightly warmer, but still not ideal. The sauce leaned yellow-brown and bland, not the rich, fresh coconut flavor I associate with this dish. It tasted like a pre-made batch, reheated to order. Diíappointing! -Scallops were underwhelming, and the sauce didn’t help. No favor at all. -Coconut-steamed prawns? Just steamed prawns placed on top of a fresh coconut, purely for the photo, not the flavor. No coconut aroma or taste at all. You can eat the coconut if you want, but that’s not why we came. -Rau má and the complimentary chè bắp nước cốt dừa were surprisingly the stars of the meal. Yep, the drink and dessert outshined the namesake dishes. Go figure.

Restroom Report: No toilet seat covers. For a high-traffic restaurant, this is a problem. Floors in the stalls were wet (likely from people squatting or using toilet paper as liners). It’s not an environment you want to linger in. That said, the ladies’ room being positioned before the men’s in our section was a thoughtful layout detail.

Overall: -Fast service, friendly staff, but the food didn’t deliver where it mattered most. -My quest for great ốc len xào dừan and hột vịt lộn xào me continues. -And as always, no 5-star rating from me if there’s no...

Horrible experience at this restaurant!!! I went to the other OC and Lau location before, that one is good. But this one, I would said as bad as hell!!! DON’T COME! First, wait for a long time to get inside to eat, wait time is like 30-60 minutes. Second, there’s no service at all! After we order foods, there’s an item we order that took so long to deliver to our table, no one ever came to ask how’s everything. Then we have to remind the waitress we still wait for one more dish. I would like to mention, all the other dishes we order is only a little bit warm, but we still take it. However, that item we order finally came, but it’s barely warm, it’s cold?!! I be like what?!! Then, we ask the waiter to help us to change it. The waiter didn’t came back. The other waitress came to our table, and said she will ask the manager to came. Eventually, the manager came. Can you believe it, the whole process for the food we want to exchange for the new one took more 30 minutes for them to help us!!! I guess they don’t want to fix the problem, otherwise they should get back to us ASAP instead of 30 minutes just for them to came. When the manager came, we already finished all other foods, we don’t want to wait there anymore, so we ask her to cancel the item that’s old and we barely eat. The manager said the food is cold because they are busy, no one can bring the food to the table, the food is left inside for a while. The manager acted like just eat it, the food is cold, it’s ok, it’s not their fault. She want us as customers to pay for their fault?!!The manager shows bad attitude to us, and the other waitress, too. When we check out, the waitress even just throw the receipt to the table, how rude she is! I can not believe this OC and Lau restaurant at this location is shitty like this cause the other location we went all the time didn’t have this problem. They are busy all the time, too. But they can serve the customers well, they bring foods to the table fast and the food is hot when they deliver to the table,...