O & C China Bistro — Restaurant in Sebastopol

I had an average dinner (fine so far, was not expecting a great food experience) and an initial pleasant service experience with my niece who was visiting from England. I left a 20% tip. The server was using one of those portable point-of-service devices. I selected 'No Receipt' after payment. So, imagine my shock when the same very waitress and the owner came running out of the restaurant shouting "you need to pay! you need to pay!". We calmly stated we most certainly did pay and I can prove it by simply going into my bank app to show the payment. The manager or the owner then questioned the server again to confirm the table number where we were seated. After she confirmed it was table 17, he could see that we did in fact pay. He apologized and confirmed that it was the lady next to us who did not pay. This would all be fine except as people of color, it is particularly embarrassing to be chased down in a parking lot being accused of 'needing to pay'. I am wondering if the owner or manager went back inside and told all the folks that we did in fact pay and it was the white lady at the other table they needed to speak to. Unfortunately little incidents like these put an indelible scar in your dining experience. I won't be going...

Was so excited to eat at this restaurant. I’m from out of town and was happy to know that according to the menu online, there was several vegetarian and at least a couple vegan options. When we got there the server was pretty immediately aggressive and angry when we questioned the differences between what the menu online said and what he was telling us. Apparently everything but the jade dish has at least a little bit of oyster/fish sauce in it whether it says vegetarian/vegan or not. I think it’s great that the server let us know but his level of anger and aggression was completely unwarranted. He told us to “go eat somewhere else.” He yelled and got in my face as I walked out. I’m a pretty non-threatening human. People have bad days but this guy had the worst day and quite frankly may want to take a few days or months off from any kind service industry job. I get it but yikes! I hope he’s doing okay. The rest of the staff seemed wonderful and I’m sorry to have had such a bad situation at a place I was so excited about. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian just avoid this spot — Sushi Tozai is to the right and Khom Loi is on the left and both have very clearly labeled veg options and the staff is happy to walk...

I was in town overnight to help a friend out so I was just looking for some solid grub after a long day but O & C totally hit a home run with their Mongolian flank steak, totally unexpected. I've had wagyu beef in Japan, farm fresh ramen pork bellies in Portland ME, escargot and countless other beef products across the world. The Mongolian beef flank from O & C was perfectly seasoned for my taste, crispy on the outside and surprisingly tender in the middle. Flank steak in general is usually a tough cut however they must be doing some sort of voodoo magic in the back to get their steak this tasty and tender. I did ask for the recipe and they were able to tell me all the ingredients in the dish but wouldn't give away their trade prep secrets.

The service and atmosphere was also excellent. My usual martini order is straight up with a rinse and lemon twist. It's usually hit or miss, I've even had bartenders ask me how to make it, however the server didn't even bat an eye or have to ask follow up questions and it was made perfectly which was a pleasant surprise.

I'll definitely be stopping by next time I'm in town. The staff and atmosphere made me feel right at home after a long day. I highly...