Reviews for Oak & Coal in Costa Mesa, CA
I?ve never written a review before. I?m one of those lazy ones who has read hundreds of Amazon & Yelp reviews to help me make... purchasing/ dining decisions but I?ve never taken the time to actually write my own review. Well Oak & Coal deserves theexception! I?ve just been absolutely mind blown by the quality and freshness of the food (please try the Salmon Crudo?it?sstraight butter ????) , by the creative and delicious cocktails (the Tokyo gimlet is so refreshing and fragrant..absoluteperfection!) but really the reason I?m writing this is that, even though I would have returned here for the food alone, thestaff went absolutely ABOVE & BEYOND for me this evening. I?m dealing with elderly sick parents at the moment who are inhospital and Hailey (sp?) was so incredibly kind, thoughtful, generous and supportive?literally made me cry! And I don?t cryeasily. Incredibly moved by how strangers (the staff) decided to show up and give me a bit of hope in humanity this evening.Thank you for running an amazing business! I?ll be back ???? Read more
We ordered take out today. 6 different dishes 1.Steamed Chicken lemongrass dumplings 9/10 The noodle around was so delicious. I... loved the texture and flavor. The lemongrass chicken was well seasoned and also really good. 2. Bao Buns 10/10 These came witha twist. I somehow thought of Bao, round, steamed dumpling. But these were more like little Tacos , except the shell was a BaoBun. Flavor was amazing. The little sprouts added a little tinge of spice , the ginger was pickled and sweet and a little sour.The pork belly tasted smokey and juicy. Overall perfect! 3. Kurobuta Pork Belly Skewers 12/10 Omg!!! This! Coming from germanyI am used to grilling pork belly. We call it either "belly-rag" - "Baulappen" or a "grill-torch" - "Grillfackel" (name explainsitself, since they love to light on fire due to the high fat consent. The smoky flavor and seasoning was on point. I loved thatthey weren't dried out. Just pure deliciousness . 4. Plain Garlic Noodles 8/10 The noodles were ok , overall really greasy andsloppy. The flavor was good , but I wouldn't order them again, others loved them. 5. Blistered Brussle Sprouts 8/10 Generallyreally good , crispy and a mild spiciness. What we noticed was that a lot of the dishes included lemon flavor. I liked it butothers commented that it was generally too much 6. Chicken Karaage 6/10 We somehow expected something totally different. Thethighs were jucy , but not as crispy as we thought they would be. The batter reminded me of calamari and my brain tricked me andsaid - that's calamari! It somehow weirded me out and I didn't want to finish the chicken. But this is my own opinion someoneelse's brain might not play mind games. The ordering happened over the homepage and was super easy. We didn't even wait30minutes. The food was hot and fresh. This was definitely not our last time. Thank you for making dinner for us ?? Read more
Food and service was great, will go back again!
Lots of friends recommended this place but my first visit. Nick helped us try all the best items. We loved it and are coming... back. Don't miss this gem. Read more
Came here on a whim with moderately high expectations for a special evening out and this place blew us away! Our first dish we... received was the New York strip skewer (pic attch?d). I can say without a doubt it was the best beef skewer I?ve ever had. Themeat was super tender and full of flavor. We got 3 skewers with about 7 pieces of New York on each for $17. This dish is a musttry, (unless they have the Wagyu in stock!!). Our second dish was the Mixed Chicken skewers which again, left us longing formore. They use some sort of plum sauce that just enhances the whole experience. If you have some room left, this is anothergreat grab. We finished up with the Fluffy Cheesecake which I can confidently say is now my favorite desert in Costa Mesa. Theside of green tea ice cream was equally as satisfying and was the perfect finish to our night. I?ll be coming back hereextremely soon to show off this great place to my friends. Read more
The idea feels so simple: grill food. The depth of flavor of the food at Oak and Coal is beyond simple. Everything we had was so... bold and savory. The drinks were fantastic, and the staff was exceptionally friendly and generous. I absolutely loved everythingthat I had: garlic, eel, scallops, spicy chicken wings, corn. You can't go wrong. Also: the menu is broken up into rounds. Theyplanned this! Read more
Delicious but tiny portions. It's a variety of Japanese style kebab meats, seafood, and veggies. Each skewer comes with 4... pieces. Each piece is bite sized. So that means each skewer is 4 bites. Pieces range from $4-$7 per skewer. That's right, $1-$2per bite of food. There's no corkage fee as long as you buy it from next door (and they check), so buy your own bottle of wine.Otherwise you'll be paying $10 per glass of wine. The dumplings are amazing. The sweet sausages are great. Warning the jumboshrimp comes shell on. The hot Soba noodle soup is great. Read more
The mai tai was delicious but the food was all a bit weird. Unagi & crispy rice was very average, the rice was not crispy... enough. Garlic noodles was a bit over cooked, the noodles felt soggy. The chicken Karaage was really spicy and sour. Read more