Oak Coal - Costa Mesa

The Mai Tai was delightful, but the dining experience was somewhat unusual. The unagi crispy rice was quite mediocre; the rice wasn't crispy enough. The Cunning noodles were overcooked, resulting in a soggy texture. The Huhn Karaage had a strong hot and sour flavor.

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.

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 everything that I had: garlic, eel, scallops, spicy chicken wings, corn. You can't go wrong. Also: the menu is broken up into rounds. They planned this!

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-$2 per 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 jumbo shrimp comes shell on. The hot Soba noodle soup is great.

But the main reason I'm writing this is because of the staff. Even if the amazing food would have drawn me back, they went above and beyond for me tonight. I’m dealing with older, sick parents in the hospital, and Hailey (I hope I spelled that right) was incredibly friendly, thoughtful, generous, and supportive. She even let me cry! And I don’t cry easily. I was so touched by the kindness of these strangers; the staff truly gave me a glimmer of hope in humanity tonight. Thank you for a wonderful experience! Will I be back? Absolutely!