Good food and great service! I also like that the restaurant doesn't leave you smelling like a bbq pit! I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't so pricey. I'll have to come back during happy hour next time. Kurobuta sausage, short rib, and kimchi dumplings were some of my favorites. No, this restaurant isn't as "ethnic" as Honda Ya, Kappo Honda, and Shin Sen Gumi, but isn't that what you want when you eat foods of other ethnicities? read more

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Delicious food, intimate environment, a little bit on the pricier side compared to restaurants in Torrance but glad to have found this gem in OC! Context: Came here on a weekend night, and since we were a party of two we got seated within ten minutes. Environment: cozy, intimate and great for group of friends, or a date night! Food: everything was delicious! Highly recommend the pork belly, pork belly asparagus and tomatoes, wagyu beef tongue, king mushroom! Their sauces are delicious as well Price: For me and my boyfriend we splurged and spent about $85 so it was pricey to get full. Their skewers are a little above average than Torrance/Gardena restaurants Overall: I'd come back for HH or for a special occasion for sure! read more

Our favorite date night spot! We've been coming pretty much since they opened and they keep getting better. We will always be back to see our favorite servers and bartenders, let alone for the food and cocktails. Highly recommend! read more

This place is great! We had the chicken dumplings and garlic noodles. They were so delicious I want to go back today. Addison made us the most delicious cocktail called the Summertime. It was perfect for this heat wave. They had a DJ playing some cool beats2. Great vibe. read more

Food and service was undeniably fantastic. I can't recommend it enough and I've been coming here multiple times a week for a while now. Never gets old read more

Oak & Coal is good but not a place I'm dying to go back to, which is why I'm giving it 3.5 stars. A 4-5 star rating in my book is somewhere that left a lasting impression with me and that I would look forward to trying again, but Oak & Coal didn't do that for me. It's not even that far, but I haven't considered going back since the first time. Definitely on the pricier side since each yakitori we got was anywhere from $3 to $7 so you're probably going to spend at least $30/person to be somewhat full. To give you a sense of the price, here's what we got: bacon asparagus ($3.50), king oyster mushrooms ($3), chicken thigh ($4), spicy chicken wing ($4), chicken hearts ($3.50), prime filet ($7), pork belly ($3.50), sausage ($3.50), kimchi dumplings ($6 for 6). My favorites were probably the dumplings and the sausage. What I will give them credit for is the awesome swiss cake roll you get when you check in on Yelp. I was impressed by how generous this check-in was. Also, their service was wonderful. Overall, glad to have tried it, but not sure when I would return. Solid 3.5 stars. read more

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Tanner is so hot, his hair is seriously a thing to behold. Great service. Amazing Japanese izakaya. So excited for the Oak Room to open for more space! read more

I had heard about this restaurant ages ago and could never get there during the week because they close at a modest time but I finally stopped by and am glad I did. Most of the food we ordered was awesome and I rarely go to a place that cooks Waygu as well as my step mom...and this place knows how to grill it. That, in and of itself, is an impressive feat on its own. Add the Bali Bun scallop special they had and it was a home run. The hamachi tartare was fantastic as well, served with wonton chips, was a great light appetizer. Now, the part where I feel was short-fallen was the sausages...everything else was so tasty and full of flavor that it just didn't make sense. It was still cooked well, it just wasn't anything special. I would stick with the more specialized skewers and you'll probably be in for a five out of five meal. read more

Oak & Coal - Hamachi Tartare - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I'm a big fan of Oak & Coal!! Never had a menu item I didn't love. The staff here are the absolute best, I was left with no choice but to make my wife a fan as I was dining here too often. Best cocktails in town!!!!! read more

Amazing food. Great service from the guys at the bar. The bar room is really cool. Cozy vibe.

Great food and cool ambiance! The cocktail menu was also really impressive and the service was top notch. Definitely recommend.

Wow what a great place. The food was unique and delicious. The prices were fair and the service was great. I will spend some time in the cool bar next time. But I will most definitely be back and get some of the dishes we missed. I wish HB would take some notes on what Costa Mesa is doing, it's got a thriving food scene an Oak and Coal is right up at the top of the list. Thanks for a great meal, until next time. Keep up the great work. read more

This was the former location of my boyfriend's beloved Fish & Chip's spot so Oak & Coal had to be good. No problem...it was really, really good! The decor is modern yet cozy. Our friendly server explained the concept & helped us choose what we wanted & when. Our first round, the dumplings & cold soba salad. Both excellent! So full of flavor! The second round were the individual skewers of Kobe beef, sausages, liver & chicken thigh with green onion. I meant to choose breast but chose thigh. It turned out to be a happy accident. My BF who stays away from dark meat said it was the best thigh he ever ate. I flew solo with the liver, mixing it in the soba broth along with the white rice we also ordered. The sausages were cute, plump & smoky. It was cool to find out that because we were there @ 5:00 during the week we got 20% off! That sure makes experimenting easier & if you're on a food budget. Happy Hour is 5-7 M-TH. We also got a free generous dessert for checking in on Yelp. We'll be back to try more of the choices & repeat some favorites. Forget the 6-piece dumplings, 12 is the way to go! read more

Oak & Coal - Comfortable! - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Not loving it. I think this is more of an Americanized place. Not traditional Japanese at all. Most dishes are on the saltier and slightly interesting seasoning side. Didn't like the cucumber appetizer, too vinegary. The grilled yakirori dishes were okay but not what we are customed too. Most of the dishes have seasoning or the sweeter soy sauce on top. The dumplings are handmade but definitely don't have that Japanese touch. Very sorry, but we do prefer a more traditional place read more

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Food was good but service was slow. We waited at least 45 minutes for our check until someone from our party had to go hunt down the server to ask for it. read more

Came here for my birthday dinner. The staff was awesome and super sweet. The food is tapas style and the portions are small. It is definitely a higher price point spot. Ended up spending about $50 per person, drinks not included, and we left still a bit hungry but still satisfied. read more

An absolute favorite restaurant!!! Incredible food, amazing service & top notch customer service!!! Love love love this place!! Can't wait until they can open again at lunch time!! read more

Delicious food-- great service. I loved the lamb chop and the chicken karage most. Happy hour all night on Sunday was an added bonus! read more

Oak & Coal - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Except the service, nothing is good here. Super overrated. How did they get such high rating here? All meats were dry and low quality. wagyu is worse than chipotle steak - go try if you don't believe me Chicken yakitori was super dry and tasteless - this is yakitori man seafood (scallops and eal) was bland and nothing special, eel was better costco sells better frozen dumplings - 100% sure don't want to even talk about veggies you pay $5-7 for each skewer (1-2 bite) - I am shocked Very disappointed - NO Japanese would enjoy this food - no one who had yakitori even few times in their life would enjoy it read more

I will never come here again even if it was free! Service was terrible food was average. I rather spend my $200 elsewhere. rather wait the hour and go to kappa Honda . read more

Didn't know what to expect but this place blew me away! Ambiance was great, small and relatively casual but great vibes, even for a Tuesday night. Just make sure you sit in the oak bar area! The drinks were yummy and the food was delicious! We truly enjoyed everything we ordered. Def recommend the garlic noodles and cucumber salad. Staff was nice and friendly as well! Genuinely had a fantastic time 10/10 recommend. read more

Need to update my review. Called at 4pm to make sure they were open and he said they were open till 11pm. Arrived at 4:30pm and they said they couldn't seat us till 5pm. This was ridiculous since I had just driven 30min to come here and called ahead. Lady that was working was extremely rude. Will never come here again due to the customer service. They could have seated us for the inconvenience. was very hungry and completely forgot to take pictures!! I ordered the chicken, garlic noodles and mushrooms. Everything was FILLED with flavor. The garlic noodles were the best garlic noodles I've ever had. The mushrooms were juicy and exploded with flavor when you started chewing and the chicken was cooked perfectly. The service was great and everyone was super friendly. read more

Best local Japanese restaurant in Costa Mesa. The food is amazing. Recommend the garlic noodles and any of the skewers. The servers are always accommodating. read more

I've been wanting to try this place out for awhile and finally got the chance. Not seeing an old Japanese man behind the grill with years of yakitori burns gave me some concerns at first but when the skewers and dishes came out it was all Authentic and delicious You have to get the Waygu!!! Also the Yellowfin Tuna Yukke was delicately delicious. I left happy and grateful and stuffed!!! The restaurant itself is on the smaller and more intimate side with a little bit of outdoor seating. The service was great and I can't wait to come back!!! read more

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Love this neighborhood favorite. The staff is fantastic! Nick is the chef and he puts in 110% and always remembers you. Love the salmon skewers; best in the area. Cucumber salad is a standard as is the salmon. The Hamachi Tartare is my latest favorite here. The seared Hamachi comes in second. Love this place and I never feel bloated when I leave. read more

I love this place! I love the food here. Although the yakitoris ( assorted skewered bbq ) are a bit pricey, over all experience in regards to food and service was great!! This would have easily been a five star for me cept for the fact that its too close between tables inside and you literally have to wear a noise canceling headphones when you eat here because its just too noisy in there!! Everybody literally was trying to talk over each other because of how loud it was in there... i took a total of 4 breaks to to go outside to get away from the noise inside! Its that bad or maybe am getting old! I highly recommend the yakitoris here specially the beef and beef tongue. All the other skewered items where great! And we all loved the seafood noodles!! Lots of seafood in it. and dont forget to order their brussel sprouts! If you are not a fan of veggies. You wouldnt mind eating this. Its that good. read more

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My partner and I went to this restaurant on a date night and we were pleasantly surprised. We order the garlic noodles, lamb chops, and the dumplings. Everything was spectacular. The garlic noodles were so flavorful and rich;!my mouth is watering at the thought of them. The lamb was a bit too pink for my liking, but I liked the pepper jelly it was served with. The pepper jelly was spicy and it blended well with the lamb. We also enjoyed the chicken lemon grass dumplings and both agreed it was worthy of repeating. read more

Located in an unassuming strip mall, this place is a gem. Delicious small plates and yummy cocktails with great service. read more

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I love this little Gem. So many unique and flavorful dishes. I frequent their other restaurant Tabu Shabu as well, both restaurants are unlike their competitors - and I'll certainly wait as long as needed to get a table. I'm mostly leaving this review as someone also in the service industry speaking to others who aren't - covid has really taken its toll on businesses and staff. We are all exhausted and overworked - no one is applying for jobs and we need to be mindful with how much employees are dealing with considering the insane demand for returning to normal. Have some grace and patience while we are all doing the best we can. read more

The food here was pretty good but the portion size was reallllyyyyyy small. I payed a pretty large check for a couple pork skewers and Brussels sprouts. If the portion to price ratio was better this place would be great due to the great food. read more

This place was poppin on Thursday night! Still in it's soft opening phase. The place was very clean and straight to the point. A great menu of yakitori dishes. From veggies, chicken, pork, beef, fish, and other specials. Our group came in ready to try it all. I really loved the sausages and beef dishes. There's 4 different sauces to try and find what you like to pair with best. There's a mango beer that was light and easy to drink. The service was excellent. The food excellent. Costa Mesa got blessed with this place. It's in the same plaza as Tabu Shabu. I will be back! Recommendation: Try all the yakitori's! read more

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We came on a Saturday night about an hour before closing and there was no wait. Our server was very professional and helpful since it was our first time here. If you like yakitori, I would highly recommend this place! We ordered a bunch of different things: kimchi dumplings, pork belly, chicken hearts, wagyu short rib, quail eggs, scallops, karaage, and chicken skin. From these, I especially enjoyed the pork belly, wagyu short rib, and chicken skin! It is a little bit on the pricier side though so if you enjoy meat, I would recommend it. read more

Oak & Coal - Kimchi dumplings - safe bet - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Wagyu skewers were so chewy we couldn't finish them. The mixed veggies were literally a bowl of spicy peppers. Dumplings were okay. I don't understand why this place have so many stars read more

Oak & Coal - Mixed veggies. Wagyu beef. Dumplings - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This place is the best! Everyone who works there is awesome. Our waiter, Q, is the best! The food is so delicious. The ambiance also A+. We came hungry and left satisfied and happy. We will be back! read more

The people who work here are nice, service is excellent. The food is a different story. I really wanted to love the food. But the chicken was so dry. The yuzu paste was super salty and too peppery. Not sure why there's korean paste for the yakitori either. It didn't help that I just came back from Japan and had the "real" stuff. If you have never tried actual yakitori I'm sure you'll love it. For me it was overpriced and the quality wasn't good. Hamachi was good, again a little salty. Wagyu beef was cooked well. The patrons are not Japanese. I guess that could've been a warning. They also don't have regular green tea which was kind of odd. Overall, beer and beef was good. Service and workers were good. Food was eh. Probably won't be back but thanks!! read more

The two things I enjoyed: wagyu skewers and garlic noodles, even though $17 is a lot for noodles! Everything else tasted just OK. (Lamb chop, pork belly, chicken wings) Pouring sake was annoying because of its poorly designed (or lack of design) sake bottle, which kept spilling sake on the table. I just love watching money spilling away... Overall not a bad experience, but Wouldn't go back because of its seating arrangements. For a $70+ meal, I expected a table for 2 but was too hungry to drive anywhere else. read more

Oak & Coal - Please use a better designed sake bottle! - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This is possibly my favorite izakaya place - the food is simply delicious. My favorites are the beef tongue, the wagyu shortrib, the pork belly, and the scallops! We sat at the bar and Jeff, the owner (?), gave out free mango sake bombs and was very friendly chatting with us about his vision for the restaurant. He also offered to warm up our food since we were taking our time working through it. Quite the good service!! Will definitely keep coming back. read more

I would challenge the idea that there is a better yakitori spot on this coast. The menu covers everything traditional and expands into plenty of their own takes on the style. Was here last year after a trade show and have craved it often since. The staff was great from management down, clearly enjoy their workplace and have a great knowledge of the menu. Shout to Dylan, strong hustle all night. House drink menu is great and sake options are solid. You order similar to sushi, which works great, and the linkup is great top to bottom. If you have the time, and some friends, spend 90 minutes trying as much as you can and then doubling back on the stuff you love. For me,no friends this time, just family,who want to go back tonight. read more

Came here for the first time not knowing it was their second night of opening. We got seated right away which I felt really lucky for a Saturday night at 7. It was just the 3 of us. Two adults and my 5 year old daughter. We sat down and ordered water and sake. We waited for awhile before we got our drinks including the water. I had to ask if we can have some water and maybe our sake. We got off to a rocky start from the beginning. However when the food finally arrived. Everything was presented beautifully. From the food on the plates to sauces on the plate. You definitely taste the charcoal grill and it was not over seasoned. I appreciated that most of the foods are organic or wild caught. Which is what i normally like to feed my family. Even though our evening started off a little rocky both owners of the restaurant made the initiative to come and talk to us to see how everything went and apologized for what went wrong. Which is really nice of them to do. I was very hopeful about this new restaurant and was hoping to have a good experience and it was. Thank you! read more

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it's more expensive and less authentic than the myriad of other places nearby with the same and arguably better offering not a repeat for us but the food definitely isn't bad read more