Oc Lau Nuong Restaurant

The only Vietnamese seafood I've had was in OC and I've been eager to find a spot here in the bay area. We came on a Sunday night and were surprised to only see one other table so there was no wait. They set down white paper table cover which is convenient since seafood can get rly messy. Also appreciate the napkin dispensers per table. A limey zesty sauce and nuoc cham was given to add of us. We ordered-Goi Oc Giac/Vietnamese Conch Salad: Definitely top 2 for everyone. So refreshing and the conch wasn't chewy in an overcooked way. Was the first dish to be finished. -Sot Trung Muoi/ Salted Egg Sweet Snail: So difficult to open to the point we questioned if some of them were edible. The sauce. Crazy. Would come here again JUST of the sauce. Wish it was available for other dishes. -Xao Bo Toi/Garlic Butter Razor Clam: The menu said it came with 5-6 but only came with 3. Really difficult to chew through/bite through. Garlic butter sauce was addictive and insanely delicious. -Mussels: We ordered it with garlic butter but they gave it to us with fried onion and green onion instead? Unsure what they called it. It was good. -Crispy Seafood Egg Noodle: Good but I don't think I'd reorder itOverall, the main things that stuck out to me were the garlic butter sauce and the salted egg sauce. The quality of their seafood/ the freshness wasn't anything special to me. Would definitely come back to try more of the menu. Service and prices were good as well.

I don't know if any other eateries in the SF Bay Area serve sea snails. If you do, let me know!My BFF and I had a late night dinner date here and I was looking forward to trying the seafood here. While service was good, the seafood we had was disappointing. The portions were small and every sea snail, escargot, and clams we got either had a lot of rocks and sand or broken up shells. It made it very unpleasant to eat. I probably won't return, but if I do, I'd definitely order something else other than the seafood.

On a recent trip, the shrimp in the seafood boil wasn't fresh. In the past, most of the shrimp didn't have veins and tasted sweet. These were mealy with veins that didn't come out in one piece. I had to use the scissors to cut these parts of the shrimp off because I just didn't want to eat it. Post shrimp-surgery, I was left with maybe 2/3 of a shrimp. They also sliced the sausages really thin. WHY? $118 for what they call the King Combo. I haven't been, but Crab Bay charges $89 for the equivalent.When I go out for seafood, I expect it to be fresh. If I am being bluntly honest, the shrimp looked and resembled what I might have forgotten about and left in the fridge for a few days.I was not regularly checked on toward the end, considering my meal's price tag and three beers.MAJOR NOTE: I've also been asked why I like taking leftovers home by the owner. Why shouldn't I? I order a lot for one. Plus, I paid for it lol.

We decided to try this place since we love Viet seafood, it was a good experience. The service was alright--though it was a bit tough to get the staff's attention at times but that's to be expected. Aside from this our server recommended a few of their top dishes.Our favorites of the night were the King Scallop with green onions and fish roe, and the Cuttlefish Tom Yum Goi--both were so bomb! However, I wasn't a fan of the salted egg snails or the creamy coconut snails, they were both very creamy. Despite that, the standout dishes made it worth the visit, and I'd definitely come back for those!

I showed my friend this place and instantly she said LETS GO! Well hard to believe but we stop by twice and the food here doesn't disappoint. True atmosphere of what a late night hangout and to drink and eat Vietnamese delicacies. So grab a friend or a few and come try out their food. The parking area is a bit small and it's not that far from Andrew hill high school. The inside has a comfortable amount of seating areas. With booths on the side and tables in the center. When we arrived, we didn't wait long and was told to sit down anywhere. Not long after, we were given the menus to look at and figure out what to eat. We ordered escargot , Manila's clams in Tom yum broth, Vietnamese salad and com tam. Everything came out really good so no complaints there. They have a lot on their menu from frogs, snails, seafood to beef, chicken and lamb. They also have hotpot if you want to eat that too. Probably will be coming back here again since my friend loves it and when she comes back to San Jose.

SUPER disappointed in this establishment. There were obnoxiously drunk loud uncles cursing and talking loudly inside the restaurant. I'm pretty sure it was the Owner and his friends, they were watching sport on tv and drinking. It made my whole dinner very uncomfortable. Not to mention, the bad service we received from the girl and guy that worked that night. It was practically empty but it took over 30 minutes to get my soda. Food were ready but the girl was on her phone and doing whatever she was doing; letting our seafood lau just sit there while we watched my son finish his food. We asked for our lau and she just stared and then realized she forgot or something, went to get the food but doesn't even turn the fire on for us. Their food is good but I will not be coming back. One bad experience is enough to keep me away.

The service here is starting to slow down.. almost non existent. How did I know this was going to happen. We literally waited 20+ minutes before asking where our Lau was and the waitress said "oh, you wanted it now?". What do you mean? We're sitting here literally watching our nephew eat his Bo Ne waiting for our food. She didn't even bring me out my Coke that I ordered until I asked for it. She never once checked on us, she didn't even turn our pot on. Too busy talking on her AirPods. Otherwise the food is good but service this poor can make you loose customers.

Decent place. Decent price on food. They're know for their seafood and escargot. They also have hot pot, fried rice, bo ne, saute noodles, chicken, quails, and so on. It depends on what you want to eat. This place is more like a place you came to hang out with your friends since you can tell by the young crowd. You do see family with their kids as well. The waiter are mostly young but they seems nice. Food came out at reason time. Portion aren't super high which is why peope can order a lot. The place itself is small so it can get crowded fast. Parking lot is small. Glad i was able to try this place though.

The food was great. Great for dinner with friends or simply on a bored Saturday night. They have lots of variety to choose

A good OC place with reasonable prices! Escargot was really good quality and not slimey. Would return!