Little Sister - Irvine

The service and our server were excellent, but the food was disappointing. Everything was overly greasy. My pork chop had more than 50% fat, and a pork chop should be a leaner cut. Biting into so much unrendered fat was really off-putting. The Thai rolls fell apart because they weren’t rolled properly, and the pork belly had a very gelatinous texture. I've dined here many times before, but this time, I was let down by the food.

I originally visited the Little Sister in LA, and it was fantastic! I decided to try the Irvine location and ordered two out of three of the same dishes because they were so delicious! Unfortunately, the garlic noodles arrived dry and colder than room temperature. When we finally received the sticky rice, which was served last, it wasn't as moist as the first one I had in LA. Half of it had sauce, while the other half was dry. The restaurant itself was beautiful, and the service was pleasant, so I have no complaints in that regard. However, the food did not meet my expectations. I guess I'll stick to the LA location for now.

Our server informed us that many guests opt for family-style dining and recommended several dishes from various sections of the menu. We started with the shrimp and pork spring rolls, which were delicious and served with a tasty peanut sauce, nicely garnished with peanuts and fresh vegetables. However, we were disappointed with the brisket Pho, which was served with four small bowls but no spoons. After asking the server for utensils, we had to wait about ten minutes to receive them, so by the time we got the spoons, the Pho was already lukewarm. Additionally, the sprouts, basil, and cilantro that accompanied the Pho seemed stale. We requested fresh herbs, and thankfully, they accommodated us, but overall, the Pho didn't meet our expectations—there are many better options for Pho in Orange County. The Shaken Beef dish, on the other hand, was delightful and was the standout item that earned the restaurant a three-star rating. The beef was incredibly tender, well-marinated, and beautifully presented. We also tried the crispy chicken, which came with a nice coleslaw and a bowl of decent white rice; the chicken was very crispy. The Banh Mi sandwich was decent, though not particularly memorable. Service was rather slow, and the servers bringing out our dishes didn't appear particularly happy or take much pride in their presentation, which dampened the experience for us. Our bill totaled around $150 for five items and a beer. When we handed the server the two gift cards, we noticed she presented us with a bill for the remaining balance, but we caught this error.

My fiancé and I had reservation on 1/3 at 6:30 pm. We were seated pretty quick so that was nice. We ordered our drinks and it came somewhat on a fair time. My fiancé got hers after a few minutes but mine didn't come until 10 min after hers. We ordered two dishes: a beef dish and the salmon. My beef dish came after 20 minutes and we decided to give it 5 minutes for hers to come out before we eat but it didn't come. We started eating and still the dish didn't come out. We ended finishing our drinks and were waiting to be checked up on for a water refill and the dish but nobody came. After 30 minutes, we ended up needing to flag our waitress and asked if the her dish can checked on and for more water. It ended up that the kitchen forgot about the order, which would've been fine, if we found out early on instead of having to wait for 45 minutes for the food at that point. The beef dish was good don't get me wrong but it was the service that brought the experience down.

Overpriced and service was very subpar. server only recommended the most expensive options, food order came out late and wrong, very little check-ins, and overall felt overpriced for what you're getting. very instagram worthy ambiance though.