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    Luck Gai Cafe

    4.7 (1.4k reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    LUCK GAI CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Trendy
    Intimate

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    Recommended Reviews - Luck Gai Cafe

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    Hainan chicken, great deal+really good!
    Brittney G.

    Took me a while, but I finally found my new go-to Thai spot in oc (plus Hainan chicken!). I ordered the crispy Hainan chicken, edamame, dumplings, and mango sticky rice, everything was super fresh and well-seasoned. The sauces that come with the chicken are a standout (pro tip: mix them all together... you won't regret it). The tamarind sauce was also great on its own. Service was amazing; warm, welcoming, and it honestly felt like eating at someone's home with their family. The location is a little hard to find, but that just makes it feel like a hidden gem

    Canary H.

    I'm a big fan of this place!! It's located in an odd spot right under the bridge. When you turn into it, you'll be a bit confused, but it's perfect! Quiet location without a lot of foot traffic unless it's restaurant patrons. We always park right in front. There is limited seating and it's best to call for big parties a head of time. The chairs are cute and the interior is captivating; it feels just like home. Whenever I come, I order the Hainan chicken combo. It has the crispy chicken and the poached chicken with a bed of garlic rice or garlic noodles. You can also make your own combinations of sauces right next to that table. To compliment my meal, I usually order their beer or get the lychee martini. It's super cute and refreshing! The workers here are always polite and upbeat. They don't bother you and are very mindful of remind you your needs. Again, I love coming here. Can't wait to make the trip back!

    Menu
    Khanh T.

    Great location with lots of parking in front. There are plenty of seatings both indoors and outdoors. Good for big group. We came around 9pm and there are plenty of seatings. The service was fast and courteous. We got the yellow curry and the duo kow mun gai. Both were very delicious. The chicken is fried to perfection, not too greasy, but super flavorful. We also got 2 drinks, Thai tea and Lemonade Thai tea, tho they're alright in my opinion.

    Arleen S.

    I did a cookie decorating class next door a few weeks ago with my wife and sister-in-law and I snuck in here to order food before the class started and the food was bomb. I can't remember what I ordered but my sister also ordered dumplings and I got a milk tea and it was so good! The restaurant offered a mini discount for the class next door and they even delivered it to us! Lol I call that excellent customer service. The restaurant itself was clean and nice-they had tables outside or inside to eat!

    Steve N.

    Can't get enough of this place! Food is always amazing and comes out piping hot from the wok. You definitely won't be disappointed.

    Emily L.

    I had no expectations of this restaurant when I walked in and I was pleasantly surprised! The chicken dish was pretty good and it is a pretty big portion. The egg rolls were light and crispy! The tom kha was actually very sour (so depends on your preference of how sour you like it! Just to note, it wasn't spicy at all, even though we got level 2. The workers are kind and it's a nice and clean seating area!

    Our go to order. Their chicken are flavorful and thai iced tea is really good. Amazing customer service. Overall a good dining place.
    Keeva G.

    Flavorful hainan chicken with lots of sauce option as well which i really liked.. Refreshing Thai iced tea is a must try . Amazing customer service. Overall good dining experience.

    I'd order their pad thai again
    Sally T.

    I feel like every family has their cozy go-to Thai restaurant that they absolutely swear by because it's what they grew up with. For my family, it's Jumpa Thai in Garden Grove, CA. While I love, love, love all the amazing memories we've made there, I recognize that you can have love in your heart for more than one Thai restaurant. I encourage everyone to get out of their comfort zone and continue to explore new spots. You never know -- you might find your new fave!!!! And if not, that's okay because you're still supporting small biz :^) So now onto why I sought out Luck Gai Cafe specifically -- one of my best friends has been complaining about his stomach hurting, and I suggested we get hainan chicken for dinner. It's like when your dog is sick and you have to feed them a "clean" meal like steamed chicken and rice, LMAO..... and naturally, it's what I thought my dawg needed. **Hainan chicken** We got a large poached chicken, and I personally feel like it was portioned for one person instead of two. I think I would order just white meat without chicken skin next time since that's my preference, but my friend really liked the dish and he's been here multiple times. It was my first time at Luck Gai and it made realize that I'm more into Chinese/Vietnamese Hainan chicken. I was bummed that I didn't get pickled cabbage or the usual sauces (chili-ginger sauce and ginger-scallion oil) with my meal. To make things clear: the sauces they offered weren't bad by any means. I was just looking for something different and this is my trivial take. I would probably still order the dish again in the future because the rice and soup were delicious. **Pad Thai** I think it's easier to order bad pad thai than it is to find good. It's just a fact of life. On our end, w ise got lucky with the Luck Gai's pad thai being absolutely scrumptious. The noodles were cooked au dente, sauce ratio was perfect, and shrimps were juicy. What more can you ask for? I would order this dish again, and probably also try other recommended items on their menu such as their pad see ew.

    khao soi with chicken
    Karen N.

    i love hainan chicken, so i was in the area and decided to stop by here! my friend and i got the kow mun gai combo, which came with poached and fried chicken, garlic rice, and soup, and a khao soi with chicken. i really enjoyed the poached chicken with the accompanying sauces and the garlic rice! the chicken was very soft and flavorful, and the rice was aromatic. i didnt really enjoy the fried chicken because it was oilier and felt heavy after eating it. also, i really love khao soi, but i wasn't a fan of this one because it was too thick for me and felt heavy. the pickled veggies that came with it tasted like water and didn't help to cut through the thick curry. the servers were overall nice, but i did not like the jokes that one of them kept making. he stopped by my table twice and kept asking us "if we were having an awful time." how do i respond to that? LOL also there was a group of 3 next to us, and he brought out 2/3 dishes and asked "did everyone important get their food?" ??? idk if they were friends beforehand but judging by the awkward silence, probably not...

    Mighty Chicken Combo
    Shirley W.

    Was curious to try this place since it's very highly rated, but let's see how it compares to other hainan chicken restaurants from the 626... First walking in, it's a very small quaint shop. I was unsure what type of service this restaurant had, there wasn't a "please wait to be seated" sign or anything, so I assume you just order at the cashier and pick it up to your table or something. I was greeted by the cashier and was told I could sit anywhere since there wasn't really anyone in the restaurant. She handed me the menu and then... it was a long period of time whether I was suppose to wait for her to come and I order, or am I supposed to just go up there myself.... So I just went ahead and ordered at the cashier and everything, no big deal. It didn't take too long for my order to be prepared. She actually handed me utensils and my meal to the table, and handed my food as well. So I guess it probably was a sit-down service...? lol I got the mighty combo, which I wanted to try both the poach chicken and the fried chicken. I like how they offered a variety of sauces and listed which tasted better with what. I also liked how they added a small side salad and soup, which is a pretty nice set. Now onto the chicken, the rice was pretty enjoyable, I wish it was softer though. The poached chicken was kinda mid, nothing really too special. It also had cartilage in every piece so not sure if that was normal... The fried chicken tasted better, has more unique textures to eating it, but the batter itself gets boring the more you eat it, or at least it just tastes cheap. I ended up enjoying the fried chicken one more, but honestly for the quality compared to other places I had in the 626, it's not that comparable. It's probably just highly rated around this area, but the meal was just okay. In the end, service was pretty slow. I saw others waiting for their order and they feel like they were just dreading to be there waiting for their food. I ended up just going up to the counter and get my own to-go box and packed it. Service was pretty slow and questionable, but it's only one worker on the floor. They really should have another person helping her if this was a sit down restaurant.

    Mixed Platter
    Victoria H.

    The service was quick and simple. It's a smaller place that I thought but it was nice. Mixed Platter: 7/10 I did like majority of the platter as there is good variety but I noticed the temperatures of each food was different. It could because they were frying at different times so it's understandable. I just wish it was more hot. Combo: 6.8/10 The steamed chicken was lacking a lot of flavor, it was pretty bland on its own so the sauces did help a lot. I also noticed it was cold and a little dry so maybe it's pre-cooked compared to the fried version. I liked the fried version better but there was a lot of batter so if you like batter i would say go for it! I also dipped it in the satay sauce and it was very good! Rice was nice, soup was hot so I enjoyed. Overall not bad. I have had better hainan chicken but I wouldn't mind going back here to try other thai dishes.

    Receipt
    Joanne L.

    We were looking forward to Luck Gai Cafe but unfortunately it was more disappointing than expected. This is more of a fusion restaurant and you should not expect authentic Thai food or Hainan chicken. Here are the ratings each person gave to their dish: - Tom Yum tofu 0/5: no tom yum flavor, not sour at all. Basically boiled tofu in a dark soup sauce - poached chicken 3/5 - sauces not traditional and flavor was meh - Pad Thai 2/5: no flavor and dry, with raw bean sprouts - Drunken noodles: 3/5 - very saucy but not authentic if you know what I mean. The noodles were also a bit too al dente than usual drunken noodles. Overall, we won't be returning.

    Emily T.

    A hole in the wall type place! Their restaurant in tucked in a narrow business plaza near the big street. They have outdoor seating that allows dogs which is really nice. My server was really friendly and was a jokester! I didn't catch his name but he was very friendly. Portions were decent and I liked that they give you a whole tray of sauce per person so you can have as much sauce as you want. The chicken itself was very clean tasting but I wish they had a skin-less option!

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    Business owner information

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    Luck Gai C.

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    Luck Gai Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Luck Gai Cafe

    Is there an all white meat option?

    Is there plenty of parking available?

    Yes for the most part. Every now and then another business has a big event but even there there are still spaces available

    Do they take reservations?

    Not sure, probably not. They have a inside and outdoor tables. it's a walk-up counter to order food. The food is Good and Tasty. Worth going to, plus staff is very friendly ( couple owned ).

    This place is listed today as having outdoor seating. Is it still available? If it is, is it covered or heated? How many people can sit there? / April 25, 2023

    Yes, there is outdoor seating available and there are no heaters. About 2 tables that seat about 4 people. 1 table sat 6 people.

    For the Hainan chicken, is there an option to select dark meat only? Thanks

    We only service dark meat

    Are you guys open yet?

    Yes, our soft opening started this weekend. We will be open 6 days a week. Closed on Tuesdays and also closed on open days between 3 and 5pm.

    View All 10 Questions

    Luck Gai Cafe - chickenshop - Updated May 2026

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