ROC Beverly Grove

My friend and I went here for dinner this evening. We've been to ROC Sawtelle several times, so we were looking forward to scallion pancakes and some tasty soup dumplings.

WELL.

Not only was the food delicious - that much was to be expected.

What I was really pleased with was the service.

My main gripe, if you will, with the other location was that service was often slow due to the large crowd. This was not the case here. We had scallion pancakes at our table within 10 minutes of ordering, and the other dishes arrived not too far behind. Our server was polite and JUST the right amount of attentive.

And, as I mentioned, everything was delicious.

So, if you want some tasty soup dumplings, I highly recommend coming to ROC.

I think ROC Beverly Grove is a good alternative to Din Tai Fung if you're on this side of town. It's not the same, of course, but if you don't want to wait and get something similar, this would be a good alternative. The original location, I believe, is the one located off of Sawtelle in Little Osaka.

One thing that I can appreciate about this location is the private parking lot. They validate for an hour and the first time I went, I wasn't given a ticket at all so we were able to park for free. Cross your fingers, you may get lucky.

We made dinner reservations via Yelp because we weren't sure if there was going to be a wait but we actually did not have to wait and we were able to get seated right away. It looks like we beat the dinner crowd because it started to fill up within 15 minutes after we were seated.

They have more xiao long bao options that Din Tai Fung it seems. My favorite is their dungeness crab and pork xiao long bao and if you're extra hungry, go for their dungeness crab fried rice. It's so good, and I remember them being pretty generous with their crab.

The scallion pancake is always a good choice. Add a veggie and you can't go wrong with green beans, bok choy, or what ever sauteed greens will make your meal feel balanced. If you love "Taiwanese-style" food, you should order the beef roll, and the 3 cup chicken is also good.

Order "family style" to share. It's the best way to enjoy your experience at ROC.

Got a takeaway from here on a Sunday evening. The food was great and kept well in the packaging.

Ordered an assortment of dishes - the crab fried rice, green beans, rice cakes, dumplings.

All were good.

Friendly servers, pretty-good Taiwanese food, prices weren't out of control, location was good but parking is bad. Interesting feeling at the place, as it's in a strip mall, has upscale decor, but big windows overlooking a parking lot which makes it feel a little like a Chipotle.

It's no Din Tai Fun, honestly the view of the parking lot is perhaps its least-attractive feature... but it's pretty-good dumplings and it's convenient... so no hate for the place... but I wasn't blown away and craving them the next day, like I did when I had the original DTF in Taipei 101.

Dumplings!!!

Whatever. I like this place! I can always waltz right in. I never have to wait like my favorite chain...ahem dtfungg! And food however isn't comparable, it satisfies my craving usually! The usual dumplings fix! Plus, the space itself is quite pretty and also food is pretty cheap!!

Love: the xlb! They have a few options for it! Crab is good!
Crab fried rice is also delish!
The noodles are a ok. But I always get it. Not a fan of their oxtail though. Not flavorful! And wayyyy too hard to eat!

Food should be hotter temperature wise! They weren't as busy for the times I've been but the food was usually on the colder side. Easy fix! And its comfortable enough you can order, eat and actually hang out!

And their Beef noodle soup is yumm! Super tender!! Afterwards: you can walk right next door for more bubble tea! Go to that popular spot for a drink! Not the most fancy spot but I like it!! Easyyyy dumplings fix! Easy! Oh yea: always uber though. Parking is a hot mess and a half!

I came here on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch after 3. There was no wait to be seated and I was told I could sit anywhere I wanted.
I've been to ROC several times but this was my first time at this location.
Maybe because it was after 3, the place was empty. I've never experienced that before. There is always a wait of at least 20 minutes. I guess I was lucky.
Food is consistently good. Service was great too.
This restaurant is located inside of a strip mall and has a small parking lot! Which I found awesome. We parked just in front of the restaurant.

Convenient location among all the shopping that surrounds the Beverly & La Cienega intersection, but the place didn't win me over.

The soup dumplings were ok, but not overwhelmingly flavorful like I've come to expect at most places. I'm not sure what the issue was...not enough salt? I found myself trying to drown the soup dumpling in soy sauce. I'm not a soup dumpling expert but I don't think that's typical.

Oddly, the really tasty item that we ordered was the stir fried pea shoots. Now those were yummy! Nice and savory. It parents cooked vegetables like this all the time, there would be no issue with getting kids to eat their veggies.

ROC has opened mid city!!!!!!! It's just as good as the original location and still a secret so the wait times aren't bad at all! Right now they are giving a promo for locals if you live in the area, 10% off your bill. Solid move by ROC management.

As for the food....the XLB (soup dumplings) have thicker skins than at Din Tai but ROC is nearby so it's a win!! Besides the soup dumplings the crab fried rice is a must! Big pieces of crab with green onion and egg...nom nom! I also really like the veggie dishes, bok choy and green beans being the stand outs. Had the spinach today and it needed more garlic/flavor. Lately I've been a big fan of spicy wontons/dumplings. However, the ones at ROC miss the mark. The dumpling itself is good and the filling juicy and flavorful. The sauce is just off. It's too thick and not spicy enough. It has the consistency of bbq sauce, I ended up scraping it off my dumplings.

I was not expecting to find a place near Beverly Grove that had BOMB Chinese food. This is literally a random, hole in the wall that my boyfriend found through yelp. Honestly, the shopping center ROC is located in, did not look inviting at all. BUTTT I am so happy that we ended up trying this place out.

Immediately, we were greeted with a nice blast of AC and the most welcoming service ever. I remember coming during a really hot time in the late afternoon. We got seated quickly, waters came out and we ordered. No wait at all, it was awesome!

FOOD:

MUST TRY *Garlic Dungeness Crab Fried Rice*
This fried rice is amazing. I usually don't eat more than a scoop of rice at restaurants, but I wanted more. It was sooOOOooO good. They aren't skimpy either. With every bite of fried rice, you could taste an equally delicious amount of garlic, crab, and green onion. The flavors together were phenomenal.

*Shrimp & Pork Spicy Dumplings*
I regret not getting the popular xiao long bao here. However, these dumplings were delicious as well. Maybe a bit too spicy for me, but my boyfriend liked them.

*Spinach*
This is definitely needed as an entrée when eating Chinese. With all the starch, meats, and fish - you gotta have some vegetables! Or well, that's what my parents taught me...so we ended up getting a plate full of greens. The spinach was refreshing, yummy, and most importantly...healthy!!

MUST TRY *Beef Noodle Soup*
Love this beef noodle soup. The broth is the perfect spiciness so you can sip it together with your tender oxtail. The beef slips right off the bone! Noodles are flavorful and cooked to perfection. SO DELICIOUS.

The price wasn't bad either. Next time I'm in this part of LA and craving Chinese, I know where to go!

I have no idea why and how this place has good reviews. Stopped by on a weekday during lunch time and the food was just horrible. Ordered the spicy beef soup, seaweed salad, dumplings and crab fried rice. I'm not sure how to rate the food in order of disgustingness. The spicy beef soup was just inedible. It should be renamed to "salty watch your blood pressure beef soup." It tasted like a warm bowl of microwaved kikkoman soy sauce. The seaweed salad should be renamed to bean curd and sprout salad. The dumplings were just ok and the crab fried rice was very salty as well. The soup and rice were so salty that it could have made sea salt taste edible.

I left the restaurant feeling disgusted and diabetic. My fingers and feet bloated and swelled from the sodium. Avoid this place unless you want high blood pressure.