Coffee with a View

Behind blacked out windows, through the door that's so far to the right that it looks like it leads to an upstairs apartment - but is in fact the front door - is a Vietnamese cafe, where one can get coffee or tea as early as 7 in the morning or as late as 8 at night. (The door that looks like a front door is locked and you will look hilarious when you try to go in that way.) The servers are attentive and lovely and clad in lingerie and are very much in compliance with any and all city ordinances that might apply. Don't you worry. When I went, it was well staffed for a medium-busy time that was just beginning to pick up, and I found myself attended to quite frequently.

Garden Grove can be a mixed bag, but this cafe is in a well kept strip mall in an area that isn't sketchy. They do seem to allow smoking on the premises (some of the older Vietnamese clients especially embrace the habit, I'm told), and you can detect that odor faintly at any hour, even if no one is smoking at the time. I was there in the morning and no one was, and when I left I did not feel like I had picked up the odor. But at other times, you might.

The servers work off of tips, so I suggest being mindful of not taking up too much of their time without compensating them for it. If you want more attention, naturally, or you are especially into a girl that services your table, a healthy tip early on will probably go a long way. Be ready with your bills, too, or you might miss the girl refilling your bottomless green tea.