Brodard's Long Beach Debut Set for 2ND & PCH, but the Date Is Still TBD
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Coming Soon Alert: One of Orange County's most storied Vietnamese restaurants is finally crossing the county line, and Long Beach is watching the door.
Brodard Restaurant, the Fountain Valley institution behind three decades of some of Southern California's most respected Vietnamese cooking, has confirmed its first Los Angeles County location at 2ND & PCH in Long Beach. The new outpost sits at 6480 East Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 100, in the former Tocaya space. As of publication, no firm opening date has been posted on Brodard's own Instagram or on the 2ND & PCH property site, both of which continue to list the Long Beach location as "coming soon."
Courtesy Brodard Restaurant
A Family Restaurant Built on One Story
The Brodard we know today traces to Nha Trang, where founder Diane Dang's family owned Hoa Binh, a French bakery in the coastal Vietnamese city. In 1986 the Dangs immigrated to the United States with their three children. A decade later, in October 1996, Dang's husband Thuong suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed, and Dang took over the family business. She built Brodard's menu from the food of her mother's kitchen in Nha Trang and her memory of the family gatherings that ran through her childhood.
The result, an hour and change down the 405 from Long Beach, is a restaurant that shaped modern Vietnamese dining in Southern California. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison has named Brodard one of California's best. The Brodard Group of Restaurants now includes Brodard Chateau in Garden Grove and Bamboo Bistro in Newport Beach, the latter run by Dang's daughter Chau Haller.
"For decades, we have shared the strength of our family and the unforgettable tastes of Vietnam with Orange County," Dang said in the announcement of the Long Beach location. "We are excited to share the quality and tradition of Brodard with the Long Beach community."
Why Long Beach Matters
The 2ND & PCH shopping district has spent the past several years assembling a food and drink lineup that reads more Newport Coast than traditional South Bay strip retail, and Brodard's arrival is the first major Vietnamese-forward opening in the corridor. It also joins a busy season for new restaurants in Los Angeles. Long Beach's own Cambodian and Vietnamese communities have anchored the city's food identity for decades, and Brodard slots into that context as a bridge between Little Saigon's culinary tradition and Los Angeles County's broader dining audience.
What We Have Our Eyes On
The dish that made Brodard famous is the nem nuong cuon, the grilled pork spring roll wrapped in rice paper with fresh herbs and lettuce, served with a peanut-based dipping sauce built on the family's recipe. Order beyond that, and the group's Fountain Valley menu points to the following as standouts:
Rib eye spring rolls — the higher-end variation on the nem nuong cuon template.
Banh khot tom — crispy turmeric rice cakes topped with shrimp.
Brodard crepe noodle — a house specialty combining crepe and noodle textures.
Crispy king salmon egg roll — a Long Beach launch exclusive built specifically for the Los Angeles County debut.
For the full current menu and updates on the Long Beach opening date, see brodardrestaurant.net.
The Family Behind the Spring Rolls
The reason Brodard carries the weight it does in Orange County is not the menu alone. Founder Diane Dang grew up in Nha Trang, Vietnam, where her family were third-generation owners of Hoa Binh, a well known French bakery. She immigrated to the United States in 1986 with her husband Thuong and their three children, and the family opened a bakery of their own. When Thuong suffered a stroke in 1996, Diane stepped in to run the business and turned to the cooking she knew best, drawing on her mother's home meals and the gatherings she remembered from childhood.
The restaurant is now marking roughly 25 years in business. The Brodard group also includes Brodard Chateau in Garden Grove and Bamboo Bistro in Newport Beach, the latter run by Dang's daughter Chau Haller. The Long Beach address is 6480 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 100, in the former Tocaya space at 2ND & PCH.
If it lands, Brodard joins a short list of traditional Vietnamese rooms in Long Beach. There is also a symmetry worth noting: as Brodard prepares to cross into LA County, Crustacean Beverly Hills is leaving Bedford Drive after thirty years. One Vietnamese institution arriving, another moving on.
Brodard Long Beach is set for 6480 East Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 100, Long Beach, CA 90803. Track the rest of what's opening across the region on our LA restaurant news hub. Food Journal Magazine will update this brief and file a full first-visit report the moment doors open.