Circles Contemporary Asian

Forgot my order by grubhub, phone, and through seamless. Worst restaurant ever! For all three orders I waited one-​two hours to hear they couldn’t prepare it, because they never received my order. Never even offered a coupon or anything to make up for it. And didn’t even apologize!!!
Fix your internet apps and your employees who answer the phone/​app for orders. Never ordering from here again. What’s the point if you never even get a chance to eat your food?
This restaurant will leave you hungry and angry… hangry.
Pssssh.

Great go-​to. Lots of flavor and ingredients. They aren’t playing around with the spice level though!

I eat Thai food about 3x a week; and for a while I had started ordering from other Thai spots because the Pad Thai here just wasn’t stacking up. Something was wrong with it. Not sure if it was too much soy or oyster sauce. But it just was not right.
That has changed! Probably in the last month or so the Pad Thai has improved a ton and now it has regained my trust as a legit Thai Food joint. I’m very happy to report that I am once again a recurring patron.
I do wish they used Unilocal’s eat24 service for ordering rather than having their own website but I guess we can’t have everything can we…

This is the best Thai food in the city. It’s always consistent and they have lots of vegetarian and vegan options. The salmon pad Thai is solid as are all the curries. I have had a few apps including the veg Philly cheesesteak spring rolls, definitely worth a try. Delivery is usually pretty reasonable 30 – 45 minutes, and always arrives hot.

If you don’t live around their location, save yourself the trouble and DO NOT order for delivery!!! do pick up instead
Their shrimp pad thai and papaya salad are great.

I have always loved Circles food but haven’t had the opportunity to order from them in probably a year. Well, tonight was my birthday and, having no plans, I decided to get some of my favorite food — Thai rolls and Chicken Pad Kee Mow. I don’t know if they changed cooks but it seems that the recipe they’re now using for both items is very different than I remember and, unfortunately, not as good. They seem to have substituted heat for flavor. In the past this would have been a five star review, but today the best I can do is 3 stars and I honestly feel that is being quite generous. I fear it’s time to find another Thai restaurant.

Worst delivery experience ever!!! Order placed at 8:11pm and total was $ 104.60 — yes, large order for 6 people. Food was delivered at 9:20pm, tipped the driver $ 20 cash… BUT didn’t realize until the driver drove off that it was the wrong order. Once we called Circles to inform them of the mix up, a different driver came back to take back the food and he had no idea what happened to our own food delivery.
When I called Circles, the guy explained that multiple delivery orders all got mixed up. He then said they cannot start remaking our order until all the drivers bring back the incorrect food deliveries.
After much consideration, we decided to cancel our order since a) Circles could not start remaking our food right away, b) Circles could not give us an estimated time when our food would be ready, c) 2 hrs had already gone by since we placed our original order, and d) the circles guy on the phone was very short, rude, and impatient with me when all I was trying to do was gain more of an understanding of what happened.
While we appreciated a delivery guy driving back our $ 20 cash tip, this still was the most disappointing delivery experience I’ve had with Circles. I’ve ordered from them multiple times and this has never happened. I even talked up this place and recommended it for dinner, and now I’m just embarrassed.
I’m mostly disappointed by their lack in customer service. We would have been satisfied if they told us they’d start remaking our order asap since the fault was on them. We were confused why they could not simply retake our order. I understand mistakes happen, and in the past when similar incidents like this occurred the restaurant would apologize and remake our order asap.
Sorry Circles, but no more orders from me :(

This place is by far our favorite Thai place in the city. We usually come here every so often to dine in or take out. The neighborhood is kinda sketchy — this place is tucked away in South Philly. The place is BYOB and has two locations — one for dining in and the other for dining out. Ultimately all the food comes from the take out (which is a weird set up — they cover up your meal when it rains).
Our go to is the Tom yum soup, either Thai beef salad/​papaya salad, or crab Rangoon as an appetizer. The tom yum is solid. The Thai beef salad can be made with different levels of heat.
They have mild, medium, hot and Thai hot. Normally, most places hot is like a medium. I don’t go past hot and at this point I’m getting the water and tissues ready to blow my runny nose.
You can’t go wrong with either the pad Thai or pad see ew. Again, you can order at various levels of heat. I start slow (medium/​mild on the apps) and then work my taste buds to the hot heat. The flavors are bold (can be salty), but is very delicious

This was my second time ordering at the Tasker location (I’ve gotten delivery pretty regularly from the NoLib location in the past) but my first time eating in the Circles Lounge that’s right across the street from their small takeout-​and-​delivery outpost.
The food was just as good as always. I was in a major noodle mood so I ordered the Pad See Ew, which was completely satisfying. We also ordered the summer rolls as an appetizer which were tasty and pretty standard, though nothing out of this world.
The place itself is decent. Pretty sparsely decorated and sort of a weird set up. (Note on the setup: the kitchen is still next door so they bring all the food from across the street on platters, which doesn’t make a big difference but you don’t really get the typical restaurant experience.) Also pretty empty for 6:30 on a Friday night. But no complaints about any of that because I really just wanted a low key, air conditioned place to sit and eat my trusty Circles, which is what this place provides.
The food is aways spot at both locations and I will continue to pop into this location whenever I’m in the area.

Went on a whim one night. Was around this location one night.
Ordered:
Shrimp pad thai.
Chicken with green curry
Beef salad
–The pad thai was a little too sweet
–The curry was a little too creamy and bland
–The need salad was good. Nothing to rant about.
The bill was a bit in the high side given the fact that this place is situated on the border.
Gentrification is in the process. They still have their bullet proof window up.

I have never had curry before. The associate was incredibly nice and helped me form my decision to try curry. I had the pineapple curry with chicken and it was absolutely delicious. I will definitely be visiting this place again.

Been searching around Philadelphia for an authentic Thai restaurant, and this is THE one so far!
Tried to make it more authentic by stopping and picking up a six pack of Singha. Thankfully it’s a BYOB, and sat down at 6:45.
Dining room was quiet, music playing was good and waitress was very friendly.
Started off with Lemongrass Soup, mild spice. Knowing lemongrass soup is already spicy enough and will make you sweat, additional heat wasn’t needed. Very flavorful with added mushrooms and onions. Only complaint here was they could have used better mushrooms. Oyster, shiitake, or cremini. Nevertheless, still very good.
Next we had a calamari salad, hot heat, served over a bed of iceberg lettuce. This was awesome. Not as hot as I thought it would be but the left over dressing was GREAT for dipping our Thai Pork Rolls.
The rolls originally came with duck sauce and traditional Thai peanut sauce. The rolls were crispy and looked to be hand made, lightly fried.
Also ordered was the Pumpkin Curry with Chicken and the Crispy Snapper with white rice. Thumbs up on both.
Also ordered the Garlic & Basil fried rice but took that to go. Amazing dish to have as left overs! I’m sure it would have been better eating it at the table.
Overall, if you like Thai, it’s a must. We’ll be back.

Pad see ew was way too saucy and and way too salty. Have to pay extra for a protein in your noodle. Very interesting setup… the kitchen is located in a different building than the dining area. Our waitress was very sweet and service was quick… but would not return for the food.

Pad see ew was way too saucy and and way too salty. Have to pay extra for a protein in your noodle. Very interesting

This place may be a little pricey, but it is worth every cent. I have never had bad service, take out or eat-​in.
The eat-​in section is never overly crowded and the servers are pleasant and helpful, but not overly attentive.
I dream about their pumpkin curry. 5 stars is not enough!

Okay.. Okay. .OKAY! This place is unreal when it comes to true authenticity, Circles you have won me over with your Thai cuisine. What to expect when entering Circles? A nice cozy atmosphere, with a home like feel to it is what you’ll experience. Oh and again let us not forget what else Circles offers you. Banging Thai food, pretty much Circles is on point !
Lets dive into this review before I go crazy like, Chip Kelly to the Eagles 2015 roster.
Our appetizers we had gone with Crab Rangoon, along with Crab and Pork dumplings.
Crab Rangoon ~ These were simply delicious with a curry cheese mixed with the crabmeat. This is a must order, plus with that sweet plum sauce they give you is pretty damn good.
Crab and Pork dumplings~ Stuffed with nice healthy pieces of crab mixed with shredded pork is what you’d expect to bite into! These were pan seared to perfection, with a soy vinegrette to make anyone go crazy. AMAZEballs, this is another must order.
The Main course.
The meal I went with was Spicy Drunken Noodles with chicken, or better known as a Pad Kee Mow. Oh my goodness this was delicious. An ensemble of flavors that will rock your world with the perfect amount of spice. That garlic taste that is not over powering, with that basil flavor that will erupt like Mt. Vesuvius. I’m pretty sure your taste buds will be doing the «bull dance» feeling the flow with every bite. Mixed with chicken and vegetables this is perfectly blended with the right amount of spices will put a smile on your face, that and a slight moan.
If you need to, you can amp up the heat factor with their house made hot peppers they offer, along with other sides. I do love a spicy kick that will intensify my experience.
I almost forgot to mention while you’re waiting for you meal, which is not long. They prepare your meal across the street, this is where the kitchen is located. Don’t be surprised when you see the waitress coming in and out with a tray of deliciousness. You can also order take out across the street in case you are on the go.
The service was great, the establishment is clean and they’ll treat you right. A great BYOB joint that serves an awesome Thai Ice Tea that is refreshing while you enjoy your meal.

I was really disappointed with Circles.
I LOVE Thai food, so I ordered Circles from GrubHub, even though I have an awesome regular Thai restaurant. I wanted to give Circles a shot.
The Mild Soup was very good.
For one of the entrees, I got the «Eggplant Stirfry». It says «with bamboo, peppers, and sweet/​spicy sauce», but it was 95% bamboo and smelled like horse. I thought they packed the wrong thing at first. So, this dish was a wash. It did not taste good.
Then, I opened the «Red Curry» and saw that it, too, was 95% bamboo. Now, I always start with Red or Green Curry from a new place, so I know what to expect and this was not it. When I removed the bamboo, the curry in and of itself was amazing.
When I called to ask for a refund, I was told that, because the GrubHub description says that the dish contains bamboo, the restaurant wasn’t going to take any responsibility for the poor quality of their food. When 95% of your dish is bamboo, it doesn’t mean that it «contains bamboo»; it means that it *is* bamboo.
I asked to be refunded for one of the two entrees. I paid $ 32 for my whole order and tipped the delivery guy well. I did not think that a $ 12 refund for a mostly-​bad meal was a ridiculous notion. I am so upset that Circles completely brushed me off and clearly doesn’t care about its customers.
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**EDIT 2/​11/​15** The owner, who wasn’t present that night at the South Philly location, has since followed up with me and given me the partial refund that I requested. I have changed my initial rating (1 star) to reflect what I thought of the food itself. I’ve left the rest of the review in-​tact.
Make sure to order lots of vegetables if you want something other than bamboo. Since the owner did follow up with me, I will try Circles again with a new ordering strategy in mind.
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The food is delicious but it takes a while for delivery. Get the fried smore banana spring roll (something like that). They are amazing!!!

I have mixed feelings about Circles these days. I’ve long been a fan of their food and have many many a time couch bummed it at home with their awesome deliveries, but more recently I’ve found the food to be too sweet and the prices to be too high.
I’ve been switching over to family-​style joints which maintain humility and quality ingredients and constant innovation as they garnish positive reviews and bask in the attention of their growing fanbases. I just wish Circles was a little more like that. I miss the fantastic experience I had years back.

Ordered takeout from here recently and delivery was very speedy. However, the food was actually pretty terrible.
I ordered three different things and everything left me disappointed. The Pad Thai was probably the best, but that isn’t saying much. Way too heavy on the peanuts in every dish, it actually overpowered things.
Probably won’t be ordering from here again.

Excellent vegetable red curry with brown rice. Excellent — I’ve eaten at many Thai Resturants…, u deserve the Best
I order atleast 2−4xs weekly yum yum. That DeLish!

Circles is my jam. My roommate and I decided to get takeout just now and I realized I needed to give Circles some much-​deserved big ups for their stellar food after eating it regularly for years.
I should preface this by saying that I eat a lot of curries and there are few things I love more in life than that flushed-​face, runny-​nose, tears-​in-​the-​corners-​of-​your-​eyes feeling you get when consuming a Thai curry with just the right amount of heat. I got hooked years ago in Thailand and this place is the real deal. They know their stuff when it comes to spice and complex, soulful flavors. I swear their curry has the power to lift my spirits any time I order it. Their red curry kept my heart and tummy warm throughout Philly’s brutally cold winter last year.
Everything I’ve had is on point, from the crispy, piping hot spring rolls (cheesesteak or classic) to the pad see ew to my beloved red, green, or panang curries. Their takeout is prompt and professional. If you choose to dine in, the space is comfortable, clean, and tastefully decorated. And it’s a BYOB. what more could you ask for? Definitely the best Thai food I’ve had in the city and always my go-​to takeout when I just need a night in.

We only did take out from here so I can’t speak for the dining room yet.
Overall I would say the food was decent, with a few highlights. Big portions but also not cheap either.
We went with the pad thai, the garlic basil fried rice (it has a little kick), the circles fried rice, the vegetable dumplings, and the crab /​pork dumplings. Despite being overprice for dumplings, I think my favorites of the mix were the two dumplings appetizers.
The delivery came within 35 minutes which was nice. I would probably order from here again if I happen to be in the area.

I’ve only gotten Circles food delivered, but have been really happy with it so far. They say it will take 1 ½ hours to deliver, but so far I’ve waited around an hour for a weeknight delivery and only 30 mins on a Sunday night. I’d still plan for an hour and a half, but be pleasantly surprised if they’re early.
Their Pad Thai is really great — quality noodles, fresh mango and sprouts on top. I’m done getting cheap thai food where you can taste the MSG — Circles is definitely a much better experience all around.
I’ve also tried several different kinds of spring rolls. The classic spring rolls were great, but nothing new. The plum sauce they come with compliments them really well.
The summer rolls are healthy and delicious (served cold). The filling is fresh lettuce, cucumbers, vermicelli noodles, fresh basil, and fresh chives wrapped in rice paper with a sweet chili-​peanut sauce. You can really taste the basil and chives — this one was definitely best dipped in the sweet chili-​peanut sauce.
The Thai rolls are also really good — they come with vermicelli on the inside. They’re filled with minced pork, black mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and shallots wrapped in rice paper with a sweet-​plum sauce.
Can’t go wrong! They’re all really good, and come with tasty sauce that compliments them just right.
Only con is the prices, but I’d rather pay for good quality food and good service, over the cheap stuff. I’ll be back!