Circolo

I hosted my husbands 40^th Bday party for 80 guest at Circolo… and Vana was great to work with and plan our party with! She was very attentive to our guest and kept me up to date the while night on food, bar tab and cake cutting! Our guest loved the food and drinks!
Thanks Vana for making this such a great birthday for my husband!

I miss you Circolo. Especially on valentines day. You had always a inventive menu and out of the way enough that it was never too busy. You were my V-​Day tradition for many years and I always left happy and FULL. The tartare was amazing!
Adieu old friend.

Circolo made a decent panko crusted fried chicken. The only problem was I’m not a big fan of panko crusts. It’s just not the same as the savory, starchy goodness of a batter fried chicken (like KFC). It’s a little too gourmet if you know what I mean. It was probably as good as a panko crust gets though — nice and crispy on the outside, but juicy and tender on the inside. Not bad if you’re into the panko, but it just wasn’t exactly for me.
I actually enjoyed the miso cod a bit more than the fried chicken — it was more of a traditional melt in your mouth miso cod. Can’t really go wrong there!

I went to a food festival here and the vibe is just weird. The inside of this club is really nice. The variety of food at this fest was subpar. The staff seemed ok… the bartender never rushed or forced you to order a drink so that’s nice. The bouncers didn’t let us even loiter for one second to decide where to go and he made anyone with a bottle of water either finish it or throw it away.
I’ve heard mixed things about this place and I had heard there was a shooting here not too long ago which probably explains why the bouncers are so strict.
Overall, I don’t know if I’d seek this place out but if there was a special event, I might stop over.

I wasn’t really impressed — music wasn’t diverse at all — they only played reggaeton in one of their rooms, and in the other was hip-​hop that I had never heard before. Somehow they ran out of Sierra Nevada — the bartender was friendly about it.
I dunno the overall feel wasn’t there for me — lots of dudes, music I wasn’t a fan of. I’d give it another shot assuming the music was a little more diverse.

First off, if I could, I would give this place zero stars.
Came here for a friends event. All of that was all good. This review is pretty much for the bar portion.
Yes the drinks are expensive, but we are already warned by the $ signs. But you would think, if this place was such a top notch lounge, the customer service would be a whole lot better.
I ordered from the same bartender the whole night, I don’t know why I did this, maybe b/​c after the first fat tip I hooked him up with, he would be at least a bit more pleasant the next time I ordered from him. I was so wrong.
I do not know this guy’s name, but he’s a bit husky, and has a shaved head. Oh, you’ll know who I’m talking about, b/​c he talks to you like your beneath him. It was thee worst portrayal of customer service I have ever seen. I wish I had not tipped him so fat, b/​c he definitely did not deserve it. He pretty much acts as if his sh** don’t stink.
I am Never Ever coming back to this place again!

YOU WINE TASTES LIKE SH**!!!
(3 stars)
First and foremost, that was the nastiest wine I’ve ever had and it was a new open bottle too. For $ 8 bucks for nasty Hahn wine, you got to be kidding me.
Came here over the weekend for the Food Social party. It was hosted at Circolo. Circolo itself as a venue, cute but small. Bathrooms (ladies) has only two stalls and one of two working sinks.
FOOD SOCIAL EVENT (at Circolo)… for the Food Social, give itself 4 stars because there is no real association with Circolo.
— FOOD, flavorful
— PRICES, decent
— SERVICE, good
They were a vendor at the Food Social Party in SF — we did not to go the Emeryville location. Our goal was to try as much of the variety at the Food Social party and so I decided to get a plate from the quiet corner (their table wasn’t as loud as the others). I’m not too into Indian food but there are times I will dip into it. I’d like to give 4-​stars (if I could) just alone for the Food Social Party (they need to post up on Unilocal!!)
HEFFER-​STYLE STATUS.
S&S GastroPub
* Crispy Pork Belly with pickled watermelon rind skewer ($ 5) — it was pretty damn good. Juice fat piece of lechon on a stick with pickled watermelon. At first I thought it was decoration but it was pickled watermelon with a splash of cinnamon. Not sure how it plays with the salt pork belly but it worked somehow.
WonOfAKind
($ 6 for 7 wontons)
* Cheeseburger wontons (2) — VERY Interesting. Tasted like a cheeseburger in a wonton. Exactly how it is.
* Italian wontons (2) — It was just italiian sausage in the wonton and a little drizzle of pesto sauce on top of the wonton. It was good but nothing i’d crave for.
* Crab wonton (2) — the typical… but there crab wonton was pretty good. Liked it alot.
WAZWAN (Cuisine of India)
FOR $ 8…
* Chicken Tikka Masala — I love butter chicken. Is this the name for butter chicken (sorry, I am not an Indian food expert). It was really good and went well with the rice. I asked if it was spicy and she said yes and was tempted to keep my eats light as my system can be sensitive to spicy but it wasn’t that spicy at all. Barely spicy.
* Vegetable Masala — liked this alot. It reminded me very much of a Filipino (chicken apretada minus the chicken).
* RIce & Salad — The plate could have been done without the salad, the salad just didnt fix with the three mixes. Felt like it was added on there to be a filler or to not have the plate feel too ‘foreign’ for those American palates.
Until the next review…

I don’t know what this place is at all normally but we were invited here because my boyfriend’s cousin’s birthday event. For an exclusive birthday bash with some glitz and glamour, this is perfect. We boarded a party bus here and the bouncers (or normal employees?) greeted us to a private dance floor, lounge, and bar. This place was ours (or more accurately, the hostee).
On top of a private party, there were chefs cooking up delicious appetizers throughout the night as the entrée table was being continuously cleared by invited guests. The sliders and the fish tacos stood out the most. For the birthday girl, the bartenders had a printed menu that night with a special cocktail with her name on it. The service here is nice, but bathrooms get really messy.
For private flashy events with a taste of intimacy, Circolo is the place to be.

My groupon that was expiring in August forced me to finally come here.
This place is not bad, but the portions are really really really small. I understand tapas style are suppose to be small, but I felt ripped off even though I had a groupon.
Ok, now to the food. I ordered the fried mac and cheese, oysters mignonette, and a pork dish with some sauce. Fried mac and cheese was not that great, I think I actually like the mac and cheese that comes in the blue box with the dinosaur more. The oyster mignonette was really good, but you can’t really mess up on this… unless you don’t know how to make the sauce… The pork was good (i really wish I remembered what it was called), it was good, but without the sauce it taste very similar to the roast pork you find in those Chinese butcher places.
For dessert, I had the flan. This was the highlight of dinner and it was an average size dessert. So lesson learned, only order desserts from here next time.
My bf and I went to eat somewhere else after this place. This place is decent if you are rich and can afford more dishes. But in this economy, and as a student… it is not possible for me.

I also attended the SoulKrush party, and it was definitely one of the most fun club events that I’ve been to… it might have been because I went with friends Kathleen W. and Vivian C. among others, or because they had a good mix of pop, hip hop, electro, and Korean music!
Another good thing besides the music and the crowd was the parking — really easy to find a spot closeby :)
Drinks were about average in terms of cost and taste for a club, though I’m glad the Tokyo Tea I got was quite strong: P
In comparison with clubbing in Seoul and this event, I was glad that there was no smoking inside and that pretty much everyone danced — unlike actual Korea: P

Soul Krush Entertainment stoplight party – soooo Korean. just the way I like it! Super fun event with an hour dedicated to K-​Pop! House was tolerable. Wrapping the night off with top 40 was the cherry on top!
Didn’t check out the bathrooms, but the venue was pretty swanky. A big dance floor (yay) and cool sound system. Lots of parking nearby, not too shady as a neighborhood, though there was this hobo tent a block away…
Would definitely come back again!

I used to work right next to Circolo and would go in and have the hamburgers. Its a pretty good hamburger with very well cooked french fries.
The price is a little steep for being out in the mission and its trying a little too hard to be upscale while being out in the middle of nowhere.

What a bizarre restaurant/​bar/​lounge/​venue or whatever Circolo fancies itself to be.
I recently came for my friend’s birthday/​comedy show, which was being held in a back room that reminded me of when Scarlett and Bill sang karaōke in Lost in Translation. It was a Tuesday night and the main area was dead as dead, maybe two people eating and drinking.
I hoped this would result in undivided attention for my birthday friend and myself, but you can’t always get what you want, even if it’s your friend’s birthday. Life lesson learned. There was only one bartendress and waiter for the place in all of its multifacetedness, so service was snail slow. Luckily I had the pleasure of laughing my arse off at the SF Comedy Shop’s set, as they perform weekly in that mysterious backroom I spoke of. Check them out on Tuesday nights.
I would come back for the comedy and I would come back for the bar burger. Despite touting themselves as ‘nuevo Asian’ I chose the burger and I chose well. Perfectly perfect at medium rare with a slice of bacon and grilled onions-​I ordered this solely as drunken sustenance but was pleasantly surprised with it. The cocktails are a wash-​I ordered the Better in Pears and it was far too watery and sloppily made. I stuck with the bubbles for the rest of the evening. Can’t go wrong with Bubbles.
Difficult to imagine as a regular restaurant, but not bad for a raucous comedy get-​together with friends. And where there is a good burger and bubbly bubbles to be had, I will be there.

I’ll get this out of the way, how is this place fusion? When I order a Kobe Beef slider burger ($ 5 btw which is great!), I don’t see the asian/​latin fusion there in a burger with grilled onions on a bun.
Overall the happy hour menu here is really good, and pretty diversified. Came here with the girlfriend and we split an order of the shiszo peppers (is that even spelled right), udon noodles, kobe sliders, fish tacos, kumamoto oysters, and garlic fries.
Nothing too memorable, aside from the Kobe beef sliders, and the oysters. The fish tacos were a shade dry, and not really flavorful, but the vegetable udon was actually really good. I just don’t really see the fusion aspect of anything… but that’s just me.
But, the bartender was nice as he gave us a free calamanzi, since he had never heard of the drink before.
Pros: Happy hour… wide variety of food for good prices.
Cons: Don’t really see the fusion theme really, some food is great, some are not so great.

I came here for a banquet with my club (MCBcDNA — UC Berkeley), and I have to admit… IT WAS AWESOME! The menu we created was filled with some of the best entrees I’ve had in a long time.
I ordered the Chilled Oysters, Chilean Sea Bass, and a fudge/​brownie desert. The oysters were nice and fresh, and served with course sea salt for extra flavoring. The best part was the sea bass, and I would recommend it to anyone if they have the chance. The desert was great, although it felt as if they gave me a large chunk of chocolate, as the desert was essentially just pure fudge.
I also loved how it became a night club after 12am, and some of our party stayed a bit to party after the banquet. Although it surprised me how the shady warehouses surrounding Circolo were also night clubs.

I’ve been here before as a former club rat but most recently for a private event in their «WA Room» for my friend Phil D.‘s 30^th birthday.
Circolo was a great spot for a private event because it fit the criteria of…
1) The ability to rent out the entire venue or a private room for a birthday hors d’oeuvres/cocktail party,
2) Possibility of an «after party» on-​site.
3) Reasonable parking
1, 2, and 3 — all check with a pretty dope, Asian influenced, zen like space with very EASY parking. After 10pm the private area gets open to the public. (
) so the crowd can get really random, especially since there is another club across the street that’s been known to bring a sketchy crowd.
The staff was very professional and courteous. They were on top of every request and were super cool about it. (
)
The menu is Asian fusion and was delicious Even though the pork ribs were a little tough, the stars of the night were easily their lamb sliders and crab cakes.
Asian Fusion menu
–Atkin’s Ranch Lamb Sliders & Pickled Red Onions
–Kobe Beef Satay w/​Lemongrass-​Plum Sauce
–Yellowfin Ahi Tuna Tartar Tacos w/​Jalapeño Salsa
–Dungeness Crab Cakes w/​Spicy Aioli
–Petite Chipotle Glazed Pork Ribs
The bartender, forgot his name, helped customize some drinks for Phil the B’day boy. One drink was named Phil’s Good and after about 4 was feeling pretty good myself.
I’d tell you more but after a couple rounds, it starts getting blurry. lol. (
)

ZERO STARS. Eat shit and die Circolo!
Came here from a gf’s birthday with a party of about 20 people. To make things easier, we decided to all order off the DAT menu since it was going on. First… they were out of duck so our choices were… chicken. That’s it. 1 option. SWEEEEET. NOT! The waiter was nice though and gave us the option of getting a flatiron steak instead of the duck. NIIICE. But it was all downhill from there.
Salad:
Baby baby tiny spinach. Think… so small I couldn’t tell it was spinach. Tossed with oil, salt and pepper. YUM!
Appetizer:
Tempura fried mushrooms. Tricky tricky. Mushroom (S)?! As in plural. Ugh I think NOT! They gave each person ONE mushroom cut in half. I shit you not. Photos are soon to be posted. I was starving and furious at this point.
Entrée:
4 tiny slices of steak, one fingerling potato cut in half. WOW. Call it a day I am fucking STUFFED. Note the sarcasm…
Lets just say at the end of meal, EVERYONE was starving and pissed. Did I mention I already ate dinner beforehand and I was STILL starving? I think the food was so tiny that it was like a negative amount of food which caused me to be hungrier the more I consumed it. Think about it… Got it? Yeah… I’m hilarious.
The manager told us, it’s a DAT menu, did you expect a lot of food? Ugh no. But I expected some! And I have ordered off plenty of DAT menus and that was the worst and tiniest by far! I mean. I’m paying for a meal. Not an expensive ass nasty snack! $ 50+ per person! To make amends he gave us complimentary poison oysters that made me yack within 30 minutes of eating one. Thanks buddy!
Sidenote: I’ll be sure to add Circolo to my «Restaurants to Burn to the Ground» list…

When we checked in we kicked back in the lounge area for a little while then shortly thereafter wandered off and took an unescorted tour of the place.
My wife from time to time loves to scope out locations for events.
This place may be a good possibility for an upcoming special birthday venue.
We liked the overall ambiance here. It was welcoming, soothing and the décor and lighting easy on the eyes.
I was so relaxed that I wanted to take a nap but so much for that number.
We went through the main dining area (converts into a dance floor) then up the stairs, where they have a DJ station and booth seating. It was pretty impressive to say the least.
As we headed back to our ultra lounge seating, we met up with Daniel (on-​shift Event Coordinator). We chatted a bit about the venue and he led us on a tour of the ‘Wa Room’.
We didn’t realize this was on the ground level. This room was pretty cool and cozy. There’s a bar area and a DJ station. They also offered the option for additional seating accommodations for your party.
At this point we were both giggly excited. One question remained… How’s the food?
When it comes to food I have a benchmark.
We both decided to try everything on the Happy Hour Menu.
I figured if it’s warm or cold on the shallow end then it’s even hotter or colder on the deep end!
Here’s the line up:
First: Atkin’s Ranch Lamb Slider ³⁄₁
Second: Angry Black Tiger Shrimps ⁵⁄₄ pcs.
Third: Grilled Hanger Steak Butter Lettuce Cups 6 (x2)
Fourth: Tempura Fish Tacos ⁴⁄₂ pcs.
Fifth: Orange~Chipotle Glazed Pork Ribs ⁵⁄₆ pcs.
Sixth: Chilled Oyster 1 ea (x4)
Seventh: Crispy Chicken Ginger Lollipops ⁵⁄₃ pcs.
The lamb slider was the bomb! My wife loves lamb as much as I love carrot sticks for my last meal on earth. I was shocked how she loved it! It wasn’t too gamy for her and the herbs de provence was a clever touch in the mix. The tiger shrimp was sweet and graceful at first bite then got fierce with arse kickin’ heat down the gullet — wow!
Lettuce wrapped grilled hanger steak nicely charred on the outside and medium-​rare in between just how I like em’ — flavorful. The fish tacos were perfect in texture and taste, but they can work a little bit more on the co-​stars for that show. Pork ribs perfectly cooked– delicious! The sauce though was run of the mill in my palate. The oysters were fresh with an oriental ginger like after twist and the lollipop chicken topped off the evening in yum-​style (served on a bed of delish salad — one of the best I’ve had)!
Now I don’t wanna side track on this review but when my wife and I talk about past events and venues, she’ll go like do you remember the dress she was wearing, her shoes, the favors, the flowers, the weather, the ambience, etc.
Then I’ll go like hmmm not really… But do you remember the food I ask???
I wanna thank Daniel, Jaime our Server, and Executive Chef Garret Martindale for a fantastic evening!
I’ve taken a lot more cam shots, but being digitally green, I didn’t want to take up any more server space for crappy, blurry and grainy pix no one could appreciate.
Happy Fat Tuesday y’all…

Disappointing, disappointing, disappointing.
Did I mention that I was disappointed?
Maybe I should try the sandwich method of critique… the «pro, con, pro» technique of giving feedback in an effort to sound democratic in my rating.
PRO: Ambiance was nice… quite Zen with the flowing water at the entrance.
CON: My Dirty Martini was not chilled, nor dirty
PRO: My BF’s Caiprihna was pretty nice.
CON: Salt Please? My Adobo Crusted Rack of Lamb had little flavor. I would have added salt but they are one of those restaurants that don’t have S/​P on the table. Um, I’d rethink that choice.
PRO: My BF’s Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop was tasty but had poor presentation.
CON: Dessert… BLEH! The coconut flan was ok but the rice-​pudding had no flavor at all.
PRO: Their open kitchen offered nice dinner time entertainment.
The décor can’t hide the lackluster of the food. In fact, I’m really suprised to read such positive ratings from folks.

CircoNo