Jason’s By The Circle

Took a group of 14 consisting of friends from 5 different countries here for dinner last weekend. Mind you we had made the reservation 3 weeks prior, and the staff was NOT prepared at all for our group. I was completely embarrassed with the level of customer service we received. It was TERRIBLE. Our reservation was at 6:30pm, we did not receive our meals until shortly after 9:00pm. They completely forgot one person’s meal. It took the servers almost 2 hours to refill our water glasses. At one point one of my friends got up to talk to the manager and was told that they were «sorry», but the restaurant was «slammed.» This seemed odd, because there were still a lot open tables when she said this. AND, to top it all off the manager never ONCE came over to apologize to the group. It kept getting worse and we felt like they were ignoring us. In the end, they sent us a bunch of desserts and tried to serve them over the table that was completely covered in empty glasses and plates. Total nightmare!!!
And the food was just «ok.» I wasn’t really «wowed» by the food at all.
I would NOT go back here, and I would not recommend it to anyone!!!

What a great find. Just love this place. I had gone here with a friend and then went back with my husband. He had the Ribeye and I had the Hawaiian Butter fish, and both were outstanding. My husband said it was one of the best he’d had, and that’s really saying something. The cosmos were one of the best I’ve tasted. We will definitely be returning and adding this restaurant to our go to list.

If you want delicious food filled with flavor this is your last stop on the bus.
Jason’s is your destination, before you get to the circle, for those who truly enjoy the taste of good food.
Care for a cheese plate? Try Jason’s house made Gorgonzola, basil pine nut spread. Talk about fish? OMG, Butter fish with choice of cilantro aioli or my my favorite Miso glaze
I could go on and on, however, finish with the most delicious Irish coffee that will challenge the Buena Vista in San Francisco any day

We finally have an old-​school steakhouse in orange county! Perfectly cooked steak, stiff martinis and excellent service! Plus, they offer happy hour prices in the dining area (although, I was surprised as to how low their regular prices are!). If you don’t want to steak but one something new, there’s plenty of other delicious but yet funky items to choose from on the menu. This will definitely be our regular date night spot!

Despite the creepy mannequins out front, I’m glad we finally gave this restaurant a shot since it is in our neighborhood. Unfortunately our hostess did not know the happy hour times, which are actually quite good and though she promised water, she forgot to deliver. We had multiple people serving us, all of which seemed new and confused, but nice. With perhaps a bit more training, they’ll nail it. The food on the other hand, did not disappoint. Food was actually prepared quickly and was very hot. Coconut shrimp appetizer was delicious (but small portion size). I got the meatloaf which was fantastic. My boyfriend got the burger which was amazing. Fries could’ve used some seasoning to match the quality and taste of the burger. All in all, we will definitely be back. Hopefully with a little tweaking, this restaurant will become the total package.

Came to this fine establishment in a hurry. Everyone was very pleasant extremely nice. Ordered the corn chowder and by corn chowder standards… Amazing! Will definitely have to come back to enjoy the rest of the menu.

Tasty cocktails & a nice selection of beers (your standard bar beers & some interesting craft options). We had the coconut shrimp & trio of Mediterranean spreads from the Happy Hour menu & everything was delicious. Great service from Drew, the bartender. Nice mellow atmosphere. Will definitely come back :)

Global Comfort! Great subtitle for this restaurant. I had the Shepherds Pie and Loved it. My wifey got the tomato bisque and grill cheese sandos. Coconut shrimp appetizer… Soooooooo Yummy. Never knew it was there. AND they Crush the competition with happy hour till 7… Take that gastro &Citrus! Hehehehehehe

Fantastic flavours and very creative presentations. The Skirt Steak is delicious and a quite beautiful plate. The chimichurri sauce is wonderful. And do NOT miss the vegetarian corn chowder, it is full of flavor and one of the best soups I’ve ever had.

Great place, great food, and great service!!! The waiter, Mikel Mitchell is amazing! Highly recommend you cask for him. You won’t regret it.

The empty parking lot at 6 p.m. and the mannequins standing in line outside (no lie. Mannequins) should have been a clue. We love the restaurants in Orange and stopped by here for a new experience. Although there was only one other table filled at this large restaurant, the service was unbearably slow, the food was not good (how do you screw up a hamburger) and — due to the lackluster quality of the meal — the price was too high. The waiter was pleasant, but inept, so when we finally flagged down a check (a 20-​minute experience on its own) I did leave a 10 percent tip out of pity and to keep this from being
a 100 percent sleazy experience. We won’t be back.

Came to Jason by the circle with the family. All of us enjoyed our meals. My wife said her shepherd pie was one of the best she has ever had. We got the black & white cake & the sticky pudding for dessert & both were great. Both the hostess & the server Andrew gave great service. We will be back

We tried Jason’s for the first time & will certainly be back! Self described as «global comfort food,» which I’d have to agree with. The menu is very diverse — with truly something for everyone. We happened to be there in Taco Tuesday night which meant we each tried out one of their varied taco choices — seafood with coconut curry sauce (yum!), Korean BBQ & an Argentinian chimichurra. I loved the monkey bites. We were around the globe for dinner as well as I had a French chicken & friends enjoyed a hearty gyro & also a bowl of pasta. We each chose a dessert but hands down we all LOVED the ooey gooey sticky pudding. Service was very friendly & folks were very helpful. I look forward to next time!

Took a friend here for dinner on a Friday night with a 7 PM reservation. The vibe in the front part of the restaurant and bar is very cool. The lighting, décor and energy were great. Unfortunately we were seated in the back of the restaurant in a very large cavernous room, think mess hall with padded booths. That wasn’t enough to write the place off yet since the reviews of the food were amazing. We ordered ceviche and some other appetizer neither of which were memorable. OK next step main course, between the three of us we had the meatloaf, short ribs and again I can’t remember our third dish. Not that memorable either.
Table service was just OK however the manager was truly friendly and pleasurable to speak with. We’ll come back try it one more time, sit with the cool people in the bar and try one of Jason’s signature dishes

Edited 5÷24÷16:
I upped it a star to 4 stars after going to Taco Tuesday. Best deal around! 3 tacos for $ 5? Okay, they are small, but damn they are good!
We tried 8 or 9 different tacos, and all were great. It isn’t like going to a Mexican restaurant and choosing between chicken or beef tacos, which are identical except for the meat. Every one of Jason’s tacos was completely different than the others. A totally new taste experience with each taco. They are not stuffed with shredded lettuce and cheese. Instead, filled with all kinds of tasty delights.
Do on Tuesday evening. You will not be disappointed! Yes, the décor and interior are out of another century, but the food is good.
Original review:
We have eaten here a number of times, and the food has generally been very good. My wife would give the place 4 stars, but I struggle with the décor and restaurant layout. The Coq au Vin was just okay, too dry in my opinion. The Shepherd’s Pie was good, especially since the meat was filet mignon. My wife loves the Ahi Poke, and gets it regularly. The Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque are excellent. The Blue Burger is very good, too many onions for me but that was easy to fix. The Black & White Cake and the Carrot Cake are great desserts.
Definitely comfort food, as opposed to fine dining. Prices are reasonable for the quality and are much more reasonable than the Haven Gastropub a few blocks away. Can’t ask for a better and more hospitable host than Jason. Service has always been excellent, except for the night when two of his cooks didn’t show up for work.
I just can’t believe someone who has such good taste in food has such bad taste in décor!

I will be honest with you, the reason we didn’t come to this place sooner was the family of creepy mannequins in front of the restaurant. They are weird, they are wearing hats and everything.
I decided to give it a try on cinco de mayo and I was not disappointed. It has been remodeled since I have been there last, the food was excellent. Im not a huge dessert person, but the STICKY PUDDING was soooooooo good!
Service was great, prices were fair. My margarita was well done! We will be back.

With several excellent eateries in the Orange circle, our expectations were high going in. However, Jason and his excellent menu on paper did not deliver.
The décor is an odd mixture of color, lighting, and tightly arranged booths. The bottom line is that it appears unfinished and creates an uninviting atmosphere. Before reaching the front door, you are encountered by freaky masked mannequins displayed along the walkway. Those of you with ‘fear of clowns’ phobia likely won’t even make it inside.
The food was not bad, but certainly not good enough to deserve a return visit. The only spread in the Mediterranean trio that was very good was the hummus. The salad Jason named after himself was a mediocre mixture of flavors that missed the mark. We ended with the Hawaiian butterfish that had the consistency and flavor of swordfish. A far cry from Roy’s version of the same dish.

Sat at the bar for dinner on a Friday night. Place was packed, and we managed to catch the tail end of HH and grabbed a cheap drink. Drew and Donovan helped us, and they were fantastic. We ordered the mushrooms to start, which was a light and delicious start to the meal. I especially liked the shards of cheese mixed in. Very refreshing.
We ordered meatloaf and the phyllo wrapped game hen and shared. The meatloaf was moist and very tasty. There was a very flavorful sauce that evoked middle eastern spices. The game hen was sprinkled with cinnamon and had a great sweet and savory combo.
For dessert we chose the sticky pudding, which was not heavy and a perfect end to the meal. Great food, great wine, and a cool vibe with fantastic service. We will be back.

Great place for network after work, we have met a group of professionals here a couple of tume, delicious finger food, good drinks nice ambience, right of the Orange Plaza.

I had seen a review of the place, and watched it transform through three different restaurants over the last couple of years, so I figured I would check the place out. My wife and I came and did a little grazing and had a few cocktails. The trio of seafood apps was good, but in the future I would stick with the poke. The ceviche was OK and the gravalox was not anything special (not bad, but just not really something I dig. The kalbi skewers were tasty but the portions were a bit small, just a few bites of the beef. The lamb sliders were very good, juicy and flavorful, probably the best (and most generous) app.
Drinks were OK. I liked my cocktail, but the pours are not that generous, and I like a heavy hand with my booze. Still, it was a nice change and worth a return visit.