Circle City Tavern — Local services in Corona

I want to love this place, I really do.
It’s gorgeous inside, has a cool concept, and it’s close to home. It checks a lot of boxes. But unfortunately, I’ve been twice now, and both visits left me disappointed.

First Visit: My husband and I stopped by during their soft opening week. We’d just heard about the place and wanted to check it out. We arrived around 8:30 PM. When we walked in, we were greeted right away and told we could sit anywhere, so we grabbed seats at the indoor/outdoor bar area on the left side. The tavern wasn’t busy, maybe three or four servers walking around, but it still took about 8–10 minutes before anyone acknowledged us. When a server finally came over, they let us know they were out of quite a few menu items (which we totally understood, given the soft opening and time of night). We were mainly there for drinks anyway. We ordered our drinks and then waited what felt like another 20 minutes for them to arrive. To be fair, the drinks were great! But again, our server disappeared, and we had to flag someone down just to order one more round. I chalked it up to first-week jitters, maybe the staff was still learning sections, bartenders still getting into the groove, and the team working out the kinks.

Second Visit: Flash forward to this past Thursday. A girlfriend and I went out for a catch-up drink. I suggested the tavern because: She hadn’t been, I really enjoyed my drink last time, and I wanted to give the place a second chance. We arrived around 7:30 PM and were greeted immediately. I told the host we were a party of two, and she suggested the bar was open seating. Again, the place wasn’t busy, and we could have easily been sat at a table, but we’re not picky so we found two seats near the “coffee area” on the right side of the bar. Unfortunately, it was very hot. no noticeable A/C or fans and not comfortable. Still, we decided to stay. A server brought us menus and two small glasses of room-temperature water (ice would’ve been appreciated in that heat, but we didn’t ask, so fair enough). We waited about 15 minutes before our bartender/server came over to take our drink order, and it took another 10 minutes or so to get the drinks. Once again, the drinks were great, no complaints there. But when we were ready to order an appetizer, we couldn’t get our server’s attention. We ended up asking another server, who was very kind and took our order without issue. The nachos came out quickly and were delicious. Unfortunately, we never saw our server again after that. No water refills, no check-in, no offer for another drink.. nothing. We only saw him again when we were ready to leave and had to ask another server for our check. He brought it over, but it was clear he’d been more focused on chatting with a group at the bar, who may have been friends or regulars. Either way, it wasn’t the kind of service you’d expect or want when visiting a new establishment.

Final Thoughts: I’ve worked in the food service industry. I know things happen. I understand growing pains, and I give grace where it’s due — especially to new businesses. But after two separate visits with the same type of poor service, I’m hesitant to go a third time. And that’s unfortunate — because this place has so much potential. It’s got a great look and a fun vibe. I could easily see it becoming a go-to spot for girls’ nights or even somewhere to bring the kids when the weather cools down.

My Suggestions for Management: Fix the climate control. No one wants to enjoy food and drinks while sweating indoors. Organize server sections better. Guests shouldn’t have to flag people down just to place an order. Hire attentive, accountable staff. Friendly, present servers make all the difference. When guests feel ignored, they don’t come back. I’m not saying I’ll never return, but I’m going to wait a few months and see if things improve. Maybe once they get more experience and the right...

Well the idea of a restaurant is to sale? why do I need to ask for service as a customer? I sat at the bar I had to ask for a menu I had to ask the bartender for attention 29 minutes went by and no one ask if I wanted anything to eat, a couple next to me order drinks it took ten minutes for the bartender to come back and ask what they want to drink again because he forgot, the bartender was dirty with plates and sticky from drinks sitting on the table, I had to clean my area in order to seat the place was fairly busy but only 5 people at the bar area I asked one of the waitress for a drink she said she was busy at the moment which is understandable but Incan see the frustration in her face bartenders seem like he was more important than the clients and let’s not mention mosquitos roaming my drink that tells me how clean behind the bar can be this place is beautiful but the services needs a lot of improvement on the positive note I saw a young kid server wearing a number 43 jersey being very nice to all people other than that bathrooms were clean nice ambiance and food takes forever to serve… come on people the menu doesn’t seem that complicated unless the kitchen wasn’t built properly any ways this is my 2nd time here maybe I will try it again next time I am in this beautiful...

Ok so this was our first time eating here. Read the reviews and they were mixed. We were told it would be about an hour to be seated but it was just over 30 minutes. It was a Saturday at peak dinner time so we didn’t mind at all. I read about the terrible service. Our server, Jameson, was absolutely amazing. She was very friendly and extremely attentive. We tried 2 appetizers, empanadas and the jalapeño popper lumpia’s. Both were extremely tasty. Sorry I didn’t take pictures of them because they were gone in hurry. The pictures I did include were our entrees. They were also very tasty. I read that someone complained that the “garlic” fries had too much garlic. Well, hello-garlic fries. They were very good. We also had the beignets. Again, someone complained they were small. They are on the smaller size but they more than make up for it in flavor. Lastly, shout out to the bartender! He or she made an absolutely perfect Long Island iced tea. We will be back soon and often. A lot of the complaints in reviews can be attributed to a newly open restaurant. Give them a chance, you...