I already love Bistango, but their afternoon tea is one of the top teas in Southern California and I've tried almost all of them! Their tea options are delicious even for non-tea drinkers you'll find something you like. Their tea sandwiches are PLENTIFUL, way more than you'll be able to finish, and the sweets were just right. The scones were good, both savory and sweet, and the apricot jam/jelly with the clotted cream was the best! Add this to your list as it's a great value for what you get and the jazz music is just a cherry on top! Service is a bit slow so be patient as I think this is a new offering. It's worth the wait!!! The staff is so sweet and do their best to help. read more

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I've been coming to this amazing restaurant since it opened in 1987. They have never disappointed me with the ambiance. Service. Food and drinks. I was there Wednesday for a business lunch. Brought a client. He had the steak and blue cheese salad and I had the octopus salad. Arguably one of the best we had. Well done Mark And Diana and Ray for keeping your dads legacy amazing read more

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Finally made it here and it has a great outdoor patio. You need a ticket for the parking lot. We came on jazz night which was a special event. We had great seats for the music! Service was ok since it's a special event. They started out well with the water refill but then it slacked off when meals were served and we never got anymore through our meal or after. We didn't order last yet our meals came out almost last. Our food was also cold by the time we got it. I ended up sending my burger back since it was overcooked and fries were cold. My friend's lamb chops were also cold so we had to wait even more. The cheeseburger I wanted protein style but he didn't know what I was talking about so I just said no bun. It was an ok burger, nothing special for $29. Every thing was a tad on the higher side. Then we had to flag him down to try and get our bill. I know he did the best he could. Overall, it's ok. I don't need to come back again. read more

Bistango in Irvine - But - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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Had another nice experience at Bistango. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the live music adds a fun touch to the evening. The food was enjoyable, and the parking was convenient. Service was okay. Overall, a nice place for dinner with good food and live entertainment. read more

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Our wine group decided to come here for the burgundy themed blind tasting. They charge $20 per bottle for corkage. For a Thurs night they weren't too busy so we had good service. A few friends shared some food so we could try a variety. I really enjoyed the smoked salmon appetizer. I feel that their dinner menu is better than lunch. read more

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We have been to Bistango several times for special occasions like date night and our anniversary. The food is amazing and very flavorful. The specials usually add something unique and worth trying. This visit recently we took my parents and they found the staff to be wonderful, the manager was very funny and visited our table multiple times after learning of our Italian heritage. Plus, the music that night was all my dad's favorites from the 60s and 70s. We couldn't have asked for a better night to return. And we will return again! read more

Bistango in Irvine - The Burrata Cheese appetizer is one we order frequently. The Asiago Gnocchi is very good. Love the Oven-Roasted Chilean Sea Bass. - American Near Me - Irvine, California

We returned to Bistango today for another evening in their Jazz Concert Series, and I'm very happy to say that our experience was excellent. The management team clearly took our previous review seriously and went out of their way to make sure we had a wonderful evening. We were assigned a different waiter, who was absolutely fantastic -- attentive, professional, and genuinely focused on making sure we were well taken care of throughout the evening. I especially want to thank Bistango's management team for listening to our feedback, taking it seriously, and making such a noticeable effort to improve our experience. It was greatly appreciated, and it was wonderful to see how much they value their longtime guests. read more

I would like to thank Bistango for taking my comments last week seriously. Today, we were at the jazz series again. We were assigned a new, fantastic waiter - Randy. He was very nice and attentive and took very god care of us. I really appreciate that my feedback wasn't just ignored and I clearly felt well taken care of. Thank you! read more

After decades of living in the area, we finally decided to try Bistango (I'd first heard of it when I met Diana Ghoukassian). We went on a Friday for lunch. The ambience was notably "business", but bright and cheery. Our waiter was funny and attentive. We asked for a slight modification due to a dietary issue, and he was quick to oblige. We skipped the starter and ordered the Squid Ink Linguine Alle Vongole, Bacon-Wrapped Mexican Shrimp Risotto (minus the bacon), and Prime New York Steak Sandwich. Overall, everything was delicious. The only downside was the overuse of salt in all the dishes. But we definitely enjoyed the meal. We finished it off with a Tiramisu and coffee. I would definitely return for lunch. The reviews for the High Tea and Dinner were not so great, so I'll skip those. read more

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Back here after about 15 years!! About 15 years ago I was here for a corporate event. And I remember this place was, and probably is still, a big thing. The place is around the corporate area of Irvine close to the John Wayne area side. I don't quite remember it the same way when I came back. Since it's in a building where portion is the real high ceiling, it felt more for a corporate event. They still managed however to make the place look and feel cozy. Especially in the area where you can't see the super high ceilings. I had a reservation and they were able to seat us right away. It was an early dinner so at that time, certain areas were still empty. The live band was already there and looks like they were already set up but didn't start until perhaps half an hour later. We were just early. The waiters are attentive and nice. The complimentary bread and butter is delicious! They don't give you the whole basket but one bread per person. They do however go around and give you more if you finish your bread or ask for more. We had the wedge salad, ahi tartar, rib eye steak and for dessert, the tres leches. And all were delish!! The wedge salad is really nice and refreshing. The ahi tartar is fresh and delicious. And oh, the rib eye steak is so yummy and hits the spot! Cooked just the way we asked! And the tres leches is a sweet and delicious ending to our wonderful dinner. We also enjoyed the live band. I also liked their kinda eclectic paintings hung on the walls. However, a few days after this, we went to Bayside restaurant (after a couple of years) and were able to see the similarities. We were able to confirm that they are of the same owners. As such, between the two, though both are really good, I'd probably still go back more often to Bayside. Only because it feels more cozy and intimate. read more

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Food is good with a Ribeye and potatoes dish. Great dessert to boot! The gentleman serving us was spectacular and attentive. Dining in this place feel different as sure, it's a restaurant, but also feels like it is part of an office place. Not a negative at all, but different. The art is great and the band playing is good and entertaining! Food most of all is good! And good value for this caliber. Yes, do visit them and you'll have a good time and a good tummy happiness. Same owners as Bayside restaurant in Newport Beach. read more

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Friday night Birthday dinner turned out pretty good. The ambiance is so artsy. Literally. Great decor. The food was superb. Fresh and flavorful. The service....well let's just say ...they need some assistance. The crowd is all older so if your on the younger side, you may not gel. N8ce toush with the live band. That steak though...perfection! read more

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This review is for the "Jazzed up Afternoon Tea" experience. Props to their social media team whose post advertising the afternoon tea. It looked amazing ! But reality bites. Arrived at 4:20 for our 4:30 reservation, didn't get seated until at least closer to 5:10 (live jazz/music was listed until 5:30 and they did promptly end playing at 5:30). The staff asked if we wanted to be seated indoors immediately (main restaurant not open at that point, and away from the music and lovely garden experience they advertised). We declined and they were able to find a table outdoors and put enough umbrellas to ensure shade. Food. There was an effort to make things cute and tasty but the execution was poorly lacking. Sandwich breads were dry and hard, not soft so you could tell that it had been sitting out. The top of the bread was hard and if you flipped it over, the bread was soft leading me to think Saran Wrap probably could have helped them if they were prepping in advance. The cheese puff was completely deflated. The lemon scone was decent but honestly, I could have made a tastier scone from a box mix (sorry not sorry). We had to ask for clotted cream and jam. The plates didn't have the proper assortment. One plate had 2 chicken sandwiches (missing a salmon one), another plate was missing a rosemary scone (not very good) and had a lemon one substituted. If you were not proactive and didn't ask for stuff, you would have missed out on a lot of what you paid for. Tea was presented not in a teapot but a dinky creamer sized pot. Cute tea cups at a tea party ? Nope. How about some diner like mugs. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! See the pictures. Only AFTER we asked if there were tea cups and teapots, they gave us proper tea cups. Price tag was hefty ... $75+$13.50 service charge+ tax which came to $95.36/pp. I expect hefty for tea experiences. I've paid plenty for tea experiences and I don't mind it if the quality is there. Honestly, unless they overhaul their service and quality, an appropriate price would be $30. Which they probably would never do, but you've been forewarned that this is not the tea experience youre probably used to. The ONLY nice thing was the live music. read more

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4 stars due to Julian and the taste of food. If not for Julian working to rectify, it would have been 2.5 stars. Thanks Julian! At their 1st tea experience. They had a bit of a rough start. At least at our table, Julian our server made things right. Thanks Julian! To start, they seated people without order. Many were inside waiting to be called to be seated but later, we saw the hostess seat those who had just walked in. That prompted many to ask status of their table in which they proceeded to seat people as they approached to front desk. So guests needed to be proactive. For a fancy restaurant, I'd think they'd know how to seat people. Once seated and after we placed our tea selections, they brought one plate with one each savory less one sandwich. We were a party of 2. Saw across the way with a table of 4 ladies, that they too were given just one plate of 1 savory each. After asking Julian, he asked the kitchen and brought out our 2nd plate, also missing a sandwich. Brought that up with Julian and he brought out our missing sandwiches. Thanks Julian! Then our sweets came out. This time though still only 1 plate of single items, there were 2 of the fruit tart! It took a little but the 2nd plate did come out, and that too had 2 fruit tarts! Well, the 2nd plate, instead of the sweet lemon scones, received a savory rosemary scones. I guess they do look a little like. Not sure what's going on in the kitchen. By the way, all the food we did receive was very good. If this become their regular thing, they could get better at this but so far for the cost and experience, I'd say I would not return for tea and makes me wonder if we'd receive our correct orders if we came for dinner. But Julian was great as he explained this was new experience to him and he rectified the errors in food and delivery. Thanks Julian! Should mention that we believe it was the owner, Karen, wo seated us and check know us at the end. We touched upon our experience and she wanted to give complimentary glass of wine to make up for the mishaps but we don't drink. Perhaps we will try them again after they had a few of these. read more

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This review is for the Tea Service that was $95 per person. We had a reservation for 3pm. We checked in at 2:57. We were seated at 3:31. We were the first seating, so restaurant was empty. Tables weren't prepared, servers were running around unorganized, staff was slim considering they had knowledge of these reservations prior to tea service that day. Once seated, a server didn't come greet us for another 20 min. Asked for water, got the water 30 min later. Ordered tea, hot water came in open canister, and tea bags given in glasses designed to hold cold water. Our tea arrives 41 min after we were sat, sandwiches and desserts arrived 1 hour after we were sat. Sandwiches were dry and looked like they were made on Wonder Bread from the grocery store. Desserts looked like they were heated from Costco. We were not given sugar, honey, cream and condiments for our scones or tea. And only got our glass of champagne at the end because we stopped the server and asked for it. Afternoon tea at Knife Pleat is $115 per person. Go there instead. read more

parking: available either in the structure which is free with validation or valet which is complimentary food: overall everything we ordered was yummy but nothing had that wow factor or blew me out of the water. this is a perfect restaurant for those wanting a good steakhouse meal. *tuna tartare (4/5) - delicious and very flavorful but wish it came with chips other than taro chips as i'm not the biggest fan of taro chips but just a personal preference *calamari (4/5) - average, was good so can't complain! was just your everyday calamari *14oz ribeye (4/5) - again, good ribeye and was tender just not the best i've ever had. i wish this came with the peppercorn sauce instead of the red wine sauce as this was a bit overpowering. *chocolate soufflé (4/5) - i liked how it wasn't too sweet. a good soufflé but again, just not the best i've had. service/ambiance: service was amazing and our waiter was extremely nice and friendly. ambiance was lively with live entertainment singing + playing instruments. read more

Bistango in Irvine - Prime Angus 14oz Ribeye Steak - American Near Me - Irvine, California

I threw a BD party here for a close friend, everyone enjoyed their food choices, aside from a couple of glitches, and a waiter that was very old, it was a fun evening. A few of my friends had never been here before and the general consensus was that they were impressed and would come back. Their chocolate souffle was terrific and timed perfectly. read more

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Order the garlic soup!!! I know, it sounds odd, but it came recommended by a friend and also highly recommended by our waiter over anything else on the menu and it did not disappoint! Might have been my favorite thing we ordered. My first visit here, started with a cocktail, fruity and tangy, a perfect start to the night! I ordered the scallops with a side of fries. The fries were huge and full of parm and seasoning. A Perfect side dish! The restaurant is large and they show locals art on their walls that is ever changing. A fun add to the live piano player and music of the night. Great place to enjoy a meal! read more

Came here to celebrate a graduation and had a wonderful dinner. The dining area was warm, inviting and had many interesting art pieces, but some of the fixtures (e.g. the ceiling panels) are showing their age and could use refreshing. The food was delicious and the portions were generous. We had the roasted beet and avocado salad, panko calimari and blue crab cake appetizers. Everything was flavorful and in ample portions. For entrees, we had the filet mignon medium rare, NZ rack of lamb medium, Chilean sea bass and the linguine with shrimp arrabiata. Everything was prepared perfectly and delicious. We wrapped up the meal with their chocolate soufflé and profiteroles. The wonderful service added to the lovely dinner and their staff were friendly, attentive and thoughtful. Overall, what is most important to us was excellent and we all had a lovely and memorable dinner celebration! read more

Bistango in Irvine - Chocolate soufflé and profiteroles - American Near Me - Irvine, California

Fancy restaurant with great service and delicious food! My coworkers and I came here for dinner. Parking is validated and valet is free. Interior is large with live jazz music. They have various selection of apps, mains, and wines. I got a Pinot noir which was easy to drink and smooth. We shared the burrata, calamari and crab cake as appetizers. Burrata (7.5/10)-fig jam was too sweet but the burrata was fresh Calamari (7.5/10)-not as crispy as i would like but not overly greasy Crab cake (8/10)-fresh but needed some kind of sauce Pork chop (7.5/10)-got this for my main but it was cooked well sauce was too sweet for my liking, liked how the slaw underneath was not mayo based. We also got desserts to share, the creme brûlée and the pear tart was my favorite. The soufflé was a bit too chocolate for me. Overall very fancy atmosphere with delicious food. Would love to come here for date night my next visit. read more

Bistango in Irvine - Calamari - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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Truly whatever (unfortunately). Irvine has SO many good places to eat, and Bistango is not on par. It makes sense, because we were surrounded by old people. We were a big group, so I got to try lots of food (shoutout to bacon wrapped dates and the soufflé that you must order 15+ minutes beforehand). Parking: there's free valet (always a blessing) and you can also park in a structure. read more

Bistango in Irvine - Soufflé - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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This is such a pretty restaurant. The steak with potatoes were delicious and so were the drinks.

Terrific food & music! Filet mignon was cooked medium rare to perfection! The beet salad was superb and the creme brûlée was delicious too! Highly recommend Bistango in Irvine for an elegant and friendly dining experience! Be sure to make reservations! read more

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On first impression walking up I was thrown to see what looked like an office building. Once inside all of that changed. Design layout really adds charm and the food and service were top notch for our part of 10! Great appetizers all around and the gnocchi was fantastic! read more

The food was good, what we expected at a 5* restaurant. The service, on the other hand, was comparable to what you would expect at an Applebees. In the beginning, the server was an order taker, not a fine dining server. Did not recommend anything or give more info about the menu. The main course was dropped at our table while we were still eating our salads. After the entrees were dropped, they didn't buss the table. I tried to flag down the server to get our salad plates taken away and he ignored us. Then they charged us for 2 extra drinks. CHECK YOUR BILL! The server over charged us on purposes, no apology and he didn't seem surprised we were overcharged. Not the experience we have had at other restaurants on the same level. I won't be coming back here. read more

This is a review for the Afternoon High Tea - We made a 4:30 p.m. reservation specifically for the premium afternoon tea and jazz experience, but we were not seated until approximately 5:10 p.m. Since the jazz performance ended at 5:30 p.m., we effectively missed most of the atmosphere we had paid to enjoy. Unfortunately, the service and food only made the experience worse. The restaurant had run out of multiple teas, teapots, teacups, and clean plates for the tea service. We paid for what was advertised as a premium experience, yet the restaurant was not prepared to provide even the most basic elements of afternoon tea. The food quality was extremely poor. Each individual tray was either missing items or included duplicates in place of the missing selections. The sandwich bread was hard and stale on one side, suggesting that it had been sitting out for an extended period. The chocolate cake bite had melted into an unappealing mush, and the cheese puff was stale and completely deflated. We also struggled to receive hot water, sugar, cream, and other basic necessities. I had to repeatedly leave the table to ask for assistance. At one point, two different servers insisted that the tea I ordered was available until I personally showed them that the tea bag box was empty. There was honestly no part of this experience that felt enjoyable, organized, or worth the premium price. This was easily the worst afternoon tea experience we have had in Orange County. The restaurant should seriously reconsider and completely revamp this service before continuing to promote it as a premium offering. The experience presented on social media was entirely different from what was actually delivered. Based on our visit, I cannot recommend this afternoon tea service. read more

Fantastic service and food!! We ordered strawberry lychee and mule cocktails for drinks, which were fantastic! We got the charred octopus for the appetizer, which was delicious and so tender. What was the highlight of our meal was the linguine, which was perfectly light yet flavorful without feeling greasy. The clams were delicious and not fishy. The steak was also super delicious and came covered in this spiced crust that added perfect amount of texture for each bite. Overall would highly recommend this restaurant for a more upscale meal! read more

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Food: 4* Service: 5* Ambiance: 5* Parking: 2* Value: 2* Joined a colleague for lunch. We ordered two salads and ice teas, $110. So caveat emptor. However, the food was good, but nothing remarkable. It came with ciabatta bread and butter. The service was impeccable, as one would expect. The ambiance was great. I would return and try something else to give them another shot, but ~$40 for a salad, no thanks. read more

Bust-Tango! We were celebrating a friend's birthday and Bistango seemed like a good option based on the on-line photos, menu and live entertainment. We were excited to arrive to a nice, lively space. Our waitress was energetic and fun! She distributed menus, took drink orders and said she would return to take our food order. We never saw her again! After that the entire experience went downhill. During the rest of the evening we had several different waiters and there were long stretches of being left alone despite being a very empty restaurant. People leave in droves as soon as Happy Hour ends. We wished the band would have left with them. After Happy Hour the average age of the customers increases by 40+ years and the band is corny. Then the food arrived - what a disaster. The Salmon had a weird, horrible taste as verified by 3 different people in our group. I exchanged it for the Bacon Cheeseburger because I thought it would be a safe choice - it had absolutely No Flavor! Another person in our group had also ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger and said the same thing. The mystery is how they could make Bacon and Cheese tasteless - it defies the Laws of Physics. The Pasta Dish arrived cold and bland. The other people in our group of 9 said their meals were mediocre at best and everyone said they wouldn't eat at Bistango again. I gave Bistango 1 star for the Chocolate Souffle which was one of the few restaurant versions that I've had that was actually prepared correctly. This restaurant has so much potential that is lost due to bad food, bad service and an embarrassingly cliched old people band. Stay away.....You're welcome. read more

Excellent experience at this white tablecloth spot. It's a square room with a center aisle. Bar to the right, dining area to the left and across the back and to the left of the bar. Perhaps 40 tables, plus booths along the outside walls. The restaurant is in the open lobby of a building, enclosed with wooden panels and sails above to create an intimate setting. On this night an excellent jazz band was playing next to the bar... Perfect volume for conversation and the music was great. Knowledgeable wait team took the orders and executed the meal perfectly. Time from order to service about 15 minutes for entrees and everything was prepared exactly as ordered. Shout out to our server for "reminding" us that if we wanted souffle for dessert we should order early since it takes 35 minutes to prepare. Service is attentive without being obtrusive. Our water glasses were never empty! Warm bread and (soft) butter is served with water as soon as we are seated. The filet is exquisite. Cooked perfectly medium rare, the filet is cut-with-a-fork tender. Moist, juicy and flavorful in the center, nicely charred on the outside. It's served on a pillow of pureed potatoes, atop a criss-cross of thick asparagus spears and sauced with a tablespoon of luscious peppercorn gravy. Beautifully plated, it was almost too pretty to eat. Well... almost. Tablemates tried seared ahi tuna. Also beautifully plated, the fish is encrusted in sesame seeds and nicely seared outside, raw in the center. It's served with a mound of Asian-spiced veggies. It was gone before I could snag a taste but I take that as testament to how good the tuna was. The souffle would have been worth the wait even if we hadn't ordered early. We tried both chocolate and grand marnier souffle. They're brought to the table straight from the oven, cracked open and sauced tableside with either molten choloclate or grand marnier. Both are outstanding - rich, airy and light. Bistango is not inexpensive but the food, service and atmosphere are top notch. read more

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Excellent service, especially for such a large establishment. Food was solid, cocktail on point, and lovely live music. nice booths! nice art... bathroom could have a little more attn. But overall a lovely place. read more

For New Year's Eve we went to Bistango, our favorite restaurant for special occasions. As always, we were extremely pleased with the ambiance, the food, and the service. Our waiter, Yony, was very pleasant and attentive. The restaurant was very nicely decorated for New Year's Eve, and the place was packed. Surprisingly, for as busy as it was, service was excellent and the wait time for food was reasonable. We had the Chilean sea bass and the Angus New York steak. Both were excellent. And for dessert the tiramisu was to die for! Bistango is a higher end restaurant and a little pricier than most, but the quality of the food and service makes this a great experience, well worth the price. Looking forward to coming back. read more

I would not recommend this restaurant anymore. i ordered the chicken, it was dry, the sauce was salty. Brussels sprouts were not good, served with feta cheese. The Caesar salad was good, garlic soup, so so. The drinks were excellent! There was a great band playing in the bar, however, the Manager kept adjusting their volume. There was tension. Not sure what the problem was. Not going back. read more

Amazing! My girlfriend and I decided to come here for date night after seeing the reviews from others. It lived up to its hype. This was one of my favorite dining experiences in a long time. The restaurant is beautiful and the staff were among the most attentive I have ever seen. Our waiter must have stopped by our table at least a dozen times during our meal to refill water and offer more bread and butter. The food was exquisite. Portions are small but my girlfriend and I liked that. I got the Japanese pumpkin ravioli and she got the pan seared scallop Risotto. They were both amazing. For dessert, we got the almond pear tart and profiteroles. We loved both of those as well! The night that we went, there was live music which made the experience even more fun. We will definitely consider coming back here again for another date night in the future! read more

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Used to be my favorite restaurant but the past few times we have been in it's really gone downhill, the food and the service. The restaurant was practically empty yet they stuck us in the back left corner by a loud group and then proceeded to make us feel rushed through the whole meal. Not in a hurry to return as there are so many more beautiful and tasty restaurants that appreciate our patronage. read more

The late afternoon of 8-11, a large group of our friends went to enjoy a birthday party at Bistango . We went because , online , they offered $5 off the drinks & food. After receiving our wonderful first cocktails , we mentioned to our waiter about why we all came & thrilled about the discount . He immediately "Informed" us that they do not offer discounts at all . We showed him the Ad & still refused to offer us anything . Now we could have all left , but we didn't . I asked for the Manager . He came ovet to see us about 15 mins later & we addressed the ad "online" . He was very curt in letting us know that there is no discount whatsoever !!! We showed him the Ad & he said , no that is not correct & that is that . Period . Knowing there was 12 of us ladies & we ordered more drinks & food , the restaurant obviously had a nice nights profit off us us . No apology whatsoever or even then saying " listen , we apologize & will give you at least 10 % off " ..... absolutely horrible service too I might add . The food was very disappointing & we all discussed it . Either very over cooked & hard , not fresh at all . Think twice about going there & definitely not a hospitable atmosphere . None of us will ever go back & have told all of our friends about our experience . Again we were most shocked by the attitude of the Manager & not taking the ad that we showed him as proof of what the restaurant was offering customers. !! They get a -1 rating !!! All 14 of us women are business owners & work with many clients , so you can guess what our topics of conversation has now been said by us to our clients .... So sad that we have to pencil your restaurant OFF of our list of elegant high class restaurants !! We will never be back !!! Review ??? 0 read more

Lunch menu was great. We ordered, Spanish octopus, wedge salad, filet and truffle fries. I ordered my steak medium rare but it was medium. Not what I was expecting but didn't want to return it as the service was excellent. Chocolate soufflé is a must !! read more

Bistango in Irvine - Brought my own wine - American Near Me - Irvine, California

If I could give a negative star rating. I would. This is and the staff appeared overwhelmed and confused on how to manage the guests. They sat people at tables who had later reservations first. Then we sat at our table with no server for the first 20 minutes. Finally, when she came around she appeared overwhelmed and stressed out. She was also annoyed and acted like she didn't want to be there, sweating profusely. We did not get our tea for another 30 minutes, no water at all and no welcome champagne. Finally when the tea arrived, it was a tea bag in a glass cup and no lovely tea pots or cups; nothing. Just a pitcher of hot water and the server stating, "well..it is what it is. Here's your tea" Our food arrived another 20 minutes later, all prefix and nothing to select from and the sandwiches looked like what you would find in an elementary school kids lunch box. The bread was stale, food quality subpar and probably made ahead of time. The desserts came out on a tiered tray and the server was fumbling; dropping the pastries on the table. My friend had to help him flip the pastries back in because they slipped off. Many patrons left because they were neglected and didn't even get water. At the end, I saw some tables getting champagne and I stopped the server asking if we get it too as part of the experience. She said " oh yes, I was just going to bring yours" Then once she brought them, she said " here's your welcome champagne." It was the end of the "tea experience". This was a prepaid tea of $95 per person. What a scam! Their social media marketing was on point; they advertised this as something amazing and it was bait and switch. They also removed negative comments online the thread online. I insist on a refund! read more

We made a reservation 2 weeks in advance to sit outside in the garden area, which is the main appeal of the restaurant. We had a 5pm reservation. When we arrived we were told it would be just a few minutes - the Afternoon Tea was still going on. After 10 minutes of waiting, the hostess said she would check on the situation. We overheard the manager tell the hostess "unfortunately not." The hostess came back and said they didn't have a table for us because of the tea. The manager never came over to apologize and the restaurant never offered us anything - then they cancelled our reservation in Open Table so we couldn't leave a bad review. read more

I was influenced. I saw a content creator post about this and immediately sent to a friend who I frequent tea time with. Most of tea times I have been to in are in LA county and they are around the same price range ($90 tip included), but I'm new to the Irvine area and wanted to give this one a try. This service very recently launched, I think it is only the second one they have hosted. However, a business should NOT launch a new product or service until it is ready. If your testing a service say that in the description. My reservation was at 3:15pm. Service is advertised as 3pm-5pm for the Jazzed up Afternoon Tea. As far as I could tell majority of the reservations ALL arrived around 3:15pm and did not got seated till 10 minutes or later. They should have anticipated everyone arriving at the same time as that is how they scheduled the reservations. Once seated our tea and savory items came out quickly. Tea selection was not extensive, but included a spectrum of teas and the two I tried were tasty. I attended with a guests and once our tea was served, one plate was brought to us and put in the middle. We looked around and several other tables only received one plate. My guest and I began to split the items. I reviewed the menu and noticed we were missing one of the listed sandwiches and told her I was shocked we were only getting one plate to split between us. But everyone else around us appeared to be doing the same. I caught the attention of another server (not the one that had been helping us originally) to inform her about the missing sandwich and she noticed we only had one plate between the two of us. She expressed that was a mistake and would bring as another plate and the missing sandwich at which point several tables around us pipped up about their missing plates and additional missing items. The second plate came quickly, but they never brought us the missing cucumber sandwich, by that point I was full and I didn't want to bother with it. Now, I have been to a handful of tea times and we can usually order several different teas, or when purchasing it will specify how many pots you can get. This one did not specify any amount of pots and the ones provided were small. So my friend and I wanted to try another type of tea. The servers were very nice and trying their best, HOWEVER THEY WERE NOT PROPERLY TRAINED. They seemed confused when we asked for a second type of tea and literally just brought us the tea bag without changing the pot. Once the sweet plates came out they did not provide cream and jam to go with the scones. We had to request some. "Cream" tasted like unsalted butter, extremely bland. Food overall, was mundane and nothing special. Jazz music was lovely when they played. For only being a two hour tea time I felt like there was quiet a bit of down time where there was not music playing. Overall, I would NOT recommend, until maybe this review is a year or more old, hopefully they would have worked out the kinks by then because this was NOT worth the $90 price tag per person. Lastly, calling their patio area a botanical garden is a STRETCH. It's really just some potted plants around and their nice but by no means a garden. Parking is free in the structure behind the restaurant just remember to take your ticket and get it validated. read more