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Circles Bar & Grill At Lands End
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
7 reviews for Circles Bar & Grill At Lands End
My mother recommended this restaurant. She was once a gourmet cook, but hasn't been for many years. I guess with the meager selections around here, this is the best you can do.
The menu is a little too long for cooked to order food, so I wasn't surprised that most of it was decent, but not great, restaurant standard. My husband started with crab cakes that were huge, but also rather bready. Acceptable, but not great. He had the special (seared scallops in an orange sauce over rice). The scallops were perfectly cooked, but the large, unsegmented orange pieces made for some unattractive eating. I started with a mediocre bagged salad that sounded more interesting on the menu than what I was served on my plate. For an entree I had the crab stuffed grouper. It reminded me of some of the frozen entrees I have gotten from upscale gourmet food purveyors; not terrible, but not fresh either. My lemon sauce was much better than my husband's orange sauce. We would have split a piece of Key Lime Pie, but the last piece was gobbled up by a neighboring table.
I have to note the EXCELLENT service we got. Plates came quickly and were whisked away the moment we were done (and not a moment too soon!) My husband's ice tea was refilled about a dozen times and the check came quickly. I wish the food had matched this exemplary level of service.
Location is great. Just about every table is outside or with a great waterfront window view. We arrived after dark and it was unseasonably cold so this didn't come into play for us but you might enjoy an evening out there.
Service was on top of things and very pleasant though a little more knowledge of the wines would have been good. "I don't usually drink...X type of wine so I'd guess..Y" is not the answer most customers are looking for.
(disclaimer - minor rant dead ahead...) When I was a server, I drank budweiser for cryin' out loud but at least had the foresight to realize when some couple comes in they don't want to hear about how I usually just bong any beverage over 4 oz that isn't juice. I appropriated someone else's opinion whose tastes I reasonably trusted.
- mussels - These were good and heavy on the garlic, which I like
Rest of the food was okay. We only did a range of apps but they were all average and rather uninspired.
- nut crusted grouper - this was very good and portion size was big but it's pretty heavy. Split amongst a few people.
- lobster bisque. Take campbells tomato soup. Give it less than a splash of sherry and throw in a few lobster pieces and you've got it.
- caesar salad - dressing tasted like "something that came out of a bottle, but not a very good bottle"... and she's not a food snob by any means.
- oysters - I had their roasted ones which were similar to a rockefeller but w/ parm cheese and some slight variations. I love oysters in any shape or form so enjoyed it, but it was nothing to write home about.
If you are in the area, I scoured Yelp and there are not many choices for a unique meal, even according to my folks who live in the area. This would be a great spot for you. This would also be excellent for drinks around sunset after work. However, I would not plan a significant drive to get here for a meal.
Stopped here on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch. Pleasantly surprised! It's located in a marina and is deceiving from the outside. They offer several different areas for dining...an inside bar area with high-top tables, a somewhat upscale inside dining area, an outdoor covered patio area, or an outdoor bar area. It was hot outside so we decided to sit at the inside bar area. From our table, we could look outside and had a nice waterview...docks and boats...etc Noticed that they have an outdoor stage area. We wonder if they have some live bands during the evenings or weekends.
I ordered the signature salad with grilled chicken and my boyfriend ordered a cheeseburger. The food was average-good and the service was good. It has a nice atmosphere being located directly on the water.
Would recommend if you are in the Apollo Beach area.
I went here while visiting family in Tampa. We were on our way to the Mira Bay complex down the road so we stopped here for lunch.
It was nice that the weather was good enough to sit outside (esp in mid November). They had overhead patio heaters that helped out so it was very comfortable. The outside patio was pretty nice- it looked out onto a bit of water.
The waiter was great, he was nice and attentive. We got a mix of food... my dad had the seared tuna app, my aunt had the signature salad, and I got a shrimp and chicken stirfry.
The salad looked good- It was huge but the chicken looks good.
The tuna was really good. It was really real and a good peice of fish.
The stirfry was good. the shrimp and chicken were cooked perfectly. The stirfry came on a bed of fettucini. I think the dish was good but it would have been a lot better had it been rice.
Overall, I would go back next time I am in the area.
This review is for the lunch.
After having a difficult time finding good lunch in the Brandon, Sun City areas we yelp'd Circles are were really happy with our selection.
There were a decent variety of menu items to choose from. We started with the Mussels which were presented in an extremely tasty sauce. We had to get extra bread to soak the sauce up after the mussels were long gone.
Being lunch we had sandwiches, which were above average, nothing to call mom about, but good solid non-chain style sammy's.
We topped er off with the home made Key Lime Pie, which was a solid 8 on a 10 scale.
This place teters on the 3.5 scale based on the one visit, but the marina view and outdoor seating bumps it to 4 for this land locked Denverite....would like to come back for cocktail hour with all the boaters.
Circles has been a favorite spot in Apollo Beach since a friend introduced it to me a few years ago.
The atmosphere inside is perfect for a romantic dinner and the prices are reasonable for the quality. My tendencies lean toward seafood and Circles does not disappoint. The lobster bisque and Maryland crab cakes are excellent. The crab cakes have a decent amount of back fin meat with just the right amount of seasoning.
The wine selection will please most palates.
There is outdoor dining that overlooks the water and is nice for having a drink or enjoying the atmosphere if you don't mind the occasional smoker. There are also nights with live bands if you feel like dancing.
There is plenty of room for large groups, especially outdoors.
Driving down Highway 41 just around sunset, my boss and I were thrilled to see our surroundings change from ramshackle tree nurseries to spanking-new suburbia. (And God only knows relief is usually my last reaction to suburbia!) As we drove west, headed toward the water and the briny ocean breeze, we finally found why we'd strayed so far from I-75... Circles Bar & Grill, a high-end marina restaurant bustling with seafaring locals.
My reason for wanting to try Circles was simple: I absolutely refuse to go to Applebee's or any "restaurant" called Beef O'Brady's. And it would seem that the southern outlying areas of Tampa have little else to offer. Circles it was.
Well, I'm pretty sure I've never been so pleasantly surprised. Elated, actually. The food was nothing short of phenomenal. Well, maybe not Chicago-five-star phenomenal, but definitely backwater south Florida bayou phenomenal. I had a Mediterranean shrimp linguini with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and fresh spinach. For the first time I can remember at a restaurant, I actually had to sift through all the vegetables and seafood for the pasta. Didn't have to salt it -- which is MAJOR MAJOR for me -- and left feeling satisfied but not overstuffed.
And, our host and server -- Marissa and Ashley -- were talkative, sweet and responsive. Marissa and I bonded over our inability to give people correct directions, and Ashley and I talked about the pros and cons of drinking water with a straw. I love a staff with some quirks!
The restaurant's interior was a strange mix of neon-lit dive bar and upscale nautical dining room. We sat on the patio, which overlooked the marina and another small bar, which happened to be populated by a man with the most obnoxious laugh ever. Charming, really.
All in all, I doubt I'd ever make Circles a destination restaurant, but faced again with such dire straits, I wouldn't reconsider my dinner choice for a second.