Circles Waterfront at Lands End Marina

Circles Restaurant is a great spot with a few inconsistencies. The food is solid (8/10), offering well-balanced flavors and fresh ingredients. Service was mixed--excellent on the first night but just average on the second.The location (10/10) is unbeatable, and the ambiance (10/10) is stylish and inviting, making it a great choice for any occasion. Despite minor service inconsistencies, it's definitely worth a try if you're in the area.

If I could give this restaurant a 2.5 star rating I would. Let me start with the good things.Ambiance and atmosphere was great (especially at night time) multiple outdoor seating areas and bars with tiki torches and fire heaters all around to light up the restaurant. The restaurant is right on the water so it's a beautiful place to chill and look at the water and boats. The bathroom was clean and had really good vibes. Funny signs, cool beer tap sinks, and nice colors. We sat at a bar while waiting to be seated and the drinks were great and the staff at the bar was super friendly making small talk and complimenting us and my cool credit card sticker. The French Onion soup was outstanding. It tasted exactly what you'd expect the perfect French onion soup would taste like, my only complaint about it is that there wasn't more! Now the downsides of my experience. The wait to be seated was over an hour (which is expected due to Valentine's Day, so I'll cut them some slack). Parking was horrendous, people double parking every where and anywhere, causing there to be barely any room to drive and find parking. The calamari was very average. Good crunch, but no seasoning and the marinara sauce was very watery. But the portion size was huge so plus on that. The fries tasted like McDonald's fries that have been sitting out for a while, then taken home, then air fried, then sitting out for another while and then served. Not good. The wild Alaskan salmon was terrible. I got the Cajun style seasoning and it did not taste like Cajun and it was cooked so so so much that I lost all the moisture in my mouth while eating it. Imagine a super dry chicken breast, and then imagine that dryness in this salmon. The garlic parm potatoes it came with were good though. The Italian shrimp pasta was the best food item of the night. Moist and bursting with flavor. But everything else was average or below average.Overall, I would only come back for go drinks and to enjoy the view, but definitely not for the food.

Great ambiance. Terrific staff. Terribly overcooked food. Short version: came on Valentine's Day at 6pm and waited an hour (able to get drinks at the bar luckily) for insanely overpriced and overcooked food. Super disappointed in the meal so we skipped dessert. Staff was great though and all in good moods on what is a very stressful holiday to work in service industry. I appreciate them and their attitudes! Long version: no reservations so we came expecting to wait. Arrived to a packed parking lot where security seemed to be guiding cars. It was packed but we got lucky with a spot within a minute. Put our name and cell down for a 50 minute wait. Expected so no problem. They have a cocktail lounge area but it was packed too so we sauntered back to the bar in Circles which had two open chairs so we sat and the bartenders served us drinks happily. We waited just over 60 minutes but that was fine since we chatted over drinks and had a seat inside. We get sat in the courtyard by the stage which was a beautiful and intimate area. We had French onion soup and calamari for appetizers which didn't take long to come out. We were planning on ordering everything immediately but were thrown a curveball with the special valentines menu when we were Sat so we took a moment to review that before ordering. French onion soup was 10/10. Something about the burnt cheese flavor on it was different from others I've had that elevated the flavor. Calamari was 4/10. Below average because the batter had no flavor, almost like it was fried in an oil I didn't care for the taste of or something. Their dipping sauce tasted homemade which I appreciated. Tasted fresh but it was a bit watery to me. There was a decent portion though and I appreciate that! I ordered the Italian shrimp pasta which was clearly baking in the window as the tips of the penne were hard and chewy. The flavor seemed fine but I really only had a few bites before I was basically full from eating slowly and drinking/waiting for the entrees. 4/10?My partner got the salmon, garlic parm potatoes, and French fries. Salmon was wildly overcooked. Not like it was baking in the lamps but like it was purposefully cooked well done. It was chalky. And paired with the dry potatoes - had me chugging my water. I could've forced it down with mashed potatoes better I'm sure. 1/10The French fries were not fresh. Somewhat warm but almost like half were oldddd in the window and they sprinkled some "fresh" ones on top to give the impression of fresh fries. 4/10For the prices you're paying (like $27 for my pasta idk for salmon), you definitely don't expect everything to come out so overcooked. I really want to give them the benefit of the doubt because it's Valentine's Day but also you know what to expect on a night like that so idk...need a better expo manager maybe? To fire food that stale is just unbelievable. If my partner wasn't there I probably would've sent the salmon back and asked for a refund on that. Would I ever personally choose to come back? No I don't think so. Even if the food was at its best, I can't imagine it being worth the prices we paid. (Except the French onion soup!)Drinks were good/fine. Piña colada tasted a bit watery but not bad overall.

The French onion soup is divine!!! Only thing I like here but in my tour de Apollo beach I stopped by to have it!!!

Nice location next to Manatee viewing center. The lunch menu is great and affordable. Very nice waterfront view with inside/outside option. Service was fine but coulda been a little nicer. Great place to dine when you see the manatee.

Yesterday, I went for lunch at the Circles. I always love going there, but yesterday my server, Lauron was awful. Everything was perfect until after my appetizer, I asked her for new utensils. She told me she can't because they are limited on utensils and I had to keep the dirty one which of course, I refused. She came back, dropped the new set at my table and completely ignored me. When she finally came, gave me so much attitude. It was very disappointing because I often have lunch there and always bring my friends for dinner. When I'm paying for my services, I like to be treated well, so I think I have to find a new place.

I always have a good time when I come to my ocean front favorite place. The cajun salmon is a must try!

I am writing this review to express my deep disappointment with the experience my party and I had during our recent visit to your restaurant. We were a party of nine, including one toddler, and unfortunately, the service and overall experience fell far below expectations.From the start, we encountered issues with seating. Despite requesting a high chair, we were placed at a table clearly intended for eight people. The high chair was awkwardly positioned at the corner, leaving very little space for our toddler to comfortably eat. When I expressed concern, the hostess displayed noticeable frustration and reluctance to accommodate us.Our server never took the time to ask if it was our first visit or if we had any questions about the menu. While we understood that food preparation might take longer for a larger party, waiting until after 5 PM for our meals when we were seated around 4:15 was still quite a delay.What truly soured our experience, however, was how we were essentially rushed out of the restaurant. After finishing our meal and enjoying drinks with our out-of-town guests, the server began bussing our table while we were still seated and made a point to inform us about a two-hour wait--clearly encouraging us to leave.We had no intention of overstaying; we were simply enjoying our drinks, conversation, and time together. Instead of being given the opportunity to order dessert or additional drinks, we felt pushed out as if we were inconveniencing your staff.This experience was not only unprofessional but also deeply disappointing, especially given the significant bill we paid. It's not unreasonable to expect courteous and accommodating service when dining out, particularly for a party of our size.I hope the restaurant's owner/managers take this feedback seriously and use it as an opportunity to improve your customer service standards. I don't plan on coming back to this restaurant ever!

I had the pleasure of dining at a waterfront restaurant today. It offers a variety of seating options with beautiful views of the water. The restaurant is renowned for its fresh, made-to-order dishes prepared with the highest quality standards. Being located dockside, they receive fresh local seafood directly from the docks. If not locally sourced, the seafood is imported and flown in overnight to ensure freshness. It is never frozen. Their soups are homemade, and their entrees are prepared to order. I believe the owner's mother still makes all the desserts. The service was very warm and sincere.I highly recommend you save this spot to visit.its a 10!

Everything is fabulous. The steak sandwich is tender and tasty. The calamari is the best. Perfectly cooked tender and the breading is crisp and tasty. I love siting nearThe music. a perfect evening