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

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

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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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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Delicious filet mignon, beet & avocado salad and creme brûlée. Valet parking was friendly and convenient. Live Jazz music was terrific. Highly recommend Bistango in Irvine for a great dining experience. Be sure to make a reservation. 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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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

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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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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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

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

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

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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I am very disappointed today! My first date was at Bistango! We 've been married for over 30years. We celebrate Mother's Day every year here because My Mom loves the ambiance here, we celebrate birthday here, I told all my friends about Bistango. But, today I won't come back here anymore, we were here to celebrate my Dad's bday, they charge us $40 for corkage on the receipt is 1.5l We brought a bottle of a littler not knowing that we will be charged double. We have always brought our own wine, & this is the first time we were charge $40. I gave a three stars, the food is always good, service is good, music is great. The corkage charge by the manager name Antonio is not what I am agreed with. It's Too bad, we won't come back. 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

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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Outstanding dinning experience. Food was very good and the service excellent. We also enjoyed the band. The restaurant delivers on all counts! Highly recommend it for a date night out! read more

Delicious food. Excellent service. Great atmosphere. Music on Wednesday evenings with Happy Hour menu. Fantastic jazz!!

I'm here right now with a reservation I had at 8:30. This was booked a month in advance. We show up and there is a big group of people waiting. We waited at the bar prior but no one offered us a drink. Around 9:20 is when we get sat down and we don't get our drinks for at least 20 minutes. Now it's 10:20 and we still don't have our food. Mind you the Valentine's Day menu is the only menu we can choose from and they still can't get it right. This used to be a nice place I visited frequently. Very dissatisfied with this. I hope the food is good. Whoever is in charge really needs to get it together. Not sure if I will be coming back. read more

The food was amazing and the service was superb. Frankie was my bartender and waiter and was professional and attentive. The manager Antonio was a pleasure to converse with. I had the beet, avocado, goat cheese and walnut salad. An epicurean delight. For main course the pork chop was juicy and perfectly cooked. Seen some not so favorable reviews and I can only say ignore them. This place is a hidden gem and a foodies delight read more

Bistango in Irvine - Pork chop with broccoli and potatoes - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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I came in with a few friends on Friday night and had a really disappointing experience. The hostess was rude, so we brought it to the manager's attention, but he completely dismissed our concerns and made no effort to improve the situation. The busboys were also rude when I simply asked for a napkin. When management behaves this way, it clearly trickles down to the staff and it shows. I won't be returning. read more

The service was great however we asked for a medium steak and it was medium well if not well done. The calamari was fake as calamari could get. We asked for an old-fashioned it was basically a whiskey on ice and the dirty martini was essentially vodka shaken with a little bit of olive juice. The salad was super overdressed. We would not go there again based on the food or the drinks and the price. read more

I would dine here everyday if I could. Service is great, food amazing and the art is cool to see.

Great food excellent service and entertainment. Been several times most recently for the New Years Eve party where they did an excellent job. read more

"It's better to burn out than to fade away." - Neil Young I say this because from my latest experience at Bistango, I for sure know that eventually they will fade away. And it's simply because it's an old place. And I say this hoping to not seem ageist. Again, it's just the reality that I came to after my recent visit. See, Bistango likely caters to older clientele. If you are there, look around. From the dance floor, to the bar, and to the dinner tables, they are mainly filled by elderly people. Which is fine. That said, all of the waiters at Bistango are old too. Which unfortunately is a problem. I go to Bistango once a year with my family for my birthday. And for the 30 years we've been going, well, we've had good enough experiences that we've always came back. That said, I guess everything has an end, right? And I say that right now knowing that I will not be going to Bistango ever again for my birthday. From the start, our elderly waiter Michael (I really am guessing that he was 80), was just slow from the start. I mean, I ate 3 rolls before he finally returned to our table to take our appetizer and dinner orders. Oh, and when I asked him about what beers that they had, that was a tough moment. He stammered, he stuttered, he paused to try and think what they had... It truly was a 'Joe Biden' moment. All said, we finally got our appetizers and entrees and things were ok as usual. But the big letdown is when Michael brought out desserts (the ones he remembered that is). My mother and father ordered from the pre fix menu. But like I do every year, I get the souffle (which you have to order with your entree because it takes a while to bake). And there I was sitting there thinking that a souffle would eventually come (Michael was slow all night). But eventually it didn't. When he brought our check I asked, "No souffle?" In which he had no recollection of and then walked away. He then came back with his note pad and said, "Yep, I wrote it down but I just flubbed it." Just awful. The night simply wasn't fun . And I'm sorry, but Bistango, if you want to be relevant in the future, hire some younger waiters before you fade away. read more

One of my favs. Christmas Eve dinner. A bit of a wait but not too bad. The bartender was a bit short and rude. I've come here occasionally and have for the past 9 years. My first time dealing with someone like that at this restaurant. I finally asked him if he was okay bc his energy was off. Kept asking us if we were ready to pay. Told us the wait was an hour even with reservations (waited 20 minutes) and when we said we'll wait for our table he responded "that's on you" and shrugged then walked away which put me on guard. Just an attitude for no reason and why I finally asked him if he was having a bad day. I only tipped him bc we were eating dinner there and I didn't want any issues otherwise I would have not tipped him. My daughter was like "Mom. DO NOT TIP HIM!!" Other than that everyone else was pleasant and we enjoyed our meal. read more

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Beautiful restaurant, just pristine inside. It's sort of cool bc the restaurant is inside of this indoor courtyard and they disguised it so well. Service was immaculate. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Food was excellent. But also the reason for my 4 star rating. Solid dishes with beautiful presentation but the overall flavor slightly underwhelms. Pan roasted Lamb chops: 7/10 Grilled prime Filet mignon: 8/10 king Salmon: 8/10 Cesar salad: 7/10 Chocolate soufflé: 10/10 Cocktails: 8/10 Definitely recommend trying. Great dining experience. read more

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Bistango is a restaurant in Irvine that serves new American cuisine. We decided last minute, on a Saturday night and were lucky to clinch a dinner reservation. The place was packed with diners. The ambiance is classy with art work adourning the surroundings, spacious seating and a live big band music group. The menu is enticing and making the decision of what to have was the difficult task at hand. We started with the sweet garlic soup, lightly creamy with a hint of garlic and fresh crunchy croutons. Two in our party split the Rosemary-Lemon Roasted Chicken Breast. It came with mushrooms, Haricots Verts, onions, potatoes and pan sauce. Absolutely delicious and well prepared. The last main was the Grilled Bacon Wrapped Petites Fillets, cooked medium rare. The dish came as a trio, each fillet covered with green peppercorn sauce (orange in color) sitting on potato puree (picture shows one fillet). A stunning dish, balanced flavors with explosive textures and captivating optics. For dessert, Tiramisu and Grand Marnier Soufflé. Both of these were hits and provided the perfect finish for a memorable dinner. Service was exceptional. read more

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Amazing food and service! Prices make sense for where you are dinning. I also like the environment but i do feel like it needs a bit of an update in the restaurant. I had the martini which was pretty strong! Overall good experience. read more

Bistango in Irvine - American Near Me - Irvine, California

Had only an hour and half to kill before I got on a flight from John Wayne airport. It's literally a 5 minute drive from here. First time and I was impressed with the service and the friendly bartender's. I wish I remember the bartender that helped us because he was so sweet. He's been working there for more than 25 years I was told. The appetizers were amazing. Had the beef screwers and coconut shrimp. The apple martinis were fabulous. To top it off we had beautiful Music by Al at the piano who was gracious to play requested songs. I will definitely return. read more

Lemon Chicken Breast was amazing and the artwork inside gave it a relax ambience . Everyone was very friendly and helpful !

I decided to choose this restaurant for my birthday this year, but what a big mistake! Even though this appears to be such a nice restaurant with good ambience, the food was horrible, and the owner at the front desk was not welcoming and had a smirk on his face. He definitely had an attitude which I find distasteful for being in business for so many years. I ordered the bacon wrapped steak and it came out completely burnt on top and the mashed potatoes were cold. We also ordered the scallops and Seabass and both were tasteless and undercooked. Great presentation, but it was just all looks. We ordered the tuna tartar and this was decent. The lighting was super dim, which made it difficult to see our food, and they were having difficulty adjusting it. Their live band was amateur no good, and there was only one couple dancing. This place might've been good in the 80s, but I certainly don't recommend anyone coming back to this restaurant and overpriced for the quality of food given. This place has a weird vibe great for an older crowd who doesn't care what they're eating! read more

Sat at the bar and had food and drinks. Service was great. Super friendly bartenders.. food was really good. There was a piano being played which was nice. I highly recommend it. read more

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

My husband and I visited Bistango on Valentine's day 2026, and it was a complete chaos. Considering it was a 3 item fixed course menu, it seemed like everything was not planned at all. There were at least 20 tables in this room and there were only 2 servers and 1 busser whom we can barely find to get their attention. They forgot about our first course menu and it took 40+ minute to get it. We knew they forgot about it cuz we had to ask for our food and it came out right away, they were putting the steak knifes on our table while we're still working on our already-cold first course food, and the moment we were done with our plate, they brought the luke-warm steaks immediately. We saw at least 5 couples leaving after they were seated cuz they were simply not acknowledged by server and waiting for long time for their water. We even saw that the hostess was seating a new couple on a table that the previous couple sat without cleaning the table! And by the time we were leaving the restaurant (8:30pm ish), there were tons of couples waiting in the lobby waiting to be seated cuz everything was running super late. Food tasted okay but did not taste like it was fresh-cooked. I would definitely not return to this restaurant; especially when they do special dinner events like this. read more

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Went here on Valentines day for their 3 course meal. The lobster ravioli was cold, the lobster from the surf and turf was rubbery and very over cooked. The tables around me were returning their food for presumably the same reasons. The cocktail I ordered tasted very watered down. The tuna tar tare was tasty at least and the waiters had good customer service. Overall I would have expected much for a $400 meal for two. read more

Came in at lunch time, we were seated quickly. Had an espresso martini to start, while it was decent, there wasn't anything special about it. Wedge salad was delicious 5/5 Chicken sandwich was kind of lackluster 4/5 Fries were hit and crisp and seasoned well Overall experience was good but I wouldn't see me coming back at lunch time, maybe the dinner is a better option. read more

Bistango in Irvine - Wedge Salad - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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Giving this a 3.5, but rounding up to 4 stars based on an amazing experience and a bit of a weird one. Going to go a little vague on my first experience since it has been a while but I know it was an amazing one and I was looking forward to coming back. I had a cocktail the first time (strawberry lychee) as well as the same food items I had the second time (garlic soup and the small lamb chop entree. Amazing!) We also had the regular souffle with vanilla sauce and cream. It was delicious! Service was great. Our server was very kind, on top of everything, and even warned us to order the souffle well in advance because it could take about 35 minutes to prepare. He was great, and made our experience wonderful and all the food was delicious. We went for our second visit last night. I saw that same amazing server but we did not get him this time. I wish I could say the same about this one. He was friendly, but I felt like I had to do part of his job or remember things for him. He immediately offered water in which we said yes to regular water. There were three versions, one being sparking water. I don't like sparkling water but I also know these situations end up in additional costs and I found out they do that too. We also received bread. When it was time to order, he asked if we wanted to see a wine menu in which we said no, but he never asked what we wanted to drink or if we wanted any starters. I ordered the small version of the lamb chop entree again, medium well. Steven ordered a flat iron steak medium well. We both on our own ordered garlic soup for each of us and I let the server know we would both like iced teas. While we waited, we did receive a second piece of bread each. One thing they are on top of is drinks. Every time we drank an inch of water or iced tea, they were back to refilling it. I have been complaining for a while that restaurants rarely offer refills these days and you have to hunt them down, so I can't complain about the excessiveness of these refills, because we finally received them. We waited.... and waited.... and waited. There was an abundance of employees walking around at fast speeds taking plates, refilling drinks, and bringing bread. Definitely the bread. We were getting quite impatient waiting for our food. Three people offered a third piece of bread for us in which we said no thank you to all three. Still waiting for our food.... only one couple was there before us so there was no reason for this. Now many groups were piling in. So our server comes and tells us it will be a few more minutes. Then he actually says its slow because we ordered our food medium well and they cook it fresh. What??? Shouldn't every restaurant, especially high end, be cooking food fresh? What excuse is that if there was only one small group before us? I already knew that after all this, our food would not even be medium well. I assumed medium or less despite all this. Almost an hour in, no food. But, one of the three people we told no to bread to really wanted to get rid of the last of the bread in his basket and plopped the last two pieces of bread on each of our plates and took off. Well now that was wasted because we weren't going to squeeze more bread in our stomachs and said no three times. Finally our food arrives, and it turns out a group of three gentlemen who came after us even received their food right before us. (They had our previous server) As expected, I was half right. My food was well done and Steven's was medium. Also we ordered the chocolate souffle this time and we made sure to let the server know before our food came to get that started before we ended up spending the night there. As soon as you move your dish away or look done, they are quick to take the dishes. One lady even took my plate for my souffle I was waiting on and I had to stop her. The chocolate souffle was also good, but we both liked the original one better and I am a big chocolate fan. They were quick to bring the check at least. Go figure, although I get really mad when we are trapped waiting on the check. All in all I still really enjoy this restaurant. We just had a much better experience our first round. When we eventually return, hopefully it will be more like the first one. read more

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Bistango is one of my all time favorites for lunch and dinner. We took a friend and two of us had the tamarind king salmon both cooked perfectly. Our guest had an exquisitely prepared filet mignon. Your servers are knowledgeable and attentive. We are always greeted warmly and the restaurant is a pleasant spot to share with friends. read more