The Orange Circle and Old Town Orange is such a charming and nostalgic area reminiscent of a time…read morewhen life was less complicated/rushed and people actually knew their neighbors. There always seems to be people walking up and down the streets, enjoying themselves as they head to their intended destination. The majority of the shops still give off a 50s/60s vibe while still being very well maintained. There are so many antique shops, eateries, mom & pop shops, and so much more. Driving through today made me a bit sad to see that the famous, historic Watson's Drug Store and Soda Fountain is no longer there and has been replaced with a sleek, modern new eatery. The highlight, of course, is the plaza and fountain in the center of the roundabout. Such a beautiful and peaceful space even tho it is the smack dab center of continuous traffic.

I looove the Orange Circle! Such a great historical landmark in OC. There's a lot of antique shops,…read moretattoo shops, auto repair shops, etc. Almost anything you can think of, it's conveniently located here. My favorite part are the restaurants because there's endless options for lunch, desserts, coffee, and more. The fountain in the center of the roundabout has its good and bad days. It's very beautiful and peaceful to sit around. Unfortunately, it was under construction in the last couple years due to an idiot crashing into it. Parking can be a nightmare, despite what day it is and time of day. My biggest tip is to park in the free parking structure on Lemon St and Chapman. There's also street parking, but it's almost impossible to find. There's specific areas where you cannot park because it's surrounded by a neighborhood.

I'm surprised I haven't written a review here yet! My husband and I are becoming quite the regulars…read morehere so this is definitely past due! This is one of our go-to date spot that our friends introduced to us to. From my understanding this is Italian owned business with not only great quality food but also a wonderful assortment of rich olive oil, balsamic vinegar, jam, wine, packaged noodles you can buy straight from Italy. The service is always friendly but they can get very busy. Highly recommend a reservation. They've been so busy before they wouldn't even do take out orders. Ambiance is quaint. I love the beautiful Italian chandeliers they have. I've had a hard time with the chairs if I have a thick coat or a clutch hand back hard to put on the seat My husband orders the carbonara everytime which is our favorite item on the menu. Very authentic to us. I've tried many different pastas and just tried the lasagna last night which is not super heavy if your hesitant on feeling too full, was a great portion amount and wasn't super greasy either. Other items I've tried are the but my favorites are the fettuccine Alfredo (not on the menu), the short rib ravioli - super tasty!, and this mozerella crusted Pattie's in balsamic and creamy tomato sauce (seasonal or not on the menu sometime) that we love! I wanted to love the seafood risotto but I've had better. I used to order paccheri alla boscaiola which a popular item but I have to be in the mood for all the red onions which can be overpowering if there's a lot. We have tried some Of the apps which are always super fresh but we tend to order insalata calabrese which has a bit of everything Italian salad and great for sharing. The free bread is a plus too. Highly recommend coming for date night, family night, or even a small special occasion. Thanks for the great food and service!

Came here on our first date since having a baby…read more Wanted to come here last Valentine's Day but it was booked two weeks ahead. Jamie was our server , she was energetic, bright, super friendly and set the tone for the night. Place has a full bar! My wife and i had martinis, had the calamari (tomato sauce without the frying) , carpaccio (super interesting w the celery) - the risotto and i got the cioppino - super delicious! 5 stars, fantastic experience !!

Been to this location twice now, and it's been amazing every time! The food is made fresh to order,…read moreand my go-to sandwich is the "Cortina's Special" absolutely delicious. At $10, I think it's a decent price. The other sandwiches in the picture were also amazing! It's definitely a popular spot and can get busy, but thankfully they have plenty of parking available.

So Cortina's is 5 minutes from my office, but I've probably gone there 4 times. The food is…read moredelicious. The outdoor patio is nice. The service is attentive and efficient. The only problem is...it's always packed!!! And they're open only for a few hours a day. Today I decided to do takeout. I ordered and paid online from the restaurant and I got a text with the time my order was going to be ready. I parked in their private lot and found my order ready to go on a shelf to the right of the front door. The cashier came out from behind the counter (without me even asking) to get me the bag of jalapeño chips that I ordered (which was very nice since the place was packed and the chips were on the far wall). The sandwiches are huge! I got a 6" tuna and my husband got the 10" Cortina's Special. Both were loaded! I had to eat mine open faced and I could only eat half! Unfortunately, the whole wheat roll was delicious, but the tuna was a little too much on the sweet side (I have a similar complaint with the tuna at Board & Brew). If you're in the mood for a good tuna salad sandwich, I suggest Jersey Mikes. If you're in the mood for any other kind of sandwich and don't mind waiting, go to Cortina's!

Fun little pick me up! Thank you always Hayley for organizing for us Eliters and much thanks to…read moreChaiwale for welcoming the Yelp community to your establishment. Dropped by on Friday afternoon and was delighted to see the shop busy. I ordered an iced masala chai and chocolate chip cookie to-go; both of which were refreshing and indulgent. I love the shops music, decorations, and ode to culture. Cheers to Chaiwale adding color to the community! I'm here for it.

Thank you Hayley and the Yelp team for treating us to a cool experience located in the Orange…read moreCircle. Chaiwale and Co. replaced The Pie Hole and is located across from The Filling Station. Parking is a little difficult so make sure you give yourself extra time to allow for parking. I came on a Friday mid-afternoon and this place was pretty busy, with people seated in and outdoors. We were given a free chai and dessert. I opted for the hot CARDAMOM CHAI and the MANGO LASSI CHEESECAKE. I also got a PISTACHIO ROSE LOAF $6 so I could try some more of their offerings. I waited for about 10 minutes for my order. The cardamom chai was delicious. I devoured the mango lassi cheesecake. It could have used a little more sauce on the top, but it was very good. The pistachio rose loaf was aesthestically pleasing and very tasty. It was moist and not overly sweet. I will definitely come back here for their other items like burritos and pranthas. Thank you for the yummy treat!

I wanted to send some love to our other neighbor Santa Ana. Downtown Santa Ana is still overrated…read morein my opinion. But people are starting to notice the fun things to do and see here now. I feel the Downtown area is becoming a familiar destination for some. Lots of events are performed here almost every month. I love the food and coffee shops here. Santa Ana still has some of the best Mexican and Latin foods here in my opinion. They also have museums of art, and Car shows here. No crime here hardly, its safe to hang out in Downtown Santa Ana, believe it or not. So, I love it. Gotta start coming out here often to spread my love for the city.

The 2024 independence day parade, was awesome, the downtown is beautiful full of restaurants,…read morefamily places like ice cream stores, for all tastes, vegetarian and vegan restaurants also, clothing stores, shoes, jewelry, bride dresses and accessories, music, kids clothing and souvenirs, everything you need you can find it at the 4th st. There's parking on the streets also parking structures. Banks, church, all very convenient. If you want to know Santa Ana and Mexican stores and Hispanic you get to visit the downtown. I love this place and highly recommend it to you all.

I was invited to this as part of a Yelp Elite event, but honestly I already loved this place before…read morethat. The tea house is super cozy and welcoming, and the staff are always so kind and helpful. I got the rose chai and the tres leches cake, and wow... so good. The chai was fragrant and comforting, and the cake was perfectly moist. Such a great combo. We really need more authentic places like this. You can tell a lot of care goes into what they do. Highly recommend if you love chai and cozy vibes.

Thank you yelp! I…read morewas able to try the Kulfi Tres Leches cake and the Masala Chai for this experience. The cake was a little bit on the sweeter side, but it was very flavorful, and I loved the saffron and pistachios. It paired really nicely with the fragrant Masala chai, which wasn't as sweet. The shop has a good variety of seating too. There's high tops, regular tables, and patio seating. I could definitely see myself coming here to work. There was a good mix of people studying, working, and hanging out. Will def be back to try some of the other desserts!

The food is authentic and delicious! great atmosphere with a touch of romantic ambiance. The…read moreservice was top notch and the staff are always so friendly. I like that the food is always consistent also. I highly recommend!!

Luis was our waiter he was great. The food is by far the best Italian food I've had in a very long…read moretime. Sauces made to order fresh ingredients made with love that's for darn sure! This was our first time and we can't wait to return. The soup was delicious heck everything we had was amazing!! We loved sitting on the patio looking into the street of Grand & Chapman it really was relaxing. Luis put my ice cream in to go container and he put ice in the bottom of the bag and it kept it nice and frozen til we got back home. Yummy yummy in my tummy Thank you for a wonderful experience Happy Mother's Day to all the mommy's

I saw this festival in the Yelp event listings, and thought I'd drop by to see what it was all…read moreabout. I was only able to attend on Friday afternoon, so I knew I wasn't going to get the full event experience of going on Saturday and seeing some of the "bigger" names. Parking was quite confusing. I saw some signs for exhibitors to check in, but nothing about where attendees should park, and whether they needed to pay or not. The campus lots are plastered with signs stating that a paid permit is required at all times, so I saw lots of people buying permits. However, at the information booths for the festival, we were told that parking is free. I mostly wanted to see what sort of exhibits were there, since I'd been to some library and book festivals in Ohio, and wanted to see how this compared. It is definitely geared more towards readers rather than libraries; Chapman had several booths, and there were a few selling used books for fundraising. Some booths were kind of random, like the Cuisinart booth, and some made a little more sense, like the used bookstore booths. All in all, I wasn't terribly impressed, though I know this is the first year of the event, so there are some wrinkles to iron out for future events.

I was hoping for an event to bring people out who love everything about books. Instead, it was as…read moreentertaining as the library. I didn't go to any of the panels since wasn't interested in becoming a writer for fiction or history or film or any other way to make a living off writing. Naw, I'll stick to writing for Yelp. There were author signings as promised but I was hoping for a massive display of books. Nope, just a couple of carts of used books for $1. This is Gman signing off for KCCET Channel Orange.

Okay this place is the definition of a locally owned company. It is located inside of a place…read morecalled "The Squeeze". The business is the north east corner of the actual circle in Orange. What makes this place unique is it truly speaks to the pride of being in Orange and Orange County. It is all locally made amazing products. Also the energy when you walk in is so warm and welcoming. This was truly a gem to stumble across when I was walking around the circle. I can't wait to return to this wonderful place! Now parking around the circle can always be fun, especially since they will start charging for parking soon. A couple blocks away there is a large parking garage and actually directly behind this place is a large lot as well. They do have a back door that you can enter from as well. Truly this store is amazing and I hope they keep succeeding! Support your local businesses by visiting this gem of a location!

This is a really cute store in downtown Orange. The merchandise has a focus aimed at representing…read morethe Orange Circle. They have cute clothing items for kids and adults. They even screen print shirts. Lots of fun accessories too. Come grab a little nostalgia from Orange.

Came here with my family and had a really good experience overall. They had a buy-one-get-one free…read moredeal on large pizzas, which was a great bonus. We ordered the Fugazzeta and a pepperoni pizza--both were delicious, especially the Fugazzeta. We also tried the gnocchi and milanesa napolitana with Russian salad, and everything was flavorful and satisfying. The owner was super friendly and welcoming, which made the experience even better. Before leaving, we grabbed desserts: bread pudding with dulce de leche, a dulce de leche cannoli, and alfajores--all really good. Only downside: I later noticed the receipt showed two chocolate volcano desserts instead of the alfajores I actually got. Not sure if it was a mistake or mix-up, but worth double-checking your receipt. Overall, great food, great vibes, and I'd definitely come back.

Haven't visit since the pandemic. We preordered 3 dozen empanadas for a work lunch. The empanadas…read moreare delicious and I was shocked the Arab empanada was my favorite. It is nice to support small local businesses. The owners are nice and welcoming. Service is gracious and fast. It's located in a strip mall and it feels like a typical South American Cafe you might run into either in BAires or Panama. There's an outdoor covered patio as well