Came here for happy hour with my girls on a Friday and left feeling "meh". Â I was pleasantly surprised to see happy hour from 3-7 and even on a Friday.
We sat in the bar area and it was about 75% full. Â Our server took our order and then left. Â Our appetizer came before our drinks and our drinks took FOREVER. We were told there was only one bartender working...during happy hour...on a Friday...not impressed.
We had to ask for water and silverware.
By the time our third person came we ordered more apps and drinks and were having a decent time. Â The food is decent but the service is subpar.
My husband and I went here to have a semi casual date night. Â It is more of a casual atmosphere. Â
He ordered lamb and it looked delicious; however, looks can be deceiving and in this case they certainly were! The lamb was incredibly bland, and no amount of salt and pepper or bland gravy helped him eat it. Â He's a big guy too~ over 6'5" so that is saying something.
I ordered the Mongolian beef and it was a little less than I expected ..the beef was dry and incredibly chewy and the sauce was way too sweet.
Safe to say, we won't be going back.
Two stars for the waiter who was incredibly nice and extremely accommodating and friendly. Â :)
Tried their new summer flavors and I must say they are worth every penny!
The BBQ trio is just amazing, has a good variety of sea food so you don't get bored just eating one thing/flavor.
My all time favorites are: Appetizers: WOK-FIRED CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS Entree: All the Wok-Fried items i.e Chicken Teriyaki, Chicken stir fry, honey shrimp. All of these are served with brown/white rice.
Desert: We tried the Fresh strawberry shortcake which was delicious but still my favorite is Desert Sampler and always like to end my meals with a sweet note like this one!
Tip: Their specialty is Wok-fried items and it will never fail you.
Servers are super friendly,nice and are always greeted with smiles & not attitude.
Coupons: signup for their "Passport email club" and they send you exclusive offers/promotions/coupons/ birthday surprises to your email.
Just got a coupon for B1G1 free Lunch entree which I am dying to use :)
They also have coupons in the Sunday newspapers (SS&RP) and I am very happy to always use coupons at this restaurant and get a bang for my buck!
Cons: I had tried their Chicken Marsala, chicken & shrimp from their Global menu but wasn't as satisfied as the Wok fried specialties. So my safer options are the Wok fried specialties.
I'm kicking myself for suggesting this place when the Tustin Marketplace is less than 15mins away!! The food is horrible here! Don't be fooled by the big menu with all the nice pictures of the food! It's not what it seems!! The whole atmosphere here sucks along with the food! We were seated in a booth across from 2 old grandmas that were LOUD and gossiping like nobodys business! It was so inappropriate! The appetizer was good but everything else went downhill! The BBQ chicken flatbread is solid ! My mom ordered Tilapia and I had a few sides with their Pear, Gorgonzola Salad. Epic Fail! I took one bite of my side and it was disgusting! When I told the waitress I didn't like it she took it away and never asked me if I wanted anything else! I'm lucky she even took it off the bill! The salad has way too many romaine hearts and the dressing is off putting! Me and my mom picked it at it and put it to the side. We were so disappointed and disgusted about the food on top of these gossiping loud mouthed grannies! What a big waste of $34.00, I should have stuck to what I know and went to Denny's down the way! The only good thing about it was the nice hostess who was friendly! Don't be fooled by this place! -___-
Review Source:I came here with my little brother after were able to get a hold of a 2 for $20 coupon from the weekly paper. Â We ordered a spinach artichoke dip, which I wasn't at all impressed with. Â There was too much mayo or something in it, but it didn't taste right. Â It was probably the worst spinach artichoke dip I've ever had. Â I ordered a pasta with shrimp, which was was also not impressive, and my brother ordered the salmon. Â They weren't spectacular and tasted alright. Â I don't think I was too fond of my pasta sauce. Â It had something left to be desired, and everything just tasted like it was lacking a special ingredient. Â I guess for $20 I can't really complain, but I wouldn't come here to pay full price for an entree, nor would I recommend this place to eat unless you want to try out the Happy Hour (just remember to drink so as not to remember how awful your food was). Â Save your money and don't come here, or if you do, make sure you have a coupon, but prepare to be disappointed by what you paid for.
Review Source:The happy hour at elephant bar seems to be the main attraction because when a friend and I went there on a friday night the whole dining room was empty and everyone was  near the bar/happy hour side. The food here is decent and  its well worth the happy hour price!
Service: our waiter was pretty slow and didn't really pay attention to us even though it wasn't a full house. All together it was okay. Would i come back? Only to catch a beer or two but not for dining.
Kids meal $6.50 chicken strips and Mac n Cheese, was yummy! Â Kids loved it.
It's okay. Â It isn't the best place out there, and it isn't the worst. Â We were pleasantly surprised that the food was actually better than we expected. Â Service was slow, not a lot of people in the restaurant and it's what it is... a BAR. Â A bar with great kids' food and menu, which seems ironic. Â However, my kids loved the food, especially the macaroni and cheese which was perfect! Â The chicken tenders were amazingly and perfectly crispy on the outside, and even though they were clearly breast strips, they were perfectly moist on the inside.
I'm not going to lie... food is fattening, but so is everywhere else. Â Portions are very large, the whole place definitely feels greasy, like it could use a good scrub down, but I guess if you're drunk you wouldn't care. Â It's nicer than TGIF, definitely, but along the same lines.
I didn't think I'd say this, but we'll be coming back.
I really never understand why I don't come here since it's walking distance from where I live -__-
The food is yum and the drinks are ok. Not good, not bad, nothing amazing, but still a great place for happy hour or if you're hungry. The bartenders are super nice. Despite not knowing what a fuzzy navel was, they looked it up and made one for me. Major props!
Not the most memorable place, but really good place if you're looking to meet some friendly people and grub on some massive portions during happy hour. Definitely recommend it if you're looking for a place to just relax and wind down rather than get hyped up.
Elephant Bar, I love you! Thanks for making me a special order 'take out', even though you were busy as heck.
Pacific Cove Tropical Crab and Shrimp  (hold the louie and lettuce)   Â
Sweet crabmeat and poached shrimp with layers of fresh mango, grilled pineapple, avocado, marinated cucumbers, diced tomatoes, chopped eggs, black olives and chopped parsley served on a bed of rice. Then drizzled with Tropical Honey Citrus dressing.
I had probably not eaten at an Elephant Bar resturant in over twenty years, but dined here for dinner tonight with family and friends.
Our server was prompt, great with suggestions and friendly.
My aunt and I shared a side Citrus salad to start. It was delicious, especially the candied walnuts. For our main course we shared a seasonal mixed grill special- steak, lobster and shrimp served with asparagus. We swapped the sweet potato casserole for mashed potatoes. It was all fantastic and plenty to share between two. Our entire party shared the strawberry shortcake for dessert, which was equally fabulous. I really enjoyed my meal here.
The restaurant was a bit too noisy and I would likely return in off peak times for a more enjoyable experience.
Elephant Bar is now on my radar for local restaurants and I am very likely to return.
Please visit my blog for more reviews and musings.
Not too shabby. Our wait was approx. 5 mins. Ahi tuna was the appetizer of choice. No real option for low-sodium soy sauce because our waitress was pretty lame. The tempura batter was flavorless but still ok. Our two main orders: sirloin w/chicken marsala and the jambalya w/shrimp/chicken/sausage. Entrees were delicious except the steak..no flavor. A1 was needed for the rescue. We used our gift card of $50..and owed 5 bucks. We did see they have a pretty decent HH menu..might try that out. Overall: 3 out of 5
Review Source:I haven't been to Elephant Bar for probably around five years now, not sure why but this place never crosses my mind as a first priority for getting my grub on. Anyways my boyfriend and I were trying to find a good late night happy hour spot nearby our houses that we haven't tried before so he suggested this place and man am I glad he did!
We showed up around 9ish right when happy hour starts and sat ourselves right at the bar. No crowds no wait no problem! The server at the bar was awesome and came right over to help us. We started off our night by ordering a tall glass of Hef for me and a Blue Moon for him (only $5 each!) Very pleased with our selection we looked over the menu while also enjoying the basketball game on the t.v right in front of us. Who would have know this place could have such a barsy / classy ambiance about it, I love it! Finally, we decided to order the Spicy Spinach & Artichoke dip, a Margarita pizza and a bowl of steamed Edamames. Can I just say it was all SOO DANK and it all only came out to around $30! That's a great deal for two in my books. This place is not my first choice for happy hour but I will definitely be back just because the price was pretty awesome and there's not a lot of places that are so convenient and are open late night.
Came here for happy hour this past weekend. Pricing pretty cheap, got the Quesadillas, the Lettuce Wrap, and Sweet Potato Fries. Food was good and the service was decent. There was no wait since we went straight to the  bar seating area and looked for a table.
Would come back for the happy hour, but nothing to fall out of my seat for. It's a good late night alternative when everything else is closed.
I came here for happy hour on a Saturday night with my friends. I was kind of surprised at how empty the place was. It wasn't completely empty, but it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.
We sat down at the bar area and a server was quick to come over. We ordered the SKYY Vodka Rasberry Lemon Drop Martini, the Artichoke Dip and Baja Chicken Quesedilla. Both of the food items were alright, nothing spectacular. I've tasted better. But for $4.50 each item, I can't really complain much. As for the drink, I didn't really like it. It's just personal preference; I prefer more fruity drinks.
I'm giving this place only 3 stars because the food was just mediocre. Nothing amazing. Nothing blew my socks off.
Our waiter was nice though. He always came around every now and then asking if we were ok, or if we wanted another round of drinks.
Not good. Â Sat down with three friends in the bar area last night for some late night drinks. Â Our waitress came up to us and was clearly stressed: there are MANY tables in the bar area and they were all hers -- she did not hesitate to tell us of her many troubles that night (we did not care, we merely wanted to eat while getting boozed up). Â The female bartender on duty was handling the 70%-capacity bar but wasn't doing much else it seemed like (common for bartenders in restaurants, especially if they are attractive females like this one was -- they know they won't get fired or have to lift a finger because they bring in the suckers). Â
Due to our server being overloaded, our service was very poor. Â Though the food came out on time and in the correct order (appetizers first, all brought out by people other than the server, maybe a manager too since one lady was wearing a blue shirt), we were unable to place further drink orders or ask for napkins. Â
Not that I would have ordered another margarita: the "happy-hour margarita" I ordered cost only $3 but it literally tasted like a $3 tap water on ice with salt and a lime in it -- garbage. Â No joke, the weakest margarita (and for that matter, cocktail) I've ever had in my life. Â I will forever remember it as the margarita that turned my "happy-hour" here into a "sad-hour".
This was my first time visiting Elephant Bar and I probably will not be returning. Â The food was overpriced for it's portions and quality despite it being "Happy-hour" pricing ("sad-hour" strikes again). Â Having served in a busy restaurant for three years, I would put only 20% of my negative experience on the server and the remainder on this restaurant's management: the bar area was clearly understaffed for what seemed like a perfectly typical Tuesday night, and the menu too expensive. Â Probably just another chain restaurant trying to cut back on labor at the expense of guest experience: one server handling 12 4-spots and a lazy bartender chatting up her female server friends from the restaurant next door who came into the bar while the host seats and runs food while the manager also runs food but brings it to our table despite ours obviously being the wrong table since we had just sat down no more than three minutes earlier.
Avoid.
Pretty nice happy hour deals after 9pm, and usually no wait to get a seat on Friday or Saturday nights.
But be careful, a lot of the waiters in the bar area are really inexperienced and will charge you full price instead of the happy hour deals (which ends up being a lot). Last time my friend was charged almost double but ended up paying because he was too drunk to argue...
My cousin treated me out here because she had a gift card from her boss. We went for dinner and the wait wasn't long for two people (about 15 minutes).
First off, the THREE CHEESE MACARONI is heaven!!! We both would go here just to eat the macaroni and nothing else. The cheesy flavor was beyond amazing and oh-so rich. The texture was creamy and the macaroni was just right. I would give this appetizer a 5/5 stars.
We were originally hoping to order the chicken tender entree served with coleslaw and the three cheese macaroni that they had a long time ago, but sadly found out they don't serve that entree anymore. Instead, they sell the crispy chicken tenders as an appetizer, which we ended up not ordering.
Instead, I ordered the CHICKEN MEDALLIONS IN MARSALA WINE SAUCE served with MASHED POTATOES AND BRAISED SPINACH. This dish was perfectly balanced and I was able to finish it all (with a little help from my cousin). The spinach was wonderfully seasoned. The mashed potatoes were creamy, smooth, and buttery. As for the chicken, they were very tender and the marsala wine sauce had so much flavor in it, I was taking my spoon to scoop it up and drizzle it all over everything.
My cousin ordered a pasta dish (CRUNCHY CHICKEN WITH FETTUCINI IN A ROMA TOMATO SAUCE - forgot what the pasta dish was called). This dish of hers was very filling, she filled up on it so fast and asked for my help to finish it. Her pet peeve with the dish was that it had huge chunks of roma tomatoes that she kept pushing to the side of the dish. Â
Would I ever come back here? Only for the THREE CHEESE MACARONI and nothing else. My cousin and I highly recommend that as an appetizer. You will not be disappointed. Trust me.
This is for the bar only. The bartender was a sweetheart, he was very attentive, and he gave me the surprise drinks I wanted- even though they were on the weak side. Overall, I like it here. I will come here. I don't know too much about the pricing here, but the happy hour seemed average, just as it is in many places. They do close way too early though. :/
Review Source:The only good thing here is their alcoholic drinks: strong enough to do the trick it needs to do~ whatever that is.
As for food... the only two things I would eat here is their lamb shank and lettuce wrap, everything else is not good.
Tip: If you want a place that doesn't have a line on a Friday night, this is the place to come cause there was no line when I came here at 7:00 on Friday!
The restaurant is mediocre--the food is okay, the service is okay, the atmosphere is okay. Nothing really stands out (maybe except for the animal displays in the front). I wouldn't make a big effort to come to this place to eat. The only times I come here is when when my family wants to or when other friends plan dinner here. I mean, there's nothing bad about this place but at the same time there's nothing spectacular about it either.
The last time I was here, the service was kind of bad. My fiancé and I had to find our waitress to get refills and it took her about 20 minutes to come back and realize we were done and wanted the check. It took her even longer to pick up the check and bring us a box. She might have had other tables but we were getting tired of waiting and sitting there. Besides, the service, the food was okay. The price is great and I saw that they also have pretty good happy hour deals.
I came here with a few friends during happy hour around 10PM. We all ordered some drinks and I had the mai-tai. The drinks were great but our waitress was having a bad day or something, because she didn't care about us at all. Even while taking our orders, she showed attitude. We ordered a few items off their food menu too. The sweet potato fries and artichoke dip is pretty good, but I've had better.
We couldn't get the attention of our server so it took a while for us to order another round. She messed up on our drinks and brought us drinks we didn't even order. We decided to just let it slide and drink them anyway. At the end of the night, there were wayyyy too many drinks on our bill, but because our server didn't come over, yet again, I ended up going up to the bartender to have him correct everything.
Overall... the food and drinks are okay. But the service is horrible. I probably won't ever be back.
Came here once... I feel like the servers didn't care much about us... Just going though the motions to get it done... The food is kinda on the pricy side.. I got the ribs.... Didn't like it much all I can say was out over everything all I enjoyed was the side salad with honey mustard....
Going back idk... I'm always one to try a place at least twice before completely checking it off my list so who know maybe.... I'll be back...
Their happy hour is one of my favorites. Only time I go! At the bar area only, with happy hour from 4-7pm and then 9 till close during the weekdays.
Their burger and beer combos are a great deal, with a great sized burger and either a pint or a larger size beer, depending on how thirsty you are that day for about $7-$8.
Their discounted appetizers are really good and well portioned, such as their artichoke dip, pizzas, and chicken tenders.
They also have good mixed drinks and sangria! This is a great place to wind down after a full day at work. Or jsut a good place to eat with good company.
Y- Yelp Review
E- Everything Food & Drinks
L- Likeability
P- Parking & Location
Y- Yelp Review - 4.5 out of 5.
But I rounded up because of most of the drawbacks are so minimal that I leaned towards a 5 out of 5.
E- Everything Food & Drinks
Food- I LOVE the burger and fries combo on happy hour. $6 for a good sized burger and fries. I enjoy them with the famous Mai Tai. I haven't ordered a ton of different things at Elephant Bar because the few things I have tried were so good.
Drinks- The famous Mai Tai! Ohhhh sooooo good! One of my favorite drinks EVER! On the happy hour it is only $4! Such a great deal. They are a bit overpriced if it is not happy hour.
L- Likeability
I love the feel of the restaurant. A cool Asian meets African safari type of decor. I really enjoy the style. They also have a ton of tvs in the bar area so you can watch a game and enjoy a good drink and food during the game.
P- Parking & Location
Good location right off the 5 and Culver.
Tip- Only go for happy hour. The prices REALLY jump up if you aren't in the bar area during happy hour. I believe the happy hours are from 3-7, 9 to close.
If anything, this chain restaurant suffers from "trying to be all things to all people". Â A mix of a ton of different cuisines, most of which have nothing to do with the pseudo African decor or theming,
I was told that the bar in this place was where soccer moms and day go to get all crazy when they have 45 minutes away from the kids, but I was here for lunch. Â Had the Moroccan Chicken with Couscous, which was not nearly as spicy or interesting as it could have been. Â You'll find sushi, salads, entrees, from a variety of cuisines. Â
But somehow the total is less than the sum of its parts. Â You know what elephant trunks do, other than smell, grasp, defend, and trumpet? Â They suck.
C;mon guys, you know better. I expect better service.
1st, let me start of and say that I find the food at all the Elephant Bars to be a great mix of world cuisine's. I've never had a bad FOOD experience, and have enjoyed finding new and great foods here.
Now onto my rant...
This normally is my go to place go to in the OC when I need to wait out traffic, as the food is particularly good and comes at you quick, hot and fresh. There is a reason why the Elephant Bar gets good word of mouth. Unfortunately the staff needed to get their act together , because I was on the phone trying to make a reservation and call about the day's specials. Unfortunately, the girl who answered the phone was so busy that she was able to promptly take down my information.
Yes, I get that you are busy with the dinner rush, but do you WANT my business?
I was on hold as my coworkers and I drove all the way to the restaurant, and I walked up and was able to walk in through the door with me still on hold on my cell. At least have the courtesy to tell me you are busy. I can understand that.
And evening manager, kudos for you for helping open the door for guests coming in and out of the restaurant, but if you want me to keep my business, lend a little time to some phone work. and spend less time being an overpaid greeter.
I was so angry that I took my coworkers to eat elsewhere. My treat, as they were looking forward to eating here.
First time and last time.
Just another american-jamican-asian-mexican-italian-etc-fusion place filled with inconsistent flavors making every bite less enjoyable. I honestly don't know why it's called the Elephant bar. If you're curious about this place, the menu is something similar to BJ's but definitely lacks in flavor or even an overpowering in flavors. I wouldn't even compare it to Cheesecake factory because it's so bad. We had 4 people with us and none of us finished our plates. Not because they were big plates. We came hungry and the surrounding restaurants all had hr long waits, surprisingly except for this one. Now we know why there was no wait at this particular restaurant, because the food leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. We didn't even finish the free complimentary appetizer or the sampler plate filled with deep fried finger food.
It's location is surrounded by many different restaurants so skip out on this one and adventure somewhere else even if you have to wait 45 mins.
We've been here a couple times mostly with large groups for special occasions(not my pick) and it's always been pretty unexciting. This place is a Thai Fusion place, but the menu is all over the place. A Thai place that serves burgers, mac n cheese, but chicken bowls too? mkay. The decor is pretty typical of your usual Elephant Bar's with a safari'ish type of feel at the entrance with the huge elephant statue with wood decor everywhere.
The food is pretty disappointing at best. The Chicken Marsala's noodles were super fat pad see ew style, yet cooked super limp. The sauce seemed like something out of a packet glissening from super thick bland corn starch "sauce". Sadly the best part was the grilled tomato.
The Creme Brulee tasted more like an egg tart then creme. I didn't know the texture was suppose to be so dry? I guess that's the Thai style of making creme. At least they got the thick Brulee part right.
The service has also always been pretty hit or miss here. You'll likely wait awhile for your drink orders, and they likely will get it wrong too. I've got a hand ful of times where we've ordered water with lemon, or water with no ice and still got a regular cup of ice water?? :(
Note any group of over 6 be assessed with the typical 18% gratuity no matter how bad the service or food is. So i would highly suggesting going to at least Cheesecake Factory for some better good eats if you wanna have some "fusion" style Americanize food.
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