OC Pavilion

Have been here when it was privately owned for functions, for dinner, many happy memories here. This was a place that was always clean and elegant and stylish, and you could never tell how old that building was. The «vault» in the basement which used to be a safe used by a bank was especially noteable.
This is used for performances for the Orange County Academy of the Arts these days, and this is a great space for them.

This place used to be my bank when I was 9, so it was a flashback remembering when I used to walk in with my little balance book proudly depositing my birthday money. I think this is a great theater. It has that old theater feel with stadium seating. They also seemed to have a great lineup of comedians and the one that we went to see was HILARIOUS!

Awesome venue for live theater! Seats are large and comfortable, stage is large and beautiful, backstage is tremendous and the shows are spectacular.
The restaurant is beautiful. Numerous private rooms with 5 star food and service. beautiful history. the Vault is also pretty bumpin’ this is definitely where it’s at in Santa Ana on many different levels.

Perhaps I’m just old school, but a vault is for securing valuables. If I’m out for an evening, I’d either want to see the world and/​or be seen. For obvious security reasons as onced used for banking purposes, the Vault is without windows nor views (and not an ideal situation for claustrophobes.)
Occasion — Celebrate a friend turning 5 – 0 with 50 of his friends & family, Studio 54 style.
Food & Drink — The buffet was appropriately serviced for the number of guests in attendance. Being a Santa Ana location, you’d expect and do get good tacos; much better than the mini sirloin burgers that was being hand passed (too greasy). While neither cheap nor expensive at $ 7, there’s something unsatisfying about drinking your martinis and mojitos from 6oz plastic tumblers.
As usual, excellence is in the details and I’ve experienced better venues for a mid size party. Overall, my Vault experience was a mere 2 stars; but the tasty tacos earned it an «A-​OK».

delightful setting — lunch topnotch service, somewhat slow, presentation as good as it gets — food totally wonderful — am planni ng to have dinner/​theatre soon.

I only went to the Vault VIP Lounge part… good times. The spot is aptly named since it was originally a bank vault and it still has the vault door which lends to the unique atmosphere. It’s an intimate venue. There are separate rooms with leather couches that don’t view the stage if you just want to mingle. If you tend to like lounges, your experience here will really depend on the gig booked for the evening (and if it’s your thing), and the energy of the crowd. If you don’t go for dinner, the cover charge is $ 10. We went right before eight (music starts at 8) and got a table. The evening’s entertainment was the Scott Martin Latin Soul Band. They were great. The music was soulful, fun, professional, and both energizing and relaxing. They made it a true lounge experience. The crowd was a mix of ages; earlier it tipped toward the older and as the night wore on it got younger (and that’s not the drinks talking!).
The cocktails were average. Beers seemed to be expensive (6 to 7 bucks for the usual suspects), but were huge – at least two pints! The wines were pricey, but had a good selection. Drink and appetizer service was just so-​so (not enough servers). You really should just make sure you like the entertainment for the night before you go. I would go again.

OC Pavilion contains the theatre itself, along with Ambrosia (5 star dining) upstairs and the VIP vault Lounge in the basement.
Valet parking is $ 6, but we got a discount the night we went there. We had free tickets to the show after we dined at Ambrosia. It was a lady named Bethany Owen. The seating arrangement was great, but I found that particular night was an older crowd.
I didn’t get a drink from the bar, so I don’t know the prices.
Nice, intimate feeling place to see an act.