Circus Restaurant, London – Review

Posted by Hayden Allen-Vercoe on Thu 25th February 2010 at 06:50 AM, Filed in Fine Dining,  Luxury Food,  Tried and Tested

From the moment you click onto the Circus restaurant website you get a feeling that this restaurant is different… in more ways than one as we discovered!

Situated along Endell Street, you’ll be forgiven when you arrive and do a double take and say “this can’t be it… there’s no way in!” There is, you just have to be patient and wait for the big steel doors to open as if by magic.

Once in, it’s difficult not to be impressed with the venue, which is the work of acclaimed designer Tom Dixon. Covered in mirrored balls and with a grand marble table in the centre of the restaurant, you immediately soak up the relaxed, trendy vibe that this place oozes from every corner.

The staff are incredibly attentive and friendly, I’ve never seen so many smiles in a restaurant to be honest… it’s catchy!

We smacked straight into a cocktail and I chose a Kaffir Fizz which was a vodka pomegranate mixture, very nice. The menu was safe with a broad selection of American comfort foods like ribs and steaks. We opted for the tuna and Salmon tartar with a salad and the Grilled langoustines, which was definitely the better of the two starters.

For mains we opted for the fillet steak with portabella mushrooms, which was cooked to perfection and the Spiced pork belly… fantastic!

The fun really started half way through the starter when the kitchen shutters came down and a s scantily clad lady appeared miming a Bird of Paradise (I think). Obviously the restaurant came to a standstill and watched the marvel, which was an enjoyable show. After around 5 minutes our performer disappeared and everyone got stuck back into what they were doing… very surreal. An hour later, it was the turn of 2 trapeze artists to perform above our heads, a much better show I have to admit, and a combination of trapeze and burlesque if you can picture that.

Would I go again? I think so… why not! It’s different, the food is good, well priced and the atmosphere is extremely welcoming.