Review: The Circus Restaurant, Bath

On our recent visit to Bath we sampled quite a few pubs and restaurants (more on where in this post!). We visited the Circus Restaurant for dinner and it was definitely one of our favourites.

Location

The Circus Restaurant is situated in a beautiful Georgian building on Brock Street which connects The Circus with the Royal Crescent, two of the iconic architectural treasures of Bath. The restaurant is open all day except Sunday, serving morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

The Food

The dinner menu is fairly small serving modern European food and changes every month. What makes it special is that they use locally sourced ingredients wherever possible with the fish delivered daily from Cornwall. We started our meal off with a complimentary selection of fresh breads, they were delicious. We then all had the same starter, we just couldn’t resist it, white crabmeat layered with seafood wafers, celeriac remoulade and a devilled brown crabmeat dressing.  This was amazing, and the portion size was just right, ensuring we had plenty of space for the main course.

For main course I had the maple-cured loin of boar served on a cassoulet of belly pork, beans and chorizo. It was the first time I have tried boar and I absolutely loved it. Whereas Jane opted for the chicken dish served with leeks, baby new potatoes  and caramelised apples, in a light cream, cider and lemon thyme sauce. Julia went for the lamb dish which was very unusual, served with asparagus and pearl barley and a wild garlic, almond and pecorino pesto. It certainly looked beautiful but secretly I think she missed the mint sauce.  All the mains were accompanied by new potatoes and a selection of fresh vegetables. After the delicious mains it was time to look at puddings. I ended up being the only one with room for a desert, a beautifully light and refreshing lemon tart.

The Drink

Moving on to drinks, a nice touch is the specially filtered and purified water served in a carafe with no charge. For every litre served the restaurant contributes to Christian Aid’s work in Africa building pumps for wells. There is also a comprehensive selection of soft drinks, craft beers and ciders, spirits and liqueurs available. Finally and (most importantly!) the wine list, this is excellent with a wide selection of wines showing the origin and tasting notes. Half bottles are available and prices are very reasonable for the quality of wine on offer. We had a half bottle of the house champagne with our starter and then a bottle of the house red from the South of France with our main courses. It was so good that Jane and Julia had to have an extra glass each while I had my desert!

Overall

Undoubtedly this was one of the best meals I have ever had in all the times I have visited Bath. The restaurant is casually elegant with some striking modern art. The service was also excellent, not too formal but friendly and informed serving staff, who just got the balance right without being intrusive or over- familiar. Remember to book though (details here), we ate at 6 pm and all of the tables in the upstairs dining room were taken. This was particularly busy for a Monday however, as there was a private party in the downstairs dining room. The total bill came to £120 including a discretionary tip, which for the quality of food and wine, and the restaurant location and ambiance, was very reasonable.

The Guestbooks Comment: “If you are in Bath and appreciate good food and wine you must visit The Circus Restaurant you won’t be disappointed.”

Looking for more tips on where to eat in Bath? Have a look at Kate’s post for other recommendations, as well as where to drink and where to stay during a visit to this beautiful city.