Circus

Excellent food and the show was amazing. Like a mini cirque du soleil in between courses.

Circus is great fun, have no doubt about it , but the reason for going is the entertainment, namely a lot of burlesque dancing or, put another way, grown-up striptease (assuming that’s your cup of tea). Against this background, food seems – and is – almost an after-thought. Circus, like so many other wannabe places claims to offer a ‘pan-Asian’ menu. In other words, what you get is a little bit of everything, almost all appallingly prepared and thoroughly tasteless. Among the most memorable (in a bad way) dishes were the spicy squid starter (far too much batter, almost no squid or spice) and the chicken curry (an anonymous mass in an overly creamy and flavourless sauce). The salmon main and aubergine side were slightly more redeeming features. Nonetheless, although the food bordered on the most uninspiring eaten in a ‘restaurant’ for some time, it didn’t really matter: the alcohol flowed (in our group at least), the staff had a great attitude and the entertainment was fairly novel. Do go, but not with the expectation of having a fine meal.

Quite often, restaurants seem to decline over time and become pale shadows of their former selves. In the instance of Circus however the opposite is true – since I first came here three years ago, the restaurant has evolved in every possible positive fashion and now presents not only a fabulous night out with circus-style entertainment, but also food to match. Pan-Asian cuisine is the name of the game here and the menu is designed for sharing; a nice concept that works well for the typically larger groups of people that I saw here. We enjoyed a large selection of the menu, with foie gras dumplings, new york strip loin and the black cod being highlights. Drinks were excellent as before, service was friendly and professional and overall I really couldn't fault it. Thank you Circus, and well done for the improvements!

The restaurant is not marked from the outside – hidden, discrete entrance, as long as you know it is number 27, you will find it, however. Enter and there is a short corridor with a cloakroom and reservation check desk. When you enter the restaurant, you will feel like you are entering a 70s disco era – very cool, lots of disco balls everywhere and sparkle. Decoration is great and adds to the ambience – check out the toilets, quite matrix-esque. Food is unusual to what you tend to find in London – I would call it Southern American with a twist. Good variety and probably a change to what you eat normally at an “American” -cuisined place. Very tasty and good sized portions. I rcmnd the side sauces. Food came very quickly. Service was smiley and friendly but slow – took a long time to take any orders (drinks, food, desert) and then took 30 mins to bring the bill, which is fine if you're sitting enjoying yourself, but a pain if you want to leave. Just keep on the waiting staff's case about bringing it. At hourly intervals after a certain time, the central long table becomes Cirque-du-Solei-esque and when we there, there was a contortionist and then a snake-charmer woman, which is a bit not-so-much for me when mixed with food. If you're not into this, request to NOT be on the central long table when booking. Restaurant seemed to turn into a bar after about 9.30pm with a younger crowd (<25). Would rcmnd for an ambient experience and good food. Good for a date or with a group of friends.

I celebrated my 30th Birthday here on a Saturday, and once seated we were told by the female waiting staff ‘You need to order now we want the table back at 9pm’ incredibly rude, as we knew we had the table from 7-9pm. We chose one main course only, as that is the only time we had! The food overall was good, although my medium steak was a little burnt, my friends dishes were nice, but not worth the £16+ price tag plus sides. The Circus acts were interesting, the flexi girls were great, but the Brazilian dancers were a little odd, seeing as it was a circus theme. Overall ok to try once, but I and my friends will not be going back