Decided to take an old friend out for dinner and headed to Circus for a lively, entertaining meal.

With Circus, I know exactly what to expect – great entertainment, a loud and buzzy atmosphere, great drinks, decent food and above all a great evening out. Circus has previously been slated for the dire quality of its food, but as I understand it they changed their kitchen team fairly recently with a new head chef and now the food offering is of pan-Asian descent. I don't want to use the term ‘fusion’ because it is such an easy title to put on food that doesn't know where it's from!

Circus doesn't pretend to be the last word in gastronomy, nor would anyone reasonably expect the restaurant to be rivalling Zuma or Asia de Cuba in its pan-Asian offering. However, Circus did surprise me with the quality of their food which was well cooked, treated delicately where required, and full of flavour. Some items, the miso cod in particular, were over seasoned a little, but at no point did I feel like I couldn't eat the dishes in front of me. Their dim sum selection was lovely, as were the soft shelled crabs. Fillet of beef on hot stones was tender, succulent and well seasoned. The aforementioned miso cod was perfectly cooked but overdone on the miso. Small things, and taken on balance with the rest of the evening, not at all that important.

Their entertainment acts were fantastic. Best act by far was the drag-queen singer who did a fantastic job of embarrassing those lucky (or unlucky) enough to be sitting at the main table.

Service was as entertaining as the acts – this isn't fine dining service, nor should one expect it to be. Instead, the staff are supremely friendly, like having a bit of fun and a laugh, and at the end of the day looked after us really rather well. Yes, the service can be a bit sporadic but in truth there are some restaurants where customers should just relax and go with the flow. The drinks were very good, with a guava/coconut cocktail being the highlight.

Value… More