Circa at Clarendon
My original intention in writing this post was to give Circa at Clarendon a full restaurant review. However, due to the amount of time which has passed since our visit (approx. 1 1/2 months), I don’t feel it would be fair to put out a review this far out. So, rather than a detailed review, here are some pictures of our experience, complete with captions.
Absolutely love the club chairs. If you get seated at a table without the club chairs, don’t be afraid to ask the hostess to re-seat you. We did, and it was worth it. We could have sat in those chairs all night.
My hubby (who is the wine enthusiast of the family) was particularly impressed with the ‘By the Glass’ portion of the wine list. In his own words.. solid selection, and great for happy hour.
Rather than choosing entrees, we opted for an assortment of small plates.
Lobster Ravioli - Excellent, but we were left wanted more.. 3 raviolis on a $12.50 plate felt inadequate.
Shotgun Shrimp - It was tasty, and definitely more “substantive” than the 3 raviolis, but it wasn’t different than anything you could find at Cheesecake Factory or PF Chang’s. Perhaps a little assortment of fun dipping sauces would have completed it?
Filet Mignon Sliders - Our favorite dish of the group. The steak was perfectly cooked. It was flavorful, juicy, and fun.
Calamari - Our least favorite dish of the group. Definitely could have done without it. (and I feel terribly guilty writing this because this dish was brought out by the waiter as complimentary “thanks for coming in/we hope you’ll come back and tell your friends about us” gesture.) The calamari were too small, almost sickly, and the heat factor just wasn’t our style. I never mind a little kick on the backend, but in this dish, it was too overwhelming. Trying to pick out the breaded jalapeños wasn’t my idea of breaded calamari. Even the dipping sauce was spicy.
Next time we go to Circa, we’ll order entrées instead of small plates, and see what they have to offer in that regard. Circa has a great vibe, a large selection of food and beverage, and an ideal location for people watching. It is definitely on the pricey side of the Clarendon restaurant scene, so I doubt it will end up in our regular rotation of restaurants, but who knows - Lyon Hall is in the same price point as Circa, and I can’t get enough of Lyon Hall.
