Circa
| Where | 2 Acland Street, St Kilda, 3182—View map |
Contact | 03 9536 1122 |
Website | www.circa.com.au |
Open | Breakfast Monday to Sunday 7:00 am to 11:00 am |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside |
Kids | Get a baby sitter |
Pets | Welcome |
Circa 2010
Rowena Robertson 29 March 2010
Circa at the Prince has recently been refurbished, and it seems that the breakfast menu has also undergone something of a revamp after a slight 'resting on laurels' period.
The new-look Circa is the result of a collaboration between owners John and Lisa van Haandel and local designers, artists and stylists. The idea behind the makeover, according to the Circa website, was to"deconstruct the dining experience". If this seems a bit hard to get your head around, don't worry – all you really need to know is that the space is peaceful and welcoming, with its wonderful glass ceiling, shiny black-tiled pillars holding up a huge metal 'cloud', wooden tables, japonaiserie chairs and ceiling-height metal shelves overflowing with greenery.
The breakfast menu is small-ish but perfectly formed. Eggs are the centrepiece, and feature in dishes including huevos rancheros, baked eggs with creamed Swiss chard and soldiers, bacon chop with fried quail egg and pineapple chutney, Cumberland sausage with fried egg, avocado aioli and spinach sanga, and scrambled free-range eggs with avocado, tomatoes and pancetta on toast. My companion in breakfasting had the last dish on that list, and pronounced the eggs refreshingly non-oily, the pancetta flavoursome and the other ingredients top quality.
I gave in to my apparently insatiable desire for sweet, carb-laden breakfasts and chose the buttermilk pancakes with poached berries and vanilla mascarpone. The pancakes were medium sized, which I liked, and of medium consistency – they perhaps could have been a touch lighter. The berries were fresh and good quality, and the mascarpone deliciously creamy.
The coffee was excellent, and as an alcohol 'enthusiast' I was pleased to note that they serve Bloody Marys. And I need to go back soon – perhaps on a freezing winter's morning – to try the intriguing-sounding hot Ecuadorian guaranda chocolate.