Circa The Prince

Great good earth food. Popped in here for a quick lunch and was thoroughly comforted by its great taste, pride-​of-​the-​earth food. Had octopus for my entrée. It was tender and juicy, with grand flavours of the sea. Not to be missed. The main was slow-​cooked lamb, complemented by an earthy mint dribbling and accompanied by a small swig of fresh turnip. The lamb was tender and comfortingly earthy.
Lunch was concluded with with a dessert dish comprising of donut balls and accompanied by lemon curd. Lovely conclusion to a great lunch
Ambience of the place was good too, with nice sunlight flooding through the big glass windows surrounding the room. The nearby sea outside the windows adds a further component to a relaxed afternoon at St Kilda

I have not been to the Deck when its been open to the public, but as a private event space it definitely needs to be on your list of places to check out.
The neutral colour background and the finishes are great to turn this room into what you want. There is a fenced off pool which adds a great touch. All this opens onto a large deck that overlooks Fitzroy St.
The food was fantastic, the drinks kept flowing and with a live band the acoustics were good.

Went here for Mothers Day lunch. Creative, elegant and seasonal menu. It was hard to choose! Extensive and delightful wine list. Dessert was a little slow but they have us a free glass of champaign each and some chocolate popsicles. Service was great without being too poncy. Highly recommend.

Sharky’s Best New Restaurants
BY SHARKING FOR CHIPS AND DRINKS
The restaurant industry is a fickle beast and survival isn’t always easy. Places come and go, concepts change, chefs depart — but the very best in the business demonstrate they are on the money from day one. These places opened their doors to the public in the last 18 months and clearly have staying power. We have no doubt they will leave an indelible mark on their respective dining landscapes over the coming years.
How a place I never intended to visit ended up being on this list is beyond me. On arriving in Melbourne, this Acland Street institution was always talked about in hushed tones, with the words ‘fine dining’, ‘French-​informed’ and ‘special occasion’ being thrown around. Not my scene and the kind of place you go in knowing you will be a whole lot poorer by the time the bill arrives. Well done to the Melbourne Pub Group for taking a massive chance when coming up with a new concept. I have taken many a visitor here to graze on deliciously flavourful offerings from the Street Food section of the menu. The pork buns with mango are to die for. Literally.

St Kilda is an inner-​city bayside township with a history, and present, of extreme contradictions. Palatial mansions with breathtaking sea views, twin-​set pearls and long-​established fine dining institutions with soaring prices, juxtaposed against grubby medium-​density housing, bohemian hipsters and grungy seedy bars attracting the fishnets and leathers. One of those long-​established fine dining institutions is Circa. Dining at Circa has never been about, whether in its previous incarnations nor in the present, a routine of mere mastication. Rather, from start to finish, it continues to offer that elusive dining experience. You find Circa in in a corner building of art deco sensibilities — plain creamy exterior streaked with wrap-​around balconies. At an entrance that is little more than a recessed side strip, you deposit your car with the valet at a gratis rate during the day, or for a little surcharge at night. You are ushered through an area that seems more the reception of a modern art gallery than a hotel lobby, and then up a flight of stairs you go. From here, Circa unfolds like an open-​plan house, with that same relaxed exclusivity of a residence. At one side, there is a sun-​dappled courtyard where uniformed staff behind a gold metal bar serve customers seated on black wicker-​like chairs. On the other, there is a decidedly retro feel in a lounge area furnished with stone grey cauldron seats and honey wood tables. You continue to walk towards the back, reaching finally the restaurant. Especially beautiful during the day, the gradations of the décor’s neutral palette exude a certain elegance — the snow-​white walls, stark black light fittings, gleaming chrome sculptures, caramel tables, charcoal banquettes, woven pitch place mats. It’s a deceptively plain canvas for the food that follows.
…
A book becomes timeless because of the quality of its prose and the coherency of its plot, characters and themes. Likewise a museum exhibition becomes an unforgettable one because of the quality of its artworks and the coherency of its sequenced presentation. Quality and coherence. It applies to dining venues as well. Circa is undeniably underpinned by quality and coherence — a curated, panoptic collection of the dining style that we Australians are partial (sharing-​style please, but adaptable to traditional too); the atmosphere in which we now prefer to immerse ourselves (anything flipside of a past decade’s penchant for third-​world black grunge); and the regional APEC cuisines that we increasingly embrace (the kinetic vivacity of diverse Asian flavours, the complex layers of indigenous Australia energised by a liberal American spirit). Overall, Circa 2012 is an elegant yet exciting statement of Melbourne’s dining landscape today. But for the slight shame of the inconsistent service standards, we love it.

The Deck (The Prince)
You have to find this little place in St Kilda for a great night out. The Deck is a small bar out the back of Circa The Prince (boutique hotel on Fitzroy Street). From Fitzroy Street, head up Acland and it is the near the corner of Jackosn street. Walk in through the concierge and then turn left at the stairs.
I have been here a few times now and have been very impressed by the service and chilled atmosphere, take your partner out on a date or bring a few business colleagues. This place is only a few minutes walk from the sea baths but once you are in it, it is easy to trick your mind that you are in the middle of the CBD.
Whiskey lovers — You have a good choice of a few drops of Scotch and Bourbon, ask a waiter for the larger menu.
Cocktail lovers — This may not be the perfect place, but there are some very nice cocktails on offer.
Bonus — Kirin available on tap!

I’ve visited Circa on a number of different occasions — for big lavish dinners with pre and post dinner cocktails, light lunches with the girls, meals in the bar, and even just stopping past for a G & T on the way home.
With an inside vertical garden and a peephole to the kitchen, the restaurant proper is a lovely space to sit. Do be sure though to wear your cutest dress, ladies, because you will feel like you are very much ‘on show’ in this space!
For more laid-​back, though still very chic dining and drinking, head to the bar where you can get a glass of wine from the Enomatic, or a martini to go along with something from the more casual bar menu. My pick? Take a friend, order a few bits and pieces and then splash out on a bottle of something delicious from the wine list. The sommelier will guide you through and won’t even bat an eyelid when she realises that you plan to match it to the (legendary) Circa Burger.

Circa is heaps good, mate. No, but seriously, it’s fantastic. Samantha is right — breakfast here is wonderful. I haven’t been for dinner so perhaps that’s why I’m giving it a good old shiny four stars.
The reason I love breakfast here so much is that they offer really interesting and culinarily daring options, like swapping polenta cakes for bread (only some dishes, don’t panic). Every dish is well-​considered, nothing is just thrown onto the menu in a haste of laziness (haste of laziness? What?).
But the reason I REALLY love breakfast is for its breathtaking interior and wonderfully peaceful atmosphere. Whenever I walk in here, I’m reminded of springtime along the French Reviera. I’ve never been to the French Reviera, so don’t argue with me. The sheer brightness of the place, the internal courtyard, the sweeping palms, the minimalist décor, all meld together to create these perfectly serene dining experience. Of course, I do reserve this for special occasions because the options are understandably pricey.

Well, golly. Telling you how I feel about Circa is a tough one.
First let me say the breakfast here is great. You can book and the service is efficient and friendly. Sadly, it’s only until 11am.
The dinner… well, my husband and I had the degustation here. Around 10 courses, if memory serves.
The menu tried way too hard to be creative and just ended up being pretty lame. I mean, cold salted watercress soup? Really.
The service too, left a lot to be desired. Clearly really incapable of managing the whole degustation thing, perhaps they just shouldn’t offer it and stick to a’la carte instead. The timing between our dishes was up to 45 minutes at first and then decreased exponentially, the time between our last two dishes being less than 5 minutes. I can only put this down to the number of other patrons in the restaurant. As it decreased and the pressure on the kitchen and waitstaffed decreased, the service sped up.
Again though, if you can’t do it well… just don’t do it at all.
Anyway — breakfast /​brunch, YES. Degustation dinner, heck no. A’la carte at your own risk.