Circl is a high-end modern Australian restaurant and wine house with European influence, specifically Scandinavian. They have consistently been awarded a Chef’s Hat worthy of a stop. We dined a la carte. It ended up costing about $120 per person.
Snacks
This is their most iconic dish, the CIRCL Caviar tin, Yarra Valley Salmon roe, crème fraiche and crumpet for $27. It was delicious, with bursts of umami balanced by the thick creaminess of the creme fraiche. The crumpet was fluffy and soft.
The marketing of this is both genius and evil. They put the words “caviar tin” at the start and when you’re deciding what to order, you don’t think twice about the word tin so you end up having a slight expectation to see those luxurious Sturgeon carviar inside. Lesson learned, read every word carefully 😂.
The marketing of this is both genius and evil. They put the words “caviar tin” at the start and when you’re deciding what to order, you don’t think twice about the word tin so you end up having a slight expectation to see those luxurious Sturgeon carviar inside. Lesson learned, read every word carefully 😂.
This smoked eel tart with compressed cucumber and horseradish was $14 each. The tart shell was the right thickness and crispy. The eel had so much depth, balanced with the freshness (cucumber), earthiness (dill) and the spicy kick (horseradish).
This was the tinned trout rillette, pickled mussel, saffron with rye cracker for $25. The trout was creamy (like pâté) and flavorful, contrasted by the tang of the mussel. The saffron was subtle. The cracker was a tad soft, but crunchy. It was enjoyable, not memorable.
It was brave for Mick to try the goat cheese éclair, beetroot, chives for $10 each. And it was delicious. The goat cheese was masked really well by the earthy sweetness of the beetroot. It had a nice tang to it. The mouthfeel was overwhelmingly soft as you needed to bite everything to enjoy the balance. The eclair was about 11cm tall so a big mouth is needed to bite into it.
This was their staple Blanc bakery sourdough bread with St David’s cultured butter for $7, however we didn’t order it and got it as complementary – probably due to our large order 😂.
The sourdough was perfect. It had a nice crunch (but not too hard that it hurts the teeth) and the fluffiest bed. The butter was smooth and salted well.
The sourdough was perfect. It had a nice crunch (but not too hard that it hurts the teeth) and the fluffiest bed. The butter was smooth and salted well.
Entrée
The yellowfin tuna crudo, Meyer lemon, sorrel, cucumber for $28 was a flavourbomb. The use of two types of citrus added depth, while the cucumber sauce elevated the freshness of the fish. The theatrical liquid nitrogen green sprinkle was the sorrel crushed up.
This misleading pasta photo was the Corner Inlet calamari, Nduja, morcilla, celeriac for $28. The calamari had a bouncy, light texture. The use of two types of sausages made it a very savoury bite, elevated by the spice of the nduja and the perfectly chopped chives.
Mains
We went hard and ordered the full sized Macedon Ranges duck with Davidson plum harissa, honey and leek. It was $158. The half size was $79. It takes about 40 minutes to come out.
Bruhhh, the duck was absolutely exceptional. It was perfectly cooked to a rich, tender finish with a crispy skin. The plum added vibrancy with its tang, and together with the honey and leek, created a dynamic flavour profile of sweet, spicy, and umami notes. The additional croquet was rich, with a nice moderately-thick crust and smooth cream cheese filling. Between the 3 of us, we almost devoured it all but unfortunately left behind 4 pieces 🥲.
Bruhhh, the duck was absolutely exceptional. It was perfectly cooked to a rich, tender finish with a crispy skin. The plum added vibrancy with its tang, and together with the honey and leek, created a dynamic flavour profile of sweet, spicy, and umami notes. The additional croquet was rich, with a nice moderately-thick crust and smooth cream cheese filling. Between the 3 of us, we almost devoured it all but unfortunately left behind 4 pieces 🥲.
The potato gnocchi, native gremolata, zucchini, pecorino for $39 was the worst dish of the night. The gnocchi was pillow-y but was a tad dense, making the mouthfeel comforting but overwhelming. The flavour was also average.
The Gippy gold potatoes, caramelised onion emulsion and chives side dish for $16 was delicious in its simplicity. It’s hard to fuck up a potato.
Service
The service was fantastic. Our only critic was the man who welcomed us at the start. I don’t think it was the front-of-house as he was lingering near the kitchen/bar (perhaps manager or boss) but he came off a bit rude when we entered, despite having a reservation.
Review
We really enjoyed this dinner. Since we ordered most items of the menu, we would probably not return for a while until there are significant changes to the dishes. We would recommend Circl to our friends.
Thanks for reading. Hapypy eating!
Thanks for reading. Hapypy eating!
