Le Cirque

One of my favorite in NY Restaurant week!!!
We heard that it’s a French restaurant, so we want to try it out… and it was amazing. we are still talking about it till this day!!!
Usually during restaurant week, you won’t get full after the meal, but here, I was stuffed… from the appetizer to dessert, it gets better and better… the black cod! Oh man!!! was the best fish i have ever had in my entire life… i can still tasted it in my mouth right now, it just melt in your mouth… fresh!!! i am not a fish person, but this fish… i would eat this every day if i can…
Dessert is even better… they do have a cart with all the desert, but then when they tell me they have other desert like Crème Bulee and Soufflé… oh we went right ahead for those… and what a surprised… they are so good!!! I hope i can go there every day and eat this every day!!!

Circo and the Machionni family have not paid any of their employees from Circo in Southampton when they went out of business. There were over 25 employees owed thousand of dollars and Mario and his wife and family have been ignoring our phone calls, texts and all other forms of communication because they do not want to pay What is owed. They stole our money that we have earned through tips, so keep in mind that when you tip your servers, the Machionni family is keeping that money to keep their business going instead of paying it to the employees that earned it. This was just something the public should be aware of when spending money at any of their establishments. Horrible ownership, dishonest family.

Came in for Valentine’s Day dinner and was a huge disappointment. The food was subpar. The only tasty dishes were the desserts and the risotto appetizer. We tried several items. The steak was bland and flavorless so as the fish. The sides had too much salt. The food in the Vegas location was so much better. There are tons of restaurants in NYC that have much better food at a fraction of the cost. It’s not about the price. I don’t mind paying for quality. The service was spotty. Some staff were very pleasant and some were downright rude and snooty. Even the front security doorman /​valet was completely rude and out of line. The location and the space itself was nice.

This is the most racist restaurant I’ve ever visited in my life. Shitty side is for Asians and main dining place is for Europeans. I have never experienced this kind of racially dividing restaurant.
Also food was terrible. Dessert was good but all other main dishes were horrible.
I really don’t recommend this place. Also service wasn’t as good as other Michelin star restaurant. I am not talking about food, even service was worse than other restaurants.

Overall it was a good experience. I went to Lé cirque during restaurant week. Black truffle risotto as appetizer was disappointing, not much flavor, but everything else was delicious!

Went for restaurant week. Service was very good. Food was fine, but it wasn’t exceptional — I was expecting it to be better. I found everything to be a little bland. The risotto was just slightly undercooked, the chickpea soup was a little bland. The mozzarella was actually surprisingly good, very rich and creamy. The short rib had a good amount of meat in it but the polenta was bland. Salmon was good. However like I said nothing special. Same with desserts — tried all four — the mint chocolate vacherin was probably the best of them.

Went during restaurant week.
Nice décor, Delicious food, Drinks are expencive.
But I will not go there for a regular price… Overpriced…

Let me preface this with that I went here with six workmates for Restaurant Week. So I had reduced expectations. Really, I was just looking for a decent meal and something sweet with decent service. The experience is best described with bullet points.
* Bread and water came quickly (good).
* Took another 25 minutes to get a waiter to take our orders (bad).
* First of a three-​course menu came another 25 minutes after that. (Not great, but okay).
* Another half hour goes by and we begin noticing that the tables around us are complaining. And others are looking desperate for food (getting worried).
* A colleague leaves because after 90 minutes, she says I’m going to miss a meeting (panic mode).
* Meanwhile, I down a fourth piece of bread.
* At about one hour, 40 minutes into this, the entrees arrive. My short ribs are just fine (sad face).
* At 2+ hours, we tell our waiter to just wrap up the desserts.
* The journey ends with our waiter at first saying we owed more money. He then realized the insanity of such a request, and lets us leave (relief!)
* Visiting relics of New York can be fun and entertaining, but this place is a disaster.

More style than substance. Sterile and robotic feel to service. Lacking warmth. This is how we felt about out experience while waiting for our check after a recent dinner at Le Cirque. If you’re a fan of fur coats and Botox, you will fit right in here.
Our visit was during NYC Restaurant Week, and you could tell that it was, by the disinterested, spiritless demeanor of the staff. For a restaurant of this caliber, with this type of reputation, we expected much better. Be it Restaurant Week or not.
We were seated at a table in a walkway, although there were many other empty tables. We asked to move to another table and they accommodated us.
Our server was very dry. There was zero conversation that was not absolutely necessary, and he barely broke a smile.
We ordered from the Restaurant Week menu and the food was pretty good, but not memorable. The presentation of the dishes was nice however. We had a salad that was fresh and colorful; some mushroom risotto, a small Salmon fillet and a Short Rib dish. So, the food was tasty, but it seemed as if it had been sitting, as it wasn’t quite hot enough. We ordered a side of French Fries that had to be sent back because they were cold. They should not have been allowed to leave the kitchen. They were replaced with hot ones.
The 3-​star review is based on our entire experience. Restaurant week is an opportunity for a business to win over new customers who can become future repeat clients, if impressed. If they are just going to half-​ass the food and the service because of the lower margins and tips, they’d be better off not even participating in the promotion.

I would give this place 3 stars for food but the fact that’s it’s overpriced makes it deserve a 2. Food was mediocre, ambiance was okay, service sucked– my guy couldn’t speak English.

Overall experience: I went to dinner with a friend here and we enjoyed ourselves very much.
Décor/​atmosphere: Absolutely beautiful! Hence the name, the space resembles a circus tent. Dimly lit but not too dim. Their china is a little quirky, which I appreciated.
Food: Few complaints! I got the truffle risotto, citrus glazed salmon and walnut cake. The risotto could have used something, maybe some cheese or extra salt. However, the salmon and cake were absolutely delicious! Couldn’t have asked for a better entrée and dessert!
Customer service: The hostess was very unfriendly but all of the servers and maitre d’ were absolutely lovely and kind.

I went here for restaurant week so I was expecting bad service & blah food, but I was pleasantly surprised!
The hostess kind of just assumed we were restaurant week patrons without asking, which was a little rude (I looked nice, wtf) and we were sat in kind of a dark area with other restaurant week patrons like we were quarantined from everyone else. That irked me a little, but whatever.
There were plenty of people serving us, and they were all attentive /​pleasant. The food took a little while to come out but that was fine, the portions were very generous so it was nice to be able to enjoy them without rushing.
We ordered:
— Truffle Mushroom Risotto — fairly under-​cooked, but the flavors were great
— Double Cooked Mozzarella — I like my mozz not so double-​cooked, but this wasn’t bad — the texture threw me off a bit.
— We both got braised beef short ribs — very generous portions, both the beef and the polenta were cooked beautiful, and the flavors were perfect.
— We also both got the Mint Chocolate Vacherin. It looked like a Koopa Troopa and it was WONDERFUL. I was so full I only ate half and took the rest home and I forgot about it until 4 days later when I saw it in my fridge. In a state of «WTF I cant waste this» and against my better judgement I ate it, and it was STILL wonderful.
Anyway, I liked it!

I went for restaurant week which probably means I didn’t get the meal/​service that I would as a normal customer, and understandably so.
That said, I really just wasnt all that thrilled with this meal. I split the truffle risotto and the mozzerella — the risotto felt like it had been sitting out and wasn’t all that great. I enjoyed the chicken dish, very crunchy skin and the raisins/​micro green parsley was so super tasty but it was a bit dry and the kale purée was nothing to write home about. Crème brûlée = insane. And the dishes are so cute!
Staff was attentive but our waiter was definitely concerned we were going to split the bill 7 ways. He let out a huge sigh of relief when one of us took the bullet (or the cc points) and put her card down.

ABSOLUTE WORST DINING EXPERIENCE EVER.
January 20^th, 2016 (Wednesday) with a reservation for 5 at 6:45pm during restaurant week. One party member is 15 minutes late but we were seated with 4. Awesome. That’s very nice of them. Ordered 3 drinks. 15 yr whiskey. Our friend arrives and we ordered appetizers.
7:15pm
1 chick pea soup (good)
2 black truffle risotto (very good)
2 double cook mozzarella (so so)
8:15pm
Excuse me. Is our entrees going to come soon?
Oh sorry there was a mistake in the kitchen. It will be coming soon.
9:15pm
Food arrives.
1 pan seared salmon (bite size, was good)
1 chicken paillard «milanese» (swear to God. It was just a pounded down chicken cutlet)
3 braised beef short ribs (3 pieces approx. 3×2 inch cut of meat)
9:40pm
Dessert arrives.
2 crème brule (good)
2 walnut cake (I like alot)
1 mint chocolate vacherin (ok but I’m not a chocolate fan)
10pm. We gtfo. We still tip despite my protest.
I swear to God I wanted to get up and walk out.
So with all the free time and no food. You start to wonder and eventually people watch. 2 tables started with us and finished, paid and left. Those same 2 tables were seated with people and by the end of our night. They caught up to us.
Absolutely. The. Worst. S#it. Show. Ever.

My first two-​star review in a long time. I have been to a number of restaurants participating in NYRW. And I do go back to these restaurants from time to time. Sadly, not Le Cirque.
First impression: upon entering, there were two staff at the reception desk. The female staff, expressionless, stared at me and whispered how can I help. She was pretty much inaudible (you can see her lips moving) to the point where the male staff standing next to her immediately asked how can I help. That was odd but I let it go.
Table service: I was led to the very back of the restaurant. I kind of wanted to sit in the main dining room because of the nice décor. When I first sat down, there were still plenty of open tables in the main dining room (see photo). I didn’t want to be a difficult customer and decided to just take the given table. However, immediately after I sat down, I noticed that there were 5 tables occupied in the back room, exclusively by Asian diners (see photos). Two tables to my left were Asians, so was the table to my right. The table behind me (not photographed) was a group of young Asians. (Should I mention the main dining room, which I walked by, was filled almost exclusively by another racial group?) Coincidence much?
After sitting down, it took a couple of minutes for my waiter to come around and offer water/​menu. When my waiter came around, he asked if I wanted either bottled water or tap water. I actually wanted sparkling but since he didn’t list the option, I thought they didn’t have it. So I simply went with tap water. Later on when he came to serve two Asian ladies next to my table, he offered them «sparkling, still, or tap» and I was so confused. That was my mistake, I totally should have asked him if they would offer sparkling water even though he didn’t mention it.
Food: The food took awhile to come out. I waited for about 35 minutes between my appetizer and my entrée. I liked the Black Truffle Risotto and my Crème Brulee. My entrée, beef short rib, was weird. The white polenta was fine. But the braised beef short rib had a funny (after) taste to it (and I have had plenty of beef short ribs from other restaurants). It was like expired meat but I didn’t think it would be possible at a $$$$ establishment. I informed my waiter. My waiter asked me what I meant by the funny taste and if he could do anything to make it up. I said «no, just the dessert» because I already lost my appetite at that time. (I noticed one other Asian lady to my left only took two bites of her short rib entrée.) He actually came back shortly after and said he would comp my meal. That was nice so I still tipped him 20% based on the original orders.

RESTAURANT WEEK REVIEW
Thank goodness I didn’t pay full price for this meal! My party arrived at all different times. When I arrived, I was told by the hostess that my party had already been seated and to go around the corner unescorted. Once in the back, a man (I think the manager) looked down his nose at me and informed me that they couldn’t possibly be back there since they don’t seat tables until the entire party has arrived. He followed me back to the hostess podium, where the hostess asked if I couldn’t find them so at least I was vindicated on that front.
Once seated, we had our water glasses filled and were left alone for 20 min before we even got menus. After taking our order, the bread basket arrived quickly, as did our apps. The first thing I noticed was that the plates were unwiped. After our apps were cleared, we waited 45 min before our mains came. And that was only because we inquired about it. I’m sure they would’ve forgotten about us for longer if we didn’t speak up. Our mains were lukewarm, in temperature and taste. There was yet another wait for our desserts. When we received our desserts, we couldn’t help but notice that the two walnut cakes weren’t the same. One had caramelized bananas which are prominently featured in the description and one didn’t. How does an element like that escape notice? Esp comparing the two plates, there was this glaring portion of the plate that was just empty. We hedged our bets and asked for the bill before we got dessert so we could leave as soon as possible. We were at the table for a total of 2ish hrs, with over 90 min with nothing in front of us. Unacceptable.

Came in to Le Cirque ready for Le Disappointment after reading the most recent reviews, and was pleasantly surprised.
Was there this past Friday for the gf’s birthday as she wanted to try French cuisine, which was welcomed as we usually rotate between Italian and Steak houses. I of course hopped on Unilocal beforehand and started looking at the recent reviews, and it did not seem promising.
We got in about 10 minutes late for our reservation, we were seated right away and the gentleman helping us was very helpful and friendly. We sat and ordered drinks, reviewed the restaurant week menu and the a la carte menu while we waited for the drinks to arrive. Quick note, I was anticipating bread would be brought to the table, it was not. In any event, we went ahead and ordered from the restaurant week menu. I also ordered foie ravioli from the regular menu as an app because it would be criminal to go to a french place and not get foie gras, right?
The foie ravioli were fantastic, the foam (pomegranate) and purée that accompanied it were great as well, and the pieces of seared foie were tasty and creamy. A good start to the meal. From the prix fixe menu we asked for the mozzarella app and the risotto. The mozzarella dish was tasty, with an eggplant purée, a crisp chip and some tomatoes, I likened it somewhat to a caprese salad. The black truffle risotto was great, the rice al dente, creamy and with great flavor… a second helping would have been welcome happily.
For the mains I had ordered the short rib, and the Mrs. went with the chicken paillard, which they were unfortunately out of. Weird to me that a restaurant would run out of chicken on a friday night, especially considering chicken paillard is essentially a sautéed chicken breast.
The other two options were not appealing to the Mrs. (salmon and a vegetarian option) so she went with the short rib as well, and we chose to share fries and spinach as the sides. When the dish comes out it looks great, the server pours a jus over the beef right before you dig in. Unfortunately, our server forgot to ring in the sides, so we waited it out a bit before trying it. The beef was tender and the sauce was solid. The beef itself though, was a bit bland, nothing a little salt couldn’t fix, but I feel that’s something that should/​could have been avoided if someone tasted it. The polenta that accompanied the beef was buttery and delicious, big fan. The fries were solid run of the mill fries and the spinach was good. no complaints there.
We finished off dinner with crème brûlée and the mint chocolate vacherin. The brulee was amazing, creamy with a great «crust». the mint chocolate vacherin, not so much, almost too sweet.
The restaurant is a beautiful place, the ambience was nice it’s certainly a nice place for a romantic dinner. My girlfriend enjoyed her first french dining experience. she even liked foie gras after I explained what it was. All in all, a great evening at Le Cirque.

Best food and good service this place very nice and clean all staff very friendly, Manager seat you very polite and big smile.
I love this place we love homemade dessert it the best Crème Brûlée in New York City we will come back soon

«The fresh grilled fois gras at Le Cirque is excellent, but the lobster salad is so-​so»
That is the story even to this day. Some dishes were great, others, not so much. The mushroom risotto positively triggered every sense I had. The overwhelming, but still just right smell of porcini /​truffles lured us into our risottos only to be equally happy with the flavors saturating what normally is a bland grain.
The short ribs were as dry as saw dust. They quickly absorbed the jus, which was delicious, but that could not even save them. Disappointedly I ate on because I was too hungry to care. The polenta crisp was fun.
Of course their signature crème brûlée was sensational. It is the only crème brûlée I eat. The perfectly torched top cracks like glass when broken with your spoon. Sweet and creamy you want to take time to savor it.
Service was a big improvement from last time. Very friendly and professional.
Selection of wine was excellent, and how can you go wrong with White Burgundy?

What a disappointment, we went for the restaurant week menu, the whole experience was just mediocre, during the entire time of our meal, the server never came by to serve or fill our glasses, it’s a tablecloth restaurant and I expected exceptional service regardless.
We tried all of the appetitizers, double cooked mozarella, house salad, black truffle rissotto, and a chick pea squash soup. Everything was meh, I only took one bite because it was just not good. The rissotto was alright we ate most of it, the soup could have been better.
For entrée’s, we got the braised short ribs and salmon, the ribs were too smushy, the sauce was very salty, I didn’t like the texture. The salmon had no taste, I started wondering why I went.
The only good dessert was the crème brûlée, it’s really just typical, but the chocolate cake and banana walnut cake tho, they came from local dollar bakeries or something? Terribly sweet and nothing special. The presentation was not bad, but what good does it do to write the ingredients on the bottom of my crème brûlée plate? Do I need to know how many egg yolks and pints of sugar I just consumed?
The interior is pretty and the gentlemen that served dressed nicely, but with the level of food and service, I find no reason to eat there again.

Most of the staffs were very nice and provided good services. However the food was just average.
The restaurant week menu was not the best this year. French cuisine is well known for its fanciness and it’s small portions. I had the Black Truffle Risotto, Braised Beef Short Rib with mushrooms on the side and Crème Brulee Le Cirque.
The risotto was a decent recommendation, I actually finish the whole thing, it was in a creamy oatmeal kind of texture. The short ribs was too dry and was not tender at all. The Crème Brulee was not bad, not too burnt and cream was very smooth.
Overall it was okay, I believe for the price and the food quality it wasn’t really worth it but I believe I would come back in the future since I have heard good experiences from my friends previously.

This is my second time here for restaurant week, I thought i’d give it another try because last year for restaurant week I had their lobster salad & skirt steak and the food was great! I had an aunt visiting from Florida so I chose this place again thinking the food would be as good or even better than last time. We checked in, checked our coats, and the host sat us down right away even though we were waiting on one more person.
Our waiter, Fernando, assisted us with the menu and inquiries we had. Aside from ordering the 3 course meal from the restaurant week menu, I also wanted to order the lobster salad that I had last time here. I told our waiter that I was here last restaurant week and want the same lobster salad. The lobster salad on their current menu (small) $ 35 and (large) $ 57. He told us the small will serve up to 2 and the large will serve up to 3. We ordered a large lobster salad, and although the waiter said it was the same thing as last year, it was completely different. This came in huge disappointment b/​c I chose this place for restaurant week just because they had this really yummy lobster salad that i have been craving all year. It came with two plates of half a lobster & the claw on each plate with some micro salad. The decoration on the plate was not impressive also. The waiter did say he can take it away if we don’t want it but since I brought my family there, we kept it.
As for the 3 course, I ordered their Black Truffle Risotto, braised short ribs, side of mushrooms & Crème Brûlée. The Black truffle risotto was really good. The braised short ribs for entrée was really dry and it seemed to be over cook. My sister had like 2 pieces and didn’t want to eat anymore. The Crème Brûlée was as good as last time I had it.
Overall, the service was good and the atmosphere was nice. The Risotto was good and Crème Brûlée was delicious. I was just a little disappointed that the waiter said the lobster salad was the same as last year and gave me something completely different. Also, the entrée/​main course (braised short rib) was dry.

IN SHORT: A glamorously adult restaurant where French sophistication and decorum rule.
THE STORY: I sometimes wonder if, 40 years from now as I near my retirement, I’ll lose interest in trying new foods and new cuisines. I wonder if I’ll lose the youthful desire for adventure, and instead just prefer to enjoy what I already know and love. Will I sacrifice curiosity for the fulfillment of safe, basic pleasures? Will that be enough to make me happy?
I sometimes wonder about these things because I have noticed that many restaurants decades into their life ultimately choose to no longer strive for innovation, but rather to simply serve food that its chef and its long list of regulars already enjoy. And sometimes, like at Le Cirque, that is not such a bad thing.
Indeed, Le Cirque has confidently left behind the values of youth and experiment long ago, and the result today is an exceedingly sophisticated, old-​fashioned restaurant just as regal and charming as ever.
The French fare will not necessarily provide insight into the culinary canon, nor will it definitely rank among the best ever enjoyed. It will, however, feature rich ingredients and be intimately satisfying, like a safely elegant meal craved for a special occasion. The Burrata with figs and richly aged prosciutto di parma is a pleasurable, formulaic dish of the highest quality components, for the type of culinary enjoyment that doesn’t require much thought or effort on the part of the consumer.
While the Dover Sole is undoubtedly the specialty of Le Cirque, the Skirt Steak with arugula, pine nuts, and a truffle balsamic is a perfectly balanced alternative for a slightly more affordable price, and can help ease the sticker shock so often felt after a meal at Le Cirque. Though for those diners being dropped off in a limousine in the almost suburban courtyard of the Bloomberg corporate headquarters where Le Cirque is located, cost may not be a consideration. Perhaps that is what happens in 40 years when one nears retirement, anyway.
The service, too, is some of the most refined and knowledgable in the city, though there is also an undeniable warmth to the waiter who sincerely compliments your choice of wine. There is never a risk that a staff member will make an unforgivable social gaffe, so properly executed is every movement in the soaring, formal dining room, and for many diners, there is a deep pleasure to be taken from this classic, proper style of service.
As it shows no signs of going anywhere, Le Cirque may actually be an honest insight into what my retirement looks, feels, and tastes like. Perhaps I’ll still crave wickedly adventurous Korean food in the East Village then, but perhaps I’ll only want food of high quality in a classically French style. If it has to be the latter, I’d be glad if it was Le Cirque.
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Le Yuck! Over priced and nasty food!