About a month ago (yes, bad blogger), on one of the first sunny days we headed to St Kilda for Sunday lunch for a family birthday. The brief was to find somewhere for a nice birthday lunch and Circa fit the bill perfectly with its Sunday lunch. For $65 per person ($110 with matched wines) Circa offers an appetiser, shared starters, main course and dessert. Brilliant.
We were seated in the sunshine in the covered courtyard. This was my first visit back to Circa since its refurbishment and it looks gorgeous. I loved the Cutler-esque light fittings.
Our appetiser was spiced carrot and coconut soup with smoked kingfish and daikon:
Lovely colour! The smokey kingfish was great against the lightly spiced soup and the daikon added a nice burst of freshness.
We mopped up said soup with some house-made breads (including house-made GF bread that was really tasty) and seriously delicious whipped Holy Goat fromage blanc.
Starters were served family style, here we have tuna tartare, lamb kromeskies with sauce gribiche and bean, beetroot yoghurt and white anchovy salad:
The tuna tartare had some great accompaniments – the pickled mushrooms were a particular stand-out. The kromeskies contained minced, slow-cooked lamb. The accompanying mustardy mayonnaise contained chunks of hard boiled egg and was incredibly moreish. The simple, fresh salad of baby beetroot and beans was light and fresh and while I am not much of an anchovy fan, the white anchovies are quite subtle as well.
The last of the shared starter was also simple and tasty – asparagus with slow cooked egg, hazelnut and rocket. A great classic combination.
We were given a choice for main course, around the table we had steamed barramundi with smoked tomato, mussels, prawns and zucchini, oyster blade with chard and Jerusalem artichoke risotto with peas and truffled pecorino:
I had the risotto, it had a nice earthiness from the truffled pecorino and the artichoke and I loved the pop of the fresh peas.
The main dishes came with a few side dishes to share, including an absolutely beautiful vegetable salad. Loved the beetroot and mushroom soils!
On to dessert, from the top we had wattle seed creme brulee with a double chocolate madeleine, Shaw River ‘Annie Baxter’ buffalo milk cheese with green olive jam and baked lemon tart with citrus salad and chantilly cream:
Uncharacteristically, I went for the cheese option, but naturally I did steal a taste of the other desserts. I enjoyed the brulee, which had a hint of earthy, coffee-like flavour thanks to the wattle seed. The lemon tart was pretty delicious too.
All in all, a lovely relaxed meal, perfect for Sunday lunch. I’ll definitely return.
Details
Circa, the Prince
2 Acland St, St Kilda, VIC
(03) 9536 1122
