Circo

Was very much looking forward to our visit to Circo yesterday given the great reviews I'd read. Sadly it didn't come close to living up to expectations. It was really busy and the atmosphere was good - however, the place felt cramped tables were very close together and both my wife and I had to pull our stools right in to avoid banging backs with the people behind us. Many of the tables are raised and have stools which doesn't make for the most relaxed dining experience. The menu was interesting and comprehensive we ordered 7 dishes between two of us which seemed like the right number... Sadly, the food didn't hit the mark. The padron peppers were under-seasoned (something which was common across all the dishes) and there was no salt or pepper on any of the tables. Our Patatas Bravas were soggy from about half way down the dish and the sauce tasted only of paprika. Other dishes were un-inspiring. The duck dish with oranges was remarkable mainly for the fact that the chef had managed to remove all the flavour from the fresh orange segments on the plate and the prawn dish on the specials menu which cost £9 contained only 3 over cooked prawns still with their intestinal sacs...! Overall the food was overpriced, poorly presented (they used the same bagged salad on each dish as garnish) and lacking flavour. It may have been an off night but we certainly won't be going back to find out if it improves

Fantastic restaurant. From Hugo doing a superb and welcoming job front of house to the exquisite food and lovely ambience, Circo gets every single detail right and we’ll be back! As many times as we can. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

Delicious as usual and staff are wonderful. An absolute delight of a restaurant. I can’t wait for their second restaurant to open in the next few weeks

Cracking Lille tapas restaurant with an oriental influence. Compact, cosy & great fun. Love sitting up at the kitchen bar & chatting with the chef as he creates his great dishes. Good wine list too

Such a treat. The food looks and tastes like a work of art. Really enjoyed the miso Squid and the volcano chicken. Great service too.

Excellent food and service. Very friendly and helpful staff. The octopus with chorizo and the volcano chicken were particularly good. We had a really good time

Great flavours. Really loved the refreshing tuna ceviche and thought your teriyaki frog legs were ingenious! Thank you for a fun evening of glorious tapas

Very tasty, well cooked tapas, all with an interesting twist! Staff were attentive and friendly, and very tolerant of us being the last people in the restaurant! It was a great night all round and we’ll definitely be back 😊

As always , great service by the friendly , attentive staff. Each tapas dish was beautifully presented with really lovely flavours . Highly recommended !

We have eaten here several times and its always very good. However at 8pm they had run out of all 5 of their meat tapas meaning there was only 3 vegetable a tortilla and seafood available. At 8pm. Something really not right for a tapas place and we left due to the lack of available dishes

Small place, even smaller plates but large on service and great food! Highly recommend it for a quick bight before you pop of to the Duke's to watch an art house movie!

Stunning!! Absolutely spot in service, that guy neefs to inow how good he is, and we told him him!! the chefs are on it just as much, great plates of food, interesting and cooked to a standard up thete with the best ive ever had the pleasure to dine at..... Do not hesitate, book it ❤️

lovely food and friendly service. Went on a Tuesday, the atmosphere was great and there were 2-4-1 on certain tapas dishes too - highly recommended!

The food was excellent and the service attentive and friendly. It seemed odd that they didn’t have bottled still or sparkling water but other than that great

A visit to this place is a must! Great food and great service!

Interesting food and lovely staff. Would definitely recommend this restaurant

Visiting Brighton for the weekend with a first visit to Circo. Great service and staff were helpful in explaining the menu. Food was excellent. A modern twist on tapas full of bold flavours. Would definitely go back again!

The food was delicious and the service very friendly. I would highly recommend, we will come back. It’s tapas but a bit fancy (but also good value!!!)

Lovely small family tapas restaurant Shrimp was fabulous and lively padora peppers Little way out of the town centre but we'll worth making the trip

Really lovely twist on traditional tapas, cold beer and a none too shabby red - loved it. Not the worst way to spend a Tuesday evening!

Food is great, service is superb and friendly, today I was there and I couldn’t ask for anything better when I heard a lady asking for the Wi-fi to give a bad review because they didn’t have tea... sorry, costa is just around the corner, not a good reason to give a bad review to a good restaurant

As always the food was great, the service was great and Marie is a pleasure. I will definitely be back for the churros very soon.

Lovely little restaurant with very tasty food and a warm welcome. Great mix of small plate Spanish dishes with an inventive Asian twist. We’ll be back!

Wonderful warm welcome from the host and chefs who helped us choose a gorgeous wine to enjoy with the plethora of dishes we ordered! I will be going back to taste the rest of the menu!

The food was excellent, but they rannouy of 4 out of 6 of their meat dishes . The atmosphere wasn't the same as when the male manager ran the place. And then card machine to pay wasn't working. Polite enough staff but not exactly friendly.

The most amazing food I think I have ever experienced! Every tapas was superb and the presentation was stunning. Fantastic service to top it off

It was my second time in Circo and I really enjoyed it again. The dishes were very tasty and nicely presented. It is not cheap there, but worth every penny.

What a great find! A Fabulous small restaurant with a great vibe and super beautiful and tasty food, which isn’t ridiculously priced. Would highly recommend for couples or simply catching up friends.

Had a fantastic evening catching up with old friends at Circo. The food was stunning - from the obligatory padron peppers right through to an amazing chocolate avocado pudding! Excellent service throughout. Circo is a gem of a local restaurant.

Lovely food, wonderfully executed. Sadly out of the cheaper white Rioja and the Patatas Bombas are rather boring. But the rest is incredible - food and not least, sherry!

I've been many times to Circo, such great food every time and definitely worth trying if you have never been. Small venue so essential to book.

Brilliant atmosphere and fantastic staff, we were welcomed and treated so well and personally. Really enjoyable evening in an intimate restaurant. Best food in Brighton.

Excellent and friendly service, brilliant tasty food, all round great night (plus the music was fantastic). Highly recommended - will definitely visit again <3 <3

Poorly seasoned food Very nice quality produce Good menu Disappointing execution Lacked confidence in bold flavours It’s nice to see fusion but I think this missed the spot for me

Lovely meal. Food was amazing however calamari was a bit flat in flavour and could have done with a good squeeze of lemon or lime.

Amazing, so lively and fun. I always recommend it to everyone around me. For us the best place in Brighton for delicious food and brilliant ambiance

Stunning food, fab maitre'd and awesome kitchen atmosphere - tiny but mighty restaurant smack bang in the middle of Brighton serving up little plates with some huge flavours and definite flare. Definitely worth you checking out

Amazing! We tried most things on the menu and was all presented beautifully. One or two we weren’t so keen on but I think this is down to differing tastes. Good atmosphere.

Lovely tapas food, with waiter going through menu with us. Liked the atmosphere and you can see chefs cooking. Waiter was a character! Definitely be back

Fantastic and interesting food. Staff were friendly and engaging. The chefs are enthusiastic about the food and made the experience even better. As a return visitor ill be back again and again!