Cirque Cafe, New Farm
Cirque Café
618 Brunswick Street
New Farm
There’s nothing like a gorgeous, sunny Sunday to make you want to pack yourself into a small crowded room and fight for elbow space while you carve up your bacon and eggs on an unforgiving slice of thick-crusted bread.
Well, there’s nothing I’d rather do more!
Cirque Café, tucked in on Brunswick Street in New Farm, gives one the perfect excuse to wait in line for 10 minutes for a chair and a surface to eat on. And there seems to be many who share this fetish.
Cirque was being ‘slaughtered’ - as our waiter put it, when we arrived just before midday on Sunday. But we, like most of Cirque’s clientele, happily pulled up a sidewalk stool and balanced coffees on our knees while we waited for a free table.
True to word, the rooms were packed with a swarm of customers leisurely devouring large plates of fresh aromatic breakfasts and waiters frenziedly serving these out. The specials were crayoned onto mirrors, hanging on the wall, and the atmosphere exuded a vibe of anticipation and fun – despite the harried staff.
While waiting for our table we perused the café’s front room, which is small and seats only a row of tables, but seems to be the heart of the action. Upstairs provides more seating and a quieter arena, along with a long bar where customers can watch the street below from behind warm, sun-spilled windows.
The menu offered up a yummy all-day breakfast selection- although I felt prepared to eat anything after our little sidewalk wait. The Vego Chowdown ($14.50) came highly recommended, featuring potato and parmesan rosti, and other tasty goodies like onion jam and sourdough toast. Creamy porridge also sounded pretty mouth-watering but my eyes were drawn to the crayoned mirrors.
“Free range poached eggs, wilted spinach, Persian fetta, pine nuts and zatar” ($12.50) sat upon that mirror, reflecting its way into my eyes and onto my tongue. My companion opted for a sweeter dish and ordered French toast with spiced pear and orange blossom mascarpone ($11.50).
We prepared for the lengthy breakfast wait, but were surprised to find the food came out fairly quickly. As did the coffee - an impressive feat for a ‘slaughtered’ restaurant.
Anyone as hungry as I was, was going to have eyes too big for their stomachs and so I was a little worried when I met my plate, with its single piece of sourdough stacked neatly with spinach and two eggs, liberally seasoned with other aforementioned goodies. I compared it very briefly to those generously decked out plates sprouting spinach leaves, heaped in bacon curls and lusciously round eggs – which we surmised were the chowdowns for those with really big eyes. My eyes were definitely too big for my stomach because I fit my mini-chowdown in – crust and all - without space to spare. The food was fresh, flavoursome and not heavy - like a lot of eggs on toast breakfasts.
My companion’s meal was also distractingly good. Her’s had a whole different range of interesting taste textures to it with the warm thick French toast, cool clove/cardamom/vanilla-flavoured pears soothed by the delicately plain mascarpone flavours. Swirled in a little maple syrup, the dish was entirely absorbing.
Coffees were decent- as opposed to burnt and bilge-watery – and started at $3.00. Lunch ranges between $8.50 and $13.50; breakfast $4.00 to $14.50.
We spent a few hours in the place, finishing coffee, lazing around in the digestive aftermath and enjoying the swirl of café tracks oozing into our ears. When we had our fill of this we wandered up the street and into the Valley. Cirque has a younger clientele, is obviously well-loved by its regulars and, as my companion put it, it’s nice and New Farm, not so much the ‘Valley mall scene’.
By Alice Blackwood.
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October 16th, 2006 @ 3:30 pm
This breakfast place rocks! Having moved from good-breakfast-central-city, Melbourne, I was pleased to find a Brissy cafe which was on par in terms of its AMAZING vego breakfast, complete with feta and avocado extras . . and gluten-free toast too (even if it is $1 extra).
Highly recommended.
April 18th, 2007 @ 8:36 pm
As i only live down the road from cirque my partner and i offen pop in there for coffee and bites to eat. On monday the 16th we arrived and ordered eggs benedict and i had the scrambled eggs. All the food arrived and my eggs were quite allright but my partners hollandaise tasted slighty wierd, like margarine had been used. We then spoke to the very loevly waiter who told us he would go and check for us. he returned two minutes later saying that the cef uses orange juice in it. MY partner then told the waiter that it had an odd taste and was not edible, the waiter informed us tat he would talk to the owner manager he came back and informed us that the lady owner had said that he could order another meal but would have to pay for both so in the end he didn’t eat his eggs benedict but had to pay for it. The most terrible service I have ever had in my life and the worst hollandaise. I will never go back as hopsitality is all about customer service
April 18th, 2007 @ 9:14 pm
Sheesh, that is a pretty bad experience. Obviously they weren’t in the mood to accommodate customers that morning!
September 6th, 2007 @ 10:57 am
This place has gone downhill in recent months. As well as poor service expect to be slugged a $20 minimum for eftpos and credit card transactions(a practice by the way which is prohbitied by both Visa and Mastercard merchant regulations). To top off my experience in which I had to leave my table three times (to order, ask for the bill, pay the bill), they got my order wrong and then were annoyed when I queried the $20 minimum charge which I didn’t want to pay for my $10 meal. This is no longer the place to go for a coffee or a cheap meal. I will gladly walk or drive further away for an experience in which I feel valued as a customer.
June 17th, 2008 @ 11:11 am
Just returned form cirque WOEST EXPERIENCE EVER!
On arrival the service was fine, we were seated quickly, menus arrived quickly and coffee orders placed.
The coffees came and the order was wrong and my father never received his coffee or OJ despite asking twice.
On ordering food i was told by the female owner there was no point ordering the avo on toast because it wasnt substantial enough for breakfast (why have it on the menu and charge for it then?)anyone whose been to Sassafras in Paddo knows there avo on toast is huge and awesome.
When the food arrived generous eggs came with one slice of toast the size of a playing card(no joke) and my plain poached eggs were covered with a maustard dressing which i sent back. All i wanted was what was on the menu…eggs and toast. The owner came back 5 minutes later with my eggs which were cold and now hard and we were charged for the extra piece of tiny toast.
On paying the barista argued with my sister regarding the no show coffees and tried to chrage us for them and then slammed the receipt down on the bench.
I will never go back, my morning has been ruined and my family gathering overshadowed by poor rude service.
April 9th, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
Oh wah wah wah!
I travel from the Western suburbs to eat at Cirque once a week. I have never had a bad experience and the friends I go with get just as hooked as I am! The menu is different, absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced. The table service is always quick and friendly….. I rate this place highly.
And the french toast is to die for.
April 18th, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
oh dear, now I am nervous to suggest others to go there after reading some of the earlier comments. However I think it was kind the owner pointed out the avocado was not sufficient- least she was being helpful. Anyway, my husband and I went there only 2 weeks ago and found the service to be excellent, the food superb and the coffee pretty good too. They were more than accommodating as we had a baby in a capsule and all the wait staff were friendly and attentive. The bircher muesli was lovely, and the poached eggs cooked to perfection (ie no vinegar after taste).
I shall be going there tomorrow with family from interstate so will be sure to add future comment!
June 6th, 2010 @ 2:53 pm
I’ve been to this cafe a few times and have loved it in the past - took my boyfriend there today though and was quite disappointed.
I ordered the free range eggs on toast - not because it’s the trendy thing to do, but because I genuinely do not eat caged eggs for ethical reason. The eggs that came out were clearly caged (very pale yellow yolk, instead of the bright orange yolk of a genuine free-range egg). Upon asking about it, the owner insisted that it was free range - which I was happy to pretend I believed, until he mentioned that the only cage eggs they use are for baked goods and mayonnaise. Just struck me as very shallow and deceitful that they would advertise free range eggs, which are eaten for ethical reasons, and yet still use caged eggs without labeling it. I was not impressed, as I felt that customers have the right to know what they are eating, and that ethical choices will be respected. Screamed ‘fake’ to me, and that they’ve only offered free range eggs to jump on the alternative bandwagon.
But besides that… good service, and the turkish pide my partner ordered was delicious. They have beautiful food and lovely wait staff - but are lacking in the honesty.
June 9th, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
I have just some back from a weekend in Brissie from food-and-coffee-mecca-Melbourne and had nothing but wonderful experiences!
I am quite fussy with coffee (seeing as how making it is my FT job) but I had 4 coffees at Cirque and really couldn’t fault it at all. The beans they use are not to my taste but the milk was dense and silky and overall I was very happy!
First breakfast I had scrambled eggs on toast. Lovely thick slice of sourdough with gorgeous creamy eggs with that dark yellow that only comes from free range eggs! No butter on the toast but then it’s my own fault as I didn’t ask for it!
Second breakfast was an omelette from the specials board. Can’t quite remember what was in it - broccoli puree, fontina, tomato. That too was lovely. Really nicely seasoned as well.
Third breakfast I had the vego chowdown - lovely big serving. Only thing I can really fault it that I hate a grilled tomato done whole. And the potato & parmesan rosti was a bit lacking in flavour.
Other than that the eggs gorgeous, toast generous, lovely mushrooms and spinach and again, everything seasoned beautifully.
Also tried a bit of my friends french toast which was also yummy if a bit sweet.
Overall great coffee, great food and I didn’t have any issues with the service - in fact the Frenchies are perfectly nice and VERY nice to look at!!
Would be more than happy to go back again tomorrow if only I wasn’t back home in dreary Melbourne!