Member Review by Kate Dal Forno

This is fine dining. I mean, fiii-ine dining. The beautiful whiteness of the room - the walls, the stylish chairs and leather banquettes reflecting the light from the oh-so-fine fittings and off the polished boards. A part of "The Prince" complex (comprising the groovy Mink, Il Fornaio bakery, the Prince hotel, the bar, the deck, the spa, the wine store, the band room...) i am transported briefly into a fantasy land where i wonder if I win tattslotto what it might be like to live here. Yes, I am experiencing a little envy - I want the view from the front window through the gossamer curtains, the eye-glasses the waiter is wearing (from milan of course), the olive pots from the courtyard which are the size of a SmartCar for my house, I want the whole wine cellar, I even fancy the bloody light fitting! It's got to stop.

We are seated and offered a pre-prandial drinky while being shown a designer wine list of depth to be envied by other restaurants. We claim ignorance and we are expertly advised towards a happy savignon blanc of reasonable price.
The menu is divine. Andrew McConnell's influence is immediate. If you have been to MrsJones in Carlton you can see his fingerprints on everything here. The dish of choice for most of Melbourne is his Western Australian marron and rockfish braise with saffron & harissa oil, and Sardinian couscous ($38.00) - apparently they do over 100 serves a week - but we are tempted by the Sorrel tart with bris?e pastry, toasted hazelnuts and asparagus and the second most popular dish (looking around) the Roast striploin of Wagyu/Angus beef with grilled mustard onions, truffled pearl barley and red wine (again $38.00). Sides at $9.00 look great but arent needed (potatoes, green salad ofbaby leaves with a lime and sesame or silverbeet).
A wide variety of entrees is available but we aren't tempted by the Pacific oysters with pickled cucumber,Jerusalem artichoke soup, Braised pork neck with saut?ed Balmain bugs, sardines on toast or red mullet (between $19 and $24)as we are thinking the desserts might need sampling. The list here is impressive - but equally astral in pricing ($18-22) to the entree section. We fell victim to the ?Snow White and Rose Red? ? Coconut cream tart and a rose geranium scented rhubarb crumble at $18.00 - a tough decision given the cheese selction also available (Garrotxa ? Spanish goats cheese; Epoisses ? a soft washed rind cheese from Burgundy; and a Mascarpone and Gorgonzola terrine $22-$29).

Thank god the bill arrives to kill any residual envy. It certainly clocked up quickly. While there is no such thing as a free lunch Circa does offer a 2 course lunch for $30 which includes coffee and (maybe) a glass of wine (ring and check) and may be a less financially ruinous introduction to the pleasures of Acland Street.

Breakfasts also available (again very MrsJones) which would make a great guilty pleasure after a night of sin...Consider the sample below (lifted from their website) and plan your own adventure!

House made sourdough crumpets with lemon & honey $9.00
homemade rocky road crunch muesli with baby banana $12.50
Baghdad eggs with spinach and curd cheese fritter $14.00
Scrambled freernge egg sourdough, with truss tomatoes and smoky bacon $15
Cinnamon dusted hot ricotta doughnuts with chocolate dipping sauce $12.00