Circo, Bath

An interesting venue which feels subterranean on entry as you wind down the narrow stone stairs, though once you reach the bar it’s lit by windows onto the adjacent road. It’s a lot nicer than some of the other similar establishments, though for me it has two main downsides – no dogs allowed, and no real ale. The layout is as described by others, below. Once the sun goes down the soft mood lighting and soft jazz make it feel a bit less contrived. The staff tried to be helpful, but it felt a bit insecure and intrusive, especially when making us sit down to take our order – table service only. Orchard Pig was the best they could offer, alongside Camden Helles and Pale Ale, and a premium lager. It was a pleasant enough place to sit, but I’m not sure I’d rush back given the lack of ale.

An atmospheric cellar bar,there is a small door at road level and a larger entrance at the high pavement level above.The inside is dark and moody,with lots of different section decorated in a plush style.It's trying to recreate a speakeasy ,and the soundtrack of light American jazz fitted well.Candle lit,with a gas fire close to the bar,there is table service from a predominately cocktail menu. No real ale,four mainstream draught kegs,two from Camden Town,so I opted for a bottle of Goose Island IPA which was past it's best. I should have gone for an exotic cocktail where there is a deal if you buy two of the same from part of the selection for £12. There is a very good restaurant next door (Clayton) so this place fitted well for a pre dinner drink,but please don't consider it for an ale tour of Bath.

This has changed hands yet again since my previous review, and is now a replacement to the former Circo bar that was located under the Halcyon Hotel in South Parade. Although the basic multi-room layout remains unchanged, it’s had something of a makeover and now has a rather more elegant feel to it with parquet wood flooring, copper clad tiling on the ceiling and very dark blue/grey wood panelling on much of the walls, with some dark fern patterned wallpaper elsewhere, as well as a number of rather abstract works of art. A large stone fireplace was off to one side and numerous pot plants were dotted around. Although all quite dark and sombre with little natural light, the smaller rooms at the front did face out on to the road in case you get a little claustrophobic. Unfortunately there were no real ales on tap, and I didn’t note precisely what was on keg as on approaching the bar I was ushered away with an explanation that they offered table service. The menu did however inform me that they had Meantime as a regular along with another guest. The solitary cider meanwhile was Cornish Orchards. This is really more of a cocktail joint though, and there was an extensive collection of these to choose from. My Strawberry Cheesecake with vanilla vodka, milk and cream, Briotter Frais de Bois and topped with a biscuit layer was pretty good, and very reasonably priced as part of a “2 for £10” happy hour deal.

Official site of Circo - www.circobar.co.uk

Official site of Circo - www.circobar.co.uk

Re-opened under new ownership and renamed since my previous visit, décor wise it’s largely unchanged with perhaps just some pale blue paintwork replacing the dark wood panelling. It’s not really your traditional pub ambience, but I quite like it. It was surprisingly quiet on a recent Thursday evening visit though, especially since it was the first day of Bath’s popular Christmas market, with just two other tables in use. Presumably the previous incumbents left their pizza oven behind since that is still very much the focus of the food here, with just a couple of pies, burgers and lasagnes as the only other main course options, although there were also some “small plates” or tapas dishes. Pizzas were mostly somewhere around £11, although they were also available as a healthy option which was smaller and included some salad. I went for the Texan Cowboy with BBQ sauce, torn chicken breast, bacon, sweetcorn and red onion and this was a decent pizza and very tasty. None of the three pumps on the bar appeared to be in use, although the drinks menu listed the available cask ales as Doom Bar and Adam Henson’s Rare Breed. Perhaps they were just unlabelled, I’m not sure. The menu also listed a further six craft beers including a couple from Camden, although these were apparently canned rather than keg. Ciders meanwhile were Symonds Founders Reserve and Ashton Press. Overall I quite liked this, although it doesn’t have an especially pubby feel to it. It could perhaps feel more like a restaurant, although I think that would depend on the ratio of drinkers to diners on any particular visit.