You may have heard of Cirque before… okay I kid. Who hasn’t? It’s popular and packed for good reason. On Sunday mornings there’s a lineup out the door so come early, or perhaps just visit for a weekday lunch (from 1pm you should be fine)? It’s worth it.

During peak periods it’s a tight squeeze downstairs…

a small and charming café with pavement seating and concertina windows…

and an upstairs section that looks like your dining room. Large communal tables are intended for sharing and stacked board games are provided for extended stays.

The service is friendly, quick and attentive. I’ve always had a good experience here and I’ve come many, many times. But what of the food?

All-day breakfast, vegetarian options, lunch and fortnightly specials ensure there’s always something that’ll strike your fancy. The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s very affordable compared with other cafés of its ilk, and then the food arrives and you take your first bite…

French toast with berry compote, pouring cream, peanut + almond praline. Mouth watering, scrumptious and well balanced. One bite savoury, the next, tantalizingly sweet. I found myself carefully segmenting and rearranging its toppings at every bite. I ended with a triangle of praline and a single berry – a fond sweet memory of its demise. A worthy competitor to Anouk’s French toast.

Cirque is well known for its breakfast menu – the unchangeable chow down (big breakfast) and array of sides, but I reckon it is its lunch menu that needs to be experienced.

Cirque chicken fillet burger with crispy bacon, avocado, tomato, rocket + dijonaise (ordered without the top). By far the best chicken burger I’ve ever had in Brisbane. The grilled chicken is covered in all kinds of herbs and spices, with each bite resulting in a flavour explosion. Combined with generous and fresh servings of all the other ingredients, I challenge you find one better.

Steak sandwich with blue cheese, mushrooms, onion jam, rocket + dijonaise on sourdough. My Cirque partner’s favourite. The blue cheese bites and complements the steak well, then is rounded off nicely with sweet onion jam. The bread is soft but keeps it all together. This would be my meal of choice if not for the burger.

Open Rueben sandwich with corned beef, dill mayo, pickles, jarlsberg + sauerkraut on sourdough. If you love the sourness of pickles and sauerkraut, you’ll love Cirque’s intepretation. I found it delicious and going by this Wikipedia entry, I feel I may have been spoilt forever.

Cirque exceeded my expectations. It lived up to the hype and from all accounts it seems its new owners, Giselle and Christophe Massieu, have continued its overwhelmingly positive reputation. I highly recommend it and if actions speak louder than words – since my first time there over 5 weeks ago, I’ve been back at least twice a week… and I still crave that damn burger.

Most Recent Visit: 15th May, 2009

Au Cirque
618 Brunswick Street, New Farm
Queensland, Australia

Prices: All-Day Breakfast and Lunch $9.50 – $16
Hours: Every Day 7am – 3pm