Friend recommended this place so I went there with friends twice for lunch and it was fantastic. Last week, we went there for dinner for my friend leaving party and we were disappointed. The service was slow and the next table to us had to leave. When the food arrived, it doesn’t look appetizing at all. I ordered roast pork belly. Wish they put a little bit green as a decoration to make it more inviting to eat.

Not going back for dinner but would still love to have lunch there again. Love the coffee though..

In a nutshell? A general all rounder. Four of us arrived yesterday morning for breakfast (around 9am), the place was packed which is always a good sign. Found a seat in the glorious Auckland sun and ordered. Two eggs bene, one scrambled eggs and one poached eggs with baked beans with hot drinks. The food arrived quickly as did our drinks. The meals were perfect! Fresh eggs and lovely crispy bacon. Well done Circus, brill kai. The only downside for us? Two pots of tea ordered, two tea bags received. I just think in this time and age, when NZer’s have such a fondness for the local cafe for breakfast and good coffee, why oh why would we serve teabags? That’s the only let down for us with Circus. Have been there before when in Auckland and will try to get to get there again (when in Auckland again).

Ive been to this place twice – and it never fails to impress me with the fact that so many yummy meals are actually produced from that wee kitchen that they have….!
Love the meals, the dessert selection is mind blowing (the summer pav, banoffie pie, choc mousse — all heavenly!) and the coffee is rich and strong. Love it.
Only gripe is that I hope some of the Asian male servers could smile a bit more. They seemed a bit rough and abrupt in serving us.

I enjoyed a lovely dinner here the other night. The place was quite busy when I entered, so that must be a good sign. The food was certainly very nice – I didn’t really like the dips that came with the breads for the entree, but the pasta of the day, which I chose as my main, was absolutely delicious and filling. The orange cake I had for dessert was also quite nice. The service we received the entire evening was great, and the waiters were all very friendly. Overall I had a good experience here and I would happily recommend this restaurant.

The old local, can’t beat the formula that they have: Good food + Good coffee + good service and a cute cafe, cant beat it. Menu changes slightly often so keeps us coming back. Also parking is not bad in Mt. Eden which is a luxury in Aucks.

Absolutely amazing! Been to Mount Eden many times and this place has always been packed out, this tim we decided to try it and are so glad we did!
Staff super friendly and helpful!

Food was perfect, not one complaint from our table and dessert was just divine!!!!

We will definitely be back.

Have stopped going to CIrcus Circus corn fritters like rubber and just taste of dough.
Mussel fritters the same. When we returned them no apology was given just handed a refund.
Staff particularly the asian lady on the till and english manager/ waiter rude.
This cafe used to be one of the best, now its just a factory.

After hearing so many positive comments on this cafe, I thought I simply must visit to see what all the fuss is about. Boy, I’m so glad I did. Came at a very busy time of day, nearly all the tables were full. The food came out promptly and looked magnificent. The staff really knew what they were doing and were definitely there to please us. Bacon bagel tower was delightful as too was my carrot cake. I will be back to enjoy this cafe again and again.

Always a delight. Always delicious and the service is as good as it gets. My friend got the bubble and squeak and would not stop raving, I got the omelet and the two got the bagel tower. Berry Frappe was always delicious and can never leave without getting a slice of cake.

Limited menu and what we did order was shocking. Corn fritters had little by way of corn and tasted of dough. Salad was dripping in dressing and had little berry seeds in every mouthful that got stuck in your teeth. Not impressed. Not the first bad experience I’ve had here but gave it benefit of doubt. Will not eat here again.

Top cafe. Well presented and best of all great food, fantastic coffee and wonderful friendly staff. Perfect place to meet and greet friends. Food is great and there is a large exciting variety on the menu to suit most appetites. It is no wonder this place is so successfully busy!

Heard good things about this place and it always seems to be really busy.
However we were quite disappointed with the food.
Both ordered the sweetcorn fritters, the place was busy but the food came out in about 5 minutes. The fritters were rubbery and bland, there was no color on them and they had obviously just been ‘pumped out’.
Coffee was pretty average, the best thing about this place is the setting.
If I go there again I think I’ll order something simpler of the breakfast menu.

Went there for dinner, loved it!Ordered the soup it was great. It was in a bread holder, yum yum!!Main is OK compared to desert, we ordered the strawberry or blueberry cake, it was awesome! Would definitely go back to pay a visit. The place is very long and you would be surprised how big it is inside. The entrance is a bit too small though, not big enough as we walked pass the entrance a few times thought the entrance were on the side road rather than on Mt Eden Road.

Went for breakfast with a friend.

The place wasnt that busy.

We ordered out meal and coffee. The breakfast came first, and we had finished eating, by the time our coffee arrived….

The food was only OK, Ive had better. The coffee was the same.

I’d heard good feedback from this place, but every time I go its so disappointing.

Wow, what an incredibly busy, efficient and exciting place to eat. I have spent many hours visiting cafes around the world but this one stands out something something special.

Staff were fantastic, happy, friendly, efficient and above all professional.

Food was excellent and I could not fault any of the meals our group of 15 ordered. Everyone in our group had positive comments about their meals. Great balance and variety. Top awards to the Head Chef for an awsome menue to cater for all.

Coffees were great. Not to mention very quick to arrive at our table.

This place hums, great atmosphere and good sounds (not too loud either). It is a very impressive fine tuned team who produce fantastic meals and coffees.

Its a fantastic place to meet friends we have been back 4 times in the past few weeks. We will be making regular trips.

The best service I have experienced in a long time. I can thoroughly recommend you visit this place.

I went to Circus Circus Cafe with my family for the first time today. The place is always really busy but luckily the cafe is actually a lot larger than you could see at the counter.

During the weekend they only provide the brunch menu which really limited our options but nonethesless we found something that we wanted to try.

I had a waffle with roasted peaches, berry couli, orange mascarpone and maple syrup. It was really good. I like the combination and especially the touch of orange mascarpone.

The other two mains, gourmet chicken burger and fritters were a bit disappointing. The portions were small and the food bland. I reckon they charged too much for their brunch.

To me this place is average. I can’t understand why it is always so full. It does have some good points however: the nice and energetic waiter, food arrived quickly and easy parking.

Nice for a ” one off’ but not memorable enough to return. Staff seemed efficient but had a first hand view of the timy kitchen and some very interesting goings on. Not special enough food but we enjoyed our evening.

Pluses:
– Fresh food due to high number of customers

Minuses:
– Salad was lacking and covered in copious amounts of dressing

Interesting:
– Why is this place so busy? They do everything just below average

Verdict:
– Will go back soon for breakfast and update this review

Meh everyone seems to love this place but the food is extremely mediocre, expect to wait a LONG time for dinner. Nice decor, but not a lot else going for it.

I almost feel that I get conned into going here because of the great decor and not much else.. The coffee gets worse every time I return, which is a shame because Roasted Addiction make an amazing blend, which the baristas obviously do not make the most of.

Average pretty much sums up my experience. I went again on recommendation from many friends. My first experience went poorly, late food, forgotten coffee the whole package – but i have a feeling it was a new waitress. A bit of an improvement, but they really need to learn to smile. Coffee was average, not fantastic. Atmosphere was good, still not a fan of the linear seating arrangement they have to one side of the cafe.

Go if you’re desperate for somewhere to chit chat – otherwise, especially evenings, late afternoon s- avoid. it gets haywirely busy. Also give it a miss if you’re like me and treasure service, good coffee.

Average indeed. Service was average – the only waiter I talked to was the busy, impatient one at the counter. If someone had approached me to ask how my meal was, I could have told them it was average too! Scrambled eggs were the WORST, my partner described them as the kind you get on an airplane.

With such a prime spot in Mount Eden I got the impression they don’t have to try hard to get their customers, and try hard they did not. Very disappointed.

Had a fabulous dinner at Circus Circus on a busy Saturday night. We arrived late (about 9pm) and were allowed our pick of the free tables.
We had the eye fillet and the baked stuffed chicken breast on mushroom risotto. The mains were delicious.
Unfortunately the desserts weren’t quite so impressive, but still ok. The cheesecake was gelatinous in its texture and appearance (mass produced looking), and the crumble topping was lacking in flavour.
The service we received from a pleasant young waiter was attentive and unimposing, with just the right amount of friendly. Really very good indeed.
Thanks for a lovely night out Circus Circus.

went here to meet friends before heading on much nicer than 12 months ago coffee OK but could be better

Looks clean and presentable. Won’t complain about the food but could be improved – Its got the McDonald feeling to the place. I only stop there for coffee and chat with a friend that works around the corner.

Went to Circus Circus on the 19/07/09 for my birthday dinner.

Dinner was great! I had the Lamb Shanks while my partner opted for the Steak.
Service was great too – they even turned on the gas heater in the little room we were sitting in. Waiter attended us frequently to check up on how we were doing – This was awesome as he wasn’t overdoing it.

They didn’t show us our table as we made reservations, however we went for dinner rather late so there wasn’t that many people around. They told us to just pick a place to sit which was fine.

Definitely going back to Circus Circus!!

Beautiful fresh red paint, Circus Circus has been spruced up. My favourite thing is the fact that you can find a table to your liking in one of many cosy little corners and alcoves. New areas have also been added onto it’s extensive meandering interior of polished wooden floors.
The heat lamps make it very warm on a winter day, and we found the staff to be very friendly and competent. The drinks/muffins were all good.
I’ll definitely be back to sample the food another day.

Another Auckland icon that seems to have gotten old and tired. Place always has 20 staff. He’d be better off with 5 that could do their job properly. Sweet food has become bad in the last year. Used to be passable but not now. And don’t even get me started on the whole take a number thing!!

Time, once again, for new owners.

This place is like the tardis! There’s more room inside than it looks from the street. Great food, service and friendly staff all make for a pleasurable dining experience brunch, lunch or dinner (I’ve tried each menu – and no, not all in one day!). You just need to bring the company and this place has it all.