I've passed by this restaurant many times while visiting the Bellagio and always was stunned by the decor from the outside looking in. It really was strikingly different and beautiful. I decided to use some of my MGM Mirage comps to try it out.

We made a reservation for two at 8 PM and arrived on time. We did have a short wait in the waiting area while they prepared our table for us. The waiting area includes a bar, and while we didn't have drinks this time, it's always a nice way to pass the time waiting. Here's a view of the lobby and bar area:

We were seated within 10 minutes at a lovely table overlooking the Bellagio lake and water feature. Our two chairs were situated so that we would both be viewing the fountain throughout our meal. That was a nice touch. Here's the view from our table and another one where I stood up and went to the window:

Needless to say, we were already enjoying our meal before even seeing the menu.

Our first course consisted of an order of oysters and the Golden Oscetra caviar, along with a glass of champagne. A sommelier at StripSteak once suggested champagne with oysters and so that's what we always do at fine dining establishments. It's a perfect compliment to the oceany-tasting seafood.

Here's a picture of the oysters and caviar. The caviar was authentic from the Caspian Sea and was priced at $205 an ounce. Thank goodness for comps!

The caviar was among one of the most delicious foods I've ever tasted. Ironically, I wish it hadn't been quite that good because I doubt I'd ever actually pay that much money for it. The fish eggs were a little salty, a bit sea-tasting, but also had a crunchiness that was just about perfect. Along with a blini, some onion, chopped egg, and Crème fraîche, we're talking fantastic.

The oysters were as good as you'd expect at a fine restaurant like this and included a tasty cocktail sauce along with a vinegary mignonette sauce.

On this particular evening we decided to fore-go the salad options and we both chose soups. My date ordered the creamy cannellini bean soup with lobster meat, while I had the Tuscan vegetable and bean soup with fettunta.

These were both excellent soups with the right balance of flavors and spices without losing the bean or vegetable flavor that was intended. The bean soup was creamy and flavorful while the lobster meat gave it some substance and weight. The vegetable soup had a blend of spices and salt where it was not too salty as many vegetable soups can be. It tasted like a homemade vegetable soup. Homemade if you live in Tuscany that is.

Here are soup pictures:

For our main courses we ordered the lamb chops, which the menu describes as "Rack of Lamb Crusted in Pecorino and Thyme with Mamma Egi's Peperonata." This was also the item that our waiter informed us was Circo's signature dish. I like lamb. My date loves lamb. So this was an easy choice.

For the second choice I ordered what I would normally call a cioppino. Here's the Circo menu description: "Tuscan Octopus and Calamari Stew with Clams, Mussels, Shrimp & Monkfish."

Since these were both very heavy and flavorful dishes we also went with a heavy red wine. We've had very good luck with Chateauneuf Du Pape reds and the sommelier advised us to try the 2005 Vieux Telegraphe.

Here are pictures:

We ordered the lamb medium rare and it came out perfect. This was among the best racks of lamb I've ever had. It's rare that I would choose lamb off a menu when dining by myself because I tend to prefer seafood but in this case I could make an exception. The meat was potent with meaty flavor. It was so rich that it was similar to eating butter. A little of this goes a long way and they weren't bashful with the servings. These were so large that I think this is one lamb I wouldn't have wanted to tangle with.

The seafood stew was another winner. The broth had a tomato base but it did not overtake the flavors of the various food items as you might expect. More than be a tomato soup with seafood, it was a seafood soup with a tomato theme. Each item, from the shrimp to the mussels to the octopus, retained its unique flavor while at the same time exhibiting the spices and broth. The broth acted to both moderate the fishiness while providing a setting to retain the spices within the seafood.

The big stars of the soup for me were the octopus and calamari. My experience with those two items is that they can be very chewy. You take a bite and chew and chew and chew and chew and you still haven't finished it yet. This was not the case with this stew. I'm not sure if it's a matter of the kitchen starting with the finest ingredients or if it's a matter of their preparation but these pieces were extremely tender. Just a few chews was all it took. I think it was the first time in my life I've had octopus or calamari that wasn't tough or chewy. It made the dish very enjoyable.

The wine was also a perfect choice. It was a chewy, bloody, red with serious legs. This is just the type of wine we like to get when we can get away with it (in other words when the main courses we order can stand up to it). This is a good choice for those who like the heavy duty reds.

For dessert we opted to try the strawberry soufflé as well as the assorted cheese plate. While I didn't take a picture of the cheese plate before we'd already started devouring it, it did include a selection of cheeses including ones made from goat's milk and sheep's milk along with the more traditional cow's milk varieties. The soufflé looked like this:

What can I say about the soufflé? It was berry, berry good. (don't groan). It was my first time trying a soufflé which I now know is very eggy. By the time I got to dessert I was a little dizzy but I believe the waiter said that 6 or more eggs went into this one soufflé. It was delicious indeed and if you're a fan of strawberries, it might just be your perfect dessert.

The bill came to $570 which was comped of course. I left an $85 cash tip which is lower than I might have done in the past. This isn't because the service wasn't 1st-rate, because it was. In fact, the service was better than many other fine restaurants I've visited. It's simply because I'm not sure that tipping 18% on the caviar or wine was correct. The work involved in serving them is not greater than other items, but of course, their cost is significantly higher than other menu items. Feel free to comment about that. I'm trying to figure out the best way to tip. For a long time, it was always 20% of the total bill, but I'm starting to think that's excessive.

One other thing...

In these difficult economic times I'm a little embarrassed to write about these opulent meals because I know times are tough for many people. I've also made sacrifices in my budget and tried to cut down on unnecessary expenses.

I've probably had 20 meals over the last 2 years that cost $500 or more and they have all been comped. I gamble in casinos as a part of what I do and this generates comps so I use them. The tips (which can't be comped) can be expensive, but getting a $600 meal for $85 is, in my opinion, a good deal.

Also, since I write reviews of them for the blog I consider them business expenses although I must say, they're some of my favorite business expenses!