On Tuesday evening Steve and I decided to go out for a bite to eat. We had had a very upsetting few days with the loss of our beloved cat, Miss Marple. We wanted to go out and cheer ourselves up and Circa 1924 had been on our hit list for a while. They bill themselves as a 1920’s inspired seafood and steak house with a rustic speakeasy bar.

We arrived to a very loud “hello” by the friendly gent behind the bar and shown to a table in the bar where we settled ourselves and ordered drinks. I had a glass of prosecco and Steve asked for recommendations on their ales. They don’t have any draught ales on offer but plenty of craft ales in bottles and cans. The happy chap from behind the bar recommended a pale ale called 13 Guns by a company called Crafty Dan. It was served in a chilled glass and Steve said it was “delicious”.

The decor of the bar is right up my street. There was a beautiful copper top bar with matching cocktail accessories. (I am a sucker for copper and rose gold coloured things!) There were old wine boxes attached to the wall at the back of the bar filled with various sparkling bottles. They have a large cocktail and spirit menu so this is where they house the liquor for that. The lighting is low which I liked and each table is lit by candlelight.

We were shown the menu downstairs in preparation for ordering. I asked if we could order downstairs and be shown upstairs when it was ready as we were enjoying our drinks in the bar. They obliged and took our order. Just before our food was ready in the kitchen we were ushered upstairs.
The restaurant feels quite masculine in decor. Lots of dark wooden beams on the ceiling and dark wood furniture. It suits the steak house vibe.

I had ordered mussels in a white wine sauce and a side of heritage tomato salad and Steve went for the fish special. On this night it was a cod fillet with a Portuguese pepper sauce. Steve opted for a side of triple cooked chips. 

My mussels were very good. The sauce was delicious and was mopped up with a serving of warmed ciabatta bread. Our waiter forgot my finger bowl and a dish for my shells which I had to ask for alongside a spoon for the wonderful sauce. Once those items arrived it was easier to manoeuvre around my bowl as I could discard the old shells to the side and see what I was left with. 

  
My heritage tomato salad was very tasty. The tomatoes were juicy and served at room temperature. There was a hint of basil in the oily dressing. Room temperature tomatoes are a must in my book. The flavours develop and make the tomatoes a pleasure to eat. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have had tomatoes in restaurants fresh from the fridge! Yuk! 

  
Steve said his cod was cooked to perfection. It was soft and flakey and went well with the slightly picante sauce.

  
The triple cooked chips were a slight disappointment. They weren’t as crispy as we had hoped and the colour was quite pale. I would have expected with triple cooked chips a darker and crunchier bite.

  
Overall the food was very good and our waiter was quite attentive once he realised that he had forgotten the finger bowl etcetera! 

We decided to share a cheese board to finish off our meal. We went for the three cheese option and chose Taleggio, Chedder and Stilton. The cheeses were at room temperature and all served with their own chutney and the Taleggio was served with honey which was divine. It reminded me of my trip to Italy earlier in the year where they served a lot of their local cheeses with honey! Absolutely wonderful.. I have to say that with the £10.00 price tag for the cheese board it was really over priced. I wouldn’t normally pay that much but it was what we really wanted to have.  

 Can I also add that Tuesday night is “Bring your own bottle” night which is a fabulous idea. We took a bottle of red wine with us and there was no corkage charge. It kept the cost down a little and I guess it offset the price of the mega expensive cheese board!!

Steve and I enjoyed our Circa 1924 experience and would recommend it to friends and readers for their food and also their lovely copper adourned bar! I am not a cocktail drinker but they did look rather wonderful and most of the drinkers in the bar were sampling them. Pop down to Circa 1924 and give them go.. Whether it is for a cocktail or a glass of fizz or like us a complete evening out.