East End Eats: Rich Taste in Southampton

Circo Southampton

268 Elm Street

Southampton, NY

631-283-2343

Dinner, nightly

To paraphrase a quote-counterquote that was, in fact, never uttered: “The people of Southampton are different from you and me — they have more money.” This may be why a restaurant like Circo will succeed. Manhattan, Abu Dhabi, Southampton. These are wealthy pockets of the world that don’t question why a vegetable lasagna costs $32.

Circo Southampton is situated where Delmonico’s resided briefly and where Savannah’s reigned for years. It is a lovely building with windows all around, an airy dining room, and a spacious back patio, all within teeth-rattling distance of the train station. The decor has touches of the circus theme all the other restaurants are known for, or, as my guest commented upon entering, “it looks like the John Drew Theater.” There are stripes and garlands and whimsically painted plates.

After sitting down, we got a basket of bread with a nice variety to choose from. There are squares of oniony focaccia, some dense sunflower bread, and simple crusty Italian bread.

We began our meal with a mixed salad and the fisherman’s soup. The salad promised “local organic summer vegetables” — three popular buzzwords in one menu description, bravo! It was a mesclun mix with two slices of horse carrots, some slivered fennel, and a hothouse tomato quarter. The lemony dressing was good and there was a generous portion of shaved Parmesan cheese. The fisherman’s soup was a bummer. It was a thin, watery, lukewarm tomato broth with ice-cold precooked clams and mussels. The garlic toast promised on the menu did not appear with this dish. I suspect it was hiding in a warming tray in the kitchen crying out, “No, noooooo, please don’t put me on that boring soup!”

For entrees we ordered the garganelli with braised duck and the aforementioned vegetable lasagna. I was dying to discover why a lasagna dish would cost more than the branzino or chicken.

Both dishes were quite good. The garganelli was cooked al dente. There was plenty of duck meat, which was tender and flavorful, and the sauce was rich with wild mushrooms and a hint of sage. It did, however, lack the promised fava beans. The vegetable lasagna was very good. It had many — at least seven — layers of thin, eggy homemade lasagna sheets separated by bechamel, peas, asparagus, zucchini, shredded carrots, and cheese. The tomato sauce on top was thick and wellseasoned, and it was topped with scallion micro-greens.

The service on the night of our visit was very good. Our waitress was friendly and funny and efficient and very busy, and there was a manager or owner on the premises making sure his guests were happy and taken care of.

Prices at Circo are high. Appetizers are $16 to $26, pastas $22 to $32, entrees are $28 to $69, and sides and desserts are $11.

For dessert we tried the cannoli and “Le Cirque’s legendary creme brulee.” Desserts here are plated and presented in a way you would expect at these prices. There are langues du chat (cat’s tongue cookies) and sugar work and swirls of white and dark chocolate cavorting with the trapeze artists on the primary colored plates.

The cannoli were pretty good, although not quite as good as the ones we tried at Osteria Salina recently. Both shells were chocolate, one was filled with candied orange peel-flecked ricotta. The other was filled with chocolate chip ricotta and garnished with maraschino cherries, giving it an oddly phallic appearance if glanced at in a certain way.

When you describe your dessert as “legendary” on a menu then, by golly, it had better be. Creme brulee is the simplest of desserts, containing only four deliciously artery-clogging ingredients, but it is often screwed up. This version was simple and good. The sugar topping had a nice crack to it, and the custard was just sweet enough and filled with lots of vanilla bean seeds.

When we exited, a charming woman named Maria jumped up from her seat to ask how our meal was, to tell us the restaurant is about to install a pizza oven, and that it will be open all year round. These are the kinds of gestures that make you want to love a place — the friendly, warm, and welcoming atmosphere.

Circo is still new, so here’s hoping those somewhat disappointing dishes get tweaked . . . or heated up. For now, I’m sure the wealthy tribes will enjoy the safety and habits of dining in the same establishments they’re used to, be it in Manhattan, Abu Dhabi, or Southampton.