Cafe Circa

Caribbean cuisine is not exactly a door buster in this town, the options are pretty scarce. I've been to most of them and they're nothing to write home about or even merit a second visit, it's kinda a waste of money and pouch space. The flavors are pretty much watered down, not saying that they can't cook the real deal but in this town authenticity is not gonna fill the seats or their pocketbooks. But as usual, you just gotta try it because you never know, you could come outta it surprised and for the better... Or worse.

Cafe Circa was barely on my radar since the get go... Their fusion cuisine of Caribbean and Latin flavors aka 'International Cuisine' said 'no gracias' to me. But since I was on my way to church next door, why not commit a couple of sins along the way. Just repent (or purge) and all is well again.

I liked the decor... The wood, the cozy feeling and all that jazz. The service was adequate, sometimes on the slow side even when it's not crowded. This feels more like a place to meet, grab a drink and then head off to your main destination. But let's take a looksie, anyways...

CIRCA BEEF PATTIES- "Three Jamaican-style beef patties served with roasted beef jus." "Jamaican-style" is right... Kinda like NY-style pizza. Not even close. Why are they deep fried? The filler was forgettable... No really, I forgot what it tasted like. The beef jus was scary in voodoo kinda way. Fuck, don't hex me, bro.


DOROTHY’S GUMBO- "Andouille sausage, crab, crawfish, chicken and rice." First bite wasn't bad. It was kinda tasty. The more I ate, the less I found the listed ingredients within it. No crawfish, no crab, just stringy chicken bits and a couple slices of sausage. If it contained all the listed ingredients, it wouldn't be half bad.


CIRCA’S WORLD FAMOUS GUAVA JERKED WINGS- "Fresh guava and jerk sauce." What did you just call me? "Well, the Jerk Store called, and they're running out of you. What's the difference, you're their all time best seller." Well, not quite so in this case. While they were decent size, they lacked any striking Caribbean jerk flavors. They were barely warmed through and eating them reminded me of eating cold chicken from the fridge at 4 AM. Not that that's a bad thing... If it was Popeyes.


CIRCA PAELLA (30 min. cook time)- "Saffron rice with chicken, sausage, calmari, shrimp and mussels." After waiting patiently what seemed forever just for a taste of that succulent "socarrat" crust at the bottom of the paella pan... All I got was this mushy, soupy, greasy, instant rice with tough pre-cooked thighs (at least it was the proper cut of bone-in chicken for this classic dish), disturbingly dried up bearded mussels that weren't even worthy of "fake chow", and a couple measly pieces of rubbery shrimp and frozen rings of "calmari" soaking at the bottom. I have had better from a Zatarain's box and it took less time. 30 minutes and $18 that I will never get back. Did I mention $18 for box rice...

The space is kinda cool but the food... Well, stick with very simple dishes, and I stress the words "very simple". Perfectly fine to grab a couple of drinks here and a nibble but anymore than that, it will be utter disappointment from the "assembled dream team of talent" and buyer's remorse will set in before you walk out the door... In my case out of the bathroom door.

Flush.

1 Star.

464 Edgewood Ave
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 477-0008
http://www.CafeCircaAtl.com