Carthay Circle Restaurant Review

We had a chance to sample the Carthay Circle Restaurant menu and the food is every bit as delicious as you would expect.

Although we didn’t have a chance to try everything (what a great excuse to visit again!), we did get to try a good portion of the menu. We’ve included some photos of the food below, along with a gallery of images of the restaurant at the end of this post.

Appetizers

We loved the Carthay House Biscuits which were stuffed with white cheddar, bacon, and jalapenos. They come with a side of apricot honey butter. They cost $8.00 and were our favorite of the starters on the menu.

 The Halibut Ceviche is another favorite ($15). It is made with fresh avocado and the tomatillo-cilantro essence is delicious. The portion is big enough for two, though we did wish that it came with more of the wonderful plantain chips.

We also tried one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, the Fire Cracker Duck Wings ($12). These had a delicious kick to them thanks to the Sriracha Chili Sauce. If you don’t mind a little spice, these are wonderful, albeit a little messy. We expect that the duck wings will be one of the most popular items on the menu.

The last appetizer  we tried was the Grilled Grape Leaves, which were stuffed with chenel goat cheese ($13). These are served with a roasted garlic and kalamata olive red bell pepper vinaigrette. We enjoyed the flavors of the dish, but were disappointed with the portion size in relation to the cost.

Salads

My wife tried the Carthay Circles’ “New Take on “Liver and Onions” ($16) and really enjoyed the dish. It comes with a green salad made of baby red and green romaine. The fried chicken livers are crusted with planko and served with sauteed onions and bacon.

The lunch menu features Kobe Beef Cheek Sliders ($19), which were fantastic. These are not on the dinner menu (an 8 oz angus burger is offered instead). The burgers are topped with some whipped horseradish sour cream, red bell pepper marmalade, and onions.

Seafood

The Carthay Circle Restaurant has a special focus on local, sustainable ingredients. Because of this, we were especially interested in trying some of the seafood items on the menu.

The first dish we tried was the bacon-wrapped shrimp ($26). This dish had exceptional flavor and was our favorite of the entrees. The shrimp are served with grilled zucchini, roasted corn and a basil salsa. We loved this dish so much that it will be difficult to order anything else the next time we visit.

Another seafood dish we sampled was the Sauteed Northern Halibut ($34). This is served with a relish of roasted red bell peppers, capers and oranges. This creates a flavorful dish that is sure to be a popular item on the lunch and dinner menus.

Some of the boldest flavors on the menu can be found in the Grilled Jamaican Jerked King Fish ($32). The dish is balanced nicely with the tropical salsa which is made of pineapple, mango, black beans, and lime. This is a great dish, especially if you’re a fan of big, powerful flavors. It is offered on both the lunch and dinner menus.

Meats

The pan-roasted veal medallions was such a great dish that we would have licked the plate if we weren’t afraid of getting kicked out. The grilled prosciutto wrapped peaches were from heaven! You have to try these. The dish also has some haricot verts (a fancy way of saying french green beans) and a roasted almond vinaigrette. For $35, this dish is well worth the price on the dinner menu.

Dessert

By the time the we got to dessert, we were rather stuffed. But for you, our dear readers, we managed to carry on and try the decadent sweets.

First up was “Peaches In All Their Glory” which are peach and white chocolate mousse cannolis. This combined with the grilled peaches and the peach sorbet made for a very refreshing summer treat.

The toasted lemon pound cake was another great summer dessert. It is topped with marinated blueberries, lemon curd cream, and tahitian vanilla chantilly.

Our favorite dessert was the fried banana split monte cristo sundae. The only downside is that it takes longer to say the dish’s name than it does to actually eat it. The dessert comes with raspberry and chocolate fudge ice creams, toffee nuts and warm caramel rum bananas. You won’t want to share this dish!

We had a wonderful dining experience and would highly recommend the restaurant, especially for a special occasion. It is surprisingly kid friendly as well.

The pricing for the lunch and dinner menus are similar (only the entrees seem to change), so we recommend visiting for dinner and enjoying a few cocktails with your meal (they have an amazing wine list).

We still have a few more menu items to try, especially those on the children’s menu. If you happen to visit the restaurant, we’d love to hear your opinions in the comments below. Happy dining!

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Photos via Flickr