For more than four decades, the Maccioni family has wined and dined celebrities and high profile individuals at Le Cirque New York. The restaurant opened at the Mayfair Hotel on East 65th Street in 1974 before an iconic run at the Palace Hotel in the 90’s. The last Manhattan installation of Le Cirque opened in 2006 in the East 50’s at the Bloomberg Tower in a spectacular 16,000-square-foot space, but after disputes in 2018 with the landlord over rising rents, Le Cirque New York is currently relocating.
However, with that has also come the emergence of a new visionary for Le Cirque. Waterbury, CT native Laura Santagati has taken the reigns and moved the center of Le Cirque’s next chapter to Dallas, TX. Santagati’s White Roc Hospitality has opened Circo Dallas, a new two-story Italian coastal restaurant. From the extravagant staircase enclosed by a 15-foot chandelier to the monkey lamps, Circo epitomizes fine dining in a welcoming inclusive family atmosphere.
“Fine dining doesn’t have to be expensive,” Santagati noted. “People should be able to enjoy great tasting food in a relaxed setting and at affordable pricing. Circo brings this and much more to the vibrant Dallas food scene. When people look at the elegant glamorous space, they think that we are a special occasion spot. We want to create an atmosphere where people can walk more easily and return at least twice a week for more,” says Santagati. “Our price for homemade pasta goes for as low as $16. We also have 5 – 7 happy hour with a $5 to $8 menu. Apart from the pleasant experience, customers don’t have to break the bank to enjoy great tasting meals,” the Connecticut native said.
The restaurant serves Coastal Italian fare, crafted by executive chef Yia Medina, who previously worked at multiple Ritz-Carlton properties. The menu offers house-made pasta, and three signature dishes by famed Le Cirque founder Sirio Maccioni: Mama Egi’s spinach and buffalo ricotta ravioli, lobster and black truffle salad, and crème brûlée.
The restaurant is housed in One Uptown, a high-end residential building. It also has an unusual twist: Circo Beach—a private club with a glass-bottomed swimming pool, cabanas, mini spa treatments, and other services – tops the ground-floor restaurant.
This newest fine dining destination in Dallas has a beautiful interior décor and a top quality kitchen blueprint with some elegant features. “The kitchen has an elevator in it which makes it easier for us to do room service to the residents and be fully equipped to transfer things to the second floor. The first floor has a massive sized customized kitchen,” Santagati added.
Circo represents Santagati’s priority of creating a true dining experience. “We wanted our chef and kitchen to be showcased to our private dining customers. So we have included a view into the kitchen where we prep our pasta, sausages, meatballs, and seafood.”
Circo goes the extra mile to ensure customers get the finest dining experience ever. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service. Friendly staffs and relaxing atmosphere makes this luxurious location a place to beat. “We interact with each one of our guests,” Santagati added. “We communicate with people that come to dine with us and thank them for coming to us. Our guests keep coming back for more because they not only feel we care through the food by making everything homemade but because we take time to get to know them,” Santagati concluded.
