Circo Orlando, a fancy new restaurant with a retractable glass roof, to tower over I-Drive

If you’ve ever watched Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, then you surely remember hobnobbing host Robin Leach name-dropping New York City resto Le Cirque (as well as Spaaaaago) on more than one occasion.

Well, the same folks behind the famed Le Cirque – the Maccioni Restaurant Group – are opening its Italian counterpart, Circo Orlando, in the spring (read winter) of 2017.

The 10,000-square-foot behemoth will tower 120 feet above International Drive and occupy the top floor of the Hollywood Plaza parking garage, a new commercial development and parking facility adjacent to Mango’s Tropical Café.

With a retractable glass roof (yeah, you heard that right), the $3.5 million restaurant is going balls-out Dubai on the strip, promising views of “breathtaking sunsets” and “Walt Disney World fireworks.” La Vetta, the restaurant’s lounge, will also offer seating “under the stars.”
As far the menu of upscale Tuscan fare is concerned, if you’ve eaten at Circo restaurants in New York City or Abu Dhabi, then you can expect much the same.

I still recall my meal at the now-shuttered Circo (“Circus” in Italian) at the Bellagio in Las Vegas a decade or so ago. Well, all I recall were the copious amounts of truffles devoured, and the sky-high check at the end of the meal.

Regardless, Circo will be one of those restaurants that our city’s gastronomes will run away to, or run away from.

More at circoorl.com.

This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2016.