"The relocation of Neil Lorenzo's Circle Club restaurant, from the famous hidden away member's club downstairs to its new home in Barton Arcade upstairs, the most beautiful building in Manchester by some distance, has possibly been the most exciting new restaurant project Manchester has seen for a long time - one which could potentially kick start a regeneration of traffic to the largely unknown Victorian shopping mall.

AA Rossette award winning chef Lorenzo cooked an amazing lunch for us in the Circle Club's temporary lunchtime restaurant back in November 2008 (see the review below), so expectations were therefore very high of 'The Kitchen at The Circle'. On our way to the opening of the new Bem Brasil, we thought we'd grab a bite to eat in the newly opened Circle restaurant.

Approaching from the Deansgate entrance to Barton Arcade at 7pm, rather than the back street St Annes Square door, the security guards on the door were rather off putting and we had to explain that we were going for a meal rather than to window shop in the closed designer stores inside the arcade. I'm guessing some passers by would avoid any potential rejection by the 'bouncers' and walk straight past, missing the amazing grandeur of this most specatcular of buildings. The decor of the restaurant itself is equally as impressive. Paul Anstill's luxurious design fills the £250,000 venue with gorgeous leather seating whilst embracing the 1871 Victorian building's glass and steel framed structure, probably to the delight of English Heritage. The light bounces in, adding to the pleasing ambience.

Our waiter, Eddie, was very enthusiastic. Although presenting the bottle of mineral water as if it was a vintage bottle of Château Yquem 1787 was probably taking it a bit too far. I half expected him to ask if we wanted to taste it before pouring. Whlst we try to keep a low profile on the Manchester scene to allow for a true 'mystery shopper' experience, it was interesting to note that Jonathan Schofield was on an adjacent table reviewing the restaurant for Manchester Confidential, whilst Neil Sowerby was on another submitting his review for the Evening News. Given their high profle 'do you know who I am?' personas, pressure certainly was on for the chef to get it right on the night.

Sadly, the food was a real let down and a massive surprise given our previous visits to The Circle. The Lobster Ravioli starter (£7.50) was incredibly overpriced for what was little more than a single raviolo in a bowl with very little taste, the L'Americaine sauce and parsley puree was better than the main ingredent itself. The main courses were sadly no improvement. The Lamb Loin Cutlets (£15.50) were dumped rather than presented on top of minted new potatoes, peas and spinach. The cuts consisted of more fat than lamb meat and were extremely dry. The Spring Lemon Chicken (£14.50) was even worse, and it was interesting to hear Jonathan Schofield slagging the same dish off to his dining partner (it would be interesting to see if this is reflected in his review). Maybe I should have taken Eddie's warning when I ordered it that 'it was a very messy dish', and he wasn't wrong - if you haven't got a degree in butchery, you can expect to make a mess of your clothes and those of people sat around you. The poussin was served as a whole baby chicken, its back legs still tied up and the accompanying peas and wilted greens hidden beneath with little presentation. Again, the quailty of the meat wasn't great - very dry chicken outnumbered by the quantity of bones and the remaining carcass making the peas and greens almost impossible to get to. A side dish would have been welcome - I'm sure enthusiastic Eddie would have gone through hell and high water to get one for me if I'd asked though. Whilst the lentil, tarragon and pancetta stuffing added much needed flavour, it was almost as big as the meat offering itself.

The restaurant suddenly filled up with a party of 40 Red Bull sales representatives who had been at a meeting at the excellent Circle Club venue downstairs and the ambience changed. The acoustics from the glass and steel building didn't lend well to the noisy full restaurant and you had to shout to be heard. Sadly, the previously superb waiters suddenly found themselves diverted full time to the rowdy Red Bull reps and service dropped off for the handful of diners who were previously enjoying an intimate meal, which the leather seating encourages - most requested the bill and quickly left, as did we. Fortunately we were able to silence our still rumbling stomachs at the Bem Brasl party.

Overall, it's hard to give an opinion of The Kitchen at The Circle at this stage. Neil Lorenzo is an obviously talented chef and, presuming he was actually in the kitchen, the dishes served up here were disappointing but are likely to improve, and if they can get some meaty cuts from their suppliers it would become better value for money. As it is, the decor and service make up for a poor show and I would certainly return to sit and admire the beautiful Barton Arcade alone. If Lorenzo can redeliver the quality of food that earned The Circle Club's lunchtime restaurant a 4 star review in November, this could go on to be one of the best restaurants in Manchester. Sadly, with so many reviewers in attendance, he chose a bad night to get it wrong." - restaurants of manchester 17/4/09 (visited on a thursday evening)

"The Circle Club has long held the reputation of being Manchester's most exclusive members only club. And it's partly because of that awkward feeling of specialdom not sitting pretty with anyone in our office, that we were not too excited about the Barton Arcade establishment changing their rules to allow 'normal' members of the public to dine there for lunch. With hindsight, this inverted snobbery had meant we'd been missing out on possibly the best lunch in town.

AA Rossette award chef Neil Lorenzo heads up the kitchen in this hidden-away basement restaurant, just off St Annes Square and below the beautiful Barton Arcade shopping mall (which will soon become home to the restaurant). His food is exceptional and the menu is ideal for lunch with four sandwiches, four pasta dishes, four fish plates, four meat dishes and, erm, three salads to choose from. The perfectly crafted desserts are to die for.

We took advantage of the special 2 courses for £10 offer, which was incredible value for money for the quality of food being served. The Pumpkin Ravioli with sage butter and toasted almonds (£5.50) was delicious as a starter (also available as a main for £7.50), whilst the Wild Seabass with lemon, garlic and sun blush tomato marinade (£14.50) was perfectly cooked and certainly a dish we'll be returning for if we're out shopping in this part of town again.

For those who aren't familiar with The Circle Club, the decor is unusual - dark, rather kitsch and full of framed rock t-shirts taken from Ringspun, the club's owner's, clothing range. Not that you'll hear tracks from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead and AC/DC playing in here - especially over lunch. Pity.

The service was incredibly friendly and efficient, enhanced by the fact the club is so small, making it even more personal. There are plans to move the restaurant upstairs to a new location within Barton Arcade, however for the time being, we'd recommend that all you girls seek this hidden-away back street basement club in between shopping for shoes and handbags, not just for an amazing lunchtime meal, but for the most impressive ladies toilets in Manchester (so I'm told)." - restaurants of manchester 24/11/08 (visited on a friday lunch)