Circus
New York, NY 10036
Phone: Unlisted
- Cross Street:
- Between 43rd Street and 44th Street
- Directions:
- N, Q, R, W; 1, 2, 3; 7 at 42 St-Times Sq; A, C, E at 42nd St
- Hours:
- Daily 10am-4am
Editorial Review for Circus – by Katie Heffernan
In Short
An after-work and working class clientele are the cast at this Hell's Kitchen dive bar. In keeping with its sideshow theme, clown mobiles and vintage photos of the Ringling Bros. adorn the bright blue room above a row of candy-red, semi-circle booths. Free hot dogs, popcorn and peanuts are handed out by the bartenders, and alarmingly cheap pitchers and bottom-rung beers are on hand to quench snack-induced thirst. A barren deck out back serves its smoker-friendly purpose.
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Insider Tips
The ExtrasThe owners of Circus started out with Rudy's, one of the city's biggest happy hour destinations, located just down the block.
User Reviews for Circus
01/16/2007 Posted by mburduck
The daytime crowd in this "up-scale dive bar" used to frequent another place further up 9th Avenue. They have shifted to Circus no doubt because Bayonne Bill is now working there during the day (he's off Thursdays and Fridays but there the other days of the week). Bill is one of the best, friendliest bartenders on 9th Avenue. The place is clean, well-lit, and cheap. On the days when he works Bill serves $1.00 soup and sandwiches, and there are always free bar muncies, too. The beer is cold and fresh, the mixed drinks nice and stout, and the daytime crowd is friendly and well-behaved (even Kevin!). Sit at the nice bar or in one of the red circular booths--you'll have a great time either way. The rest-rooms are clean and working, and there's a back court-yard that's supposed to be open this coming spring for those of us who might like to enjoy a fine cigar. At night the place gets quite a bit rowdier as the crowd gets younger. If you enjoy drinking during the day (as I do), then you owe it to yourself to give Circus a try (by all means visit it at night, too). I visit my hometown of NYC three or four times a year, and when I do I'm usually camped-out in Circus. By all means there are other fun places on 9th Avenue worth visiting, but none of them can beat Circus. The Professor says that you should sign up for this course!
Pros: Service, Beer, Drinks, Food
Cons: Could use a larger court-yard.
10/01/2006 Posted by zbargirl
..and the perfect alternative to Rudy's, which seems to be going downhill(and smells really bad). The place has that "clean dive" look. plenty of sitting room, even though it's a relatively small bar. There's also the "green room" where you can hang, and a faily big ourdoor garden area where you can smoke all you like. The drinks are cheap (3 dollar import pints and 9 dollar pitchers!) the bartenders are cool - mostly women, dressed rock n roll trashy. There was one blonde bartender who seemed to not want be bothered, but she was getting off of day shift, thank god, because the nighttime ones we so much better. And just like Rudy's, they've got free hotdogs, popcorn and peanuts, and they never seem to run out. If they get behind on cooking the dogs, they are super nice about it and don't forget you are waiting. It's a great after-work hangout, or get together with your buddies. I would go there again and again.
