Circus Bar & Billiards

We enjoyed selecting several menu items and sharing family-​style. Best Voodoo Chicken I’ve ever had. Perfectly seasoned to provide the proper spicy but not excessive kick. Lettuce wraps, as appetizer, excellent. Smoked brisket sliders — only for those in search of over the top smoked flavor. One bite was more than enough for me. Fish & Chips served with perfect French fries but the fish was much over-​fried.

I’ve never been to a bar in my entire life that hasn’t given out free sodas, let alone free water to designated drivers yet the circus charges a dollar for water. Yea the billiards are free, first come first serve but fuck that establishment for not catering to responsible patrons. Never go here!

The location itself is your usual dive bar. No frills. Cheap beer. Busy, efficient line-​up system for ordering drinks at the bar. I went for a Moth event, so maybe my experience is different from a typical night. But the crowd & vibe were great.
To the person who complained about there being too few gluten-​free beer options here, I just want to say you are so brave and strong to have overcome so much adversity and still find time to Unilocal

I’ve been here twice now and only for moth storytelling events, But I have to say that I really like the intimate atmosphere upstairs, the cheap beer, and the free popcorn. And I’d love to get back here for karaōke night. On the weekends it looks like college kids invade this place. If that’s not your scene, I highly suggest going to check out the moth when it comes to Ann Arbor each month.

The Karaōke is so disorganized that you’ll probably never get to sing. The bar charges for a glass of water. The popcorn is okay.

Typical dive bar.
I’ve only ever been here for The Moth Stories events but both experiences at this bar were fine. The space isn’t too big, but I imagine without all the chairs set up for the show it’s a fine space to mingle and hang out.
Mostly a younger crowd goes through there, but I’ve never actually bought anything from the bar, nor have I tried the free popcorn.
The one thing I will say is that they charge $ 1 for tap water, which seems kind of dumb.
It’s not an earth shattering place or anything. It’s a typical dive bar in Ann Arbor with less-​than-​stellar drink selections to appease to a younger crowd who will pay 25 cents for Keystone.

If you leave an open tab be careful, they will add drinks to your tab that you didn’t order. In the past I have had a friend put a drink on my tab, and he ordered it while I was not around, but they still put the drink on it just because he gave my name. Tonight it seems that someone may have overheard me order and used my name to order a gin & tonic that they graciously added to my tab. I told the bartender who was closing me out that it wasn’t me that ordered the drink, and he spoke to one of the other bartenders and she swore that she served the gin & tonic to me, and that never happened because I was drink jack and cokes and Guinness. It took 5 minutes of arguing before they agreed that I don’t have to pay for something that I didn’t order in the first place.
Also the thing that annoys me more than them trying to charge me for something that I didn’t order is that they charge 25 cents for the piss water known as keystone light, but charge $ 1 for a small glass of water.
The only semi redeeming quality of Circus is the free popcorn, and nothing else.
I definitely do not suggest choosing this as your first choice, but obviously many people will end up wanting to go here, so just please be careful to not get ripped off while you are there.

The worst place I have ever been to. The service was awful and the line was incredibly long. We waited in line for a half hour to wait for drinks for the next 30. The service was awful and rude I was NEVER go: They are the worst! Never again

Went here for College Recruitment Week with my wife. Nice atmosphere for students and A2 visitors. Hope to go back soon. Also great deal on draft beer and mixed drinks!!!

This is the last time I come to this shitty place. I once had a terrible experience with a bartender because I bought a beer in cash and didn’t give a tip (I was going to keep drinking and pay at the end).
Now one year after, I go again and I pay with a card and leave a good tip and when my bank statement comes, they charged me more than what I had signed in my receipt, like if I wouldn’t notice. Sleazy scammers.

To be fair to this review, their karaōke and popcorn are wonderful. I have nothing but great things to say about them.
My issue is this: The way they keep tabs is outdated and barbaric at best (They handed me a handwritten receipt… Which is incredibly unprofessional and outdated). I received a $ 31 tab; which I intend to challenge.
Originally, for the first round, I had put the three drinks I ordered on «O’Neill’s» tab thinking that my boyfriend had a credit card open. (I admit, I was wrong. He did not have a tab open, but I did not know that, and the bartenders [all four of them] did not correct me on that.)
In fact, the bartender who took that very first order went to check the tabs and gave me the thumbs up and verbally said to me, with a smile, «OK!» (For reference, she was the short, heavyset blonde with the ponytail in the white T-​shirt.)
The second round, again, I tried to put the drinks on my boyfriends tab (because I was under the [wrong] impression that he had one open) and that’s when a different bartender came up to me and said in a very demeaning tone «there is no O’Neill tab!»
When I said «oh, sorry, here is my card; please put the drinks on this card,» they took my card, ran it, and when I asked to cash out, gave me a very unreadable handwritten itemized list of at least 8+ drinks that I had ordered. Including, but not limited to: «WD+ drink x2,» «BL x2,» «CV x2.»
Of course, like a jackass, I didn’t dispute the charges immediately. But I didn’t sign off right away. What I did do, was ask if they could keep my card for a minute, which they did, while I took the check to my group and asked if all of the drinks that were on this handwritten list were ones that they had purchased.
Being that all my friends were drunk and I’m not very good at abbreviations, we didn’t really get an accurate listing of what we had ordered.
And that is my mistake right there. Is that I signed off on all of these hand written itemized things.
Here is where it gets interesting.
Not two minutes (seriously, I timed it) later I go back to the same bar and ask them for that same itemized receipt they had originally shown me.
They tell me «it’s been thrown out, tough shit.»
So I went asking for the manager.
He comes and is very pleasant for the first five minutes.
He actually offers me $ 10.
But when I tell him that I don’t want the $ 10, I want the itemized receipt, he tells me «get the fuck out.»
This is how Circus, and I imagine every other club that is owned by the same dude, operates in Ann Arbor.
I suspect there is a reason that new bars/​clubs open and close so quickly, and I think it has something to do with how people treat their customers.
I will not ever be returning to Circus and I can guarantee that I will be spreading this message far and wide.
They looked at me, up-​and-​down, and said about my receipt, «we don’t have it.»
When I said I would be fine waiting and/​or checking out the top of their trash cans (because it it literally only been two minutes) they said «no, get the fuck out.»
It’s not about the $ 10 they over charged me.
It’s the fact that they denied me my itemized receipt, and were nothing but rude to me.

I love karaōke and the KJ is awesome but the service sucks! I got a pbr for $ 2.50 gave the server a 10 and put my change in my pocket. She rudely yelled at me «we accept tips, you know».
Well with that attitude I’m not ever going to tip you.
Especially when my friend buys another round and you withhold her change because you tell her I didn’t tip so you’re making up for it by pretty much stealing from her.

In a few weeks, we will be attending The Moth event at Circus.
My husband has Celiac and after reading all the negative reviews, I decided to call ahead and find out what food/​drink options would be available. I spoke to the owner. What a nasty attitude this guy has! After requesting a bottled gluten free beer he mentioned two hard ciders. When I suggested that he try selling one, that he probably has other customers that would be interested in gluten free beer, he responded that, «no one has ever asked me for that in 18 years.» He then said, «I don’t have time for this,» and he hung up on me!
I am not from Michigan, but is this really the best venue in Ann Arbor for NPR to host The Moth?

Don’t waste your time or money if you really want to sing. A handful of people are called up over and over again, never the real crowd. It’s a front.

I’m not a regular here by any means, but the few times I have gone it has been for karaōke. It’s a good bar to converse in and have some cheap drinks. The free popcorn is amazing. That is probably because it brings back memories for me.
They have a board at the end of the bar that lists the drink specials. Last night they had long islands for 3.50, but to be totally honest with you — you get what you pay for. It took me 4 drinks before I even started to feel unsteady, and that is just sad especially when it would normally is 1 or 2 long islands.
The bathrooms were clean and well maintained. The karaōke guy did a toss up of people and didn’t cycle through the same few. Some nights you can park across the street in the structure, which was 5 bucks for us (for 3.5 hours) on a Saturday night.
I could actually go for some of that popcorn right now.

Came here with a couple friends on a Friday night and got a strange vibe. There were a couple of odd folks singing karaōke… We put our names down to sing, but after over an hour, we got impatient and left.
I’m shocked they charge for tap water. Is that even legal? Also, one of the servers whispered into my friend’s ear that she was looked gorgeous. I know it’s a billiards and karaōke bar, but that’s a bit unprofessional. Flirt on your time off! If I had one positive thing to say about this place, it would be the karaōke book. Huge binder filled with popular songs, even the parodies.

Last night I went to Circus with a couple friends. It was my third time going this year, and until this point, I had no real issues. I arrived later than my friends, and went to the bar to buy myself a beer. It was Thursday, so it was 75¢ for Coors or PBR; don’t get too excited, the glasses are pretty small.
After I buy my first beer, I return to the same bartender to get a round: «three PBRs please.» I, again, pay the bartender in cash. He comes back with my change, and as I start to put it in my pocket, he says, «Do you not like the service?» I replied, «No, it’s fine so far,» to which he proceeds to tell me that he works for tips and will no longer serve me. If I wanted another drink I would need to go to a different bartender.
Now before you jump to conclusions and call me cheap, up until that point I had only bought a total of 4 beers at 75¢, which for a 20% tip (overly generous with their awful service) is 60¢. I’m not going to leave someone a tip in change, so my plan was to tip at the end of the night when I accumulated a dollar or more worth of tip. And because the glasses were so small, I didn’t know what the non-​special equivalent price was to leave a proper tip. The rudeness of the bar tender caused me to leave after finishing that round I bought, and for his comment, I refused to leave a tip (thank god I paid in cash, apparently).
So to re-​answer his ill-​planned question, «correct, I do not like the service!»

Why the bad reviews for this place?
It’s definitely not anything fancy, but it’s my friends and I’s go-​to karaōke place. I was bummed when I had heard that Emily Blunt + the cast of The Five Year Engagement came here ONLY A NIGHT before I did at one point, too — that would have been great to see.
Popcorn is free, but its saltiness might make you make a beeline for the bar. Billiards are also free and on days when the Millennium /​other Cavern Club venues don’t have live entertainment, the cover is free.
They expanded a few years back as well, so they have a larger karaōke area now. I will caution you to use cash rather than credit cards at the bar, if possible, because there’s a cash minimum, and one time I didn’t see the sign that said «x % gratuity will be added» (I think it was 18% too) and they tacked it on to my debit card bill, which I wasn’t very happy about.
However, overall, Circus is a decent place to sing some karaōke or play some pool. It’s a little farther away from downtown so you don’t get the undergrads, too (I’m a UM ’09 alum so I’m a little removed from that scene now), which is nice.

So I like that this place has Karaōke, and that it’s not TOO loud … but this charging for water thing makes me never want to come back here. It’s straight up principle that after drinking and before driving home, I should be able to get free tap water so I can sober up. I’ll do my drinking somewhere else, where they care about their customer’s well being.

I’ve only ever been here for The Moth, so my review is based only on that.
I was really nervous to go here because the reviews were all so horrible, and I was taking my mom to see The Moth for her birthday so I didn’t want it to suck.
I was actually really pleasantly surprised though — everyone was really nice and we didn’t get charged extra for anything. My mom wanted a «fun circusy themed drink» and they don’t really have those, but the bartender was very sweet and made one up. So now if you are in the mood for a drink that tastes like pink kool-​aid and comes with a cherry you can order «The Flying Trapeze.»
The bar was cash only when we went — I don’t know if that’s normal now or what. It seems like from all these other reviews they had some issues running credit cards correctly so maybe?