We took the monorail over to the GF and walk straight to the reception area for Citricos. We arrived pretty far in advance of our 8pm ADR, but we were seated pretty quickly. We had just enough time between checking in and being seated to check out the V&A menu. We really want to dine there some time!!
Tonight was Citricos night though, and we were super-excited to try it for the first time!
Our server was Tammy and she was lovely to us and was working quite hard that night with a very big party at another table. We wouldn't have known it, because she was very attentive and mostly efficient. She explained that the kitchen was a little backed up and we might have a delay, but we didn't notice any lag in service. We were enjoying our peaceful time in the beautiful atmosphere, so we wouldn't have cared anyway.
The bread was a hearty olive bread with a solid crust (I think maybe salted?) and nice and soft on the inside, served slightly warm with delicious salted butter:
It was soooo good! It was the second-best bread of the trip, and I could have made a meal on this bread alone! As it was, I'm pretty sure we asked for at least one more round of this!
For my appetizer, I ordered the Sauteed Shrimp:
with lemon, white wine, tomatoes and feta cheese. This was absolutely delicious, the shrimp plump and cooked to perfection (I think there were 3 large ones in there). The broth was so perfect and I had to soak some more of that olive bread in there. I could have had a bigger portion of this for an entree! I had a glass of white wine with this, it was either the suggested pairing on the menu or recommended by Tammy. Our receipt says 390 Boutar and it was very very good with this dish, light and crisp.
Hercules ordered the Arancini:
Another winner! This arancini was very different from that offered at Via Napoli. The VN one was delcious in its own right, but this dish was cororful and multi-layered and rich and out-of-this-world delicious! We all loved it!
Aladdin decided to go with something light, so he ordered the Yellow Tomato Gazpacho:
With smoked rocked shrimp, tomato and cucmber salsa, piquillo coulis and 25-year sherry viniagrette-lime ice! Wow! bursting with fresh and delicious flavors. The lime ice added an interesting texture and tang to the sweet tomato and spicy coulis. So refreshing! I think some extra bread found its way to get dunked in there, too!
For Belle, the Artisan Cheese Trio:
This was good, and she loved it, but in retrospect, it was the weakest cheese plate of the week. First, it was only 3 cheeses, and second, it was the only one with the accompaniments served atop the cheese. We would have preferred them on the side to allow a more personalized experience.
For my main course, I went with the Oak-grilled Filet of Beef:
Perfect! It was like butter in my mouth, the sauce was rich and flavorful without overpowering the meat, and those potatos were so good! I would have like a few more pepadews, but I certainly didn't need them. I had a glass of red wine with this course, on the receipt it just says "Red Wine 3." I don't know for sure, but it was probably either a pinot noir or a cabernet, as these are my 2 favorite reds.
After much internal debate, Herc decided on the Madeira-braised Short Rib:
He was so glad he chose this dish! Served with trofie pasta, wild mushroom ragout and white truffle creme fraiche, this dish really knocked it out of the park, and Hercules licked that plate clean. He had considered swapping the trofie pasta for the Quattro Formaggi mashed potatoes that came with the beef, but he was glad he kept the dish in its intended form. Anyway, he had the opportunity to taste the potatoes off my plate; he enjoyed them, too, but the trofie pasta with the rick creme fraiche really matched perfectly with the short rib.
Aladdin decided on the Braised Veal Shank (well, to be honest, I told him he was getting the Veal):
This was served with carrot-potato mash, roasted vegetables and toasted citrus gremolata. The veal was succulent and fall-off-the-bone tender, but the overall dish was kind of blah. Compared to the other savory, rich and flavorful dishes on our table, this was just bland, I'm sorry to say. It needed something spicy or salty or tangy to take it to the next level. It wasn't bad, it just didn't stand up to the rest of the meal. Uninspiring. Aladdin didn't complain because he is angel, but I know how he is when he loves a dish, and it was obvious that he didn't love this. You would think that by now we would know that we shouldn't order the "signature" dishes or the hyped-up dishes at the signature restaurants. They have disappointed us so far.
Aladdin also had a glass of wine, I think with his entree, which was a 649 JeanLuc Rhon. He loved it!
Belle has been on a trend toward the vegetarian lately, so it wasn't surprising when she ordered the veggie entree, which was Seared Tofu:
She thoroughly enjoyed this and ate every bite. I tasted it and thought it was excellent, tastier at $28 than the veal at $53. It was served with zucchini and eggplant ratatouie, roasted mushrooms, peas and sundried tomato puree.
There was not a shadow of a doubt as to what I would order for dessert, the Warm Chocolate-Banana Torte:
This tasted as delicious as it was presented! It was rich and sinful and delicious, with just the right balance of chocolate and banana. Aladdin had already listened to me about the entree and he wasn't gonna miss out on a great dessert for himself, so he ordered this too, which was a good choice!
Hercules debated a while on this course, also, and ultimately decided on the Tropical Fruit Creme Brulee:
Now we all love tropical fruit and we all love creme brulee, but together they are just...weird. He didn't hate this dessert but he wasn't crazy about it, either. It was probably his least favorite creme brulee ever. I took a taste, and then another, trying to decide how to appropriately describe it, and all I can say is that I just don't think tropical fruit belongs flavoring creme brulee. We're glad we tried it though, it sounded intriguing. The creme and fruit on top was very good, and we were so full from our incredibly satisfying dinner that a "meh" dessert on the table didn't bother us!
Belle chose the Lemon-scented Cheesecake:
She loved it and licked the plate clean! I tasted it and while I thought it was very good, I was glad I stuck with the torte.
Our overall impression of Citricos:
5/5!
The atmosphere, service and food were all outstanding. We weren't crazy about the veal, but this is more a matter of personal preference in the preparation of the dish. Even though it didn't suit our particular taste, we can't say anything negative about the quality and freshness of the ingredients or the artistic presentation of the dish. It was perfectly described on the menu, there were no surprise inclusions or deletions of ingredients. For another family, this could well be the perfect dish. I would highly recommend a meal at Citricos to anyone and I look forward to our return in the future!
The "total" for this meal came to $372.55 including the tax, tip and 3 glasses of wine. We paid 8 TS credits off our dining plan, and our OOP expense was $94.62, which included the tip of $60 and our bar bill for $34.62 for the 3 glasses of wine and the tax on them. We thought that for the amount and quality of the food we enjoyed, this would have still been a nice value if we had paid OOP for this meal (perpective: we are from NY), and we would happily return to Citricos either on or off the dining plan.
Up next...another day at Epcot!
No pizza I've ever had, even at few 'famous' spots in NYC, was as good as Maruca's!
