cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
This is a review from when I ate at Citricos with my grandmother in early April. Sorry, didn't get many photos, but I'm going back in Decemeber, so I'll be reviewing Citricos again - and I promise more photos next time!
I have been a California Grill devotee for a long time, but I think Citricos may have eclipsed it now!
I went here with my grandmother on our last night at Disney on 4/2/09. We were both extremely impressed with everything.
We had ADR for 5:30 and we arrived a few minutes before and they seated us in about 30 seconds. The hostess was attentive and greeted us promptly.
We had an absolutely lovely waitress named Keira and another waiter, Jose, also helped serve us. Jose liked to tease Keira and give her a hard time, so the repartee between the two of them certainly added positively to our meal.
One of the first things Keira asked us when we sat down was if anyone had any special dietary needs. Well my grandmother is somewhat lactose intolerant, which can be difficult to explain. She can eat butter and most cheeses, just not milk or cream. Well not a problem, according to Keira. She said just a moment and came back with the sous chef, Edward. He told my grandma what she could eat, and what he could modify for her to eat.
We didn't know about how you can call ahead with dietary restrictions on this trip, but we will definitely be taking advantage of that for our upcoming October vacation.
I ordered the Romaine Salad to start with, and it was delicious. Crispy, fresh hearts of romaine, hearts of palm, and blue cheese crumbles with a Riesling vinaigrette. The salad had just enough dressing, it wasn't too much or too little.
A few minutes after I finished my salad (and not while I was still working on it!) our entrees arrived. They graciously let my grandmother order off the kids menu. She had the beef tenderloin which came with broccolini and mashed potatoes, but they made her some wonderful little roasted potatoes instead. It was probably a 4oz cut of tenderloin, and my grandma and I both thought it was the best steak we've ever eaten! And for $14 bucks! It was perfect for her because she eats like a bird, so even though she loves a good steak, she won't usually order them at Disney because they are $40 and up.
I had the Seared Halibut with Butternut Squash Risotto and a Red Wine Sauce. It was perfect! The fish was crispy on the outside, and perfectly moist, flaky, and tender on the inside. It was sparingly seasoned, as it should be, because the sauce was very flavorful. The risotto was amazing. My grandmother wanted to taste it so we asked Keira if it had any milk or cream. She quickly found out that it did not. So my grandmother tasted it, and loved it of course. I suppose Keira was watching because a few minutes later, Edward, the sous chef, came out with a little dish of the Risotto for my grandmother!
All of this time, our water and club sodas with lime, no ice, were always filled and we were being entertained by Jose poking fun at Keira.
After we finished our entrees, Keira offered us dessert, and we said we'd like to wait a bit before ordering. No problem....she never made us feel pressured to order and leave. At one point I noticed the awesome Mickey straws the little kids got with their drinks. Well call me silly, but I asked Keira if I could have one to take home. She then brought me out four, one in each color they had!
We had a table across from the dessert station, so it was fun watching the pastry chef prepare the desserts, and a great way for us to choose what we wanted! My grandmother settled on the Berry Gratin with a Champagne-Grand Mariner Sabayon - the only dessert she was able to eat on the entire trip due to her dietary restrictions. I tasted it, and it was amazing. The berries were so good....I don't where they got such amazing berries that early in the season!
I had the Chocolate Banana Torte with Vanilla Ice Cream. I admit, I totally picked out this dessert because I loved the presentation. The warm little torte was topped with 3 caramelized banana slices and a purple candy Mickey Head. Next to the torte was a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. The plate was decorated with chocolate sauce and various fruit sauce drizzles. Behind the torte and ice cream was a chocolate cage-like piece with a little white medallion with the Cinderella castle that said "Celebrate Today!". Everything was edible. It was so pretty. And the torte was delicious! Warm, moist, dense cake like chocolate around a creamy banana filling. The ice cream had vanilla bean specks in it. It was too good for words.
I finished the meal off with a giant cappuccino. They sprinkled it with some cinnamon. Not too scalding to drink, but hot and delicious.
The chef came back to our table to schmooze and we about got down our knees to thank him for such a wonderful meal. He gave us both big hugs, his card, and told us to make to come back and see him!
Our meal was about $86 total, the same I paid for a lackluster meal at Les Chefs de France.....but for the quality of the food, and the wonderful service, I thought that was a bargain. I tipped 35%.
I have been a California Grill devotee for a long time, but I think Citricos may have eclipsed it now!
I went here with my grandmother on our last night at Disney on 4/2/09. We were both extremely impressed with everything.
We had ADR for 5:30 and we arrived a few minutes before and they seated us in about 30 seconds. The hostess was attentive and greeted us promptly.
We had an absolutely lovely waitress named Keira and another waiter, Jose, also helped serve us. Jose liked to tease Keira and give her a hard time, so the repartee between the two of them certainly added positively to our meal.
One of the first things Keira asked us when we sat down was if anyone had any special dietary needs. Well my grandmother is somewhat lactose intolerant, which can be difficult to explain. She can eat butter and most cheeses, just not milk or cream. Well not a problem, according to Keira. She said just a moment and came back with the sous chef, Edward. He told my grandma what she could eat, and what he could modify for her to eat.
We didn't know about how you can call ahead with dietary restrictions on this trip, but we will definitely be taking advantage of that for our upcoming October vacation.
I ordered the Romaine Salad to start with, and it was delicious. Crispy, fresh hearts of romaine, hearts of palm, and blue cheese crumbles with a Riesling vinaigrette. The salad had just enough dressing, it wasn't too much or too little.
A few minutes after I finished my salad (and not while I was still working on it!) our entrees arrived. They graciously let my grandmother order off the kids menu. She had the beef tenderloin which came with broccolini and mashed potatoes, but they made her some wonderful little roasted potatoes instead. It was probably a 4oz cut of tenderloin, and my grandma and I both thought it was the best steak we've ever eaten! And for $14 bucks! It was perfect for her because she eats like a bird, so even though she loves a good steak, she won't usually order them at Disney because they are $40 and up.
I had the Seared Halibut with Butternut Squash Risotto and a Red Wine Sauce. It was perfect! The fish was crispy on the outside, and perfectly moist, flaky, and tender on the inside. It was sparingly seasoned, as it should be, because the sauce was very flavorful. The risotto was amazing. My grandmother wanted to taste it so we asked Keira if it had any milk or cream. She quickly found out that it did not. So my grandmother tasted it, and loved it of course. I suppose Keira was watching because a few minutes later, Edward, the sous chef, came out with a little dish of the Risotto for my grandmother!
All of this time, our water and club sodas with lime, no ice, were always filled and we were being entertained by Jose poking fun at Keira.
After we finished our entrees, Keira offered us dessert, and we said we'd like to wait a bit before ordering. No problem....she never made us feel pressured to order and leave. At one point I noticed the awesome Mickey straws the little kids got with their drinks. Well call me silly, but I asked Keira if I could have one to take home. She then brought me out four, one in each color they had!
We had a table across from the dessert station, so it was fun watching the pastry chef prepare the desserts, and a great way for us to choose what we wanted! My grandmother settled on the Berry Gratin with a Champagne-Grand Mariner Sabayon - the only dessert she was able to eat on the entire trip due to her dietary restrictions. I tasted it, and it was amazing. The berries were so good....I don't where they got such amazing berries that early in the season!
I had the Chocolate Banana Torte with Vanilla Ice Cream. I admit, I totally picked out this dessert because I loved the presentation. The warm little torte was topped with 3 caramelized banana slices and a purple candy Mickey Head. Next to the torte was a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. The plate was decorated with chocolate sauce and various fruit sauce drizzles. Behind the torte and ice cream was a chocolate cage-like piece with a little white medallion with the Cinderella castle that said "Celebrate Today!". Everything was edible. It was so pretty. And the torte was delicious! Warm, moist, dense cake like chocolate around a creamy banana filling. The ice cream had vanilla bean specks in it. It was too good for words.
I finished the meal off with a giant cappuccino. They sprinkled it with some cinnamon. Not too scalding to drink, but hot and delicious.
The chef came back to our table to schmooze and we about got down our knees to thank him for such a wonderful meal. He gave us both big hugs, his card, and told us to make to come back and see him!
Our meal was about $86 total, the same I paid for a lackluster meal at Les Chefs de France.....but for the quality of the food, and the wonderful service, I thought that was a bargain. I tipped 35%.
