CitronelleSyracuse

Service and ambiance were excellent. We ate on the late side on a Friday night and most tables empty and therefore quiet. The waitress was very personable. The kitchen seemed very slow. We waited a long time for anything from the kitchen. Citronelle-Syracuse claims an Asian fusion theme, but it was pretty subtle on the menu and I didn’t happen to choose any of those dishes, except the crispy skinned chicken entree had a pleasant five spice flavored sauce. We wound up sharing oysters and salad to start, then chicken and salmon for large plate entrees and coffee, creme brûlée and a selection of pumpkin ice cream and three sorbets for dessert, an unexpected gesture from the kitchen in response to me saying , “you decide.” The best things were the ginger pear sorbet and the oysters. The oysters were perfectly shucked, wonderfully cold, and served with a bracing mignonette. I wonder what would have happened to my salmon if I hadn’t ordered it “medium.” I think it may have inspired the chef to overcook it. I am not a fan of the current trend in my area (greater NYC) of having salmon with a cold center like a rare steak, so maybe I caused the over correction. It was pretty uninteresting even apart from being somewhat overcooked. It was supposed to come with beet orzo, which I had hoped was beets in the shape of orzo, like cauliflower rice, but it was simply a beet flavored orzo, which was fine. The crispy skin chicken had the potential to be a stunner. Corrections needed are to serve the chicken on top of the sticky Asian flavored sauce not underneath it and to back off the sweetness in the sauce a bit for my taste. The sauce of course completely undid the excellent crispy skin. Desserts very nice, but coffee cool. Wine list fine and cocktails well made. I will be back when in the area.

The service was very good. The food was ordinary and certainly not worth the price. No spices or drizzles of something different. Just plain. I can do that at home. Not what what we were expecting. Atmosphere was nice.

We chose Citronelle for its ambiance—a bit of quiet in a hectic holiday season. The food is quite good. We particularly enjoyed the mussels and hot bread. A few more vegetarian options would be great, but we usually manage to find something tasty.

Much better food than last visit! Lovely service. Great-looking space that is rather noisy, though. Still a nice option in Syracuse.

An enjoyable evening. Staff was very helpful in answering questions. service was prompt and not rushed and food was well presented and good. Drinks a bit high, however that was our choice.