Summer Fun at Newly Opened Citronelle
We visited Citronelle on their opening night. Chris and I usually wait and give restaurants a little time to settle before we visit, but the anticipation was too much for us and we had to check it out. We followed the progress of the new space on Instagram, and the pictures do not do it justice! We spent a good portion of our time looking up and admiring the glass ceiling and the beauty of the space in general.
One of the best parts of our visit was seeing so many familiar faces. It's always sad when a restaurant closes or your favorite staff members leave and you are left wondering what happened to them. We were delighted to see many of our favorites behind the bar, as they greeted us as we walked in the door. While the attention to detail in the physical space and ambience were already a hit with us, seeing that the same attention was given to the staff was even more impressive.
The craft cocktail menu offers a variety of creative drinks and I struggled to choose mine. A quick conversation with Matt behind the bar (Matt has made me many exceptional cocktails and sometimes even knows what I will like before I do) and I had my own custom drink in front of me that was the perfect start to our date night. Chris chose the Smoking Rose and the crafting of the cocktail was almost as pleasurable as the drink itself.
Our original plan was to stop in for a cocktail, but one look at the menu and we knew we had to order a few treats. We enjoyed the Cold Smoked Shrimp off the Raw and Chilled Seafood section of the menu and the Broccoli Rabe from the Small Plates. Both dishes were beautifully executed and presented.
We look forward to many more date nights with our friends at Citronelle!
