Citizen

This place been on my list for awhile so I was really glad to finally try them the last time I was in the area! I’ve been to their sister restaurant Town prior to the pandemic and loved their menu so I was super excited to try this place! I love their menu - they change from time to time and it’s always refreshing to see new dishes to try 😋 I loved the meatball dish when I dined at Town prior to the pandemic so I was so glad to that they kept that on their menu at Citizen! Featuring: - Quebec pork country pâté - smooth and delicious, the condiments/sides adds depth and complexity to the dish - Burrata and Peperonata - cheese was super fresh and that pepeonata - I don’t like olives normally but Loved it on this! - Humboldt squid calamari - amazing squid - lightly battered and the cucumber salad underneath adds a refreshing tone - town meatballs - just as good as I remembered it the first time, swipe to see how large that meatball is 😍 My server also recommend one of the best raspberry beers I’ve ever had. Every single dish was excecuted to perfection and the flavours are complexed yet balanced, and presentation was impressive. If you’re ever in ottawa, def check them out! They also have an online shop in their Town location for pantry items as well as beer, ciders and wine!

A slam dunk in so many ways. A definite place to try in the Ottawa area. I visited with a few friends and tried multiple items, including their roasted sweet potato hummus, town meatballs, Humboldt squid calamari, and sweet corn creme brulee. You can either share or every person can get their own meal, but we decided to order a few things to share. Suffice it to say that they were all absolutely incredible, and each dish coming out of the kitchen left us eager to try the next one. Everything was flavourful, well-seasoned, and cooked to perfection. My personal favourite was the roasted sweet potato hummus, but if you find something on the menu that sounds good to you, chances are that you'll love it. Check out @foodpharaoh on Instagram for more food!

The portions are seriously inadequate. I am not unfamiliar with small, well executed plates, but $26 at citizen will buy you a single piece of ravioli on a plate, and this is no large piece of ravioli. The prices should also bring better service. The hosts are nice, but the table service was super informal and frenetic. I found the glassware was cheap too for such a high price point. This place would be good if the portions were 3x the size or if the prices were halved.