July 2007 - Citricos/Grand Floridian Cafe

[Guest]

Citricos / Grand Floridian Café

I’ve combined the title of this report, as although the location of the meal was at Citricos, the servers, menu and chefs were all actually from the Grand Floridian Café.
Due to the temporary closure of 1900 Park Fare, the character meal has moved over to the Grand Floridian Cafe.
Citricos is usually only open for dinner, but at present the Grand Floridian Cafe has taken over the space at Citricos and they are serving breakfast and lunch till the refurb is complete…… and then it’s all back to normal on Oct 1 2007. Got it?


Anyway we love going to Citricos for dinner and we thought it’d be nice to try it for lunch whilst we had this rare opportunity.
It didn’t have quite the elegant and romantic ambience that it has in the evening, but is still a very pretty restaurant.




We’d spent the morning at a very humid MK and were more than ready for lunch and a chilled glass of wine.
We both had a glass of Silverado Chardonnay which was rich and buttery. Our server (who was absent much of the time) was a bit mean with the pours though, especially at $11.00 a glass.
We’d only had a sip or two before I took the pic – honest!



Onto the food – we shared a lovely little appetiser described on the menu as a Mediterranean Sampler.
It was very nicely presented and consisted of fresh, minty Tabbouleh, Roasted Vegetable Terrine and some Frisee salad with salted Capers.
It was a bit awkward to share, but each of them tasted light and refreshing with lots of flavour.









Paul had the Pasta of the Day which was Orecchietti served with a mix of peppers, zuccinni and red onion in a creamy tomato sauce.
He liked it, but said found it became over rich and sickly after a while. He managed to eat it all though I noticed.



I had Tuscan Grilled Pork Loin which came with a salad of Arugula and Frisee leaves, Kalamata olives, baby tomatoes and Cannellini beans.
I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for the beans, but they were nicely coated in the light balsamic dressing and I actually thought they were the best part of the salad.
I’d imagined that the pork was going to be served hot, but it was barely lukewarm and it could have done with a bit more flavour to be honest.



For dessert we had Key Lime Pie. It had a lovely silky texture and I liked the chocolate base.



Here are the other desserts on offer. They looked very tempting and I wish we’d tried them all now!




Having had so many outstanding meals at Citricos, I think in hindsight our expectations for lunch may have been a bit too high.
The appetiser was very good as was the dessert but our very average entrees and the slow and spotty service left us feeling bit under whelmed.
I’m still pleased we gave it a try; it was all okay, but nothing special you know – just quite nice. Certainly nothing like the impressive food and service we’ve enjoyed at Citricos in the evenings.

I will add that in all fairness the GFC staff had only been relocated a few days earlier. It’s not easy to move out of your own work space and I think they were lacking a bit in confidence.
They may well have found their feet and settled in a bit more by now.

[Sue]

Originally Posted by mcsue

We both had a glass of Silverado Chardonnay which was rich and buttery. Our server (who was absent much of the time) was a bit mean with the pours though, especially at $11.00 a glass.
We’d only had a sip or two before I took the pic – honest!

See more...

Hm if you say so young lady
I'm watching this alcohol fest interspersed with the occasional snack with interest you know

The appetisers and desserts do look fab - not sure about your pork though

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Sue

Hm if you say so young lady
I'm watching this alcohol fest interspersed with the occasional snack with interest you know

The appetisers and desserts do look fab - not sure about your pork though

See more...

The pork was rather bland Sue.

[Guest]

The appetisers look lovely Su.

I'm not sure I would like to visit Citricos for lunch. I love the elegant, romantic restaurant and think it would lose something during th day.

It must have been nice though to try it for lunch instead of dinner.

[Leanne1977]

Hmm, i don't think i particularly like the look of the food to be honest. The desserts look nice but i don't think i would enjoy the veggie option.

I would like to try Citricos for dinner though, maybe next year.

Thanks for the review Sue, looking forward to more.

[Guest]

You can always rely on Key Lime Pie - yum!

[Michelle]

Shame your entree's were not what you expected Su.

[Guest]

I'm glad we tried it but something was very lacking.

Still looking on the bright side, it's another excuse to return to the real Citricos in the evening next time.

I think you'd love it there in the evening Leanne. I really must at least dig out the pics from our Jan trip. It was so good we went there twice.

[Leanne1977]

Originally Posted by mcsue

I'm glad we tried it but something was very lacking.

Still looking on the bright side, it's another excuse to return to the real Citricos in the evening next time.

I think you'd love it there in the evening Leanne. I really must at least dig out the pics from our Jan trip. It was so good we went there twice.

See more...

Would love to see the pics Sue. I think i might put it on my list for next year for our romantic meal while the kids are at the club. Thats if they enjoy it this year.

[Guest]

Hi Leanne

This is the veggie meal Paul had when we went to Citricos in January



When we went back a week later Chef Eddie cooked up something 'off menu' for him