Citrin Restaurant

Underwhelming and overpriced are the best words to describe. We are in Santa Monica for our honeymoon and after finding Citrin on Google and reading reviews about the chef, we thought Citrin would be a great option for a lovely dinner. I do have to say that we have eaten at a number of 1,2 and 3 Michelin star restaurants over the years including le Bernadin and Gabriel Kreuther in NYC and are happy to pay for amazing food when it’s worth it, but this is far from being star worthy and worth the $584 dollars we paid for 2 people. I have to say that the staff were trying hard however there were a number of factors that really let this place down: - drinks : we ordered a half bottle of champagne to have with our starter and 2nd course however were left with empty glasses and the bottle of red wine we ordered for our mains/meat courses was then poured, leaving champagne in the bottle to be drank - speed of service : courses were brought out super fast! We’d had 3 courses (plus an extra oyst

I so, so wanted to love this meal. The wine pairing was lovely and the Lobster Bolognese was delicious. My wagyu wasn’t cooked all that great. The team offered to replace it but by that point I had tried cutting thru half of the small portion of meat and didn’t want them to waste another piece. Ultimately what I found surprising was asking for 4% service fee to help pay for health care. I’m all about health care (I’m Canadian) but gosh, shouldn’t that be the owner that appreciates their staff enough to provide it instead of asking the guest to, on top of gratuity on what is, admittedly, a quite expensive meal for what you receive.

I’ve dined at Michelin one and two star restaurants in multiple cities in multiple countries. Citrin charges Michelin level prices but fails to deliver. $390 tasting menu for two. With two drinks each, plus tip, the total came out to $700 for two. Unremarkable service. Unremarkable food. But dessert was delicious. I would say it’s not worth the money spent. Not even at half the cost. The couple next to us who brought their crying new born baby and watching the husband watch TV on his phone didn’t help.