citron café

citron cafe accommodated us after our visit to the art fair 2019.

the food: we ordered their buffalo chicken wings, cheesy chicken bbq pizza and the beef a la pobre. both chicken wings and pizza are good, i can rate them 4 stars. the beef a la pobre, however, seemed to be a bit bland. my boyf and i honestly didn’t like it, considering it should taste good for its price.

the ambiance: the fact that it’s a hotel restaurant, expect it to be nice and cozy, w floor-to-ceiling windows and nice, comfortable sofa chairs.

the staff: the staff are nice and accommodating. although you have to call them for water refills. everything else is okay. not a single face frowned during our stay.

we went here because we have complimentary drinks from being a guest of the hotel. i chose cappuccino, my mom and aunt chose iced mocha and my uncle chose orange juice. the orange juice is too sour. maybe because it's fresh. i loved their coffee though! the iced mocha is creamy enough. my cappuccino is kinda strong but no worries, they have sugar (for diabetic and for non-diabetic) and creamer. the staff is just okay. not that friendly but at least they are not rude.

food was acceptable. they assumed my order with a special request of less salt carefully. good spot for family gathering or first date. food and drinks at affordable srp for 5* star class. the serving team is so friendly and kind. i like the room temperature, not too cool and of course not hot. comfy place to dine out. perfect place for wine fans. bread is a complimentary side dish as hotel standard. food portions are too big for one. citron lobby bar provides a fabulous selection of wines, cocktails and mocktails. free high speed internet connection. the restaurant located at level l of holiday inn & suites makati.

everytime we get to try hotel food, i make it a point to really enjoy the food but, at the same time, evaluate if the price is worth it.

citron’s ambiance is quite homey. their space is quite small compared to other hotel lobby cafe, but this is understandable due to the location of the building itself (beside the mall, in a commercial center, and citron shares space with flavors.

what we ordered:

caprese of assorted grilled vegetables - grilled onions, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, crushed tomatoes, pesto sauce and lettuce. this one’s refreshing, far different from the usual salad and dressing. it is plain but highlights each vegetables’ flavor.

cheese sausage wrapped in bacon - simple cheese hotdogs (high quality, mind you. not the soft ones with too much extenders) wrapped in bacon and fried. supposedly served with onion rings, but ours was served with french fries. the fries were coated lightly which gives a light crunch. liked it much!

poulet a l’estragon - whole roasted spring chicken on a bed of pommes paillasson (fried potato pancakes), gravy and asparagus. but ours was served with extea veggies (broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini). it was plain roasted, but tender and juicy. would love to have ketchup with this.

over-all: would love to come back to try other food items.

ordered the el panino salmone and beef kebab. it was refreshing to eat tortilla-wrapped salmon for a change! unique concept. i didn't taste the capers though.

beef kebab (grilled medium rare) was excellent and stood independent of the side sauce. slightly too chewy for our taste but nonetheless enjoyable.

all in all, citron is simple yet fitting for a special evening. thanks to eatigo discount our sampler of a hotel cafe/lounge came at a fair price.

good service which stands out above the rest.. had tried their grilled scampi which is bed in marinara with a side of melted creamy cheese potato.. it was fresh and delicious... and for the other dish was the comfort food...angus beef burger.. huge serving, i must say! the buns was crusted with butter and the texture is very soft.. it was ok but not thrilling... but the french fries is good!! ...and ooohh and we were served with tasty pastry with bits of ham on the house..

food was great but the location was quite chaotic around 1-2 pm since people who were waiting to check in were sitting around the tables while those who wanted to dine lacked seats.

food was, as expected since this is hotel food, quite expensive. a small cup of shrimp bisque was already p300+ around the same price as an order of their club sandwich. i cannot find fault on the taste of their food though since they are all really good. expensive but good. it would have been nicer though if they can have the non-diners stay at the side of the flavors restaurant to wait instead.

update:
we went back for lunch because the hubby loves their club sandwich. fries that comes with the sandwich was really good i must say.

i, on the other hand, got their grilled scampi. it was good but costs p660++ for 4 pieces of not so large shrimps. it was not nicely butterflied making it a bit difficult to detach the meat from the shells.

we had to ask for water numerous times and the people manning the place were not very attentive. shouldn’t they provide water automatically and not let diners almost beg for it. for the price you have to pay to dine here, i was kinda expecting more from the service.

update feb 2020:
service improved significantly when we visited. staff were attentive and not much crowded so seats were available for diners.

a very unpleasant experience due to the supervisor’s way of informing us that we will be charged a corkage fee for the mcdonald’s 1pc chicken meal with rice that our child (who’s a very, very picky eater) was already eating. i asked her if they had fried chicken in the restaurant because when i checked the menu, they did not have any. she said that they can cook up something for our child and that they even have a kids’ menu (which she just got from their other restaurant, not citron’s, mind you). also, how was i to know that they can “customize” a meal for my child? what infuriated me was how insistent the supervisor was about the corkage fee. i understand it’s their hotel’s policy but it was to a point very embarrassing. they could’ve informed us right away seeing that our child had food from mcdonald’s, not while she was consuming it. we lost our appetite and cancelled all our orders and decided to just leave.

when i heard that holiday inn makati would be bringing back their poke bowls this march, i got really excited! my friends spoke highly of these bowls when they got to try it last year, and since i'm such a sucker for sashimi (and poke bowls in general), i made sure not to miss it this time around. we headed over to citron, holiday inn makati's lobby bar where the poke bowls are exclusively available. when we looked through their menu, we found more items we wanted to try, so what did we do? we went ahead and ordered more dishes!

had a decent pesto pasta here in this joint that is tasty even though expected to be pricy. i go here for the ambiance and privacy as an ideal workspace for me as i tend to zone out.

good food.. and great service.. i love the pretzel and angus beef burger. ideal for coffee time and quick dinner. i want to go back and bring more friends.

well this is a lobby bar where i got my first welcome drink after i checked in and was waiting for my friend. the staffs are really co-operating. well not only cooperating they even helped me with my demand of cold drink at the middle of the night. 0.5 star more for that. i used to sit outside the bar most of the time.

a few months ago, we decided to celebrate our team’s success at holiday inn makati, one of the newest additions to the roster of trendy hotels in makati. we booked a function room with buffet dinner via a deal grocer promo. food was great-tasting, flavorful unlike other similar hotel dishes. servings were also big and could absolutely satisfy even huge appetites. it was definitely worth every peso. we particularly enjoyed the roast beef, roast mixed vegetables and lechon kawali. they also served a good selection of fruits and pastries for dessert, as well as unlimited brewed coffee to pair with the sweets.

how do you rate a hotel lobby lounge? it is difficult. i went here with a friend for a night cap. it had the typical food and drinks selection, the drinks were at par and the price points were comparable to other lounges. given these commonality, the only things to assess are interiors and the total experience.

on the interiors, this place rated high given it is relatively new. the design and furnishings followed a modern theme. it is quite spacious with different seating option types that were all comfortable. on the overall experience, the service was commendable. the staffs were warm, gracious and efficient. our drinks were served in no time. we had a good time catching but my friend enjoyed the place much more. a recent recruit to pokemon go, he found a "poke stop" in the lobby and was able to capture scores of these battle creatures. clearly, that made a difference to the night and worth considering in the overall rating.

this is inside holiday inn so the place looks very elegant and classy. the place is very clean and the staffs are very professional and accommodating. i love their juices (complimentary drinks from the hotel) especially their morning after papaya and cucumber flavors. you can have a relaxed moment here while enjoying your soothing drink.