the citizen

i discovered this place by accident and if i was a local it would be a regular place to eat. the decor is airy and fresh and the staff are friendly and extremely helpful. the menu is not huge but there is an interesting range of breakfast andlunchoptions with food allergies and vegetarians catered for well. i ate the puposas (black beans and cheese in a flat bread) coupled with lemony white beans and sensational lightly pickled vegetables. if you are in the richmond area do yourself a favour and eat here!

this place is absolutely wonderful for what it is and wants to be, perfect execution. counter ordering breakfast and lunch, with classic and new breakfast,lunchoption, open kitchen, very fast service, they make traditional things taste a lot better than you would expect.  great prices, and very friendly staff, if downtown for breakfast, this is the place to go.

not a healthylunchlike i was expecting but it is very tasty.

this ain't no subway...... yes, the citizen isn't easy to find. and, yes, it's worth it. the entrance is on ninth street. there are so many restaurants/pubs/diners that have different versions of the samelunchmenu. this is not that kind of place. unique ingredients i had the butternut squash, curried cashew butter and celery root slaw. i'm familiar with the ingredients as they stand alone. i didn't know how this combination would taste. and then- the taste is something new and pleasing and there is that contentment in finding the culinary unique.lunchwith drink is about 10 dollars. i'll be back.

a tasty (and healthy)lunchalternative. having just moved to richmond, this was one of the first places i discovered for lunch. it was a bit of a trick to find but well worth the effort. the food has a bit of a south american flair, with interesting pickled vegetables and amazing grilled sandwiches. it seems that richmond agrees too, because it's getting to the point where you have to time yourlunchexcursion to avoid the rush. every time i go there it seems the menu has been updated. their combinations are very inventive and (again) their ingredients are locally sourced. i am all for supporting places like this, where they provide a great alternative to the run-of-the-mill burgers and fries.

better with each visit. expectations are low for thelunchcrowd downtown. that's why a place like citizen, with it's idiosyncratic menu of "tortas" and low-country sides (like gumbo & grits) gets the foodies & vegetarians excited. with names like "cumin potatoes" and "jerk collards" this menu has it's own interesting take on pan-american cuisine. the sandwiches include a muffeletta-like salami & tapenade, pulled pork, and pimento cheese. the sloppy jose needs to deliver a little more of the cilantro and sour cream flavor that the menu promises and the cumin potatoes could actually use more seasoning. but the salvadoran papusas are hot off the grill and delicious and the chili has a wonderful smokey flavor from beef smoked in-house. the breakfast menu looks good, and you can't beat the prices - i just hope they continue to evolve.

awesome. also tried the salami, ham, mortadella, provolone and creole tapenade... well worth it. will add to list of regularlunchvenues.