Citron, The Fitzwilliam Hotel, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2

Citron – Far Finer Casual Dining

Last week Patrick and I were invited to Citron at The Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin to try their new Multi-Generational Menu. We had dined there not so long ago and thoroughly enjoyed our experience which you can read about here but with the introduction of Head Chef Philip Mahon’s Multi-Generational Menu we were excited to return.

While the fashion in the 70’s might be a little suspect, the music was good and the food was great. Bring your kids, parents, friends, siblings, everyone to Citron and step back in time to dinner in 1979. We’ll serve up prawn cocktails and fish fingers in a meal that’s as good now as it was then. And just as much fun.

Oscar Wilde said that ‘One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything’ … well Mr. Wilde I’m about to defy your words because although I will now admit tell you that I was born in 1979, I’m not about to tell you any ol’ thing .., it’s not my style.

What I will tell you though is that being born in 1979, has meant to me a love and interest in most things 1970’s. I love the fashion and the music. When it comes to the food of those bygone days, I can only step back in time to what my mother cooked and prepared in the 1980’s … and as a kid, prawn cocktails, vol-au-vents and fish fingers (on a Friday) were high on that nostalgia driven list and high on Chef Mahon’s Menu.

With starters that range from Crispy Pancakes to the aforementioned Prawn Cocktail, Head Chef Philip Mahon has created a menu that does what he set out to do, and that is to bring back memories.

Thankfully though, although based on foods from the 70’s, Chef Mahon has put his expertise, experience and creative flair into action and the dishes we had the pleasure of dining on have now made their own memories.

For the full menu visit this page.

We were treated to an Amuse Bouche of cheese profiteroles and little pots with apple jelly, foie gras mouse and apple. A very welcoming start … the cheese profiteroles were to die for.

For drinks I enjoyed a glass of the house red ‘Jondor Merlot‘ and Patrick enjoyed a glass of the house white ‘Jondor Sauvignon Blanc‘.

Starters

Patrick and I chose to share our starters of Crispy Pancake: Braised Beef, Pancake, almond Mayo, Cress and ‘Spam’: Pressed Ham, Egg Mayo, Pickles & Toast.

We both agreed that the braised beef was melt in the mouth deliciousness and couldn’t get over the similarity the pancake was to our memory of a ‘crispy pancake’ but obviously far better. The accompanying almond mayo and cress topped it off.

Both of us were excited to see what the ‘Spam’ offering would be as neither of us have tasted it. As we dined on Chef Mahon’s creative version of ‘Spam’, we knew that we would have to wait another day to try real spam because this dish definitely didn’t come from the bottom shelf. The pressed ham was almost like a terrine but made from tasty fresh ham that went perfectly with the egg mayo, baby pickles and crunchy toast.

Main Courses

For the main course Patrick chose the Chicken Vol-au-Vent: chicken breast, pastry, seasonal vegetables, truffle jus.

The spin on this dish is that the chicken and the pastry were served on one plate as separate entities but which, when combined together created the Vol-au-Vent surprise. His chicken was tender and he noted the crust on the breast was delicious.

I chose the Duck a L’orange: carrot, orange, chicory. This dish was so hearty and really tasty. I am sometimes wary of ordering duck because it can be very small and fatty but these duck breasts were fine sizes and had the minimum amount of fat, but enough to give them flavour.

Although I’m a fan of ordering my steak rare and although they say that duck should be served pink, just like meat, the duck I was served was cooked just the way I like it which is crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside.

Dessert

For dessert Patrick chose the Jelly and Ice-cream: Mango Jelly, Passion Fruit Salsa, Coconut Ice-cream. We loved that this dish was served in a bowl, just as you would at home as a kid (or now as a big kid) especially on a Sunday after a roast dinner. The combinations of the mango, passion fruit and coconut all went down a treat.

I chose the Profiteroles: Choux, Salted Caramel, Peanut and could not be happier with my choice. The only way I’d like to describe this dish is: sexy … deliciously sexy. With a double shot espresso my ‘gastronomic time warp’ was made.

Our sincerest thanks to Andrea for organising our dinner, to Jacek who welcomed us to the restaurant, to Lucy who looked after us throughout our meal and of course to Head Chef Philip Mahon who created a relishing retro dining experience.

Patrick and I chose the full menu (four course option) which is available for the month of February 2016 for €60 for two people including parking … a complete steal! in my opinion. Our original plan was to bring our baby son Smith with us but our plans changed, however it was really lovely to see a family with baby in tow dining at the restaurant when we were there early evening because it highlighted that the restaurant will be a ‘family friendly’ destination when we choose to dine out as family again.

Just to note that Citron partners with local suppliers for the freshest ingredients: fresh fruit and vegetables from Tallon’s of Glasnevin, fresh fish and seafood from HF Foods in Rathfarnham, game and speciality meats come from Redmond Fine Foods in Naas and their beef, poultry, pork, bacon and lamb comes from Keeling’s of Ashbourne.

For more information and to book, visit the Citron Website.

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