Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Boston

Outstanding service and food! My wife surprised me this last weekend for my 30th birthday at Citizen Public house with 30 of our friends and a pig roast. The space was amazing and the tables we had set up for us allowed for us to bounce around and talk to everyone. When everyone was up from the table it was a little tight for the servers running food to other tables and I felt we were a bit in the way, but all employees were polite and didn't seem to mind squeezing by us.

We started with some awesome cocktails (had a twist on a Moscow mule, forget the name but so awesome) as we arrived and then were each served a small selection of raw bar specialties, one of each, oyster, fresh cocktail shrimp, and a little neck, all locally sourced. After our raw bar appetizer the Chef and our waitress Jess brought out the whole roasted pig on a platter for everyone to see. The chef explained where the pig was sourced from (and even his name, Eddy) and how he was prepared. After everyone was able to see the pig and take some pictures they took him back into the kitchen and prepared him family style on platters. I can't even explain how amazing the pig was...but I will try. I had never had a pig that was slow roasted like this before (always wanted to but never got the chance until Saturday) and the skin was unreal, crisped to perfection, seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices. The pork and herb stuffing that Eddy was filled with was incredibly flavorful and complimented the delicious fattiness of the pork perfectly. The pig was accompanied by three seasonal sides, all equally delicious (I was partial to the twice baked sweet potatoes.

I can not say it enough that the service throughout the night was outstanding. Jess was our main go to for all drinks and any other requests throughout the night and she never missed a drink or special request from our large group. Tommy(the owner), whom I met briefly, was very nice and was happy to hear we had a great time. My wife said that each time she spoke with Tommy leading up to the event he was responsive to all her questions and was accommodating to all of her requests.

I would highly recommend Citizen Public House and can't wait to...

Came in to check out their extensive whiskey collection. Ordered a Japanese flight for about $34 and $16 for their New England fish chowder. Loved the charred fish in the soup. Both delicious and overpriced, but everything seems to be these days. Great whiskey menu explaining the basics for beginners.

Bar was probably a third full (15ish patrons) with 2 bartenders. Jay I think his name was, provided minimal service but it wasn't until towards the end I was a tad vexed. I clearly had finished my food and flight and was planning on ordering another drink and dessert. I sat down with empty glasses for at least 25 minutes without being checked on or even looked at. However this bartender was able to chat with his friends at the end of the bar, serve shots to his other buddies, refill the girls' water right next to me and check his phone 4 times. I should not have had to ask him for my check by speaking loudly to get his attention. Like c'mon. It's 11 pm on a Wednesday night. Also, for boasting a huge whiskey selection, I would think their bartenders would be a little more enthusiastic explaining the menu or giving recommendations. The other bartender didn't seem too attentive either. Normally my experience is that bartenders work as a team. Case in point, I went to Lansdowne after with a packed full bar and both bartenders checked on me.

Still would recommend going here for the food and if you're an avid whiskey drinker. Hope you will get better bar service than I did. Maybe the bartenders had an off night. Actually, I hope you just get served by other staff that are attentive, knowledgeable...

One of Boston's "Best Whiskey Bars" was a complete disappointment. On a recent Saturday night my boyfriend and I went to the Citizen Public House hoping to enjoy some interesting interesting whiskies. After spending 45 fruitless minutes sitting at the bar we left without having sampled even one whisky. To kick things off, our first selections from their whisky menu were a Craigellachie 23 and an Aultmore 18, but after several failed attempts by the bartender to find these whiskies, we were informed that they did not have either of them. Also, there was some confusion about the pricing of the Craigellachie 23 because the exact same pour was listed in two different places on their whisky menu as $38 and as $92, to which the bartender said, "Huh." The bartender then admitted that there were 90 or so whiskies on their menu that they didn't have "because of COVID." We then tried to order two different whiskeys. After another 15 minutes of searching, the bartender said that he was still looking for the key to the cabinet where that particular whisky was stored. We waited...waited...and the bartender came back with a different whiskey than we had asked for, and no key to the cabinet to be found. How can one of Boston's Best Whiskey Bars have such a hard time actually finding and accessing their whiskeys? The bartender was nice enough, but we had enough and left. The water was...