Citrine Café — Restaurant in Oak Park

The experience at Citrine tonight was so amazing I had to rush home and write a review. I'll start by saying it was worth the trek from the west burbs. From the service to the atmosphere to the food everything was superb.

The owner clearly takes pride in his business. I love that it's family owned and run. His daughter seated us. He made the rounds repeatedly this evening to check on customers, engage them in conversation and make sure they were taken care. It wasn't overwhelming because he was so genuine. The team of servers that included his son were also fabulous. Every single one!

Now, let's talk food. Wowzers, where to begin. We started with the cauliflower which was ridiculously tasty. We don't consume alcohol so he was kind enough to ensure that dishes made with it were not. Now, back to the flavor, yum! I could have just had cauliflower as a meal it was that good. Heck, next time I just might. But then, I wouldn't get to try one of the other tasty selections.

Tonight I had the white fish which was prepared perfectly and sat atop mushrooms, cous cous and wilted chard. The flavors danced in my mouth and were a delight the whole way down. My dinner companion trusted my recommendation to order the risotto and he was glad he did. Perfectly cooked with tender shortrib, juicy mushrooms and fresh peas. When I tell you he cleaned the plate, trust me.

The meal was capped off with coffee and the cheesecake for dessert. Topped with what I believe was a blueberry compote and lemon curd, it was just the right amount of decadence.

I am so looking forward to returning to Citrine for another great meal soon. Oh, and the outdoor seating is fantastic. As someone who despises the heat we were lucky to get a perfect evening to sit outside.

Whether you're celebrating something or just want a memorable meal/experience...

Updating my review: We had a group of six for dinner last night, and it was a struggle. I will say that three of our group asked about vegan options, and Citrine really had a hard time recommending dishes or options for them. I would not recommend this place for vegan diners. That's not exactly a criticism, but it's just not what they do well. One of the requests was that the dish be prepared with minimal oil; what we got was floating in oil. Like that. I think the staff could have been better prepared for that request, and more helpful.

Beyond that, though, the service was disappointing. Drink service was spotty. Throughout the meal we were kept waiting for long periods. The food itself took longer than any reasonable time to arrive (on a not too busy night). Even after we were finished and wanted to get the check, it took long minutes to get anyone's attention.

There is still a lot to like at Citrine, but I hope they can tighten up the service, which has never been a strong suit.

My original comments from a year ago: The food is better than you might expect. It falls into that modern American mode. We had wild boar pappardelle and braised pork shank with polenta and spinach, if that helps you. Both were outstanding.

On the plus side: the owner is very engaging and accommodating. We were brought two little nips of complementary port with our dessert, for example.

On the down side: service was a little erratic on the VERY busy night we went. Our cocktails were forgotten by our server and we had to nudge her on that. By the time they came, we'd finished an appetizer and our entrees arrived moments later.

Overall, one the better options in the Oak Park, Forest Park, Berwyn...

One name, Ricky! My husband and I visited Citrine Cafe to get some small bites and libations and decided to sit at the bar. Here we met Ricky who was manning the bar. He's a fantastic mixologist and has great energy. We wanted to eat light, and ordered starters like the beet salad, risotto with scallop, shrimp and grits, and the octopus. The portion sizes for each were good and everything was tasty. We ended with the pecan bread pudding and a port wine that Ricky recommended, which was fabulous. This was our second time visiting Citrine, and definitely a different, more engaging dining experience sitting at the bar. My only suggestion would be to add a few more vegetarian options to the menu, and mix up/add to the cocktail list. We were last here in late spring/early summer and the drink list looked very similar to then. I asked Ricky if he could make something with mezcal, which was one alcohol I didn't see and love. The two drinks he made for me were so refreshing. Overall a great experience, and we were glad we decided to...