Citrus Diner — Restaurant in Westmont

Normally, I love this little place. The portion sizes fill my healthy appetite and there are enough items on the menu to suit many tastes.

Today was a disappointing visit. We were seated in less than 10 minutes, which was fine. They got us water right away and our waitress stopped to greet us and said she would return to get our drink order.

Then the waiting began. It took at least five minutes before we saw the waitress again. When she returned, she took the drink order, and returned quickly with the drinks and took our food order. After much waiting and seeing other people with their food that were seated after us, the waitress stopped by and said she would check with the chef. After more waiting, the waitress stopped by again and asked if she could get us fruit, a muffin or OJ, which we accepted the fruit and muffin.

Finally, the waitress returned with our food. There were a few issues with the food. The first was that I ordered my eggs prepared differently (over easy) than what I received (scrambled). Second, the breakfast potatoes, while cooked fully, had no color. They must steam or boil the potatoes before pan frying. I prefer at least a golden brown to a little crisp. But I was hungry and tired of waiting, so I opted to eat it. Finally, my wife found a bit of egg shell in her food. Suddenly, she was done eating. It's tough to keep eating after chewing on a shell.

A bit later, the waitress returned with the check, or should I say a check, just not ours.

The waitress apologized profusely and discounted our drinks. I think the delays stressed her out. She was sweet and tried so hard. If not for her, I would have dropped my...

This was the first time I have been to Citrus. It was recommended by a friend and I was told it would be a good place to meet some friends that I haven't seen for a while. The food was good and prices were reasonable however I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome shortly after I arrived. We requested a table for 8 adults and 3 children and were seated quickly as we arrived early. When we requested three highchairs however the man seating us rolled his eyes. We were only offered a single refill on coffee and then given a single check. We were never asked if we wanted to split the checks and when we asked if it was possible to split the check we were made to sound that it was our fault for not specifying how to split the check. Plates were cleared while we were still sitting and take home boxes were brought to the table before we were done eating. The wait staff kept coming over and looking at us making me uncomfortable but never offering additional coffee or water. After being at the restaurant for a little over an hour we were told to leave because they had people waiting. While I understand they want to get people in and out there was nothing about the service that was acceptable and I have never been kicked out of a restaurant before. It is my opinion that when you have a customer that arrives before a rush they shouldn't be kicked out to make room for others that arrive at a later time. Needless to say I have no plan of returning as there are plenty of other breakfast options...

I met up with a couple friends for brunch here a few Sunday mornings ago around noon. It was, of course, quite busy - not packed, as such, but certainly busy. (As one would expect on a Sunday around noon.) I gave the hostess my name, saying it would be a party of three; she wrote it down and said only that it would be a 10-15 minute wait. (That "only" becomes important later.)

So I sat and waited. 10-12 minutes later, perhaps 2-3 minutes before friend #1 arrived and 7-8 minutes before friend #2 arrived, they called my name. I came forward, only to be told that they will not seat any group until the whole group is there. If you're called before everyone arrives, your name is "put aside" and only goes back to the top after you tell them everyone is there. Thus, after friend #3 arrived, we still had to wait another 10 minutes or so before we were actually seated. All told, my "10-15 minute wait" turned into over twice that. I assume that they do the same thing if you make a reservation, thereby ruining half the point of making one.

Beyond that, everything was okay. The food was hot and plentiful - nothing spectacular, but still enjoyable. Their prices were reasonable - neither unusually high nor low. The service was also fine - not the best I've ever had, but well within the realm of good.

In short, while I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again, I would be willing to do so if I happened to be in the area. That is, as long as the people I intended to eat with was...