CITRUS Restaurant & Deli, Ortigas

 

Happy New Year! Let me start with a blog about good food and an intimate dining place that’s not too pricey. Last year, I remember we took a night off for a dinner upon the invitation of our friend, Louie. Located at Renaissance 3000 along Meralco Avenue,  the restaurant just opened few months ago.

From outside anyone might probably think that this is one of those expensive and high-ends resto along Ortigas.

We arrived around 7pm, with a number of customers, mostly from other countries  enjoying their food and wine.

There are tables for two then a table for five and ten. The interior and design is somewhat classic. The design of their glass window, bricks walls and dim light. I love the earth colors on most sofa and chairs. Even the dinnerware is simply beautiful, Jonel noticed the shapes.

Elegant yet the not too pricey.

I couldn’t help myself, my eyes inspecting every detail, then I saw a stairs heading to the second floor.

LivingMarjorney & NomNom enjoying the visual fireplace

I was surprised with the fireplace - a visual fireplace to be more objective. I thought it would be a night of romance and perhaps dinner next to the fireplace. “What a brilliant idea of putting up a mock up fireplace in a restaurant”, I said! From dining to different restaurants and hotels, I haven’t seen one like this.

While enjoying the warm and heat of the said visual fireplace, our friend Louie Lubangco, owner and distributor of Danielhood showed us his aunt’s collection of expensive wines which are displayed just beside the fireplace. He started mentioning politician’s favorite liquor as well.  

Not too long, Ms. Jojie arrived, the owner of Citrus restaurant. We started placing our order as she talks about her restaurant, her advocacies and her interests.

Aside from the fireplace, there’s a stage for the live band. Ms. Jojie said they have different bands playing every night were customers are free to dance and sing as well. I was happy to see for the 2nd time, the band I watched playing during the Magnolia Ice Cream Flavor House Grand Launch.

Spaghetti Bolognese (P199) – from a wide range of pasta dishes to choose from, we had their Spaghetti Bolognese. I believe it one of their best sellers. The pasta was good, the noodles was firm but not too hard.

Came next was Juanita’s Callos is an authentic favorite at Citrus restaurant. I highly recommend this savory dish served with bread. This made the dinner unforgettable.

While most of us were enjoying the callos and fish, Louie can’t help but indulge with the pizza. I had a slice of it but was more interested with other dishes with rice. Jonel and I even asked for rice.  The thin crust pizza has a lot of cheese and even though it looks so simple it actually taste good.

Pan Fried Fish ala Vera Cruz with black olives, capers, red and green peppers. It was mouthwatering, juicy, soft, flavorful and cooked to perfection.

Panna Cotta literally melted in my mouth. It was absolutely good. I was in-love with the panna cotta that evening and even I was limiting my consumption with sweets and desserts  I swear I ate almost half of it. I remember Ms. Jojie call for another serve of Panna Cotta. Yay!

A good meal should end with a warm cup of Cappuccino with cinnamon powder (P100).

Here’s a copy of the said menu, in case you’re wondering how much every glass of Vanilla Milkshake or a cup of cappuccino.

They also have special offering like P999 for a bottle of wine plus an “All you can Tapas Tapas”.

… and just before we left the table, Ms. Jojie sampled us with their specially made baked potato chips. Yum!

I enjoyed our first visit at CITRUS Restaurant. Special thanks to our friend, Louie and Joey for inviting us and Ms. Jojie of Citrus for the warm welcome, inspiring stories and for the wonderful dinner.

Get cozy with good food and music, visit The CITRUS at Renaissance 3000. It’s open as early as 7am to 12am, lounge opens 9pm. By the way, they have a strong WiFi Connection just in case you need to stay connected.

Happy New Year, everyone!