Desperately wanted to give this genre and location 5 stars plus... A waitress who stuck her belly on my arm as she spoke to us; A hostess who got offended when another party asked the obvious question of where to place one's coat; A chef who did an acceptable job but apparently uses "house" dressing; dressing tasted quite similar to T. Marghetti's from Stauffer's grocery and the greens were a single type of non-organic factory farmed type product, like ALL the entrees. I missed seeing anything local or organic on the menu. The prices would suggest otherwise. When we said we wouldn't be having dessert a pasted on smile quickly turned sour. Let's support some of the fine options in Lancaster, there are many. read more

The food is totally phenomenal. Everything was meticulously prepared and the combinations of flavors are to die for! No wonder, as the chef has worked with some of the best in NYC incl Morimoto. Thoughtful and knowledgable service. We had allergies on our table and they were able to cater easily for nut-free; dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian and low carb. Highly recommend ... John Jefferies is excellent ; Citronelle is out of this world. Will definitely come back and recommend to all without any hesitation. read more

Went to Citronnelle once and loved it! Menu is fairly limited but food is both appealing to the eye and flavorful. Ordered the crab croquettes and they were some of the best I've ever had. Filet mignon was cooked perfectly and had a delicious sauce. Layout very close to that of himalayian grill with limited seating. Strongly recommend making a reservation when going. read more

Continues at the previous very high level. We are nearly regulars and we introduced friends to The place. They were sold and we'll all return. read more

Fantastic little restaurant. I work in Manhattan and I can say with confidence that this place in Lancasyer can hang with the big boys. Well worth the price! read more

Best restaurant in Lancaster. menu changes accordingly to season. I started off with their seared duck and black kale salad. Hubby had the exotic wild mushroom soup. Wonderful start to the evening. We had their take on lamb bolognese with saffron homemade noodles and the pork dish. Flavors are really good and there's a pleasant twist added to the dishes. The chocolate bread pudding with hazelnut ice cream is absolutely delicious! Best bread pudding I have had in a while. It's a really nice place that pays attention to small details that make the dining experience a treat! read more

My wife recently took me for a long weekend in Lancaster for my birthday. To say I was surprised would be something of an understatement as I could not think of anything that Lancaster had that I won't find at home in Philly apart from us getting away and having time alone. She had heard about a nice little BYOB restaurant that she thought I may like called Citronnelle and checked reviews everywhere to make sure it would stand up. What a find it was. We were greeted at the door by name and led to our table our wine was taken to the chiller and we were given water, warm homemade choux rolls and the menu. The waiter kept an eye on us in the busy restaurant without being intrusive and when he could see we had finished choosing came over to say he would be with us as soon as he had served the largish table of customers he was bringing the dinners for. The starters were beautifully presented and perfectly seasoned. Next my wife had the steak and I had fish which again were perfect. I can honestly say that I would travel the hour and a half back to Lancaster to eat there again with friends. I also found myself quite taken with the town it's self with all it's little galleries, coffee shops and antique shops. All in all a great couple of days. read more

Really enjoyed our first visit to this lovely little delight! Delicious, perfectly prepared, beautifully presented meals; excellent service. We'll be back! read more

We visited this restaurant for my dad's birthday. The space itself is very small and a bit tight, but it has a lot of atmosphere with large photographs on the wall. The table settings were very sleek and it wasn't loud. We ordered two appetizers to share and 4 entrees and one dessert. First, we each were served 3 popovers. These were very fair, had little flavor and were over-baked on the bottom. Some condiments would have made these a bit more tasty, but the popover itself was unimpressive. The Autumn salad was light and fresh, but nothing to rave over. The dressing was extremely light, which I typically prefer, but this was a bit too light, because you could hardly taste the cara cara flavor of the dressing. The Forager's delight was excellent!! This was definitely my favorite. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked and very flavorful, foam topped around the circle of mushrooms, and a poached egg in the middle. There were also crispy fried shallots, which were light and not oily. This dish had so many different textual components and various flavors that married well together. On to the entrees. Two of us ordered the chicken tagine, one the fish of the day, and one the local cheese pumpkin risotto. The chicken tagine (my dish) was a little disappointing, not necessarily because of the quality of the dish, but because it did not fit the description of what I think of when I order tagine. I've had many tagines at various moroccan restaurants but I've never had one like this. The tagine at Citronelle is served with israeli cous cous (the pasta-like variety), with a few artichokes hearts and a skin-on, bone-in thigh/leg of chicken. I did not detect any of the spices that typically are used in tagines; there wasn't any liquid, but the israeli cous cous was very saturated and moist, a tad buttery (not overly so though), the chicken itself wasn't very flavorful and was a tad dry. The artichokes were very flavorful though. I was further disappointed that there weren't more vegetables in the dish since the description said seasonal vegetables. The preserved lemon flavor was overpowering as well, infused mostly into the cous cous. The one thing that was creative was the cut up pieces of chicken breast hidden underneath the thigh/leg. I didn't taste the risotto, but was told the only pumpkin component was pumpkin seeds on top. The fish was well cooked and flavorful. Decontructed carrot cake for dessert was fair, a bit dry and not up to the standard it should be. The staff was very friendly and helpful, but the service was pretty slow. Overall, it was decent, and I would go back to try it again; although it is very pricy so probably not for awhile. read more

Had their brunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is on our list to try their dinner. Great, friendly staff. Slightly disappointed in the bread, considering the French bakery around the corner is out of this world. read more

This place is great. The owner-chef really CARES and that makes all the difference. We've been there twice now in past six months and it was great both times. read more

Service was only surpassed by the food!!! Everything was perfect. Susan and staff made our dinner special and one to remember.

We came to celebrate my mothers 89th birthday and we made a wonderful choice. This is a small place and the owner seated us and was very attentive. You could tell this place was their pride and joy. Both my wife and mother had Waldorf Salad while I had the pork belly for appetizers. Both were shared and loved by everyone. Once again the ladies matched by getting the lamb loin while I had the barramundi (special for the night) I loved the barramundi, cooked well and tasty. This would have been 5 stars but we were told the lamb could not be prepared med rare because it was already cooked (sous vide perhaps ?) Well the flavors were good, the lamb was a little tough and overcooked. The star of the night was the deserts. Once again the ladies stuck together with Chocolate Souffle and I can't recall what mine was called but we could just come for the deserts. We'll be back for sure. The service was spot on also. read more

Great evening...Excellent service, comfortable atmosphere (with great music), and a delicious meal. Had the Bolognese and Pork entrees and octopus and crab appetizers. All delicious. Will go back in a heartbeat. Like the BYOB angle...Go and enjoy. read more

Visited on Sunday 7/24/16 for brunch (12:30), Owner, server, chef.... all outstanding, we felt as we were the #1 customers. Presentation was beyond amazing, food as well, clearly the chef LOVES what he does, there is passion in every detail at this restaurant. read more

I have been extremely excited to try Citronelle as soon as I heard about the opening, and then to read the few rave reviews, even better. Maybe my mistake to try out their Sunday brunch before dinner service, however, a good restaurant should be a good restaurant, right? Ambiance is nice. It's small, intimate, minimalistic feeling is welcoming enough. There is no real "host", or at least we didn't see one. A woman (who never offered her name), I believe to be the owner, seated us, after hurrying to clean tables because "sorry, a few large parties just left"... OK, fine. We were seated within a few minutes. There were 3 of us. 2 of us ordered the Croque Madam burger, both ordered it medium rare. The 3rd ordered the french toast. It took 45 minutes for our food to be delivered. forty. five. minutes. Also, another small pet peeve was that one of my friends had to ask for his water to be refilled. Small, but noticed. The most unnerving part of the whole experience was that both of our burgers came to the table medium. When the unnamed woman, who was also serving us, asked if the burgers were medium-rare, I had politely said it was medium. She only said "oh i told chef, do not over cook, do not over cook." -- WHAT? I thought that was a very odd response, though otherwise she was friendly. The burgers were good, still juicy even at medium, so we did enjoy them. My fiance who had the french toast absolutely LOVED that. Also, the fresh brewed teas were fantastic, and a nice change from other menus. I will absolutely give this place another chance, for dinner. But unfortunately, I don't think I will return for brunch. read more

Went here shortly after it opened. Very limited select, no substitutions, sub-par food, over-priced. I ordered a souffle and it was flat. The hostess served it flat and simply said "it was not flat when it came out of the kitchen." No offer to remake it and no discount given. Won't ever return. read more