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Citronelle (Closed) (Vietnamese cuisine) $$

7.75
JaT Rating

826 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, 95128 (Directions)

408-244-2528

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Upscale Vietnamese restaurant with relatively small menu.
Reviewer: Jason Total Reviews: 1040 Reviewed: 12/15/2005 Rating: 8 My photo gallery	After making a run to Jerseys Cheesesteaks the other day, I noticed Citronelle on the way back. Classified as modern vietnamese cuisine, I was excited to try something different instead of the foil burritos, plastic forks, or paper plates. The interior was a step up from what we are used to with tables spaced a good distance from each other. Matching tablecloths and beautiful decorations make this restaurant an ideal place for a business meeting to a date occasion. Service was fast and waters were constantly refilled. The menu selection might appear to be small but with food selections like Citronelle offers, they are quite uncommon at the other Vietnamese restaurants. We started off with the vegetarian imperial rolls and for my lunch I ordered the Citronelle grilled combination. the imperial rolls were delicious. they werent the frozen egg rolls that are so common in most asian restaurants but probably ones that were rolled recently. Ordered crispy, these suckers are very hot and right out of the fryer. Dont burn your mouth :) Served with a semi-sweet dipping sauce that had a hint of fish sauce, I would have opted for more of a peanut based thai type sauce. Along with the imperial rolls were lettuce wraps which I found just to be ok. The available toppings included white noodles and mint leaves. Maybe add shredded carrots and another dipping sauce to give a more full flavor? Did I mention the presentation of the food was pleasing to the eye? My grilled combination was broken up into four sections. salad - I cannot comment on this since cabbage is not my thing. Sorry. shrimp - had the excellent grill taste but was lacking in seasonings. they needed to be a bit more exciting, maybe add some hot spices? pork - oh man, super good, good marinate, you can put this anywhere, anytime, and I would devour it every time. beef - thinly sliced, good quality meat, fat was removed, very good too. For the price and distinct flavor I received, I fancied Citronelle quite a bit. The dishes were on the healthier side and portion sizes werent overwhelming. I'll be honest, we were already making plans to visit the taqueria next door but we were completely stuffed. If you're looking for the rugged lunch where paper plates are the norm, Citronelle might not be the place for you as they provide a delicate modern approach to fine dining without the inflated attitude.

Reviewer: Terry Total Reviews: 739 Reviewed: 12/17/2005 Rating: 7.5 My photo gallery	The place surely looked very nice. It is a great place to go on a Friday when you want to take a leasurely lunch and enjoy some niceties. Not a place for the daily grind when you can't take a minute to breathe in the experience and unwind a bit. Cintronelle has a feel that few places we at Jatbar tend to visit. We usually hit up the quick-lunch type of places. We arrived here and found ourselves in more of a zen atmosphere. Food takes a bit longer to arrive, its tastefully prepared with an eye to design and quality. The food, however, didn't meet my full expectations of the restaurant itself. I went with the curry dish with vegetables. (the one with the little bowl in the pix). The curry was tasty, but had WAY too many potatoes/sweet potatoes?/yams? - anyway it was too much for me. The rest of the curry was delicious. The rice was soft and moist and I ate most of the rice (which is unusual for me). The cole slaw was a nice match with the dish as well. It was seasoned with a citrus dressing of some kind (tangerine?). Anyway, it was also good. Prices weren't terribly cheap and for $8+ I was expecting something a bit more satisfying. I could have filled up completely on the potatoes and rice and have been full if I wanted to, but just couldn't bring myself to. I wouldn't mind returning to try other dishes however, as the place was very inviting and they offered other veggie selections as well.

Reviewer: Lainie Total Reviews: 41 Reviewed: 2/7/2006 Rating: 6 My photo gallery	There are tons on great 'hole in the wall' Vietnamese restaurants that do it better than this place. However, I do give it props for cleanliness, presentation, and overall food and service. But it's certainly nothing special. The prices are reasonable, but like I said, I've been to other Vietnamese places that serve bigger portions for less money with better food. I'd recommend it if you were in the area, but otherwise, it's not worth going out of your way for.


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