Citizen

Nice little gem in the Intercontinental St Paul hotel. They close at 11, but accommodated our entire group, despite arriving at 10:50! Was pretty surprised with the food, it was pretty tasty! A little disappointed with how small the fresh fruit cup was considering the price, but the staple breakfast items were killer! Prices were otherwise pretty reasonable.

Unassuming and also pleasantly surprising. We found ourselves ordering one plate after another. The flavors were fresh and unique combinations of ingredients. Drinks were crafted and the atmosphere was classy but not pretentious. In terms of hotel bars/restaurants, Citizen nailed it...with which money left over to partake in other activities.

Amazing cheese curds from a creamery out in Wisconsin. Also would highly recommend the pork belly. Drinks were average. Server didn't know what came on the pork so we looked it up on their iPad serving menus. Bit disappointed that they weren't able to describe the dish from memory. Will always come back if only for the curds.

The food was decent but not great and the service was spotty. Honestly even if the service had been stellar I wouldn't come back. The food won't kill you or disgust you but there is MUCH better food less than a block away in downtown St. Paul. Service: I had to put in an order 3 separate times since the server kept coming back to tell us they were out of what I had ordered. Then even though I had ordered after everyone else my food came significantly before everyone else's. I had ordered a small plate (not an app) and a side and my side didn't come with my meal but came with everyone else's food. Food: I honestly forgot to take pictures of most of it and while it was presented in a fancy or 'foody' formatt the taste just didn't match. In fact I would say that in trying to have an out of the box presentation some of the food was difficult to eat. The fish for example was served in a bowl, so it was difficult to eat with a knife and fork. The steak was overcooked (and late to the table) even though it was ordered medium rare.

Went for Restaurant Week as my wife and I had never been and the menu sounded good. We weren't really sure what to expect when we got there as it is attached to a hotel but we were pleasantly surprised. The server was very friendly and attentive. The food was delicious. We each had an appetizer and dessert. For our main course, I had a salmon dish that came with a very generous portion of grilled salmon. My wife had the scallops and was very satisfied. The beer list was nothing notable but they had a good variety. We didn't order cocktails, but they had a page of unique cocktails on the drink menu. We went for dinner but it looks like they have some good lunch and happy hour options as well.

Just finished our anniversary dinner at Citizen. The drinks were GREAT.... However... We were supremely disappointed with the food. My husband was charged full price during happy hour for a "Denny's quality" black bean burger. My pork belly was barely edible and not nearly cooked enough. It was seriously a mix between delicious nostalgia and toilet water. We were thrilled to take advantage of our MN Opera discount for free parking and 10%off. We never got the discount and only got the parking voucher after badgering our waitress about it. Do not get the food, but stop in for the drinks.

I really want to like this place, but.. We have been there three times now. The first time for drinks only. The place was empty so bar service was great. Drinks were good too. Our second visit was for diner before a hockey game. Again, place was pretty dead so the service was very attentive. Once again, drinks were good but the food was average (chicken wings, cheese curds, ramen bowel). Our third visit was for diner before a concert. We arrived ~2 hours before show time and they were already pretty busy. Drinks were again good and server was very attentive (and apologetic) as we waited nearly 1.25 hours for our food to arrive (burger and lobster roll)!!! My wife loved the lobster roll but my burger was overcooked. Our server did take a couple of drinks off of our tab to accommodate the long wait. Also, they comp your parking for event nights if you dine in the restaurant. So, if you keep your expectations low, you probably will be fine (especially if you take advantage of the free parking).