The Ambiance
Citrico Cafe combines the rich traditions of Mexican cuisine with a modern and innovative approach. Set on a quiet block on 34th Ave, in Astoria, NY this hip restaurant is a gem in a fairly quiet part of Astoria. Citrico Cafe showcases Mexico’s diverse culinary heritage while infusing it with contemporary twists and some very interesting dishes.
When you walk in the first thing you notice is the music rocking with a live dj that really elevates the ambiance and is a much welcome addition to the Astoria food scene. The decor is vibrant with little Mexican flags and agave plants everywhere, really giving a Modern Jalisco chic vibe. With a frantically busy but beautiful bar, lively music this restaurant also seems like a popular place for birthdays, in fact there were three different birthday parties going on at once when we went to dinner on a friday night.
The Service
The service at the restaurant was very friendly, as soon as we walked in, were promptly seated and luckily they had a table for us. The host did ask if we had a reservation, which leads us to believe that it gets pretty busy on the weekends, so def. Book a table in advance to avoid any issues. Since this was our first time we asked the server for recommendations on the food, and she told us the most popular items on the menu. With our drinks ordered, a Malbec for the wife (obviously) and a mango margarita for myself, we decided to order the Corn Ribs and Flautas de Pollo for appetizers, for the main course we ordered the Shrimp Tacos and the Filet Mignon Tacos. Pro Tip! Get your tacos on corn tortilla instead of flour, the restaurant will substitute it and it really enhances the flavor!
With the food ordered, we only waited less than 10 mins for the food to arrive, which is a very big plus for us foodies!
The Food
First to arrive were the Corn Ribs and Flautas de Pollo. The Corn Ribs were a very unique take on the classic mexican elote. The corn was cut from the cob, and looked to mimic mini ribs, which was a very genius take in my opinion. The sauce on the corn had a delicious lime flavor with oregano and cumin, which was pretty strong but a welcome flavor. We highly recommend ordering this when you go.
Next were the Flautas de Pollo with a perfectly cooked, crunchy shell, topped with spicy mayo, fresh cabbage, tomatoes and guacamole. The spicy mayo seemed a little generic for a restaurant that seemed like it was doing everything a little different and unique. The fresh cabbage and tomatoes added a nice freshness to the bite. The chicken inside the flautas also wasn’t the most flavorful but filling and had good texture. Overall the entire bite was quite delicious and the texture of the shell especially was great. We recommend ordering this as well.
Moving on to the main course, we started with the Shrimp tacos. The best part about the tacos at Citrico Cafe was that the taco was full of shrimp, they sure didn’t skimp out on the shrimp, which is again a very big plus in a fancy establishment. The taco itself didn’t really have much else flavor besides the shrimp, and definitely needed some salsa and lime. We would recommend ordering these as well but would recommend getting some salsa on the side.
The Filet Mignon tacos were also again full of meat which was delicious and very tender. Unfortunately the taco again needed some salsa and lime on top to really kick it to the next level but they were delicious. We would recommend these tacos as well.
Even though we were pretty full by this point, we figured we should try to end the meal on a sweet note, this unfortunately was a mistake. As delicious as the food at Citrico Cafe was, the desserts were quite underwhelming. We ordered the Frozen Mangonada and the Mezcal Tres Leches and neither of them really blew us away. The Frozen Mangonada was pretty bland and just tasted like ice with chamoy and tajin which were a nice kick but the main mangonda did not taste like mango at all. We don’t recommend this at all.
The Mezcal Tres Leches was slightly better than the mangonada and was a moist and fluffy cake. Maybe we have high standards for tres leches, but as fluffy as the cake was, it was really missing the essence of tres leches and could be more soaked in the liquid. We are glad we tried it, but again wouldn’t recommend it.
Final Thoughts
All in all, we would give Citrico Cafe an 8/10 and recommend it for date night, special occasion or fun night out with friends. If you enjoyed our review and or visit Citrico Cafe, please let us know what you think in the comments below. For more reviews, check out our Restaurant Review page
