"Service and ambiance were excellent. We ate on the late side on a Friday night and most tables empty and therefore quiet. The waitress was very personable. The kitchen seemed very slow. We waited a long time for anything from the kitchen. Citronelle-Syracuse claims an Asian fusion theme, but it was pretty subtle on the menu and I didn’t happen to choose any of those dishes, except the crispy skinned chicken entree had a pleasant five spice flavored sauce. We wound up sharing oysters and salad to start, then chicken and salmon for large plate entrees and coffee, creme brûlée and a selection of pumpkin ice cream and three sorbets for dessert, an unexpected gesture from the kitchen in response to me saying , “you decide.” The best things were the ginger pear sorbet and the oysters. The oysters were perfectly shucked, wonderfully cold, and served with a bracing mignonette. I wonder what would have happened to my salmon if I hadn’t ordered it “medium.” I think it may have inspired the chef to overcook it. I am not a fan of the current trend in my area (greater NYC) of having salmon with a cold center like a rare steak, so maybe I caused the over correction. It was pretty uninteresting even apart from being somewhat overcooked. It was supposed to come with beet orzo, which I had hoped was beets in the shape of orzo, like cauliflower rice, but it was simply a beet flavored orzo, which was fine. The crispy skin chicken had the potential to be a stunner. Corrections needed are to serve the chicken on top of the sticky Asian flavored sauce not underneath it and to back off the sweetness in the sauce a bit for my taste. The sauce of course completely undid the excellent crispy skin. Desserts very nice, but coffee cool. Wine list fine and cocktails well made. I will be back when in the area."
