Beautiful ambiance (esthetically pleasing) and delicious food! We came for brunch and it exceeded our expectations. The smash breakfast burger melted in your mouth and had excellent flavor. OJ was fresh too! Would come back again! read more

The Citizen - Breakfast smash burger and citizen breakfast with OJ. - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

*FOOD POISONING ALERT* My two friends and I ate at the Citizen on Friday 9/27/24 around 6pm. We ordered the shrimp appetizer for the table and a half dozen of oysters for myself. The shrimp was rubbery and tasted as if it had been frozen. After around 30 minutes, I started to get terrible stomach pain, sweats, and nausea. My swordfish arrived and I started to try to eat it - it was delicious! But the stomach pain was unbearable. We had to quickly leave dinner and once we got back to our rental I became violently ill - vomiting 5 times in a row. My friend who ordered the lobster tail on top of her pasta said it tasted rubbery and frozen - much like the shrimp. A big bummer for an additional $39. On our third night we spoke with a server at a different restaurant who had previously worked at The Citizen and said he left there as they have had multiple health code violations and would keep oysters open and 4 degrees above proper temperature. We are so disappointed we wasted a night of fine dining on The Citizen. Lots of money and a night we could've spent eating elsewhere. Save your money and your stomach and dine elsewhere. read more

Everything was five star here - the cocktails, the Seafood Tower, and especially the warm crackers. And that was just their lunch menu! Lee was an excellent server and made us feel right at home. We hope to eat here one more time for dinner before heading home. read more

The Citizen - Cocktails - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

Perfection. Owners are a couple, not a corporation. They care about the smallest details. The food is truly a notch up. Oysters great and fresh. Lots of sensible dishes for those of us that eat healthy but some guilty pleasures as well. They also own Fonville which is a more casual vibe but so so good. Have no idea how they get such flavor into shrimp. Lots of gluten free options too. Try the macaroons for a small bite sweet. Both Fonville and The citizen are across the square from each other. You have to do both. read more

Citizen was great. Food, atmosphere, service, all great. Only complaint is that when they put us down for a table they told us it would be an hour and 30 minutes. So we ran back to the house that was 15 min away. We then revived a text saying the table was ready 30 minutes later. (Hour earlier than we were told) We didn't make it back the the restaurant in time to make their strict 10 minute table hold time. We then had to be added on the list again. If we would've been more pressed for time this wouldn't really been an issue for me. read more

This place was so tasty we went back twice! First, the servers are so knowledgeable and have really helpful recommendations. We had a group of four, so across both nights I think we tried the whole menu. There is nothing I wouldn't recommend! The restaurant was such a welcome break from the expensive, same seafood options that most other restaurants have. A few personal favorites: the fettuccine, short ribs, ceviche, and wedge salad. read more

The food is excellent. The service was quick, and Wally is extremely helpful and patient. The place is very nice and modern. read more

The Citizen - Mille-Feuille - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

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My go to oyster place on 30a . It's not cheap but everything I've tried has been phenomenal

The best food ever. Get the whipped ricotta and don't look back. Yes, also indulge in oysters, pistachio pasta, drink menu and short ribs. Restaurant is a superb vibe and incredible on every level. read more

Probably one of my favorite meals I've had. The ambiance was so nice, and the service was attentive and so kind. We came as a large group for a bachelorette party and a few of us got a bunch of things to share. There wasn't one thing I didn't love. Some of the best oysters I've ever had and I loved the options of sauces and the buttered crackers that came with them. Whipped feta was delicious. Fish and grits was one of my favorite things and the short rib was super flavorful. Can't go wrong with anything here! read more

We've dined at The Citizen a few times. The ambiance and decor are top notch. Perfectly "instagram-able" with plenty of lighting and thematic moments throughout. The outdoor dining space is lovely as well for the evening or cooler spring/fall days. Very well maintained space and super clean. Also one of the best bars on 30A! The drink menu is remarkable. Several diverse, unique cocktail options thoughtfully curated for the theme and style of the restaurant. A+ wine list. The food is pretty good. A solid B+; although the dinner menu is better than the brunch / lunch menu, there are still some really good options for day time. Good vegetarian selection and most meals are customizable to accommodate allergies or dietary preferences. The service is what lands The Citizen with four stars. In general, things seem disorganized from the host / hostess staff to the service staff. Food always seems to come out at a reasonable rate after ordering, but the time leading up to ordering can be unpredictable. We've been here when it's really busy and when it's more quiet and every time the front of house service has been just "off." Most of the staff on phones including servers with air pods in while on the floor. We've never had rude or inconsiderate service, but I will say the service level definitely sinks to inattentive at best. If you're planning a meal at The Citizen, prepare for some lengthy waits at the table, especially if you have a large party. Totally understand that this is a tourist area and staff is likely to turnover, but I think The Citizen struggles with establishing a service culture in general which is probably driven by lack luster leadership. Keep up the good work behind the bar and in the kitchen and hopefully the FOH staff will follow! read more

During a weekend holiday with family we had dinner at The Citizen, I ordered the Coq au Vin and it was delicious. Service was on point by our server and the manager checked on us a couple of times too. read more

Absolutely scrumptious, superb service, lovely setting, but you will pay for it. Enjoyed a lovely evening with another couple who are vegetarians. We all enjoyed the meal. Nice options for vegetarians, but a little more challenging for Low FODMAP. Menu is coded for special diets. Extensive wine list and specialty cocktails. I tried the Plum Nothing with gin and spiced plum. Tasty, but prefer something sweeter. For appetizers, we tried the Ceasar salad which was good with crispy, chewy croutons. The wedge had a generous portion of dressing and bacon. But the best was the whipped feta and honey which you spread on Naan bread along with seasoned almonds. New appetizer to me, and we all enjoyed it. The grouper with quinoa and citrus salad was delicious. The tilefish with jasmine rice in a green curry sauce had a little heat, but good on flavor. The last entree was butternut squash which was devoured. Service was extremely attentive. Engaged in conversation, but not too much. Good with recommendations. The space is lovely with large windows, white decor and natural woods. A little loud due to all the hard surfaces. Would be perfect if you could make a reservation. It was full when we arrived 30 minutes after they opened on a Friday night. Prices are high. Entrees ranged from $30-75. Appetizers were $15-20. Lovely night! read more

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This place is a great option and you can certainly perceive a pleasant and classy atmosphere as soon as you walk in. There was a long line to get in on a Sunday but it was totally worth the wait. We sat by the bar and order a cocktail and a hummus platter, along with the octopus dish which I really recommend. The bartender was friendly and I will definitely go back there. read more

The Citizen - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

Waiter service was fine, but one meal out of 6 was served 20 minutes after all the others. My steak was horrible and not seasoned well.

Order the "Smoked Cabernet" - we loved the great food, wine, and service from the Citizen team. Ask for Tyler and Josh at the bar - great service!! Thank you for a wonderful evening. read more

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This place is the vibe. Lighting/ music ambiance for a dinner date was on point. The beef short ribs were out of this world and my wife's pasta was perfect. The shrimp app was a little spicy but delicious. Our server- Aiden- was very polite and gave us great recommendations. The table next to us had someone who looked like they were having a bad night so I was grateful for the friendly service. The one criticism... The app and dinners were almost served at the same time- the server who dropped off our food politely apologized for being early but the plating/taste/ temp made up for it. Spicy margarita was also a 100!! read more

Really pretty place with excellent service. Our party of six shared Gulf Oysters on the half shell, the short rib arancini--the best of the lot--and whipped feta with their grilled naan bread. Actually, I take that back. The whipped feta was very tasty, so tasty that wherever we went at Alys Beach we ordered whipped feta and talked about it for weeks after our trip. My dish was the filet of beef cooked perfectly with a side of pureed potatoes, excellent. I don't remember our servers' names but they were extremely patient with taking pictures of six girls who had several cocktails on board and repeatedly asked for pictures from this angle, with flash and without--I'm sure we were annoying and also how can you not be patient with an 800$ tab for 6 giggly girls. It was a great first night dinner in a beautiful setting. read more

Fun and modern ambiance. Attentive servers. Delicious beignets - they're almost like a croissant texture, so different from traditional beignets. Delicious drinks and food. They even gave me a free glass of champagne when I mentioned we're celebrating my graduation. read more

The Citizen - Beignets - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

Food was good. Service was good- over priced for what you ordered. Clean and upscale restaurant read more

This should be a one star but I'll be nice. We have driven by this place and it looked pretty. They don't make reservations. We stopped by to find out if it would be busy around 5 or so. They stated that you have to put your name on a list starting at 4, but then they don't seat you until 5. We looked at each other, laughed and gave someone else our business. I'm not sure who made this rule up, but in all the years of frequenting restaurants, I have never seen anything like it. And that's not a good thing. read more

Full disclosure, I did not pay for my meal, a family member did. So I can't speak to anything else but the food and drinks for this meal. Came here with my brother, and his wife and her sister for dinner last night. It was in a BEAUTIFUL area, the architecture and layout of the entire complex was just stunning. We ate inside, they were pretty busy and it looked like everyone was very happy. Started off with drinks. Plenty of cocktails that they offer, of which I had two. They were unique, delicious, and easily addictive. I could've had more but I was the designated dummy and also I don't want to push my luck when someone else is buying. Apps were next. We shared the beef tartare, a dozen Murder Point oysters, and the charred octopus. Let's just start out by saying that the oysters are so fresh and the accompanying sauces (two mignonettes, cocktail, and a special made hot sauce) were absolutely amazing. The beef tartare was good, I think that the bread was a little cumbersome to eat with it- we used the buttered crackers to go along with it instead of the oysters. The charred octopus was so good, it's not worth telling you- it's a must try! We shared family style dinner as well. Got the Agnolotti, someone ordered the short rib, the porchetta, and the fisherman's grits- which is a high end version of shrimp, flounder, and grits. In my opinion, I loved them all. The pasta was so good, I only ate two pieces but it was so satisfying. The porchetta was also well executed. The short rib was so tender, and the fish, shrimp and grits were all so good. LOVED the sauce that came with that dish. Would have eaten it off of my socks. We shared one side, it was spinach and artichoke gratin. I also would have eaten that straight out of the scorching hot cast iron pan with just my mouth, it was that good. I suspect they have a wood fired oven because it was put to good use. We did not have room for desserts. I was too full, and I can't believe I am saying this but I would come back alone just to have drinks and eat some food. It's so good, the service was excellent and the meal was executed perfectly. Come and see what people are talking about. Well, well, worth the time, company, and cost. read more

Enjoyed our lunch! The wedge salad and margarita. We made a reservation for inside and it wasn't too busy on a Friday during their lunch hour. Will be back! read more

The Citizen - Margarita - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

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Food, cocktails, service and vibes were amazing! Everything we tried was 10/10. Will definitely be going back

They money grab at every opportunity. I ordered the tuna dip and only got about 8 crackers. I asked for more crackers because there weren't enough... they charged me $8 for more crackers!!! Just give me the correct amount of crackers to begin with! Are you really losing money by me asking for more crackers? While the waitress was nice knowledgeable about the menu, I'd say service from other employees was subpar and a little obnoxious. Take a sip of water? They run in to fill your glass.... It was like they were too eager to be hospitable. Just give some space for people to enjoy each others company.... read more

WOW!! The food, service and experience was phenomenal!! Next time we are in Florida this will be a necessary stop! My boyfriend and I were greeted at the door by a few friendly hosts, and were quoted an hour wait, (rightly so) so we got a seat at the bar, ordered our first round of cocktails and appetizers. Perfectly managed staff, we were check in on many times to make sure we had everything we needed. We were called to be moved to our table, so a few staff helped us to our table with appetizers and drinks in hand. For dinner, we ordered the dinner special of the gumbo and the filet. From being from New Orleans, this may be a surprising statement, but the gumbo was the best gumbo I have EVER HAD. The duck made it savory and there was the perfect amount of spicy to compliment the dish perfectly. Same with the filet, the creamed spinach complimented the perfectly cooked filet! At the end of the meal, we ordered two more after dinner drinks and before leaving, we were so satisfied with the gumbo we ended up taking two more orders of the gumbo! In short, this is a perfect date spot and great for everyone of all ages, and a necessary spot when visiting Alys Beach, or Florida in general! read more

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Unremarkable, but priced to be exceptional. We arrived at 5:45 because we had been advised of a no reservation policy and crowds. Pleased to say we were seated right away because the place was fairly empty with just some sitting at the bar. The hostess seated us in the sunny side with the afternoon sun glaring in. There were lots if empty tables on the other side of the restaurant that were not in the glare....what were they thinking? I had to move from one side to the table to the other to avoid the descending sun. No window shades. Atmosphere started out good - sound levels and all, but as the restaurant filled the noise became deafening! Where you have to yell at the person right across from you to be heard. Our server, Matt, was awesome. Drink ordering was a bit challenging as they did not have a liquor list nor pricing. There was a wine list. We worked our way through that and the drinks were good but expensive. (Husband says uber expensive). We ordered the whipped feta and thought it was ok. Salad was grilled avocado and again less than remarkable. Based on avocado serving size they can probably serve the entire place with an avocado or two a night! Basically a slice of grilled avocado in a bed of greens. Husband ordered short ribs and I ordered the wahoo. Oops no wahoo that night. Permit as a replacement cooked beautifully with a golden crisp on the outside, but sitting on a cold conglomerate of green vegetables. Not bad but...just there. The short ribs looked and tasted more like pot roast to me. Tiny portion of meat. Tasty but if I had to bet I am going with pot roast. Dessert was bananas foster bread pudding. We took a couple of bites. Husband insisted we box it and take it home (probably because he was paying for it) but it hit the trash can next AM. Not worth the calories. Summary: we love to eat out and price is not the issue. But, one likes to feel they received an exceptional experience for exceptional pricing. That did not occur here. read more

The Citizen - Permit - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

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Such a cute place! Tyler the bartender was welcoming and knowledgeable, best craft cocktails on 30A! Our server Steve was attentive, knowledgeable, funny and gave amazing service. We loved everything from the drinks (I had a paper plane) to the service to the food (croquettes at the bar are a must as well as the gulf shrimp). We'll definitely be back! read more

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Best meal we've had in a very long time! We had drinks and then started with the gulf oysters. I could have ordered lots more! So good. Then we had the crab cake. Best I've ever eaten, hands down. My husband had the Bucatini pasta with red sauce which was tasty. I had the Calabrian Shrimp which was freaking amazing!! I also had the wedge salad which was light and lovely and so tasty. We'll be back again and again! (There was no wait!) My only regret is ordering the Paloma instead of the Southern Polynesian, which the woman next to me had. She said it was delicious and ordered another. They pour the drink at the table over the pineapple shaved ice. So beautiful! read more

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Went to The Citizen on its third day open to the public. Did not know what to expect, as I had stumbled by it on a walk through Alys Beach. Holy cow, this restaurant could be in any major city. Close your eyes and you could be at a fine establishment in London or New York. My date and I sat at the raw bar and got a mix of oysters, apps, main course, and drinks. All were very good (best in the area we've tasted), with the highlights being the cocktail called Salsa Lessons and the oysters. The pacing of the meal was a bit off (all dishes came at the same time)... not sure they are used to tapas style ordering or could be an outcome of recently opening. I'll give them a pass for being brand new. Will 100% be back to try the rest of the menu. read more

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I came here for dinner with some friends during our trip to Santa Rosa beach. We had a party of 8 people and had called ahead to place a reservation, but they told us that they wouldn't be able give us a reservation but recommended coming between 5pm and 530pm, which we did and we were seated within 5 mins. The menu looked amazing and I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I decided to split two meals with one of my friends. For the appetizer, we ordered the whipped feta which was amazing!! I don't know what was more delicious- the actual whipped feta or the warm and flakey slices of pita bread. I highly recommend ordering this! Unfortunately I didn't feel the same excitement over the rest of the meal. We ordered the smoked beef short rib and the roasted tile fish to split. I have to preface by saying that short ribs are my favorite food. I love short ribs and eat them often so I may have higher expectations based on my experience. However, this is a nice restaurant in which I would expect a phenomenal short rib but they were just okay. When I initially cut into the short rib, I was impressed. The color was perfect. However, the flavor and texture fell short. Again, not bad but it didn't meet my expectations and I was definitely disappointed. I had a similar opinion of the tile fish. It was fine. Not bad, but definitely nothing to write home about. My favorite part of the tile fish meal was the jasmine rice. Overall, we had an average dinner. read more

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Second time eating at Citizen. The first time was PHENOMENAL! This time the entrees were mediocre at best. Disappointing, especially at this price point. read more

The Citizen was such a great choice! We went on a Sunday evening and had about an hour or so wait. They had very nice seating for waiting and we were able to order drinks from the bar. The margarita was really tasty, even though it was not on the menu. The Caesar salad was really good and I added grilled chicken to it. Our servers name was Matthew and he was really nice. He knew everything about the menu. The decor was really nice and clean. I highly suggest coming here while in Florida! I will be back! read more

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We were in Rosemary Beach at The Pearl for a wedding. We wanted to explore the area. We walked over to the Citizen in Alys Beach on a Saturday morning and had a very lovely brunch and specialty breakfast cocktail. The food is very good and elevated for mostly reasonable prices. The service was spot on and our server very knowledgeable about the food and the area. The restaurant is clean and chic. Next time we are in Alys Beach or Rosemary Beach, we will definitely return for Brunch, Lunch and/or Dinner. read more

First crazy wait and very pricey. Drinks are excellent; espresso martini and skinny marg both top notch. Very knowledgeable bar back. We are at the bar which was cool. Bar was a fun vibe. Feta dip outstanding; shrimp the same very spicy but in a very good way. Salads very nicely done. Fish special (snapper) was still swimming in some over the top heavy sauce. Should have gotten pineapple fried rice. read more

This place is AHmazing! I will be craving the calabrian shrimp until I can return! I had to ask for more bread so I could sop up every oz of sauce. And our waiter David, was everything you ever want in a server...super helpful & fun! read more

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Alys Beach is a dream and The Citizen lives up to its beautiful surroundings. We started our week Long Beach trip with a celebratory dinner at The Citizen and couldn't help but end it there as well a week later. The carefully curated decor, the staff and the service are all 5 stars but the food, oh the food. We made our way through the pastas, chicken, chop and most of the apps and everything was a culinary experience from fork to finish. If you're looking for THE spot on 30A for an upscale experience and all the vibes, The Citizen is unmatched. Best on the beach. See you next year! read more

The Citizen - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

5 star restaurant. Excellent service. Fantastic food, you will not find a better restaurant in the Alys beach area.

5 stars for drinks and service 3 stars for food We met up with some friends, started off at the bar with an attentive bar tender and fantastic cocktails. Once our table was ready we were seated and had an engaging and experienced waitress. The ambience was nice, the appetizers we had were fine but nothing mind-blowing. (Wedge salad was exceptional) Then the main dish of grouper fell so flat. It was flavored well but placed on this super tough square of griddled masa. Really difficult to enjoy, unfortunately it sounded so good that 3 of the 4 of us ate it lol. Meh, I'd go back but definitely pick something else. read more

OH. MY. GOSH. This place is incredible! I was shocked when there was availability without a reservation. So that was a huge plus to start. Then went to pass some time at Neat which is right next door for a cocktail. When we got our table the entire experience was amazing. Starters: you must order cornbread and whipped feta. I wanted oysters and so many other things but will have to return. Then I ordered the shrimp and grits and it may just be the best I've ever had. Try to save room for dessert. Must return for the shaved ice! The staff here are so kind and welcoming. Place this at the top of your list of places to eat in 30A area. You won't regret it read more

The Citizen - Whipped feta - New American Near Me - Alys Beach, Florida

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