Citizen Smith

I’ve only sat at the bar here. I’ve had beers and fancy drinks, which were good. Maybe I’ve munched on a taco or some kinda app. I wouldn’t call this a «fun» place, it’s just… a place.
I asked a bartender what her specialty was. She gave it some thought, then left me confounded by her response:
«Jameson on the rocks.»

r.i.p.

Yeah, just ok.
Atmosphere is ok. Service was ok. Food was ok.
I had the Smith’s Mac n’ Cheese, which was pretty ordinary. Got it with jalapenos too because I love the spicy but it still wasn’t great.
I also got the 4 Cheese Ravioli. It was just average.
Nothing about my experience was great and nothing about it would make me want to go back either.
Parking is kind of annoying, but all parking in Hollywood is annoying. I managed to find a metered spot a couple of blocks away.
Overall, just seems way overpriced.

Venue is beautiful, but it was definitely whatevs. Perfect for a chill night, but it doesn’t seem like the type of place to get too drunk or crazy. Some people were just chillin and having late dinners there… A few of my girls and I were invited to the only table with bottle service so YAY for free champagne and goose… other than that, it was whatevers…

Came here for drinks on Friday night
+ No cover
+ 2 full service bars
+ Patio outside to smoke and mingle
Seemed like this was the place to be on Cahuenga

I came here on a Thursday night. The venue looks vintage; when I was there they had live music. Seemed like a good place for dates because of the romantic atmosphere and there were a few couples leaning against each other. It wasn’t too loud for a conversation yet bright enough to see people.
It might be unfair to give it a 3 star. But honestly you can find a tons of bars that has cool decorations like it. when I was there, the place was dead. Even though it’s a thursday night but come on it’s Hollywood! So we went across the street to Cap City Grill instead.

5 star venue, 3 star fun. No cover, super friendly doormen, chill dress code, beautiful venue, well ventilated, lots of seating, nice big smoking area. This place is really gorgeous and has so much potential to be kick ass. When I arrived, I thought I arrived at a trashy mini-​rave. Nothing wrong with raves, but when i’m not in that mood… i just prefer not to be around dripping sweaty people, cheap glow sticks, bad dance moves, and semi topless men. ew. Anyways, maybe i came on an… interesting night.

My friends, the boyfriend and I came here on a Saturday night to celebrate two birthdays right after coming from Falcon Lounge. We got to the line around 12ish and waited for about 20 minutes til we finally got in. It was actually FREE on guestlist that night.
As soon as we walked in, we felt like the night was still young even though it was before 1am already. The crowd that night were mostly Asian, everyone seems like they were having a time of their life. I loved the elegant look with such beautiful décor of artworks, fixtures and furniture and their great lighting. The DJs that were there that night were playing nothing but great music all night long. The bartenders did not fail me with the drinks, they did a really great job not cheating you on watered down drinks like most clubs do. I mean the prices of the drinks were about the same as all the Hollywood lounges/​clubs were. A shot were $ 12 and mixed drinks were $ 12-​$ 14. What can you seriously expect going to a Hollywood lounge/​club/​bar?! LOL.
I can honestly say that we will definitely come back here again.

There was one waitress in particular that went above and beyond — to rudeness. It was 11:30pm and I had just ordered some chicken strips for late night happy hour. She serves it and I requested some ranch dressing (don’t we ALL like ranch to dip?). She responds «Well, the kitchen is about to close, so they might have put the ranch away»… Hmm… Funny, I think to myself… Considering that Late Night Happy Hour is supposed to be in the 10 – 12 bracket. Fine whatever, I drop her rudeness since she did say she’ll go check anyway (after she points out that I DO have two other sauces on my plate)…
No joke. 5 mins later, I see her with her purse, apron off, leaving the place.
So impeccably rude.

Purely for the bar– didn’t even know this place was a restaurant til after we walked in…
The charm is awesome. The darker, more gritty side of the art deco feel, I forget what term one of my friends used, but it described this place to a T.
Plus it has a nice area with a second bar, and is complete with a funky table and couches arrayed around it. Kinda cool, at least when it’s pretty empty. Not too many other places to sit and mingle could be a drawback.
Drinks aren’t cheap either, but on the plus side, if you like expensive alcohol, the upcharge is only a buck or two per drink… so stop drinking well vodka or Stoli, and upgrade to Grey Goose…

This is one of the few spots in the hip section of Cahuengha where I will sometimes go. There usually isn’t a line, or cover, or over the top d-bags…(although there are still a few).
Drinks are pricey but there’s a lot of space and usually good dj’s. Not a bad option when you’re looking for something different the the Big Wang’s scene.

Service = TERRIBLE
Food = GOOD
Came here on a Saturday night before Cats and expected dinner to take a while because there were 8 of us BUT our reservations were at 5:30 and the place was totally empty. Even so we had to hunt our server down every single time we wanted. I mean, it was pretty ridiculous, in some cases we had to ask twice.
The only redeeming factor was the food and location.
I managed to get a bite of everything on the table and everything really was very good.
That included:
Citizen Smith burger with Brie
Sweet potato fries with cinnamon sugar
Jalapano mac n cheese… mmmmm!
Regular mac n cheese (both mac n cheese portions are huge btw)
Chicken n Waffles
Im not sure if I would go back bc the service was so bad and it was pretty expensive but I get the feeling I might have a craving and go back whether I like it or not!

I had a delightful Thanksgiving Day feast at CS this year. $ 50 Prix fixe four-​course meal. I believe we were one of the first parties to arrive at 2pm.
DECOR– Very eclectic, I felt like a tourist (I live in San Diego so technically I am) but the artwork, fixtures and furniture were that cool that I was snapping iPhone pics all over the place. We sat on the patio at a booth.
FOOD– Cajun-​influenced, delicious and DECADENT. Every course was tasty and superbly plated. Between two of us, we ate the Greek salad, green bean salad (balsamic reduction), crab cakes, seared scallops, carved turkey, winter veg lasagna (made with all veggies, no pasta!) and two desserts– pumpkin cheesecake and apple tart. The The only missed note of the entire meal was that the apple tart was a bit too crispy (read: burnt) in some spots.
SERVICE– Sorry to hear about Henry G’s experience. We also had Jon (Andy Dick lookalike) as our waiter, and had no service-​related issues. He asked for our feedback throughout the meal. Efficient and pleasant.
The booze was pretty pricey ($ 11 for mixed drink) but I think that’s par for the course for establishments of this caliber in Hollywood.

Came here for a drink since it was walking distance from a fashion event at Space Twenty Six.
Décor: Pretty expansive with high ceilings; think industrial chic and random accents such as a Greek statue, goth chandiliers, a Bison head and giant lights w/​printed shades. It was like a home décor store threw up inside.
Music: Super loud! Started as something you could aerobicize to (read: techno dance remixed pop songs) that transitioned into the top 20 songs on regular rotation on 102.7.
Crowd: Pretty sparse, except for a few people eating dinner and the cancer brigade happily puffing away in the outdoor patio space. Smokers will do anything for a puff, even if it means being crammed like a bunch of guppies in a small tank. As for the rest, pretty unmemorable. In fact, very unmemorable. except for the cat fight that I didn’t get to see.
Vibe: Meh. no energy in this joint. Except there was one point where the music made me want to do some cardio!
Come again? Well. if I’m bored and happen to be in the area, sure. There’s no cover and they’ve got liquor. thereby meeting the minimum requirements. Other than that, I wouldn’t make an intentional trip, except maybe to try the mac n’ cheese the other reviewers raved about. I love me some MNC!

I am not sure how I have not yet posted on Citizen Smith as I have loved this place for well over a year.
My first trip to Citizen Smith was with a bunch of girlfriends. Every single item on the menu looked so good we couldn’t decide what to eat that we ended up all getting a few different things and splitting. The salad with apples was really good. And my personal favorite was the jalapeño mac and cheese! They also offer both a burger and quesadilla with brie cheese which is my favorite.
I have been back a few times since, it’s my choice restaurant when I go to Hotel Café or the Pantages Theatre. Every time the food is amazing. They were sold months ago and I was avoiding the place because I was afraid they had changed the menu, but I was back there this week, and the menu looks pretty much the same. Although one thing we hadn’t seen before was sweet potato churros — omg this was heaven. Imagine sweet potato fries rolled in cinnamon and sugar.. .to die for.

So was this a bar, a lounge, or a wannabe club? I still can’t figure it out. First time there recently so yeah, I’m still a rookie at this place. I don’t know if I will be coming back though. There was cover, $ 10 for guys and $ 5 for girls. Wait, club or a paying lounge? What is it? I was hoping it was going to be a low key bar/​hang out joint but I still can’t figure out what I walked into.
Parking: street or paid structure/​lot. It’s Hollywood, there’s countless other nightlife spots around, so finding a good parking spot may be a challenge or just prepare to walk. I’m sure if you really want it, there’s valet around somewhere.
From the vibe and feel I got from this place, the establishment was nice and classy. It was extremely bright in there but the music was blasting on high volume. It’s like watching an action movie in the movie theatres with the lights on. I just don’t get the bad mix. At least dim the lights, make it sexy, this way people’s beer goggles can kick in and you will have a poppin’ spot.
Sorry ladies, no dancefloor. Loud music, bright lights, but all you can do is shake your toosh where you stand. At least the outside patio was somewhat dark and it seemed to me like there was much more mingling out there. However, in one of the corners it smelled like trash. I think there was a dumpster on the other side of the fence or maybe someone yacked in that area. Lovely, it was like raw spoiled sushi.
So I ask myself again, how do I classify this place? I’ll leave it to you guys to figure it out if and when you check this place out for yourself.

I would definitely recommend this place to those who wish to: celebrate a birthday (which my friends and I did), a simple get together with friends, or even a date. The décor was pretty awesome from the floor to the ceiling. Also, there are some fixtures suspended above you so take a look, they’re pretty cool lol
I wasn’t that hungry otherwise I would’ve ordered their 10oz burger, so I opted for the burger sliders which packed real good flavor. My friend ordered the Smith Royal burger which in the end he handed off to me to devour lol.
All in all, I had a pretty good experience here and I will definitely revisit in the near future.

50% on all food on Monday nights [Not on drinks, lushes!]. This was the real reason we extended our stay in LA by one day. I’m not kidding! It’s a fantastic deal when everything is half off. At normal price, I think I would probably want to pay ¾ of what’s listed on the menu!
There are several kinds of Mac ‘n Cheese — $ 10 normally. It’s a very large portion! The Arugula Salad I had was really good — $ 12 normally. The burger was really tasty, and it came with fries. We also ordered something called «Churro Fries,» which are sweet potato fries with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Very yummy! We also grabbed the flourless cake for dessert… MmmmMmmm.
This is perfect for a Monday night date night! Grab half-​priced delicious food at Citizen Smith and then check out a free movie screening at Space 1520 down the street.
We made sure to leave a tip on the original price since service was pretty good.
I am definitely a fan! I highly recommend it to anyone living in the Sunset/​Vine area.

I’m surprised that this place is not getting better reviews. I came here on a Monday for the half off on food special that they have and I must say it was pretty good, I was delightfully satisfied with what we ordered. I was actually impressed with the décor although the interior is a bit dark, it could use better lighting. That sort of ambiance and feel suits bars and clubs well but not with restaurants. I would like to see what my food looks like.
We ordered the tuna tartar — 4 stars, the cajun chicken torpedoes — 1 star, jalapeño mac n cheese — 5 stars. They didn’t have the rib eye — BOO, I settled for the new york strip which I was pleasantly surprised with — 4 stars. Other people in my party ordered the salmon and mahi-​mahi both of which I didn’t try.
I’m definitely coming back… but only on mondays. I need to try the rib eye.

Burger #84: A Very Dead Burger
I hate Hollywood. Sorry just had to get that out. Six of us descended on Citizen Smith for their Monday night half off food deal and that deal was almost stolen from us. The place itself is pretty cool, live jazz band, walls covered in animal skins, dark cozy booths, etc and some of the food was pretty damn good. It was fun watching the hostess smoke inside as well, very classy. Just as classy as all the hookers that were in and out of the place while we ate.
The girl ordered a soup and grilled cheese sandwich and I got the jalapeño mac and the «better» burger, as it was titled on the menu, (medium-​rare) with bacon. At first the service was nice, quick and attentive, but once we got our food it stopped.
First out was a huge plate of hot, bubbling, crusty topped, slightly spicy mac’n’cheese. The waitress promised it would change my life. It came close. It was some of the best mac I’ve had in ages. The top was really crisp and had a great crunch to it. Could have used a pinch of salt, but alas, this was one of those pretentious places that doesn’t leave salt and pepper on the tables. But half off it was only $ 5.50!
A few bites into the mac, my freshly killed burger arrived;
I got to be honest when I was a little impressed by the presentation. I thought it was pretty cool, too bad the flavors didn’t match. First bite was good, soft chewy bun, perfect meat to bread ratio, sweet grilled onions and heaps of melted brie cheese. But after a few bites I realized my burger was over cooked, which was almost impossible to see since it was so dark in the place, then I noticed all my cheese was essentially the rind. Who the eff wants a burger covered in cheese rind?! I scrapped off most of it and in doing that found a number of black olives in the mess, weird. I had a hard time finishing the burger, and I just realized they forgot to put bacon on it! The fries that accompanied the burger were meh, nothing special there.
Even after we were stuffed, we couldn’t help ordering a half off dessert to top off the meal. We decided on the frozen hot chocolate and what we got was a tall glass of icy chocolate milk with whipped cream.
It literally was just chocolate milk that they put in the blender with a few ice cubes. Even at the $ 5 half off price I felt ripped off.
When we got our bill, nothing was half off. WTF?! It was then that our server disappeared. After 10 minutes we finally had to have the hostess fix our bill. A while later the server dropped off the new bill and gave a quick sorry and then vanished again. It took almost as long to pay the bill as it did to eat the meal.
Citizen Smith tries to be too cool for its own good and fails. I would never ever pay full price for anything I ate that night and even the half off prices and awesome mac wont make me go back.
Burger — 2 stars
Mac — 4.5 stars
Prices — 5 stars
Service — 1 star
Hollywood — ¼ star
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2.55 Stars