Citrus

Shadow of it’s former self. Citrus was the BEST café bar for miles around in the late 90’s up until 2008. It’s succession of owners since then have failed to recreate the original valuesorganic food sourced locally, generous portions at good prices, great atmosphere and a complete open door to all. I used to love dining in the same room as students sat next to pensioners. Everyone used to rub along nicely and the superb staff and owners ensured our repeat custom.
The successive owners have ruined the venue with horrible façade and the furniture looks cheap and old. Gone are the clean modern lines. It now seems to be only interested in being a venue for the young, with booze deals. I don’t think it’ll keep going, but the original Citrus is sorely missed.
Most people I know just go to Dare Café now, which stays reliably the same.

I really would like to give this place a better rating. The cocktail selection is excellent, and if you buy 2 it works out at just over £3 each, which is very reasonable. I had blood, sweat and tears (which if anyone is interested appears to be gin, gin and a bit of gin for flavour) which was lovely.
The seats were comfy, the music was at a conversational level, so far so good.
The problem is the staff. We ordered 2 cocktails, then watched in bemusement as the person serving us spent 10 minutes walking around the bar getting each bottle, putting it back, getting the next bottle, putting it back, getting the next bottle… you probably get the picture. Only to then do the whole dance again to make the second identical drink!
Then, after waiting all that time we were told they were out of change. 20 minutes later a barman turned up with a handful of pound coins — and we had to remind him that some of them were for us.
Also, it being a Friday night, and especially since there had just been a Yorkshire v Lancashire cricket match down the road, Headingley was quite busy. When we got there at about 10 the fridges were nearly empty — apparently they were having to give away free drinks because some of the drinks deals weren’t available due to lack of the relevant bottles. I would expect any decent bar manager to be a bit more prepared!
So overall I would recommend, just expect to be infuriated!

AVOID — bad service, bad food, bad atmosphere, unclean
The risotto on the menu had a (V) beside it so I was surprised when it came with bacon in it. I politely pointed this out and the staff insisted on re-​checking the menu as they didn’t seen to believe me. The risotto they replaced it with was not cooked properly. The tablecloth had stains on it and the table beside us had some odd brown mush smeared beneath the floor. It was also freezing inside. I definitely won’t be going back.

I have been going to Citrus since it opened over 10 years ago and always loved this place. I recently went for lunch and it took almost a half hour to have someone come over and take the order and the food for seven of us came out in three deliveries over a 15 minute period. The first dish took 45 mins to arrive. So, we’d been there for an hour and a quarter before getting our food.
The food was ok but, by then, we were so unhappy there was no redeeming themselves unless they’d taken it upon themselves to recompense us in some manner. They didn’t but what they did do was charge us for drinks they didn’t deliver because they’d run out of and appeared annoyed when we didn’t tip them.
Not the Citrus it was in its glory years.

So before heading out to one of the Leeds International Film Festival films at Hyde Park Cinema, my boyfriend and I needed to grab some grub. We’d had a nice little walk, albeit his hung over state, and found ourselves looping back in to Headingley as it was getting dark. We didn’t fancy fish and chips and didn’t have the time to have a full on sit down experience, so opted to try out Citrus’s food as I’d not eaten here since the new take over.
Sadly they had run out of Sunday Lunch by the time we’d arrived, so we opted for a hearty burger and chips, after a soup of the day starter. Whilst the food was obviously made fresh it was a touch disappointing. I suppose I was hoping for something a little bit more special, since I’m a huge fan of the new bar (and all it’s extra special trimmings) but what we got was a fairly standard pub-​style burger and simple soup. The portions were plentiful and it all tasted fine, but we left with the feeling that we could have made something similar (if not more to our taste) ourselves. Arg. I hate to say it, but that’s the scenario.
I still love the new bar, and the café by day is a wonderful chill-​out spot, so I haven’t changed my rating as I would consider myself a fan. There’s hardly anywhere else in Headingley, post 11pm, to go for a civilised beer lest you find yourself in the rammed student-​filled spots, so for that alone I’m eternally grateful! Not to mention you’re spoiled for choice in good quality beverages. It won’t stop me from going back to try their other menu items either, especially the Sunday lunch, as I think the more interesting items will certainly be more reflective of the food quality — burger and chips won’t (in my opinion) speak for everything I’m sure!
All in all, if you’re headed out for a pub-​style burger you’ll get one, but won’t be wowed. If you’re headed for a lovely drink, day or night, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the loveliness. Yay Citrus!

Wow, Citrus is no long a squabbling cesspool of lost students and plastic gangsters!
Its genuinely a really classy stylish establishment. With about a billion different beers from around the world (other more accurate figures are available). The staff all seemed really friendly and happy to help with any drunken problems you may encounter, like trying too choose between the different beers. They also do some kind of stew as a bar snack it looked really nice but i can’t remember what kind it was. i think you could get side of oysters as well!
Awesome place if you want to eat, get boozed, watch bands/​djs or just get a coffee.

Citrus is a little confusing. Is it a place to have a meal, a coffee or a drink in the evening? I think for a while it didn’t quite know having recently come under new management is going for a re-​style. There are a few different menus to choose from available at different times. A breakfast menu from 10 – 2, ‘on the fly’ from 12 – 7 during the week and an evening menu. ‘On the fly’ looks good if you’re hungary, busy but want a proper meal as you can get a meal and drink for £5.50.
Compared to the evening menu however it doesn’t look that inspiring — mostly pizza, pasta, burgers and salads. I wonder, if one was in a hurry at lunchtime why would you choose Citrus over one of the many sandwich or fast food shops in Headingly? One evening I chose the vegetarian sweet potato patties with mango and papaya salsa because it sounded really unusual. It was nice and not that expensive, in fact none of the main meals are over £12. There is a full bar and a few other interesting options such as ‘naughty coffees’ and a Sunday roast, which as far as I could work out was available every day! I’m not sure if I’ll return to Citrus though as it is a bit soulless and has strange opening hours for an evening venue.

I’m glad to say the Citrus I experienced for the first time this weekend was unrecognisible from the previous reviews. It is under new management and they mean business. We had a tip off that the place was undergoing a transformatiion and that they were showcasing their new cocktail and food menus this Valentines weekend… it turned out to be a very hot tip. We had a chat to the friendly and enthusiastic managers and a few secrets behind the evolving improvements were revealed… bar staff fully trained and experienced in cocktail making, a sushi chef trained in Japan, fresh ingredients including sashimi grade tuna and a bucket load of even fresher ideas… the biggest screens in Headingley for the World Cup, a morrocan style relaxation lounge area, a patisserie chef and freshly made crossiants, oh and the small matter of refurbishing the entire three floors. This place is seriously on the up… watch this space!
Cocktails £4 or £6.50 for two (good value and top notch), the Gran Torino is my personal recommendation. Three course Valentines weekend menu, including cocktail was excellent value at £19.95 (Sushi love platter starter — easily the best sushi I’ve tasted, forget you ever heard of yo sushi). Weekend full english breakfast £4.50 (handcut toast, eggs anyway you like, bacon soft or crispy and locally sourced ingredients all the way). Bring it on!

Citrus is, to be frank, a massive disappointment. Right in the heart of studentville Headingley, and with a large property and outdoor area, this place should be brilliant. Unfortunately it isn’t.
Last time I was in here all I wanted was a drink and a quick snack, but Citrus failed me even on that most simple of tasks. The staff are probably the most uninterested people on the planet, taking ten minutes just to get a drinks order, and another ten for the food (nachos), which when it was eventually served, was pretty awful. The place is freezing too, both literally and metaphorically, so wrap up warm, expect little atmosphere and poor service. Or even better, don’t go.