Citrus

My family was visiting from out of town and I wanted a restaurant that could accommodate a larger dinner party of 8 people. I can honestly say «Wow, what a great experience!» Our server Piper was very attentive and knowledgeable of both the dinner and drink menus. The drinks were consistently delicious and come out in a timely manner, thanks to the skilled bartender Curtis. Finally, the creativity and presentation by both Chef Brian and Chef Ralph were exactly what you look for when visiting a fine dining restaurant. 5 stars! I highly recommend this establishment.

My fiancé arranged a surprise Valentine’s Day dinner for me and her daughter, selecting Citrus based on another site’s consistently solid reviews, reservation availability, and the restaurant’s proximity to our home.
Despite the near-​empty, cavernous, hotel banquet room-​ish ambience, our three-​person Valentine’s Day dinner (fixed menu at $ 70 per person) started promising enough with three tasty salads and a platter of always-​reliable bread sticks.
But things went steadily and steeply downhill from there.
Our waiter disappeared for half an hour, forcing us to flag down the other server to check on our entrees, which ultimately took 45 minutes to arrive, a full hour after we got to the sparsely populated restaurant, and despite the dearth of diners (five tables occupied, max).
And then the meal finally arrived. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was the the most dismal dinner either of us has ever been served. My «Spanish chorizo”-wrapped chicken was dry and rubbery, the red wine risotto was gummy and bitter, and the green beans were limp and unseasoned. Her under-​seasoned scallops sat atop a brown-​ish puddle of «artichoke cassoulet», which consisted of crunchy white beans, tiny chunks of carrot, and not a hint of artichoke. Our daughter’s under-​seasoned scallops rested limply atop a mound of gummy, tasteless risotto.
Between the three of us, we took about eight bites. We flagged down a server from the adjacent bar (server: MIA again) and voiced our displeasure to the manager, who, thankfully, was apologetic, offered substitutes, and ultimately comped the entire meal when we expressed that we just wanted to leave.
I get that we all have bad nights on occasion. But for a restaurant to price-​gouge on Valentine’s Day ($ 200+ for three of us) for entrees that were so lazily executed, and for service that was so unreasonably slow and inattentive, is shameful.

To start the wait for food to be served was 50 minutes. That’s for any food to come out. The waiter was pleasant enough and kept apologizing. The prices are steep for the quality of food and for the ambiance (I expected more from a Fairmont). Finally, after 40 min our waiter said the chef burned the burger and hard to start all over. Wait another 10 min, burger arrived. It was very delicious and flavorful. The fries were also good. The ahi tuna mini tacos on be appetizer menu — not so much. I am a very petite woman and would have to eat 8 of these to taste them. Not only were they small in size but also small in taste.
Our waiter Imad was great and apologize profusely and at the end, removed the charge for the tacos which was a generous offer.

Great food! This place is a hidden gem. The sous chef came out and presented an amuse bouche. LOVE IT. I had scallops they were perfect. The food is far above most hotel food and will easily satisfy most foodies. Great chef and sous chef.

5 Stars for Kris’ service. One of the best waiters we’ve ever had. Hospitality is his focus and it makes for the whole experience here. Food is good! If you’re staying in the hotel, venture down for apps and cocktails!

Honestly, I was shocked how good the food was. My bar for a hotel restaurant was pretty low but I was very surprised how well all the food was seasoned and cooked. As a chef those are the things I look for. I’m stunned…

Stay at the Fairmont on business at least once a month. The updated menu at Bambu is creative and interesting for a hotel restaurant. Everything I have tried has been great: butternut squash soup, beet and goat cheese salad.
My complaint would be that while the presentation is beautiful with lots of colors and enhancing flavours — the waitstaff just plops it down with no explanation of the dish. Training on new upgraded menu is needed.

Had a lovely dinner for OC Restaurant week here. While all the restaurants in the SCP area were full, this hotel restaurant was empty. Beautiful décor with soaring ceilings. Server was gracious and dinner was delicious. App was ahi tuna taco, Grilled diver scallops for the entrée. Yummy dessert was Strawberry crème brûlée. Lovely experience!

Good polite service, interestingly looking deconstructed dishes. Rather pricey but there are some deals on the appetizers and bar menu. Convenient if you are staying at the hotel but probably not worth coming from elsewhere.

Our group of 5 ate at Bambu last night. We enjoyed the scallops on their sweet potato bed. The lamb chops worked well with two different cuts. Thick, tasty butternut squash soup was served in an attractive curved bowl. One dish was oddly placed on a thin slice of strongly flavored cheese, perhaps Gouda. The place was empty on a Saturday night. The prices were relatively high, with entrees starting from $ 28. The room was very dark so that we could not see the colors of our food

Attractive surroundings are the only «pro.» Horrible service and mediocre food, but fully priced. 2 ½ hours for a salad and an entrée — no dessert, no after-​dinner drinks, and the place was maybe a fifth full. Servers just disappeared. 40 minutes to get drinks/​wine. Food was cold when it arrived. Never again.

Came here for the first time for the OC Restaurant Week 2014 $ 15 two-​course lunch.
Valet parking only, which is complimentary with validation from the restaurant.
Entrée:
Seared Ahi
Baby Romaine, Sesame Croutons, Wasabi Caesar Dressing, and Toasted Quinoa
²⁄₅. Not a good value for the $ 18 regular price. 3 tiny pieces of ahi tuna with little seasoning. Everything else has very strong wasabi taste. Presentation is classy though.
Dessert
Lemon Blueberry Crème Brulee
Lemon Brulee, Blueberry Compote, Lemon Streusel Crunch
³⁄₅. $ 9 regular price.
$ 15 is certainly a good value for the food but I don’t think I’ll come back at regular prices.
Service was very slow. Not a good choice for work lunch.

The drinks are 4 star and the food is 3.
I came twice for happy hour.
Well drinks on mon-​fri for $ 5.
I ordered the Caprese (1 star), Satay (3 star) and Popcorn shrimp (4 star).
The Caorese had unripe heirloom tomatoes and no basil which was absolutely uneatable. When I told the waitress she said sorry and offered no other options or a credit. (So I paid for something I didn’t even eat).
The Stay was slightly overcooked but the sauce had great flavor.
The popcorn shrimp was by far the best, light and flavorful.
Don’t expect much when you come here and don’t come out of your way for this place…

If u dont have time to read my review, long story short: THE FOOD IS EXCELLENT BUT WITH PAINFULLY SLOWWWWW SERVICE
Came to the front to get seated and no one was there I waited for a few minutes to finally get seated. It wasnt busy but the service was still extremely slow. Took me 1.5hrs to finish eating!!! –_​_​– lucky I had a free night or else I wouldve flipped tables. Workers are really nice but they need to staff more people because they do not have enough people working. I hated their slow service but at least theyre really nice and the food made up for all of that so thats why I gave them 5 stars: p

So, my gf and I stayed at The Fairmont for NYE. I will write a separate review for the hotel.
We were told that there would be a champagne toast at midnight at the bar. We decided to go down to Bambu early and have a meal. We figured it would be expensive, but we were willing to pay whatever since we were so hungry. Upon entry, we stood at the greeting desk for a minute before anyone acknowledged us. Finally a man came and asked if we wanted to dine there (duh?). After we said yes, he sort of got uneasy and asked if we had a reservation. I said no and he seemed a little uncomfortable with that. I looked around the restaurant and literally, it was only about ¼th full. I didnt think it was a big deal that we didnt have a reservation. So finally we are seated and its a fixed menu and blah blah blah. Our waitress was the only person that seemed to be on our level and out of place. She was pleasant and talked to us, whereas everone else seemd to just kind of stare and whisper to the other staff (I assumed because we didnt have a reservation???) Maybe they didnt plan for us, lol. IDK. Anyway, if they were expecting the Auburn college football team to come to dinner (who were in fact staying at the hotel), well they never came so :-P
All in all, food was good, overpriced but whatever. We went down for the breakfast the next morning which had delicious grits!!!

I thought the food was excellent. I ordered the French onion soup which was served with crusty cheese oozing down the bowl. Also, ordered spin iuc salad with salmon the salmon was moist and crusty and salad was fresh and presented nicely. Had a nice Santa Barbara Pinot noir and really enjoyed my meal. Service was great. I have to say I was weary because of the reviews. Although, I did not have the steaks look phenomenal also. Go with your gut and ask what is good, but I found it healthy and flavorful.

HH from 4 – 7. The shrimp ceviche was pretty tasty for $ 7. The breakfast was also pretty good though on the pricy side but that’s probably to be expected from a hotel restaurant.
They had some pretty crazy stuff on the menu that I guess would be pretty normal by California standards. Microbiotic, probiotic, antibiotic, vegetarian, vegan, raw, gluten free, taste free… hey, I just want some bacon. They also have a breakfast buffet that looks AWESOME. Sadly, I couldn’t really bring myself to pay $ 24.
I guess I’m officially a New Yorker when I start complaining that there’s nothing else within walking distance, but really not bad for a hotel joint.

A great location, near JWA, easy parking and extremely clean.
My wife and I went to lunch, the food was Excellent, very tasty, perfect size portions, salad was fresh, fish and steak were both cooked to perfection. We had a great waitress (Maria) who clearly explained everything on the menu, she was always attentive throughout our lunch, making sure each course was perfect. We started off with Onion Soup, it was excellent, with the right amount of cheese and croutons. Bread (I think 6 different types) was delicious with butter served at perfect room temperature. Bottom Line… My wife and I had a great lunch, we will go back. Our waitress Maria made both of us feel special as guest.

Bambu is a great place for happy hour!!! They offer different drink specials everyday of the week. My favorite is Wine Down Wednesday, half off all wine glasses! The service is great, the bartenders are very friendly and entertaining.
I’ve never really had any of the food served besides the calamari, which was just ok. Overall, its a great place to hangout and have a drink after a long day at work at a nice bar.

I’ve been here about three times, and each time I’ve experienced a variation of mediocre overpriced food with super nice, but sloww service. Their menu isn’t that extensive, but I suppose the pricey food is just standard hotel restaurant pricing.
Despite the above, I really enjoyed their quattro lunch. During October, it is $ 15 for a four-​course meal: soup, salad, entrée and dessert. The portions are smaller, but they let you try a little of everything and leaves you satisfied – not hungry nor overly full. Some courses were better than others, but for $ 15 is a great deal. However, they also claim it works into your busy work day as you’ll get it in 20 minutes or it’s free, but I waited about 30 minutes before my food came out. I got bread and water refills twice and wolfed down the meal in half the time it took for it to come out and did not get the meal free – I didn’t ask as I wasn’t positive about the guarantee and I didn’t want to waste any more of my hour lunch, which had already gone over by the time I got the bill.
I really don’t understand why they have such sloowww service every time, especially when it’s always practically empty.

I came here to share a 3 appetizer /​4 cocktail Travelzoo voucher I had purchased. Had I spent full price, I would have been quite disappointed.
The service is pretty slow. Seemingly nonexistent if you sit in front of the bar. We initially sat ourselves there (one or two other tables had patrons in the vicinity, so we assumed it would be okay), but after waiting an unacceptable amount of time, we moved into the extended dining area directly behind the bar. It still took a while to give our order there too; even though it wasn’t very busy at all, and there were two servers available.
I had high hopes for the sliders (they sounded pretty amazing in the menu description), but unfortunately they were so dried out, I had to douse them in ketchup to get them down. The ribs were pretty tender and moist; but just slightly above average in flavor. The crab cakes were good and fishy. At least the portions in all cases were surprisingly large.
The classic/​signature drinks are okay.
Overall, I certainly can’t complain if the price that I paid was the norm. But I use Travelzoo /​Groupon /​LivingSocial /​etc to find out if I like a place enough to come back at full price. Bambu doesn’t make that cut for me.