The Citizen Wine Bar

Love this place, been coming here since it first opened, the majority of bartenders are knowledgeable and professional. Last night I took a group to the bar and then to dinner at TPK. When we arrived the bar wasn’t busy, there were two bartenders, a tall gentleman and a much shorter guy. I ordered cocktails for those of our party who had arrived and I have to tell you that the bartender (the shorter one) seemed somewhat offended by the fact that he hadn’t yet addressed himself to me. Either way, I was pretty perturbed by the tension, and two of my guests noticed. But because I really understand that he may have mistaken my order as having been rude I figured let it go, but then he made two drinks and essentially ignored another. When I asked him if he was going to make the drinks he was again perturbed, one of the associates in my office sort of let out a laugh because this guy was actually openly giving me attitude. I don’t get it, we come here all of the time for drinks, dinner and cheese boards. I will say that I won’t bother if I continue to feel like I’m not welcome.

Worst martini ever. Barely filled the bottom of the glass. When I asked about it the waitress said they only do a 1 ½ or 2 ounce pour. Not a good place to go for a drink.

Love this place! Always get the Groupon for a romantic night out! Staff is very friendly and unique items on the menu always make it a fun night out! Good atmosphere upstairs for a more intimate evening, fun bar downstairs for wine and cheese with friends. Love this place :)

Poor quality food. Overall good atmosphere.

LOCATION: Near DCU Center, hence reason why we went there before The Weeknd’s concert.
FOOD: overpriced burgers + Salty salty salty fries (I don’t know if they intend to do that so people could buy more drinks bc if they did… It’s clever) If you’re a beer drinker, they do have a lot of choices. I ordered a tartare (has a sweetness from the cracker which was good).
OTHER: there’s one 1 bathroom stall… at least in the women side. So usually there’s a line of people. It’s crowded with people at bar. Flat screens by the bar to watch the games.
OVERALL, I wouldn’t come here for food or at least not for their burgers/​fries but for drinks then yes.

Wow, the food was amazing. This place is a hidden gem. You seriously are missing out if you don’t go… best food I ever had in worcester. Better then all the big name places this is honestly the BEST.

Went here recently for my 21 birthday dinner, my girlfriend found it online as one of the top wine bars in Worcester and we both figure we’d give it a try and it was a great decision! I was a little sceptical at first glance because it is located in a seedy place in Worcester but once I went inside it was what a wine bar should look like. The customer service was excellent, our waiter was knowledegable and attentive to us our entire stay. The wine, cheese plate and filet mignon were all spectacular. We will plan another date night here soon!

The first time I am writing a bad review for a bar. William shouting in my ear at 1.50 am on a Sat night to get the hell out this place. And the bar tender kicking out three girls even before the closing time and saying we can’t even use the restroom and to leave the bar even after buying a whole lot of drinks and tipping pretty well. It’s different to not have good service but different to just forget manners and chivalry. Worst place ever. Do not go. The staff probably has no respect for you whatsoever.

Cheese and charcuterie: outstanding ! Wine: outstanding! Service at best average to below average. Waiter seemed put out that we were even there and that we had a working knowledge of wine and what we wanted to order. Didn’t have the cocktails but they certainly looked appealing. Free valet in a somewhat sketch area of Worcester is a plus!
I’d go back for food and wine. just beware of the servers…

One of my favorite places to go. Great food, good atmosphere, great drinks, and cute bar tenders

I just started drinking wine earlier this year but citizen was one of the few places I had, had wine previously.
Last time I was there before that a friend of mine (at the time) and I had one of their wine flights and split their cheese board. Their chocolate board is also amazing.
Then when I returned as a some what more experienced wine drinker I made my own flight with a different friend (my wine tutor).
The fact that you have access to the food from the people’s kitchen and the cocktails from still and stir makes for a winning combination no matter what you’re looking for.

Wine bar? Not so much. Selection of reds by the glass is low rent at best. They have «wine on tap.» Need I say more?
Food is good. Menu variety is good. Bartenders are very poorly trained. Both times we visited they paid very little attention to us and one was quite rude. Zero knowledge on the menu, screwed up the order and we felt we were a nuisance to him just be sitting there. Others around us received the same treatment. Maybe we caught him on a bad day but he should not be interacting with customers.
Go for the food and cocktails. Just don’t expect much in terms of good wine or good service.

Our waiter was nice and timely… no complaints.
Everything was well cooked, but overall too salty (the 21-​day house dry-​aged sirloin and mushroom soup especially)
The Chef’s board is a must. Cheeses and charcuterie are very generous.
The furniture is a bit beat-​up and is in need of refurbishment.
There’s outdoor seating, but you’re going to smell cigarette smoke as, naturally, no smoking is allowed inside.

A definite hip spot in Worcester. Experienced [and handsome — which never hurts] bartenders making craft cocktails, and the food is great — not fussy, but high quality, and often local ingredients.

The Citizen is definitely for an acquired taste. We didn’t have a bad experience per say, but it definitely wasn’t what we expected or what we are used to. We enjoy fancy places once and a while-​but it was a little too fancy for us.
We made reservations for New Years Eve, we had looked at the menu online and decided to eat downstairs in the wine bar. It was too bad that they had a completely different menu for NYE, which was not on the website and not told to us by the hostess who called to double-​check our reservation. We were disappointed with the menu, as there weren’t many options and only one thing each of us looked like we might like. Both of our meals were good, but again, not what we were used to and a little out of the box. I think we would have liked it better or had a better experience if the menu was what is posted online, or that we were told it was going to be different for the holiday.
The waiter was knowledgeable with wine and very accommodating. I would be willing to try the wine bar again on a normal night with a normal menu and maybe sit at the bar. Overall, a lot of money for a disappointing experience.

After a long week, this was my coworkers’ and my favorite place to go. There were so many cocktails, wines, and beers to choose from, and the cheeseboards were always delicious. I have a nut allergy, and when we unknowingly ordered a board and nuts happen to be on the plate, the waitress was super accommodating and brought us a fresh plate to help me avoid cross-​contamination/​an allergic reaction. All of these cheeses I’ve ever had here have been delicious, and if the write up on the menu still leaves you confused, the waitstaff are well informed and will help you out!
The ambiance is very laid back. I’ve never seen this place too crowded. It has a great outdoor section for the warmer months, but the indoor space is just as nice.
There is valet parking at the restaurant, but you can also easily find street parking if you head a few blocks down the road.

My husband and I have been here twice and both times we have not been disappointed. This time we went here for NYE. I had made a reservation thinking the bar area would be packed slammed wall to wall. But when we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see seats open at the bar… Best place to sit we find.
Travis was our bartender and he made the night even better with his expertise in drinks! I decided on a hot and dirty martini (which in the past has always been just a dirty martini with the added Tabasco to make it hot) Well, this time people it was a fresh chili pepper and a jalapeño muddled to perfection and olive juice to make it dirty. This was by far the best Hot. And Dirty tini I have ever had!
My husband had his best old fashioned drink and a few others.
We started snacking on the chefs choice meat and cheese board. Always yummy and could be enough for a meal! We then added in a a chicken Cesar salad and an American chop suey. Both were delish!
As the night went on the place got busier and a live band was playing in the next room. But still Travis and the other bartenders were very attentive. All in all you must go to the citizen for some good wine, cheese, meat, food, And even better drinks! If you are craving a steak and bottle of wine head upstairs for a nice sit down dinner… Both places are fabulous!
Thank you niche group for a wonderful and unforgettable NYE with my husband. Not to mention it didn’t break the bank either!

Two words: Absolutely disappointing.
Perhaps it was all the great reviews, and wonderful things people had told me… but I walked into this restaurant on clearly what could only had been described as an off night.
Let me first start by saying there were approximately 4 people at the bar, and two other two tops on a Monday night.
We were greeted by our server very promptly, and ordered drinks to start. I ordered a simple Gin and Tonic, while my date ordered a Whiskey on the rocks. Our drinks took 10 minutes to receive. I actually joked to my date 5 minutes in as to whether they were actually making the gin from scratch and that may be the reason our drink order was being held up.
After finally receiving our drinks, we decided to ask our server about some of their appetizers. He ACTUALLY described the pretzel breaded chicken bites as «adult chicken nuggets». I had to stiffle back a giggle, because all I could think of was a classic McDonalds chicken nugget, only larger in size and with maybe a slightly different breading. We decided anyways to order them, along with the calamari. Upon our appetizers arriving, we discovered the chicken bites to be very bland (the actually breading did have incredible potential, but the chicken itself had absolutely no seasoning) and basically having to drown them in the misadvertised sauce to hide the dryness of the chicken. The calamari was actually impressively cooked, however, again, very bland. After swirling each piece in as much sauce as we could, they seemed edible, but highly disappointing.
We ordered another round of drinks, figuring two beers would be quick and easy. I asked if they had Guiness on tap, to which the server looked at my with 3 heads and laughed said,“Well, we have them in the cans with that ball thing in them”. I mean, come on. And then… he lost my beer. He literally… lost my beer. After maybe another 10 minutes, and a glance over, he rushed over with a Guiness explaining he had misplaced it (and I won’t even be snobbish enough to comment on how he just dumped my Guiness into a glass…)
And then… came the entrées. I won’t even begin to get into my dates bland, poor excuse for a vegetable panini, but my burger had enough grease in it to make enough the strongest of stomach turn. Granted, the burger’s description (Seared Foie Gras, Garlic Herb Butter, Grilled Onion, Truffle Mayo, Thinly Sliced Tomato) left something to the imagination of it being a potential greasy burger. But, the thing was literally oozing grease, to the point that even on a first date, I had to apologize that I couldn’t even stomach it.
With a bite taken out of each of our entrees, our sever asked us if we were all set, to which we both eagerly responded «YEA.»
On the plus, our entrees were comped, however the painfully slow absent minded service, disappointing bland appetizers, and just the most disgusting burger I have ever had in my life, I would NEVER return to this establishment. I usually am all up for giving places a second chance, however, this is sympathy found on a busy Friday or Saturday night when mistakes are most likely to happen. Given this was a Monday night, the experience me and my date where unfortunate enough to suffer through was inexcusable.

I really love this wine bar.
We’ve been a few times for drinks and now I definitely want to go back for the cheeseboard. I’ve been on the hunt for a riesling from Germany and fianlly found it here.
I love that you can hear each other and not be swept up in the crowd– bonus points for the outdoor section.

I have no basis for this opinion, but I feel that this may be the best bar in Worcester. We were in town for the state Democratic Convention, and after quickly running out of patience with the party crowds, we sought somewhere to sit and not be banged into by party operatives.
So we wandered in, and it was a little gem of a place! Clean, cool, retro look without trying too hard or being too annoying about it. I liked the brick and tile, with black tables and chalkboard menu. There were many seating options — we sat at a high top near the door.
The drinks were excellent. One was a ginger kind of thing which tasted bracing and refreshing. Mine was an expertly-​made rye Manhattan.
We ordered the giant cheese plate for $ 20ish and it was crazy huge — this would have cost $ 50 in Boston. The cheeses were good, but nothing remarkable. Same for the charcuterie. But even an average plate of meat and cheese is still a plate of meat and cheese, so I can’t complain too much.
Finally, the service was very good. I asked for several recommendations and they were spot-​on.
Go here.