I've eaten at Citronelle more than half a dozen times, honestly it's quite hit or miss.

On my last visit I had one of the best duck dishes of my life. And the single best dessert, "Breakfast at Citronelle," a variety of items that look like breakfast but are in fact traditional desserts. On that visit, though, service was inattentive at best.

I hosted a dinner for 14 there in a private room where service was good but the food was less inspired.

On a separate visit I had to wait 45 minutes between courses, though the kitchen did send out a creative caviar dish in the interim as an apology.

Several of their items use the same garnishes and sauces, which wasn't clear from the menu, I once had a couple of similar items for two consecutive courses and the waiter didn't anticipate this or warn me.

When Citronelle is good, it's very good. But I just don't count on it. And at the prices charged at this level I really do expect consistency.