My friend Maddie tends to spend a lot of time with my roommate Lucine and me — either wedged into a chair in Tisch Library where we take turns locking in while the others spiral into meaningless conversations, or sprawled on our floor scrolling while Lucine and I stay half-buried in our beds pretending we’re about to start our work. She’s always welcome to let herself in.
A few Wednesdays ago, Maddie stormed into my room mid-crisis. She had picked a date for her birthday dinner but still didn’t have a reservation, and she was starting to realize that finding a place for 10 people on short notice isn’t exactly easy. Naturally, she came to me. I write an (amazing and super informative) restaurant review column for the Tufts Daily and keep a never-ending list of places I want to try, which has made me the default authority on where to eat.
Her requirements, however, were specific and prioritized things a little differently than I normally do. The restaurant had to fit 10 people at a reasonable dinner hour on the date she had already picked, be “pretty” enough for pictures (and justify everyone dressing up) and fall within a budget of around $20 to $25 per person. The menu mattered — it had to be well-rated and something she’d actually want to eat and also have options for Aisha, who eats halal — but it was clearly secondary to the aesthetic.
Once our constraints were set, we fell into a comfortable silence, texting each other options from across the room and slowly building a list of places that might meet all the requirements. A lot of our search admittedly came from TikTok, which is a great way to get a feel for a restaurant even if it’s not always the most reliable. Soon enough, we landed on a few options, and by the next day she had narrowed it down to Citrus & Salt.
The restaurant is in Seaport, and I would define it best as a ‘mimosa-ified’ Mexican restaurant. By that, I mean it feels like a brunch spot: white furniture, exposed brick, fairy lights, a ceiling covered in fake pink flowers and a glowing neon sign.
When we got there, we were immediately seated at a big table in the back and dove right into the menus. They have a raw bar section, which we all swiftly abandoned for the sake of not going broke, a tapas section and six tacos to pick from. We ordered two jalapeno chips and guacamole for the table, along with a roasted beet and avocado salad and some carne asada fries. The chips and guac were really good, and whatever spice blend the chips were tossed in was addicting. I loved the salad, which had a mango vinaigrette, whipped cotija, puffed amaranth and candied cumin pepitas, and after repeatedly asking if anyone else wanted more, I happily finished it off. The fries reminded me of some bulgogi loaded fries I’ve had before, just in a Hispanic format: smothered in smoked corn queso, chipotle mayo and a sticky pineapple-garlic glaze.
As a table, we tried four of the six taco options, skipping the crispy buffalo cauliflower and masa tempura fish tacos. My friend Scarlett and I split the bang bang shrimp and beef birria tacos, both taking one of each. I loved the shrimp tacos — they were crispy, topped with chopped peanuts and a pear slaw that sounded odd but worked really well. The birria was good, but the consomme could have been more flavorful, and the taco itself was a bit too oily.
I also tried the queso gordita crunch taco, which wasn’t great. Lucine had ordered it, but they initially brought her the wrong tacos. We ended up with an extra plate of random tacos because of it, so the gordita crunch got passed around.
We obviously ended the meal with dessert, and they brought everything out with a sparkler for Maddie so we could sing. We got the made-to-order churros, which came as bite-sized pieces, ideal for a big group. They were served with a chocolate sauce that was a bit grainy and a vanilla dulce that I initially thought was just butter until I reread the menu. We also got the Dole Whip and horchata cheesecake taquitos. I love Dole Whip, so that was a win for me. The taquitos were nothing special and very hard to split between 10 people but still enjoyable.
In the end we all left pretty full and satisfied. Citrus & Salt gave Maddie exactly what she was looking for: a fun, photographable spot with food that ranged from pretty good to slightly forgettable. It is a great option for big groups and celebrations, but I wouldn't recommend it purely for the food as there are definitely better options out there. Also, my friend Rudy would like everyone to know that this restaurant is absolutely not recommended for anyone with an avocado allergy.
