CitySide

Prior to New Years Eve night, my boyfriend, my friends and I would frequently visit Cityside because of the location close to our apartments and the always decent service we received. After the experience we had their on NYE, I doubt we will be returning.
I get it– it’s New Years, it’s First Night, the city gets crazy. When we arrived at 1am the downstairs bar was DEAD. We figured we’d stop in and order some big dig fries, but never made it past the front door. See, my boyfriend had left his ID on a military base when he was moving his sister-​in-​law back to prepare for his brother’s arrival from Afghanistan. He had all other forms of «valid identification» you could present according to one of the police officers on our street– he had multiple photo IDs from undergrad, medical clearance IDs, his birth certificate, etc. He used this to get into two other bars throughout the night, and since we figured the bouncers would know us by now we’d tried for Cityside. The bouncer at the door wouldn’t even speak to him– «Nope, no ID, get out.» I was disgusted– fine, I get it, it’s a no-​go but NEVER has someone been as rude as that to me while I’m standing in their bar! We were drunk college kids– we were all pretty sober and calm. He ended up physically pushing my boyfriend out as he was trying to calm asked to speak to a manager. Absolutely horrible experience, and I will no longer be taking any of my friends or family into this bar again. I’ll just wait until the cool bar next door opens up.

DISCLAIMER: this is an updated review. I went here and had a pretty bad experience. The manager contacted me because they changed out some menu items and members of the kitchen staff. He sent me a gift card and asked me to try again. The second time we ordered all the same food and had a better experience. A modification was made to the dish I if the biggest issue with last time, so I am happy to see improvement there.
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As a bar, this place is great. It is big, has TVs, open air balcony, and live music. The beer is reasonably priced as well. If you just want a chill bar night you should definitely go here. Get some beer and appetizers.
As a restaurant, this place is fine. I went on a Friday night and was seated immediately because it wasn’t that busy. We got a table on the balcony outside, so we were in a great mood.
We ordered spinach and artichoke dip, pistachio crusted tuna salad, and a buffalo chicken wrap. The buffalo chicken wrap was just as you’d expect it to be and it was perfect for what we were looking for. It came with fries, which had a lot of salt and paprika on them. The spinach and artichoke dip was good but confusing. I don’t get why cheese was baked onto the pita chips since we were also given the dip to dunk them in. We ended up scraping the cheese off the chips (which were really good on their own) so we could actually taste the dip. The dip itself was good though. I saw an improvement in it this time as well:)
Last time I went, I had the pistachio crusted tuna salad. I had a hard time with it because of the spicy duck sauce dressing it was covered in. The menu got a facelift and this was one of the dishes highlighted as a cityside specialty. I still question that highlight because it isn’t that great of a salad. The tuna is good and though should be on the menu in other dishes. This time, the dressing came on the side. That small change made a big difference. I still had to request a different dressing for the salad, but at least I was given the option of not using it.
The service was fast and it was not too crowded.

My girlfriend and I frequently come here for drinks and appetizers or drinks and dinner. Can’t attest for brunch but can say we consistently have a great time here. Would suggest anyone in the area looking for a causal meal or lively atmosphere to try it out.
We always get the white sangria. Always.

This place was the right spot for my friend and I to go on a Friday night. We got a couple beers and sandwiches, which were priced decently. The service was fine and the patio doors were open which was perfect during the summer when we went.

This is a solid 3 star place. As far as the food goes, nothing here is special. It’s probably a fun place to drink and maybe grab food if you are sitting outside but don’t come here looking for a fantastic dining experience. You have to leave Cleveland Circle for that. CitySide is pub food, which is sometimes all you’re looking for.
Anyways I went to brunch last weekend and got a breakfast burrito, hold the bacon (it still has sausage for all you meat lovers out there). I’m pretty sure there were at least 8 eggs in that burrito, which was btw at LEAST 2x as big as chipotle. And it came with home fries and a fruit cup, so you definitely get a good bang for your buck here. I have been other times and the portions are definitely huge.
Drinks are reasonably-​ish priced, and service was friendly!

Service is bad. Went there looking to grab drinks on the upstairs patio with a group that would split in two tables. The waitress and hostess acted as if this was the most inconvenient thing that could ever come up at a restaurant… Went back and forth with the hostess for about 5 minutes while she says «the waitress prefers not to do that…» OK I don’t really care what the waitress «prefers»… I’d like to have drinks and apps on the rooftop. Anyways we left and will not spend a dime at this place. PS not even busy because summer and the drunk college students weren’t there to fill up the place

I got the turkey club sandwich which included the most fatty and rubbery (I think it was) bacon I have ever seen. I bit into a piece and had to remove all the rest from the sandwich. The turkey was that watery kind of sliced turkey, not top quality stuff here. But the tomato was fresh and the toast warm, and it was served while it was still warm and quickly.
Daughter got the vegetarian burger and she eat most of it, fries were warm and tasty.
Beer was cold and was reasonable priced.
Inside was clean, server was a bit distant but not everyone is a people person.
We went for lunch specifically to eat then leave, not socialize or hang out for a while, so I would guess it is completely different at night when a different crowd of people are there.

It was here that I discovered buffalo wings. As a boy growing up in rural Alaska my palate developed in such a way as to prefer ummimak and muktuk, and many other delectable items which texturally are very mild and consistently homogeneous. Even in consuming clam meats we avoided having to deal with the textural differential introduced by the hard impenatrable shells by harvesting them primarily from the stomachs of freshly landed nattiq, where the shells had been removed prior to being consumed by that gracious and friendly beast-​of-​the-​sea. Therefore, my first exposure to wings was less than enjoyable. Since sampling the CitySide product, however, my affinities have utterly corrected their trajectory. The spicy prickliness, the multifacettedness of crispy skin against cumuloid fat over that network of tendonous skeins of connective tissues close to bone… just such an exquisite play of texture and piqued olifactory stimulation. If I could I’d enjoy them every day.
Only three stars because, well, I don’t care for sports television or ignorant and loud college students… and this place has both in pathological abundance!

There is entirely too much meat on their menu. I’m a vegetarian, so I ordered a vegetable quesadilla — but what I received was just packed with very oily, greasy cheese, with very little vegetables. This item should be listed on the menu as «cheese quesadilla», not «vegetable quesadilla».
Also, I don’t like it that they have TVs everywhere, even upstairs. Unless there is some major game, the TVs in the upstairs room should be turned off.
I’m leaving 3 stars (and not 2 or 1), because the service was friendly (they readily agreed to lower the music volume, so my friend and I could talk), and I also like their terrace and the interior atmosphere upstairs.
On the other hand, I don’t think that music should ever be on so loud that in order to be able to talk, you have to ask them to turn it down or off.

Great rooftop for sunny brunches, but there’s one brown-​haired bartender guy in there that needs a reality check. My friend sent his Bloody Mary back for them to spice it up and we literally watched the bartender take a sip out of it to tAste it because he thought we weren’t looking. After my friend called him out, he kicked us out… Very strange experience but overall decent place.

Went here recently with a group of friends around 7:30/8 on a Saturday night and were seated fairly quickly.
I wasn’t too hungry and went with the «city» sliders – 4 mini hamburger sliders. They were fine, but pretty bland. I wish they came with toppings other than just lettuce/​tomato.
My friends ordered a Veggie Quesadilla for the table and while I didn’t partake, it looked great! Lots of green veggies paired with a good bit of cheese. Balanced diet, right? If I ever come back, that’s what I’m going with.

A definite classic for the Boston College crowd, and is particularly enjoyable for the graduate-​aged population living around Cleveland circle.
My personal favorite place to grab a beer. Not the best food ever, but it’s pretty good, and the service is quick and friendly. Also a great social scene. The downstairs is a great place for catching up with friends and upstairs is great for larger parties (depending on the night).

I just ordered the apple cranberry salad and the french onion soup but both were delicious and on point. Yummmm

My classmates and I come here for drinks after all of our exams. Yes, we are those nerds at the bar with out backpacks, and probably in our sweats. But hell, we deserve our days at cityside!
Having been several times, service is ALWAYS an issue. They always seem to only have 1 bartender/​waitress on ever. I really can’t remember a time when it wasn’t a pain to order food, drinks etc. That being said, they also didn’t seem too concerned about it.
It is your typical bar, with your typical drinks, with your typical bar food. The nachos, quesadillas, fries and chicken fingers are all superb. AKA its decent, edible, savory bar food.
All in all, its good for its location and its price. I also highly anticipate the spring when the balconies open!

Food here is alright. Typical of what you would expect for bar food. The place was very laid back, end you have people there for dinner, drinks, or just to watch the game.
I ordered an Angry Orchard hard cider — tall size. I had no idea the tall would be almost the size of my face! Perfect to wind down on a Friday night though.
The waitress said gave us some pretty good recommendations. The appetizers she said tend to fill you up as a whole meal, so we skipped on ordering any of those. I ended up ordering the Stuffed Fireman Burger. It sounded so good! Jalapeños, pepperoni, jack cheese, and Cajun mayonnaise. In my books, Cajun anything is an automatic win. Burger comes with a side — there are many to choose from. Unhealthier but delicious options include regular fries, sweet potato fries, waffle fries, curly fries, tater tots… just to name a few. Healthier options include broccoli, asparagus, and sautéed vegetables. I opted for the broccoli — I know, judge me all you want. I felt the need to be healthy after a whole week of eating out!
The burger itself was very tasty. The Cajun mayo comes on the side so you can add as much as you’d like. Tastes great as a dip for the fries too! I wish the burger bun was thicker and toasted more. Seemed like a flimsy McDonald’s bun, but oh well. As for the burger, the cheese and slight hint of spice was perfect, but I couldn’t taste the pepperoni. I thought it would’ve been more prominent since it’s such a unique ingredient.
The music was kind of loud, almost too loud. I had a hard time hearing my friends across the table and there were only three of us. Overall a decent place if you’re in the neighborhood and in the mood for some comfort food and drinks.

Head Line at this Hour: CITISIDE BAR AND GRILL CLOSED BY THE CITY OF BOSTON!
The owners of this Cleveland Circle landmark could not be reached for comment.
However, news of this action by the Boston Licensing Board comes as a shock to no one in the Brighton/​Alston community! Citiside Bar and Grill was long infamous in the community for serving underage international students– some as young as 16 from the Japanese shoa school– with little or no regard for federal law or city statutes.
«Yeah…I am really bummed this place is closed» Said Sangmi J, an international student from South Korea and frequent underage visitor to Citiside Bar and Grill. «It was Awesome. You just had to show anything written in a foreign language with your picture on it and the bouncers would just let you right it. I always just showed my (South Korean) High School ID card and told the bouncers that it was an Official Korean Govt Id saying I was over 21 and they would let me right in! And the Drinks there were really good and really cheap! I am so bummed out! Now I will have to go back to sneaking into the Estate club. Which totally sucks because I will be like the only Korean there and that is just like a total creep magnet to all the many creeper guys who lurk there! Damn! DAMN!!!»
Also «Bummed out» is Brighton Resident Claude F. «This is really disappointing» Said Claude F. «I used to come here about once a week for the Steak tips! They were Sooooo Good! And for under $ 20! You could not beat that! And they had great trivia events!»
The question remains: Will Citiside re-​open? And will it re-​open with changed policies and perhaps no liquor license. We attempted to reach newly elected Mayor Marty Walsh for comment but he was too busy trying to get Sangmi J’s phone number to give us any comment or any indication if Citiside will be allowed by the City of Boston to re-​open or if the restaurant will now be yet another boarded up eye sore in the Brighton neighborhood.
Only time will tell. Stay Tuned!

CitySide is really just your average sports bar, but it is quite the cool place to watch the Boston Marathon! Because who doesn’t love second floor patios, spinach and artichoke dip, and beer early in the morning? Nobody, that’s who.
So as you might guess, my review will be solely based on my experience here on Marathon Monday. And it was a good time. CitySide is located right along the Marathon route, where the runners turn left onto Beacon Street, entering Brookline.
They announced on their Facebook page that they’d be opening at 9 AM for the Marathon. We showed up at about 8:40 and there was already a really long line. So, there’s tip #1: On Marathon Monday, if you want to sit upstairs on the patio, don’t show up 20 minutes before the doors open. Because that ain’t good enough.
Here’s tip #2: Bring cash. That one seems pretty obvious, but there was a $ 5 cover that I wasn’t aware of. Checked their Facebook page… Nope. Checked their website… Nada. I never seem to have cash on me, so I was lucky that I was able to scrape together five bucks after digging through my purse.
The morning was chilly, so we decided to start off the day sitting at the bar downstairs. We did go upstairs briefly later, and the patio offers a great view! But we spent most of our time watching the runners on TV while sipping on Bloody Marys and beer and munching on really, really good chips and spinach and artichoke dip. They definitely don’t serve just your average bar grub here! The dip was really creamy and flavorful, and the chips were covered in cheese and scallions. It didn’t matter that it was only 9 in the morning. We devoured that gigantic appetizer faster than you can say «Marathon Monday.»
Service was pretty fast despite the immense crowds. And, at the end of the day, prices were pretty reasonable. My bill came to about $ 34, including tax and tip. And that was for three drinks and one gigantic appetizer.
I probably won’t be back before next Marathon Monday, but when that day comes, I’ll be sure to drag myself out of bed a little earlier so I don’t find myself at the end of the line!

I came here for brunch and was highly dissatisfied. In dining on the roof deck on a gorgeous spring day, I was informed that the umbrella over my table could not be lowered so we could enjoy the sunshine.
When our vary harried waitress finally got around to taking our food and drink order, we still had not been served our water. The food was late, cold and not even very tasty. When asking to make a substitute on my sandwich, I was not told it would be an additional charge and when I called it out, the waitress said «It’s just $ 0.50» in a dismissive way as if my objection was completely irrelevant… except for the fact that it was a $ 2 charge. (To substitute guacamole for bacon, by the way) I asked her to take the charge off anyway and after consulting with the manager, she did. Terrible attitude following the exchange and the service and bad/​cold food ensured this would be my first and last visit. The two stars are only for location and roof deck atmosphere.

The big problem with CitySide is that it doesn’t do any particular thing really well.
It’s bar list is ok, but hardly anything special. The surrounds are fine, but the music is way too loud. The service is very hit and miss — the table servers are decent but the guys behind the bar are slow and inattentive.
The food is at times reasonable, but at others … meh.
In short, if you’re desperate you can grab a drink and something to eat, but you’d be crazy to go out of your way to get here.

Being the «nicest bar in Cleveland Circle» (as some of the other reviews indicate) is kind of like being the «prettiest girl at Jenny Craig.» Sure you won a prize, but is it really a prize that you want to win?
If there was ever a reason for you to believe in the real estate mantra LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION, then the fact that CitySide Bar and Grill remains open is that reason. I don’t know of another reason why a bar that continues to serve up shitty food (reference multiple other reviews of the piss poor food), with even shittier service (reference multiple other reviews of the piss poor service) is open.
Let me break down what you can expect at CitySide, if you either a) are stupid enough not to listen to this handsome face, or b) stupidly ate first, and then checked the Unilocal reviews second.
Food:
— It’s going to be average, at best. More likely, you are going to have diarrhea tonight. I understand that it’s bar food, so you have low expectations to start with, but this is bad bar food. And that’s tough to do.
— The food is prepared by guys who take their breaks in a little alcove just up Sutherland Road. Why is this an important fact? Well, take a walk outside CitySide and walk up Sutherland Road. You’ll see more cigarette butts littered on the ground than you can count. And those are the same guys who are prepping your food. Mmm. Yummy.
Service:
— When it is painfully obvious that the male staff are working there solely to try and get laid, and the female staff are working there solely to try and make a buck, then you are in for a night of terrible service. If you like being ignored, then this is definitely a great place to frequent.
Overall, 2 stars for the location. That’s it.