[4] Digital Spy gave 5 stars to "Bittersweet", reviewing: "Last year's 'Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)' was a bona fide dancefloor delight, so it's little wonder that Sophie Ellis-Bextor (...) has teamed up with the Freemasons again for the first single from her upcoming fourth album.

However, 'Bittersweet' is no twin sister to 'Heartbreak' (...) It's a big spangly club thumper with a pleasing hint of the '80s to it – the pop equivalent of that surprisingly elegant sequinned boob tube at the back of your mum's wardrobe.

"[5] BBC Radio 1 gave "Bittersweet" 3 stars out of 5, stating "that voice is kind of striking, for a kick off: frosty and cold on the outside, but boiling with passion underneath.

"[6] The Guardian made the song "Pick of the Week", and gave it 5 stars, stating that "Sophie Ellis-Bextor should seem rather old-fashioned in these days of Ke$ha sicking up her lunch in Paris Hilton's wardrobe and Gaga strapping 20 B&H on her face, but while faces come and go, tunes like this skyscraping electro disco-pop blockbuster never fall out of vogue.

If you can't handle her fantastically nonchalant warbletones you're better off making a cup of tea for the tune's duration; but also think about where your life's headed because the signs, frankly, are not good".