Where: Cibo 91 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell.
Ph: (09) 303 9660
Rating out of 10
Food: 8
Service: 9
Value: 8
Ambience: 8
Our meal: $385 for a bottle of Te Mata Elston Chardonnay and three glasses of wine (including one of Cloudy Bay), five entrees, three main courses, a dish of greens, two desserts and two small sweets.
Wine list: Excellent.
Verdict: Great food, atmosphere and service. We'll be back.
The two great things about Cibo are that it's glamorous and they give you plenty. This Friday night we were hungry. The chill southerly had sharpened our appetites and we were in no mood for tiny, overly stylised entrees.
Indeed, Marcus actually changed his first choice because the salmon looked bigger. It was a good move. His entree arrived looking like an orange curl, resting on a wave of rice, that went from one end of the plate to the other. And although it could have tasted like one enormous sushi roll, he pronounced it fantastic.
Our other entrees were generous, too - though I could have done with a thicker slice of buffalo mozzarella to accompany my prosciutto and tomato ($22). Andrea decided to sidestep the main course altogether and have two entrees instead. Her choices - the schnitzel ($21) and carpaccio of beef ($22) - added up to a substantial meal by any standards. Only Brian grizzled that his pork belly ($22) could have been larger. But it was truly enormous for an entree, we reminded him.
Which is possibly why we waited for an hour between our entrees and main courses without really noticing. While most nights this would have been unacceptably long, this time it felt okay. The atmosphere in Cibo's garden-like dining room is sophisticated and mildly exciting. We were in no hurry and there were plenty of interesting people to watch, including the chefs in the kitchen. Our wine was served in fine, big glasses and the waiters who topped them up (every few minutes, it seemed) were quite exceptional. And, let's face it, we were no longer starving.
Indeed, when our main courses did arrive I was out making an urgent phone call. But rather than leaving my hapuku ($36) cooling on the table, our splendid wait staff had whipped it back to the kitchen. As I approached the table they kicked into action.
Within seconds the dish was presented with a flourish, my starched napkin was on my knee and I was part of the group again. Even my water was topped up. And no, the extra couple of minutes under the lights did no harm. The fish was perfectly, tenderly, cooked until just-done and the sauce that accompanied it, served separately the way I like it, was delicious, too. The tuna ($35) was also superb, as was Andrea's second entree, the schnitzel. Only Brian was mildly disappointed with his chicken breast, cooked confit-style ($36) that resulted in the dish firming to just short of dryness. Still, our side dish of asparagus ($7) was perfect.
Probably the best thing was the dessert menu which featured, alongside the ordinary puddings, what Cibo call "small sweets". At just $7.50 each they were delicious - and again, really generous. Next time I'll definitely have one of those.
Marcus had the broken lemon meringue which arrived as tiny lemon meringue pies and were snaffled up so quickly I didn't get a crumb. Brian tested the brownie, his new food obsession ("10 out of 10"), and Andrea had the hot cinnamon doughnuts with chocolate dipping sauce which were so good she wants to drive back to Cibo whenever she thinks of them (which is often).
On balance, Cibo retains its place as one of the best restaurants in town. The cooking is excellent, the setting in that old chocolate factory in Parnell, ritzy and romantic at the same time. There didn't seem to be a dud on the wine list and the service was impeccable.
