Pressed Freedom Farm pork belly, pork scratchings, peppercorn squid, green paw paw salad, peanut foam

Cibo Restaurant Review Parnell, Auckland City.

Restaurant food reviews are somewhat pointless and clinical. What really matters are the people that you share food memories with. The idea of eating alone and dissecting the food for technical merit defeats the social aspect of food, after all it’s supposed to be a means to an ends. Anyway back to the review.

The last time I ate at Cibo I witnessed something from a French slapstick movie. A table of 10 not too far from mine was in full swing. Coming to the end of their meal and regaling stories of meals past, one woman was gesticulating, her arms were waving, and when the waiter appeared at the table and said in a loud voice ” Excuse me” her arms dropped to the table.

Just for one moment the waiter thought his chance had come to deliver coffee to the table. The woman couldn’t wait to finish the story. Her arms went up in the air like a flock of seagulls. She waved like a windmill and the waiter hadn’t a chance.

The foam of the latte that he was carrying, and just about to put on to the table, flew, in slow motion, and landed on her head. A lopsided Princess Laia appeared at the table. The foam then gradually slid down the side of her head. She was quiet, as was the rest of the restaurant, for a minute. The Maitre d’ rushed to rescue the situation.

I cannot recall the rest of the event, nor the food, for laughing too much so thought I’d eat here tonight.

The setting for Cibo is juxtaposed modern concrete courtyard within the old school Axis building, and the food had the same feel. The modern take on European classic cuisine also sits comfortably within these four walls. Let’s start with the entrée, I mean where else would you start! Pressed Freedom Farm pork belly, pork scratchings, peppercorn squid, green paw paw salad, peanut foam. Everything other than the paw paw and peanut foam sits well together. Pork belly has to be one of my all time favourites. Adding the foam and salad gives this dish another dimension. It takes you to another place. It transcends normal and you feel ok about paying the extra few dollars for it.

The main I chose was ‘Char-grilled angus pure eye fillet, cauliflower and oxtail ‘risotto’, chickpea chip’. I mean, who doesn’t go for the eye fillet when out? Well I do do and a fair few red blooded males also followed suit. The eye fillet literally melted in the mouth. The rest of the meal complimented the quality of the meat.

There’s little point having great meat with crap, over cooked and inferior quality, vegetables.

The easiest part of the evening was the wine. I had a choice of Desert Heart Pinot Noir from Central Otago and Soho Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Obviously I had both and they enjoyed me as much as I enjoyed them, and also dinner.

Cibo is not the easiest of places to find for new comers, but given that it’s been around for a while and we’ve nearly all got google maps to direct the way, is well worth seeking out. It’s an institution amongst Auckland restaurants and is worthy of praise.

Cibo Restaurant
91 St. Georges Bay Road
Parnell, Auckland
+64 9 303 9660

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Written by Jayson Bryant

Jayson’s roots in wine began when his father literally dragged him round France and injected his passion into him. From the age of 8 his family took month long holidays in France travelling through all regions and sampling their wine.
UnScrewed has reinvented the concept of wine tasting in New Zealand and along the way found a new and willing audience. In addition to encouraging straightforward wine tasting, Jayson educates viewers about the effects of regional factors (soil, sun, wind) on wine flavours, and how to buy wine.

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