Sara C.
Yelp
My husband and I visited Cibo Vino for Valentine's Day this year. Many other couples had the same idea, obviously, but the crowded schedule of reservations didn't hurt the service.
We were seated promptly at the time of our reservation, and started to peruse the menu. The prices were not out of this world expensive, but a tad on the higher side.
The ambiance was pretty upscale, with lots of blacks and whites, as well as dark wood tables and black and white patterned booths. There is also a large wall at the back that is a white lighted wall with rows of wine. That was kind of out of place, in my opinion, but others may enjoy it.
Our server was excellent, especially with how busy they were. She gave us recommendations, and didn't try to rush us out the door like we have experienced on Valentine's Day at other establishments.
After we got our drinks and looked at the menus, my husband went to the restroom really quick, where something very odd happened. There was a large man just standing in the restroom against the wall, glaring at anyone who came in. It really freaked out my husband. I wasn't sure if it was a staff member patrolling the bathrooms or just a random person doing that?! So weird.
Anyway, now to the important part of the night - the food! Cibo Vino is Italian, so that is the fare on offer here. We started with the Buratta Caprese and the Hail Caesar Salad. The Burrata was awesome and had a nice tangy balsamic and huge dollop of the cheese. The Hail Caesar Salad was a little dry and could use a tiny bit more dressing.
I am a gnocchi fiend, so we also ordered the Starter Pasta, Gnocchi Alla Pesto. I am not usually a pesto fan, but this was a creamy sauce of pesto, which was delicious (some places use pesto almost straight up and it's too much for me!). I definitely enjoyed this pasta dish and recommend it. Smaller, but if you ordered it for only yourself, it could almost be an entree.
And speaking of entrees, we ordered our dishes right after finishing with our starters. We were getting pretty full already, but it was Valentine's Day and we weren't leaving without some fancy entrees!
I ordered the Beef Tip Penne, and it was a huge portion. Lots of protein, very saucy, and overall hearty without being too filling.
My husband got the Fennel Citrus Salmon, and he had a few issues with his dish. First of all it was SWIMMING in sauce, like it was supposed to be a soup? Weird. And then when he did cut into the salmon filet, it was almost raw inside!
Our waitress was super apologetic, but then said that the kitchen staff did not agree that it was an issue. Ummm raw fish? No thank you! So our waitress took the item off our bill since we basically couldn't eat it safely. And then she also gave us a free dessert to brighten the mood.
We picked the tiramisu (my favorite), and as with all the other items we ordered, it was massive. Nice and chilled, with a sliced cherry on top, which I had never seen on a tiramisu before. We could barely finish it between us, but we put a dent in it for sure. Even with being so full, we made room for tiramisu!
So overall, I would say there were definitely some hiccups in our experience, but aside from those things, our experience was nice at Cibo Vino and I would recommend trying it out if you're in the Old Market area and want something a little higher end.