Cibo

Amazing service and great food… you have to try the pavlova! The courtyard is really lovely in the evening and the koi pond is charming so I would recommend siting outside if you can. Great range of vegetarian and gluten free options that most of the table ended up ordering just because they sounded so tasty.

Good service, good food, full wine list, but all on the pricey side ($ 40 mains, $ 18 dessert). Crispy whitebait at entrée was a treat. Desserts are simply too big and waiters should tell you this. Pavlova will feed three donuts will not. Outdoor seating can be a little cold (winter) depending on where you are seated.

I used to go to Cibo a lot back in the day. In the early 2000s, this restaurant was at the top of Auckland’s dining pecking order with superb service, interesting flavours and charming atmosphere.
So in 2015, does Cibo still hold on to that top rank in Auckland dining hearts (and stomachs)?
The answer is yes, in the kind of way Meg Ryan seemed to shout over her coffee at a café with Billy Crystal in «When Harry met Sally».
My entrée was the whitebait omelette. It was just superb. So light and fluffy with a fantastic dressing.
For the mains I had the Wakanui Rib eye steak. Boring you might think. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve had a steak this nice before anywhere in Auckland, and that includes specialist steakhouses. With the steak comes a complement of potato purée and gravy plus cauliflower. The side of cauliflower should not taste that good. It simply shouldn’t. Cauliflower is supposed to be awful but this was tender in the centre, slightly crispy charred on top and delicious in some kind of gentle citrus dressing.
The purée was nice enough but the gravy that sat on top of it was rich and flavoursome as if it was personally selected by gravy gods to help mop up the last of your steak.
Frankly, I couldn’t find space for dessert. But I noticed they had cheeses that would likely cause hallucinations if ingested, so I will find space for next time.
Oh, and the service is still superb. Tips well deserved.
Still one of Auckland’s best. Still one of the best places I’ve dined anywhere around the world.

Our last day in New Zealand we decided to try this place. It is was such an amazing experience. The food the drinks were just so good and interesting.

Amazing evening out! Impeccable service, professional & knowledgeable wait staff, without the air of being stuffy or snooty. Witty banter from the maitre d’ added to our night, with the offer of ordering us a Unicorn ride home a highlight. Our meals were larger than we expected, and we walked away stuffed to the brim & satisfied. We had the pleasure of ordering one of each of the ribeye variations, and a mushrooms for our mains, all of which were cooked to perfection. Deserts were a marshmallows & a rhubarb cheesecake, both of which were substantial and well presented. I would recommend Cibo to anyone who desires a night out where nothing’s a bother, and you’re treated to fabulous food and service. Enjoy!

I was fortunate to be taken to lunch the other day at Cibo. I hadn’t been for some time so I was interested to see if they have maintained their consistently good service and food
The service was definitely up to expectation — and the food sublime.
The oysters — bluff luckily — were great au natural although my host had the tempura ones which looked just as good.
For mains, I had the fish special which was perfectly cooked but I also liked the look of the sashimi stack
As usual Cibo delivered high quality and I look forward to my next visit

Fabulous. Stunning. Cibo is one of my favourite restaurants in Auckland. It is located in an unassuming part of St George’s Bay Road, which adds to its allure.
The wait staff are a pleasure to meet. They are warm, friendly and attentive without being assiduous and have fantastic wine-​food matching abilities. The vibe of the restaurant is busy-​sophisticated. The recent upgrade in the décor department is unusual with hand mirrors on the walls — it’s different but I actually don’t mind it.
Much of the food has a sort of Asian influence and there are a lot of interesting flavour matches — too many to list — you have to go there and try for yourself.
In the summer I like to sit outside in the courtyard, indoors in winter. I recommend it for a romantic evening for two, and also great for a small group of friends.

Cibo was an elegant and traditional looking restaurant with a lovely outdoor area on the side. We started with a Salt crusted prawn w pad thai (28) and were soon horrified. Two prawns for $ 28? One prawn for $ 14? What a profitable dish. Pad thai was way too salty I could not eat it. I’ve never had pad thai this bad. With a bit of disappointment and fear, we moved onto the mains. Char-​grilled angus eye fillet (43) was presented on a dish like a piece of art. Accompanying oxtail french toast, spinach, horseradish and onions went perfectly nice with the meat. Oxtail french toast was an unique side which was soft but crunchy. Onions were to die for. Gameford duck leg (43) had a waiting time of 35 minutes which ended up being not worth the wait. Duck leg was very dry and even burnt at the bottom. Maybe 35 minutes was way too long. However we did enjoy a small piece of glazed duck breast it came with as well as the sesame lychee crumble. Cibo seemed to be very creative with all their dishes as all were special and different to other restaurants in their own way.
After we tasted the desserts, our entrée and mains were erased from our memory. The Salted caramel peanut ice cream sandwich (17) were full of nut flavours. Glazed banana and spiced ganache supported this so well we basically scraped the dish for more. Tiramisu profiteroles (10) had a creamy smooth fillings with a crispy choux pastry outer. I am definitely coming back for all desserts listed here soon.
Service here is impeccable. Waiters are friendly and well mannered. The whole procedure of ordering were eased and relaxed as they were helpful and witty. I reckon all waiters should be trained here.

I went to Cibo with someone who goes there several times a year.
Greeted by name upon entering with big smiles was a really nice touch. We sat at the bar and had a cocktail to start… The maitre d’ had put a bottle of the Penfolds which my date had last time. He waxed lyrical on how wonderful the particulars of that bottle and talked it up and asked if we might be interested in cracking it open with the evenings meal…- Pro service move!
We said we’d wait and see looking at the menu, ultimately we ended up pairing with each dish. But he wasn’t pushy and just left it there until we decided to do so.
The menu was clever and everything sounded amazing,
Stand out dishes were: the Beef Tartare, while not «classic» was whimsical and the kimchee was an excellent addition.
and venison which was cooked to perfection and deliciously juicy.
I liked where there is a «treats» menu in addition to a full traditional «dessert» menu so that leaves a room to do a cheese board. very smart!
The menu changes very often and is kept seasonal.
We asked for wine pairings from the staff and every single pick was spot on.
The dining room is light and airy and the ambient buzz is delightfully uplifting. We sat in a booth corner seat which was spaciously intimate. Lots of lovely little touches make the place homely yet really upscale.
Parking is easy along that end of St George’s in the evening.
This is an easy pick for a splurge for date night!

I’ve been to Cibo a couple of times — always in the evening and always in summer, I think this is the way to go in terms of atmosphere. The outside courtyard is quite magical in the summer with a wee pond and perfect lighting.
Unfortunately inside is another story. I came here for a business lunch and the new décor especially in the light of day is an eye-​sore. The new fit out is kind of asian style, a pink feature wall with japanese blossom and black hand held mirrors seems mis-​matched with the rest of the décor, unhealthy looking flaxy pot-​plants and random homemade chandeliers that look bach-​y against the pale yellow leather booths.
The upside was the service which was impeccable — Cibo is well known for its charming waiters and ours was just that. I love how they always know what to say.
We started with Oysters that were fine, I prefer mine to be served on ice so they stay cold, but the size and taste i was happy with.
First course was the BEST, a prawn laksa with big juicy prawns salt crusted and battered in a TDF broth. I think the crab custard was a bit random as it looked like the goo that comes out of crabs/​crays. The coconut gel was more apt.
Second course was pretty average, liquorice charcoal dusted salmon which was cooked to perfection but I found the flavour pretty bland. The toasted grain salad and goats cheese marshmellow were well matched but not with the salmon.
The cheese plate was good, beautiful selection of cheeses, but I would have liked some gourmet crackers or crispbreads as well as breads. The other deserts looked average, i expected the presentation to be outta this world but the sorbet was melting and the chocolate treats looked messy.
All in all an ok experience, perhaps Cibo is becoming a bit dated — judging by the clientele of 50+ maybe it is.

Cibo has been around for almost 20 years, and it’s still winning awards, so it must be doing something right.
It’s good fun here: there’s a big courtyard, which is one of the best places to sit outside and have a bit of food on a balmy summer evening. The service is personable and chatty if you want it like that; if not, they’ll quietly do their thing around you.
Another big plus is that they have good, imaginative vegetarian options here: not just a tired pasta or boring old «vegetable stack» in sight.
Despite it being a reasonably big place (for this reason, it’s also a popular events venue), they’ve divided up the room well, so it feels cosy.