Cibo Wine Bar

A very successful restaurant in the heart of downtown Toronto expanded and opened up a brand new restaurant in the heart of Toronto.  Cibo Wine Bar, which has successful roots in the core area of Toronto, opened up a new Italian restaurant in July across the street from the old Capitol Theatre.  We took advantage of a groupon ticket that they had posted which offered us lunch for two for $21.  Tips were not included in the coupon.

We made reservations to go last week and chose to go there on a Sunday afternoon.  The place was half full and had its patio opened up onto Yonge Street.  We were given our table right as we had made reservations for that morning.  Upon sitting down, the waitress gave us a mini tour of the place and gave us a heads up of all the foods that were available.

My first stop was off to the seafood station where they were serving sliced salmon and tuna sashimi mixed  with arugula salads. a touch of hot capers and peppers.  This was by far one of the most delicious meals of the day.  The fish was very fresh and each cup was mad with fresh gloves so that one does not contaminate one from the other.  The fish tasted amazing and the combination of the hot capers and arugula greens really brought out all the flavors to make it one of the most refreshing dishes ever.  I believe they also added a bit of lemon juice to really bring out all the flavors exponentially.

Tuna and Salmon mixed with Arugula Salad and Hot Capers

Next we went to the pasta station.  It didn't seem like much however what really impressed me the most was that the pasta was very pure and that the sauce was not just piled on.  The sauce itself was delicious and oily or greasy at all.  It made the pasta very light and enjoyable.  The pasta was all freshly made which made the dish even more enlightening to have.

      Pasta

Next I went for the Arugula salad itself.  This freshly made salad contained arugula greens, sweet cherry tomatoes and a touch of shaved parmigiano reggiano.  I also opted for some balsamic vinegar to bring it all out to the forefront.  The bacon I added on my own but as you can, this was one very delicious salad.  Everything about it was healthy including the bacon.  I actually had two of these salads as it too was refreshing and was a great compliment to the rest of the dishes.

 Arugula Salad

The fruit section contained some of the more exotic fruits in the world which included bright red sweet strawberries, passion fruit and dragon fruit.  The dragon fruit and strawberries were very sweet however the peaches and passion fruits were a bit sour.  I wasn't too sure if it had been a long time since I had either a peach or passion fruit but I certainly don't ever recall having either fruit so sour before.  It could have been just those two that we had, who knows, but we certainly did not have that problem with the dragon fruit.

Assorted Fruits

The meat section consisted of many sliced hams including prosciutto, capocollo and salsiccia calabrese   We also sprinkled some mushrooms, some cheese and some peppers to give it some color. One could pick and choose the meats they want as I believe there were about five different ones that were on display.  The meats were all thinly sliced but oddly, they weren't very salty at all.  I think these were the least saltiest pieces of meat I have ever had.  

Assorted meats

Last thing we tried that day was the Salmon Omelet.  I forgot to snap a picture of it however there was a Spinach Omelet sitting next to it and I ended up capturing that on my camera.  The omelet was delicious according to my wife.  The omelet was served straight from the heated grill which one could clearly observe while standing in line.  There was a huge lineup for them as everyone seemed to have wanted one.  It lwas rather big and after my wife had finished her omelet, she said she was pretty much done.  

Spinach Omelet

A lunch without dessert would have been a lunch that was not fully complete so one handmade fresh creole was ordered to satisfied the last bit of empty space we had in our stomachs.  The cream inside the creole was pretty good although I do have to admit it was not the most sweetest creole I have ever had.   A tiny bit more sugar would have helped.  Having been to Italy before and having eaten a true Italian creole before, one could tell that this one was just off the mark a little bit.  Still it was pretty good and it hit all the right spots.

Creole

It was still a great experience to have.  It was my first time in the new restaurant and they sure did not disappoint.  The staff was very courteous and we were very appreciative of the one waitress who spent a few minutes explaining everything that was being offered at the restaurant.  We had a great time and they even took a picture for us at the bar.  I would go again and for the money conscious people, there is a groupon coupon for a four people up on Groupon so go take advantage of it.  Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5.


Cibo Wine Bar
2472 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario

www.cibowinebar.com
416-925-0016