Cibo Waterfront Café
339 Waterfront Dr
204-594-0339
February, 2014
A lot has happened in the area over the past few years. What used to be a grungy, beat-up neighbourhood slowly evolves into a bright, exciting and modern display along beautiful Stephen Juba Park. I fundamentally oppose gentrification but at the same time, I want to see our downtown grow and thrive. Waterfront Drive gained a beautiful new resident with the Mere Hotel, which you can’t miss.
Walk past the hotel and Cibo Waterfront Café lies nestled between the hotel and the river. If you go by car, do not park in Mere’s parking lot; there’s a lot for the restaurant just north of it.
While Mere looks flashy, modern and contemporary, by stark contrast Cibo was originally a steam plant from the 1920s, and it maintains its brick façade today.
The outside maintains the look of yesteryear, the inside underwent extensive renovations to give the place a modern look, without sacrificing the essence of the building. The restaurant has a split-level design, with the lower half housing a cozy bar and TV tuned to sports, and the upper half surrounded by tall and welcoming windows. In winter, these windows provide a lovely view of the Red River, the Museum of Human Rights and the iconic ice-climbing tower. These views can only get better in summer when the surrounding outdoor patio comes into action. Cibo opens for breakfast and after a long and bitter winter, nothing sounds better than sitting on a patio with a cup of coffee and enjoying a breakfast with the sound of the river splashing against the shore. Cibo serves Starbucks so I’d be tempted to sit around for a few refills.
Breakfast stops at 11 am, but the day menu provides something for all palettes. For starters, the Bruschetta comes with seven available combinations, plus a special of the day. The bruschetta bread tastes nicely fresh and soft in the middle, with the requisite crunchy crisp to the outside. The Grilled Vegetable combination complements the bread nicely, tasting equally crispy and fresh. The trappist cheese adds body and depth to the dish. My favourite bruschetta combo, the Buffalo Mozzarella, tastes delicate and soft, exactly as good mozza should taste. The classic tomato and basil combination embraces and cradles the delicate mozza.
Today’s special includes slices of salmon. Unfortunately, the salmon saw a bit too much heat for my liking. Salmon undergoes a drastic change through the cooking process. As a raw meat, it tastes tender, rich and melt-in-your-mouth sweet. Fully cooked, salmon tastes fishy and dry. To me, salmon should never be fully cooked to a well-done state; there should always be a bit of pink in the middle, at least.
Unfortunately, the salmon in the Salmon Salad tells the same story. While the fish looks delicious, slice your knife through it and you see that it’s well-done throughout. Again, the vegetables look fresh and crispy, but the salmon should be the highlight of the salmon salad.
The burger highlights the meal today. Now that I know, I don’t need anything else if I’m going to order this monstrous sandwich! The bun itself is almost the size of an artesian bread loaf! Don’t get me wrong, it looks beautiful! The bread’s skin shines tanned and even, and the inside tastes moist and fluffy. I love the vegetables in this burger as well, but again, there’s a ton of it. It’s fresh and crispy, and adds at least an inch to the height of the burger.
At the heart of the sandwich, the perfect patty anchors this whole creation together. The enormous patty, large enough to hang over all sides of the bun, comes perfectly seared on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. This patty is absolutely grilled to perfection. The only complaint that I have with this fantastic burger lies with the pickled shallots. I can understand what Cibo tries to do here—a lot of people like pickles in their burgers and the shallots offer the same sourness without the intensity of the pickling brine. However, if you’re not a pickle fan, you get the sour edge throughout every bite of your burger. Next time I’ll ask them to hold the shallots.
I asked for fries with the burger, which was a big mistake. Even though the shoestring fries come nicely seasoned, crispy and not greasy, I can’t have more than a few strings. The massive burger did me in. As much as I hate wasting food, most of these delicious fries go to disposal—pass on the fries unless you’re the biggest of eaters.
Needless to say, dessert is not an option. A glass of wine or beer is a nice way to finish the evening. Cibo offers a nice, intelligent selection of both.
**** /5
This is a free product that I'm happy to bring to you. If you enjoyed reading this, please consider clicking on the accompanying ads. This is the only payment I receive for offering this public service. Thank you as always for reading.
This is a free product that I'm happy to bring to you. If you enjoyed reading this, please consider clicking on the accompanying ads. This is the only payment I receive for offering this public service. Thank you as always for reading.
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