Cibo 17th happy hour is setting high bars for other restaurants

Visiting Cibo on 17th Avenue was not pre-planned like most of our visits, but, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. Cibo is located at 1012 17th Ave SW, a street bustling with a large variety of great restaurants in the surrounding area. The brick-red exterior gave the restaurant a very rustic feel, with a contrasting black sign.

We entered Cibo around 3 pm on a sunny afternoon. A bright blue and yellow seating arrangement located to the right welcomed us in, with big open windows bringing in a lot of natural light, drawing attention to the Cafe & Winebar. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sweet pastries was very tempting, perfect for those on the go. Off the bat, the colour scheme of the Cafe & Winebar gave off a very fun and friendly atmosphere, drawing me in. Once I got a good look at the frontal space, I looked up to find a server greeting us with a large smile. She then proceeded to take us to the second floor, where the restaurant is, past the kitchen and the small Italian-style grocery store. The second floor was lightly filled with guests, on an otherwise slow Tuesday.

Red and brown brick walls filled the entire top floor. Although they were patchy and peeling, it only added to Cibo’s charm. The wooden tables and black chairs, along with the gorgeous chandelier littering the ceiling provided the interior with a modernly rustic yet chic decor which made me feel like I was in a modern urban Italian restaurant.

Cibo's happy hour menu is served between 3-5 pm from Monday to Saturday. The happy hour menu is definitely true to its name, with great 5$ pizzas and appetizers, it's perfect for those looking to save a buck yet still receive great food.

We started with the truffle fries - white truffle oil, grana padano, sea salt - they were crisp and well seasoned. Grana padano gave the dish a nice crumbly, slightly grainy texture, the creamy garlic aioli dip wrapped it all together.

Throughout the meal, our waitress was very attentive. Immediately after we finished our truffle fries, she cleared off any unnecessary dishes and brought out our next appetizer.

The Lamb Meatballs are served with tomato, spinach, black olive, and pecorino, this portion was on the smaller side, I wouldn’t recommend a single one for a group any larger than 2. The lamb meatballs were soft and tender dressed in a slightly tangy tomato sauce, spinach didn’t do much for the dish aside from adding a pop of colour. The Lamb Meatball dish could use additional flavours, as it was quite boring.

Lastly, we got the wild boar bacon and basil thin crust pizza. I absolutely love thin crusts for a pizza, because in many instances it takes the focus off the dough and a noticeable amount of flavour bursts from each bite. So, in my book Cibo’s pizza's we're already on a good start.

The wild boar bacon pizza is topped with fennel salami, smoked pancetta, and house-made sausage. Each of the meats were very tender and juicy. The fennel salami was a personal favourite of mine, the fennel really gave the otherwise saucy/cheesy pizza a unique rawness, combined with a slightly salty taste that tingles your taste buds, it is a meat lovers dream.

While we were enjoying our pizzas, a glass ‘sauce’ bottle was seated on our table, containing some sort of red/orange concoction. Of course, I had to try this mystery item. I poured a little on my pizza and the sauce revealed itself to be chili oil. Cibo’s chili oil is thankfully not like some that I have tried, which taste like just plain oil, this definitely had a kick to it.

The basil pizza includes tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, grana padano, and evoo. It did not have a lot going on, which is of course expected. However, this allowed me to focus on other ingredients. I found the pizza sauce to have a really nice tang to it, with a slightly runny texture. The mozzarella had a nice subtle milky flavour, pizza was slightly salty from what I’m guessing could be the brine of the fresh mozzarella. I wish the basil played a larger role in the dish, as it was pushed back by the other ingredients.

By the end of the meal I was too full to even move, I unbuckled my pants and relaxed in my seat, completely astonished at Cibo’s happy hour menu. With only $25 dollars spent, I walked away with a pleased stomach and a thankful wallet.