Cibo Espresso

cibo hutt st: always a pleasure. :) day or night. morning or afternoon :)

I like Cibo, but I can’t give it a four or even five star rating. Look, I know that Cibo is a South Australian «thing», but I just don’t see why people go so crazy for it. Let me break down my reasoning.
Coffee: Like another reviewer said, the quality changes depending on who is making it. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s far below what I can make at home on my humble Breville machine. I also get frustrated with how looooong it takes to get my coffee and with the lack of flexibility in the menu. For instance, my favourite summer drink is an iced soy latte, which is exactly what it sounds like: a soy latte with ice in it. Without fail, every time I try to order this from Cibo, I end up fighting with the barista about the fact I do not want an iced coffee (with ice cream, etc in it) and about 40% of the time, the barista will not make my drink. So I just go home and make it myself.
Food: I am highly suspicious of food that sits around in a glass case all day. I am really not a fan of Cibo’s pre-​made sandwiches, flatbreads, etc, but I do like their gelati. That stuff is great!
Seating/​logistics: Again, like someone else mentioned, the seating inside the café is poorly planned, and there is simply not enough of it. I can’t remember the last time I got a table at Cibo; I generally grab my coffee and take it home.
Overall, I still like Cibo and will go there happily for anything that’s not an iced coffee (I’m partial to their chai lattes), but I definitely wouldn’t rate them as my number one coffee shop, and probably wouldn’t frequent them as often as I do if they weren’t so close to my place.

Not a big coffee fan but I hear it is great. When I go here (which unfortunately isn’t too often as i don’t really live in the area) I generally have a slice of cake or a very small gelato — you simply can not compare this coffee shop food to other coffee shops — Cibo is amazing.

Now, this is so much more than any Cibo, this is Cibo Hyde Park. Therefore it’s a thing to do, for instance it’s what my friends and I mean when we say, catch up? Or coffee? Cibo Hyde Park is simply social default.
There are a few negatives, such as the fact that it gets busy at times, and therefore serving is slow and seating is non existent. However the intense busy factor is often restricted to weekends, and during peak hours of the day. It still doesn’t sway me to dislike in any way.
The coffee is of Cibo standard, and for a drink it is conventionally brilliant. however for meals, not so brilliant and I would recommend other places if lunch is the plan. However there are some standard and slightly over priced options available, I guess. Yogurt and musli anyone?
This Cibo is mainly a highlight for its location, and the chain in general. There is not too much mainstream coffee competition on the strip, and Un Café across the road isn’t quite as popular nor good, I don’t think. IMHO.

I go to Cibo Espresso at Hyde Park so often I almost think I should have a permanent table there. It is simply my number one meeting place.
Coffee wise the quality goes up and down but I’m sure this is all down to the range of the different baristas on duty. After all a coffee has more to do with the barista than the bean just like a meal depends on the skill of the chef who is preparing it. For me it’s a skinny capp or a long black with a jug of milk on the side.
Over the years, I have had business meetings, family gatherings and even dates at Cibo but mostly I go there on my own to get my fix for the day. What did we all do with ourselves before the coffee craze became so big? There must have been a lot of people wandering around aimlessly because these days we just all hang out in coffee shops and cafes.
Food wise, they do a mean grilled chicken foccacia and their tuna sandwiches are a good light meal option. When I’m being super good, I’ll opt for one of their tuna salads — not cheap but low in cals which is good. I try to stay clear of their deserts but have to admit there’s some tempting morsels in their display cupboards. I do however like their gelati — the lemon is a winner!
One criticism for the guys at Hyde Park though — what is it with those new tables inside!!! They’ve been placed so close together that if there’s just one or two people at them, you end up sitting within an uncomfortable listening distance of the person next to you OR two people will sit at one of those tables and spread out so they take up four seats. I don’t criticise you guys much but these tables are just silly — spread out and use your space. Other than that — I love ya work!