Cibo E Vino

The restaurant has closed for business. For lease sign on the window.
Shame. the food was good. John will return somewhere.

We recently gave this place another try, it is greatly improved, and the interior and most of the bar has been redone. There is some real effort at work here and the food was at least good for the most part. Unfortunately, it is very pricey here for what you get, and there are good items and bad. The service could be better here. Still, for this area of town there are very few good choices for dinner, this is actually now one of the better choices. If you took guests there for dinner, you would not be embarrassed or terribly disappointed, that alone makes it a good choice.

Closed without notice!
We have seen this place on the morning news shows for a couple of years so decided to try it. I made reservations for Friday 12÷18÷15. I made the reservations on ¹²⁄₁₆. When we arrived at the restaurant the parking lot was almost completely empty and the place was not lit up. As we approached the door, we were intercepted by a security guard that told us the place was closed down. I asked «when did this happen», and he told me «today.»
Obviously this place must have been having problems for a while to close down. The problem I have they took my reservation over the phone just two days earlier. I should have took note of the fact that their online reservation link did not work. Even their restaurant website still shows an operating restaurant with no mention of closing down.
There is no excuse for not calling me to tell me that they closed, prior to me arriving at the place and finding out the hard way. Extremely unprofessional and just plain ignorant.

Save your copy of your receipt and note your tip and total! I noticed when the payment cleared the bank, it was for more than I left. Both ours and our friends’ were changed by someone at the restaurant to increase the tip. Called and the manager will reimburse it, but we won’t be back.
Atmosphere not very good, otherwise just so-​so.

My boyfriend and I came here for date night and I’m so glad we did! Everything from the quiet atmosphere to my Fettuccine Alfredo was amazing. We started with the Pepperoni Pizza Rolls which are an absolute must when you dine here. My boyfriend ordered the Vodka Penne w/​Sausage which I couldn’t help but have several bites of. The staff was extremely welcoming — the chef and owner even took the time to come out and check on us during our meal! We can’t wait to go back.

The food, chicken Alfredo and mussels, was fantastic. The service was wonderful and our waitress was attentive. Everything has improved since our last visit.

Love this spot! My fiancé and I dined there on a Friday night and the atmosphere was truly amazing. The food was delicious! Make sure to try out some of their yummy Pepperoni Rolls. They literally melt in your mouth. We also had the Black Mountain Shrimp and man were they giant shrimp! For dinner I had the Chicken Picatta (cooked to perfection) and my partner had pizza with figs on it (a must try)! The wine was great and our server was very attentive. The chef and owner, John came out to meet us. He was born in Brooklyn and learned to cook from his grandmother.
We will be back! So great to have a locally owned place so close to us!

The service started out great until we got our appetizers then the waitress completely disappeared. We sat there for 10 minutes after we had finished our appetizers with empty drinks before she came back to put in our order. When we received our food it was less then ok. The risotto was under cooked and the lamb was over cooked. Not a great combination. Great place to grab a drink and a mediocre appetizer. Would recommend for happy hour not dinner.

I visited Cibo twice within 2weeks. My first visit we had a few mishaps with the waitress and our orders, but overall we decided the food made up for it. The homemade breadsticks were in the iven and would be out shortly. We got them adter our salads. Oh and the calamari we ordered came out with entrée because she forgot to put the order in. Hmmm? Very good calamari, chicken picata and cannoli. So we considered to give it another chance and brought friends with us the following weekend.
Arrived at 6:30pm. Waitress/​bartender suggested calamari happy hour for 4 (nope not enough for 4people). Much later salads arrived (no fresh bread sticks as promised –in the oven) same excuse as the first visit. Salads gone and then finally the bread sticks came then we waited, waited, waited for our entrees. Mind you only 6 occupied tables in the whole place. What was the delay? Who knows! The bread was fantastic though. So a bottle of wine was purchased while we waited. By around 8:15we recieved entrees. All the meals were pretty good. Sea bass, lasagna and the lamb was excellent.
I think the kitchen is not focused on time management and even though the food is really good, we just dont have that kind of time to wait around for a complete dinner experience. 6:30 — 9:15

I came here with a friend for a late night dinner. Our appetizers were great, especially the baked Brie, which came with a sweet sauce and nuts. Definitely the best part of the night! I also enjoyed the black mountain shrimp, compliments of the chef.
By the time our food arrived, I was pretty full from the rich appetizers, but still ate some of our dinner. My friend enjoyed her ravioli. I ordered a pecan crusted fish (sorry, but I can’t remember which one), which was all right but I couldn’t taste the pecan crust very well. The sauce, though rich and buttery, seemed to be lacking pizzazz.
The drawbacks were (1) loud music on the patio — so loud that I couldn’t hear my friend talk (2) prices were a little high, though probably on par with your average nice Italian restaurant (3) the décor and vibe wasn’t as high-​end as the prices and reputation seem to imply.
If the atmosphere was more intimate and comfortable, I’d go back with my significant other on a date. Really, the food was very good, and I’m curious what else might be tasty on the menu. But I’d probably avoid the patio next time.

My mom and I went in for dinner on Sunday night and the food and service was great! Our waitress was so friendly and attentive. We split the drunk shrimp and the fried calamari for appetizers — both were delicious, especially the bread that came with the drunk shrimp and the marinara sauce that came with the calamari! Our entrees both came with house salads — the balsamic vinaigrette dressing was so good! I got the penne pesto for my meal — it had sun-​dried tomatoes and pine nuts, so so good! My mom got the chicken piccata — and said it was her ideal meal. It came with a side of spaghetti with marinara — and vegetables, including brussels sprouts (her favorite). Overall we had a great experience!

An hour and a half from start to finish to get a meal at 4:15. Only two servers on duty the entire time we were there which is ridiculous as it was also happy hour and relatively full but the place isn’t that big to start with.
The lasagna was cold on the inside and bland. Obviously premise and reheated. The walnut Apple salad was so so. I make a better salad at home. The margarita pizza was ok. Very doughy and again bland. The pesto rolls were the best thing we had as an appetizer but took almost 30 minutes to get to us after we ordered.
This was our first and last time here. Oh well…

I’m pretty new to the Carefree dining scene, but I enjoyed my recent visit to Cibo e Vino for a delicious dinner. All the pasta in the family-​friendly Italian restaurant is made in house, which made me more happily gobble up each bite of my homemade meal.
My pal and I started with a fruity red sangria, which was sweet and refreshing enough for even non-​wine lovers to enjoy. We began with my favorite part of the meal, baked brie, which came topped with homemade strawberry marmalade and pecans and was served with crostini ($ 12). This would have made a fantastic dessert, and the marmalade was a tasty touch to the bite of the cheese. It was the perfect size for two, and I would have happily eaten a second portion for my meal.
My pal got the Black Mountain Shrimp, sautéed in butter and served with portobello mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and garlic bread ($ 13). She said the appetizer was flavorful and the shrimp were fresh, making it a great choice for shrimp lovers.
For dinner, my pal had the pistachio crusted sea bass ($ 22), which came with a white wine beurre blanc, garlic mashed potato and sautéed spinach. She said the fish was cooked perfectly, and again, the portion was generous, but her only suggestion for improvement was to make the pistachio flavor more evident. While the nut did coat the fish, she was inspired to order it because the flavor combination seemed so interesting, but it wasn’t as evident as she would have preferred.
I had a vegetable ravioli featuring an alfredo sauce, with mushrooms, spinach and pine nuts ($ 14). The dish had a ton of sauce to scoop up, and the generosity of the veggies made for a very filling meal. I loved the sauce — it was a thick, creamy consistency, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. Both our meals came with salads — my pal got a Caesar salad, while I got a house salad that was topped with sliced onion and tomato, olives and cheese.
The salads were a nice addition to the meal, though I’d definitely recommend starting with the baked brie, for sure. The menu includes a huge variety of meat and pasta dishes, plus pizzas. Recipes come from chef/​owner John Collura’s Italian grandmother.
The restaurant recently reopened this spring after a remodel that doubled its size from 2,200 to 4,500 square feet. It includes an expansive patio that has classic Frank Sinatra-​style tunes playing, while the inside features several sports televisions at the bar, which is adjacent to the main dining room. There were big groups at the restaurant the night we went, and the atmosphere is relaxed.
Everyone who served us, from our host to our bartender to our server, definitely strove to provide great service, checking on how our food and drinks were throughout the night and making great recommendations on what to order. If you want to support a locally owned restaurant next time you’re in the north Scottsdale area, I’d recommend it.

I was contacted by Christina Olson the General Manager today. She invited us in for a complimentary dinner and took great care of us. I am so happy that we were able to eat here, the food is amazing and the staff that was working was amazing as well. Definitely try the Tuscan Risotto. For sure we will be back. Thank you for turning this into an amazing experience, can’t wait to have dinner here again

This is close to our house and have had a bad meal in the past. Well they renovated and I guess need to make some extra
money to pay for it. We ordered a pizza to go and paid $ 18. for a 12″ pie that was average. Also, when I try to pay with cash they had no $ in either register for change so went back to my car for a credit card. Food too expensive for what you’re getting, won’t be back.

WHERE TO BEGIN?
We received a slick and shiny full-​color Grand Opening announcement from Cibo e Vino. Great food photos. Intriguing menu. Famous chef. 10 minutes from home. Saturday night dinner with another couple. BaDaBing!
THE GOOD:
Outstanding waitperson. Superb Chicken Parmigiana.
THE BAD:
Upon arriving, I asked for coffee; they were «out,» deeming it cost prohibitive to make a new pot. It was 8:30pm, 30 minutes before their late Happy Hour started – we weren’t THAT late – don’t people often have a cuppa after a meal?
One of our party requested Arnold Palmer, but they didn’t have/​were-​out-​of iced tea too.
Ironically, there seemed no «supply» issues with alcoholic drinks
Two of our party ordered Vodka Penne («Penne tossed in Homemade Vodka Cream Sauce, Peas, and Prosciutto») which arrived sans Peas and Prosciutto. We alerted our server who returned with The Chef’s response: they were «out» of the recipe’s ingredients. We let her know we expected, at the very least, a discount on those dishes.
THE UGLY:
After dinner, having received our check, we requested to speak with the manager. When she arrived, we explained A) The «outs” – coffee and tea and peas and prosciutto; B) that a $ 2 discount on a $ 17 dish, that should never been served, was a joke; C) We had come as a result of their Grand Opening announcement and were extremely disappointed; and finally, D) We would not be coming back.
Without taking personal responsibility or offering even one solution/​option, she said «I’m sorry» and could not have cared less.
DONT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON Cibo e Vino.

Really had high hopes. Went before closed was good enough to go back. Will never go back. Waitress doesnt know what an IPA is? Spaghetti for $ 20? Raised prices to pay for remodel, ok but have food to make up for it. Chicken on the salad doesn’t even look real. Bread undercooked. Hate eating out for $$ when I can make way better at home. Daughters birthday and all disappointed. Cheesecake factory would have been better. Sorry to see this place won’t make it. Agree with all other reviews. Beautiful but 3 out of 10 in food department.
Wife just reminded me, strawberry chic salad use to be so good. She said what happened to good grilled chix from before? Daughter said they downgraded chix like other restaurants do to pay for rent. Bingo!
Warm beer wife put ice cubes in it. My drink? Zero carbonation. Flat as can be… gross. I want to support local businesses, wish I could support this one. Remodel hit 10 stars, rest, gut it, staff, food, drinks. What happened to the Ripasso wine? Where is the owner?

Short Story — Not the Best.
Long Story based on just one lunch visit.
After years of just driving by I decided to try this restaurant after reading about the ten month renovations and seeing the Chef/​Owner on TV. The on-​line menu looked terrific to me so I thought this still might be a good choice.
We were only the second table of the day to enter the restaurant and the table I picked was filthy from the night before with crusty dirt. For my beverage I ordered an iced tea and the glass had a lot of dried soap residue on the outside but the tea didn’t taste soapy so I didn’t send it back.
I noticed the menu differed from the on-​line menu and what I wanted to order wasn’t on the menu so I went with the strawberry salad. I have to say the produce was very fresh and very good but the chicken tasted like processed chicken. It had that lunchmeat salty taste and texture. It’s possible that it could have been over marinated real chicken but it did have that processed taste. I couldn’t really enjoy it because the dressing was terrible and was mostly just oil. I dreaded the thought of asking for another dressing because I doubted any other dressing would be any better so I just ate it dry. I did notice my plate had soap residue and near the end my mouth felt like it was burning. I think I ate or drank some soap or cleaning chemical.
My husband ordered an antipasto salad and a slice of pizza. I took a bite out of the pizza and it lacked seasoning and left a weird strong after taste almost like blue cheese. I don’t know what it was. His salad looked nice but was only BREAD PLATE SIZED at $ 13.00. His salad had lots of sun dried tomatoes in it but they weren’t HYDRATED and were chewy like raisins.
I do also note much of the time the cook was seated in the dining room between cooking and was chatting with our server about stuff. He looked like a hippy boy from Whole Foods and didn’t look presentable seated in the dining room.
Using the ladies room was an adventure. It was clean but the stall I picked was out of toilet paper so I went to use the next stall and that door doesn’t lock or close all the way. I couldn’t remove a roll so I went to grab paper and it had some weird mechanism were it only allows you to use a couple squares at a time.
After leaving the ladies room the Cook (hippy boy) was blocking the hall chatting with the server and I thought I’d have to push him out of the way to leave.
I did see the 2.5 Unilocal Rating and was hoping it wasn’t accurate as I don’t always agree with the ratings.
Sadly the Unilocal Rating for this restaurant seems very right on.

I enjoyed a pretty good lunch at Cibo e Vino a couple of weeks ago, so when friends called and wanted to go out for dinner Friday night and were open to suggestions, this is where I suggested.
Oh, dear.
We arrived at 5.45 to take advantage of HH prices and were told there was no dining seating available on the patio, we would have to eat inside. Bummer, ’cause it was a gorgeous evening, but it WAS Bike Week. So we sat at the bar to have cocktails — we were told we’d be seated in about 10 minutes. Good, we’re hungry.
At 6.30, one of our DC’s (DC=Dining Companion) went and lassoed the young hostess, who said «five minutes more». Ten minutes later, DC went back in AGAIN and she must have been firm, because the hostess came out to collect us, only to pause and then say: «Oh, wait, there’s another table I need to seat first.» DC nailed her with a steely glare and the child gulped and led us into the dining room, where only half the tables were occupied. (WTH?)
We should have stayed out at the bar and just drank. Walking into that dining room was like walking into a wall of heat. And there was a chemically smell — the other of our DC;s, a former builder, guessed it was whatever finishing product they used on the (very attractive) back wall of reclaimed wood. I mean the restaurant looks very nice. You can tell they did it on a budget, but I actually like that better than an over-​the-​top place (plus there are ideas I can steal, heeheehee)
Our waitress came. We commented on the heat and she agreed: «It’s hotter in the dining room than the kitchen!» But I have to tell you, this young woman provided stellar and personable service throughout the night — she was a bright light in an otherwise dim evening.
The bread that was brought to our table was good — nothing special. Everyone was starving at this point, so we skipped the appetizers and went straight for meals. DC #1 ordered the chicken parm and a dinner salad, DC #2 ordered The Bartlett Pizza and dinner salad, DH ordered a pepperoni and onion pizza and dinner salad and I ordered the Tuscan Risotto and Caesar salad.
Salads came out pretty promptly, were fresh, but again, nothing special. Just nicely dressed salads, fresh, with decent dressing.
Entrees arrived in a timely manner as we finished our salads — nice pacing. Unfortunately… DC #2’s pizza was dead cold. On the other hand, DH’s pie was bubbling hot and he said it was pretty darn good. (Is their new pizza oven too small to bake two pizzas at once?) So The Bartlett was sent back to the kitchen for a reheat and DC #2 urged us to go ahead and eat so our food didn’t get cold.
Like I said, DH liked his pizza. He said he would put it on the positive side of a 1 – 10 scale — maybe a 6.5−7? DC #1’s chicken parm — well, the chicken was well cooked, but the tomato sauce ladled over it was very acidic — not well balanced at all, and DC #1 did not like it. Oddly enough, the spaghetti that was the side was tossed with an entirely different sauce that was actually pretty good! (I tasted both sauces and there was a very noticeable difference!) As for my Tuscan Risotto. I really should have sent it back, it was so disgusting. Look, if someone back in the kitchen had a lick of sense, it could have been a delicious dish — sausage, green and red peppers, onions, and, of course, arborio rice. The rice was really well cooked. Tender but with some bite. But there was so much cheese mixed into the risotto it was a nasty, greasy mess (see photo — that yellow blob about six o’clock on my plate is a puddle of grease), and once my meal started to cool, all that cheese started globulifying and it was just… gross. I think I ended up eating scarcely ¹⁄₅ of a $ 22 dinner, once I had removed enough and all that yellow-​y grease started oozing. Like I said, I should have returned it. Instead, I actually allowed Nice Server to box it! (What was I thinking?) As for DC #2, when his re-​heated pizza was brought out to him, it was now hot, but dried out. He ate one piece and then had it boxed — he probably did what I did, which is just dropped the carry-​out container into the garage garbage can when I got home.
I am not sure why I am giving this place 2 stars, except DH liked his pizza and our server was such a sweetie. But I probably won’t go back — at least not to eat.

Lord please help me. Her Royal Highness asked me to take her to din din and I picked Cibo. They recently remodeled the restaurant and we wanted to check it out
The new bar rocks … the out side patio is awesome. … they pushed the kitchen back and the general floor plan is great!
So why won’t I return to one of my formally favorite joints?
Got there at 5:30 PM and the place was basically empty. So far so good. The crowds arrived and that’s when the wheels fell off. One bar tender (her second night behind the bar) Amber, was supposed to handle all the bar service plus the patio

Result? Beg for service
Food? Zzzzzzzzzzz. Boring, and no taste.
Bad service combined with bad Food? Put a gun to the head of Cibo and let’s just call it a day.
Move on to a better joint.