Cibo Waterfront Cafe — Restaurant in Winnipeg

My father passed away a couple weeks ago, yesterday was his birthday and I wanted to commemorate him by having a nice meal at Cibo. My partner's birthday was also 2 days prior so we were celebrating that as well.

We looked on google and saw Cibo was open until 11pm. I went onto the website at 9pm and booked a reservation for 10pm.

30 minutes later I was called by Raeann from the restaurant. She told me that the kitchen closes at 10:15pm. I told her that I would try to come earlier so I could still have a dinner to celebrate my father.

On the way we pulled the menu up on our phones and decided what we wanted before arriving so it would be quicker easier on the staff. We only ordered apps so it would be quicker for them too.

We entered the restaurant at 10 on the dot and were greeted by Raeann. Before sitting us at our table she abruptly told us we had 5 minutes to place our orders because the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes.

While walking us to our table Raeann loudly said "It's been slow tonight, the cooks have been in the kitchen for an hour and a half with nothing to do and we wanted to shut down early" In a passive aggressive attempt to guilt us. (This was an hour before Cibo closed)

We sat at our table feeling incredibly guilty and placed our order immediately, as to not make the staff wait on us.

After placing our order we noticed Raeann walking around cleaning, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at us. She was also standing at the bar, complaining about us with a woman that had blonde hair and was counting money.

When our first plates arrived Raeann brought them to us. She slammed them down onto the table, didn't give us eye contact, didn't say anything to us and quickly walked away.

We started nibbling on our first plates, feeling incredibly rushed and uncomfortable.

While waiting for our last plate to arrive, Raeann was cleaning up around us, closing the blinds to obstruct our view of outside, shutting off the TVs, and vacuuming near us. All while shaking her head at us and rolling her eyes. (This was 40 minutes before you were set to close)

She brought us our last plate of food, again she sat it down in an aggressive manor, didn't give us eye contact, and didn't say anything to us. She stormed away, rolling her eyes and shaking her head again.

At that point my partner and I were so uncomfortable we decided we should leave.

I grabbed my jacket, and quietly walked out of the restaurant.

I am not exaggerating when I say I was in tears. My father had just died, it was his birthday, I was trying to have a meal at a nice establishment to commemorate him and share memories. Instead I was treated awfully by a staff member and was made so uncomfortable I had to leave.

Before knowing we even wanted to leave, Raeann approached my partner (at 10:35 - approx 25 minutes before Cibo closed) she asked him if he wanted boxes to take the food because Cibo was closing.

She brought the boxes, tossed them on the table, didn't say anything to him and walked away.

While paying, he spoke to another waitress and explained the situation since there were seemingly no managers in the building. She explained that Raeann had been called in for 3 shifts because another employee had the flu.

That is no excuse for her behavior. I used to work in the service industry for 10 years holding management positions. I have never in my life made a complaint about service. Normally I heavily sympathize for service workers because of my service experience. I have been incredibly frustrated with customers and have never in my life treated someone that way.

Our evening was ruined by the interactions we had with the staff.

We had to go home and eat our $19 charcuterie out of a takeout box to commemorate my father instead of inside the restaurant.

I have been to Cibo about 10 times and I have never been treated this way.

I will not be back.

I was made far too uncomfortable and I will be too uncomfortable in the future because of my experience there and I don't want risk being treated that way...

I had heard so many amazing things about Chibo — friends recommended it highly for the warm service, great food, and lovely atmosphere. So I decided to celebrate a special occasion with a close friend there tonight, excited to experience it for myself.

Unfortunately, the experience left me deeply disappointed.

When we arrived, we asked to be seated on the patio. The server warmly told us to choose any table, and I specifically asked if we could sit in the corner. She agreed and said she’d be right back to clean the table. We waited… and waited. After about 15 minutes, still standing by the entrance, no one returned. Eventually, we just sat ourselves.

Another 10 minutes passed, still no service. I approached the hostess and explained the situation — she was kind and came to clear the table, but didn’t wipe it down, so it was still sticky and had spills from previous guests. We also asked about turning on the heaters since it was chilly. She said they were out of propane but quickly brought us blankets, which we appreciated.

Then came another long wait. At this point, it had been around 40–50 minutes since we arrived, and still no one had taken our order. I asked to speak with the manager. The hostess said she would call her. Another long wait. No one came. I returned again and was told the manager had been notified. Finally, the manager showed up, apologized, and offered us a dessert on the house.

I’m in hospitality myself, so I understand how hectic service can get. But this was beyond hectic — it was neglectful. The manager herself had walked past our table during that hour and didn’t acknowledge us. Servers were actively serving nearby tables while completely ignoring ours.

Being offered a dessert after an hour of waiting and a ruined evening felt almost insulting. We were there to celebrate something meaningful, and instead we left feeling unseen and undervalued.

This experience was especially disappointing given the glowing reviews I had received from friends. I genuinely hope upper management sees this and reflects on what kind of service standard is being set. When people come in with high hopes and special reasons to celebrate, it’s not just about food or ambiance — it’s about feeling welcomed and respected.

I’m still undecided if I’ll return. I believe in giving second chances, but this evening left a really...

Had a really unprofessional experience trying to book a private event here. Had to push back my event due to poor communication and the price kept on changing. I originally inquired 3 weeks ago about a private event booking, took a week to get back to me after I inquired again. As an event planner in Canada, US and Europe, normally when you rent a restaurant, you only pay a minimum spend of food and drink. I inquired at 12 restaurants in Winnipeg that all got back to me quickly and the average cost was $4000-$4500 minimum spend-no extra fees. Cibo is the only restaurant in Winnipeg that rents out the space for $4500 plus you have to buy food and drink on top. When I tried to get clarification of the high price, she switched the pricing to $4500 minimum spend. Pleased with that response, I moved forward with the menu but wasted multiple weeks waiting for responses and no getting any replies or clarification. I finally sent my mom in (I don't live in MB) and she was told it was now $4500 just to rent plus having to buy food and drink. My mom was really frustrated by the different price and wasting our time. Then I called frustrated by the price difference and she said she made a mistake and it is just $4500 minimum. It is now Feb 17, 3 weeks wasted and I don't trust this venue. My event was supposed to be at the end of March and really like the look of this venue so was being patient, but now have to push it back due to poor communication and management. I would not recommend an event here until management is sorted. I booked a different spot that was fast, easy and...