CIBO - Alabang Town Center — Restaurant in Muntinlupa

After 17 years of patronage in this branch, this would be my first time reviewing them. From humble beginnings where I remembered my father only wanted to try this for the first time in 2008 for his meeting that ended up being our go-to place every weekend. From losing my baby tooth from eating their then 300++ peso Spaghetti and Meatballs, to my Tantrums with my family for being the black sheep of the family, the woman who found me cute because I brought a calculator and used it a phone — until when God gave me the ultimate blessing for our patronage in this very branch to win the 5,000 Lifetime Monthly Vouchers form their 27th anniversary, I would like to emphasize this establishments’ shape in my formative years. It saw me as Aaron, Joshua and all the successes, and failures that I had in my life. It even came to the point that we just sat there, we didn’t had to order since they already knew our order (My dad would always get the Gambereti, I’d order thier signature Rigatoni Alfonso, then my mom would either switch from the salad or the Romana pasta. My aunt loved their Genovese while my father’s best friend adored their Telefono.

For this post, it was meeting my long time kuya and best friend who came to visit. After seventeen years, they still knew who I was (though I digress that most of the servers we knew transferred branches, and even our favorite from the 2010’s transferred jobs to a cruise ship.)

They never fail to make me smile. Regardless of the sentimentality, I am full and satiated with their serving that feels always like home. No matter how many branches open near my residence, this branch will always...

We were deciding where to dine when we realized how long it had been since our last visit to Cibo and glad we came across it.

We started with a tender lamb salad with mix of arugula, greens and goat cheese. The panino porchetta was a standout, with its flavorful roast pork, apple & pear mostarda. The spaghettini in red pesto with sardines had a nice balance of richness and spice. The prosciutto pizza delivered that classic, savory indulgence and we requested for hot honey. The fresh lemonade was so refreshing as well.

Service was seamless and quick, with Ash taking care of us for the most of our meal. The entire staff was commendable and attentive, wish I had remembered their names because they truly made the experience better.

To top it off, we were offered a box of their pastries—cornetto, maritozzo, and bombolino—a sweet way to end a satisfying meal. Definitely glad we revisited Cibo!

Didn’t get to take photos except for...

Let me start by saying that their food is still as delicious as it used to be. I was a frequent diner at Cibo before the pandemic, and their dishes are still one of my favorite go-to meals for any pasta craving. We tried some new dishes as well, and all were quite good.

Their utensils were disinfected in hot water, and they provided envelopes to hold our masks - so plus points for this.

Staff was polite, although they did seem a bit overwhelmed. They do require your vaccination card upon entry (of course, it didn't matter for the kids, they were allowed inside)

The reason why I didn't give them 5 stars was because a lot groups of diners had been let into the restaurant. I'm not sure if they had calculated the capacity correctly, but it seemed like they were trying to fill up the restaurant - and Cibo Alabang is one of their smaller branches so you can imagine how packed it was...