CIBO — Restaurant in Phoenix

A Holiday Letdown at Cibo: A Fading Star in the Dining Scene

Once upon a time, Cibo stood as a beacon of class and culinary delight—a personal favorite, known for its charm and impeccable offerings. This holiday season, however, my visit revealed a troubling descent into mediocrity. Here’s my candid recap of an experience that left me both bewildered and disheartened.

A Frosty Welcome Walking into Cibo, I expected warmth and hospitality. Instead, I was met with a perplexing reception. Despite the abundance of empty tables and two idle hosts, my arrival was met with a mechanical “20-minute wait” directive, followed by no attempt to accommodate or welcome me. Undeterred, I decided to sidestep the queue and head to the bar—a decision that, astonishingly, stirred more bureaucracy. The bartender brusquely informed me I couldn’t eat at the bar without first removing my name from the list. A simple task, yes, but his demeanor lacked the finesse that a hospitality professional should embody. It was an early red flag, but I pressed on.

The Bread that Broke My Heart Bread at Cibo was once a hallmark—a prelude to the meal that set the tone for greatness. This time, it was a crushing disappointment. What arrived was lackluster, inconsistent, and barely palatable—a 2.5-star effort at best. When I inquired, the bartender assured me nothing had changed, but my taste buds begged to differ.

Pizza, but Make It a Miss On to the main event: the Quattro Formaggi and Funghi Pizza, paired with a Caprese Salad. The salad, unremarkable, did little to distract from the disaster that followed. The pizzas arrived looking promising but delivered anything but. The dough lacked its former magic, and the mushrooms, shockingly raw, offered a disconcerting crunch that should never accompany pizza.

It hit me—the flour. Surely, something had changed? When I asked the bartender, he confirmed my suspicions. Yet when I suggested passing my feedback along, his response was astonishingly dismissive: “Have you owned a successful pizza place?” he quipped, dripping with condescension. A sharp turn from customer service to customer silencing.

Final Thoughts Cibo’s fall from grace is as bitter as the crust of their now-subpar pizza. The charm, the class, the care—all replaced by indifference and mediocrity. For a place that once felt like a cornerstone of quality, it’s heartbreaking to say this, but Cibo is now off my list.

For those who value their time, palate, and experience, I’d recommend looking elsewhere. Cibo, it’s time to reflect—because what was once great has sadly turned...

The food: He got the Tagliatelle Bolognese. It was not good. Felt as if the salt shaker wasn’t working when trying to make the dish palatable. Could not make it taste any better! No seasoning. Pizza: Salsiccia. I’m not sure how the edges and crust were crispy yet the middle was COMPLETELY SOGGY. No exaggeration. Service: Outside bar (waited 1 hour for an unreserved table and we understood prior), atmosphere was nice because it was dark, lights on palm trees were pretty, and of course, wine. Bartender was nice and cool. Service inside: Thought our waitress was nice. She smiled yet the service was subpar. Had the Aracini appetizer with saucer sized serving plates. It was good. Better than our meals. She then served my pizza without taking the appetizer plates and I ate my first slice of pizza in the same tiny plate lol. When we requested more plates, we were given two inches more. A bigger saucer sized plate 🤦🏽‍♀️ I can’t make this up! I didn’t complain I just continued to use the plate and drape my soggy pizza over the edge of the plate. We also asked for more napkins. She never brought them. We overheard her ask the table behind us if they wanted pepper flakes or cheese for their pizzas. We were never asked or given these options. I don’t know what was wrong, if we did anything wrong or if for some reason the service was off… it was not a good experience. The best experience was sitting outdoors prior to entering. The bathroom had wet paper towels all over the floor and diaper changing station. It’s also probably a good thing the lights are dim in the dining room. Sauce or something? On the wall… This place is so overrated. Are people really telling the truth? Maybe that was a bad night I don’t know but it sucked pretty terribly. We always leave a good tip regardless of the experience and did so here. But mannn no…. We won’t ever be back and will tell everyone we know about our CIBO experience. One positive: Food is not expensive! Drinks however, especially wine, seem watered down. Something ain’t right. $14 for a glass of Pinot noir. $12 for Chardonnay that taste like bitter water. I was so excited to try this place based on the reviews. I left sooooo very disappointed and...

Let me tell you why I fell in love on my first visit. Seriously read this entire story.

I came off the plane from Vegas with my one year old baby and my parents brought me here for dinner. The outdoor setting was so freaking beautiful. The food was simple but so delicious.

The service was so kind and patient. My little sister decided to join us in the middle of our meal so they gladly switched us to a bigger table. And served us just as promptly.

Now this is where I swear this is still an amazing review and why I truly respect and love this place forever…

I took my daughter to the restroom to change her diaper. There are two restrooms. There wasn’t a changing table unfortunately so it was taking me longer than usual to change her so I asked my sister to come help me. Unfortunately, a rude group of women were complaining very loudly right outside the door about the bathrooms being occupied ( I think they were drunk). One of the women (middle aged) was preventing my sister from coming in and then slammed the door on her. Then continued yapping very loudly and then pounded on our door. All while I’m trying to change my baby’s diaper. I had my sister take the baby back to the table. I stayed to try and confront the women. I was not having it with any sort of drama with my daughter present. No respectable human should make a scene like that with a child around. Of course when I got out they left. I asked for the manager and she let me respectfully try to look for the party and came with me to settle the matter. I was heated but I wanted to handle this respectfully.

Tony, the manager, was an excellent person for helping me with that unnecessary situation. She made me feel so welcome in a situation that could have made my experience entirely worse. I have nothing to complain about Cibo. The staff and environment couldn’t be more perfect and genuine. Thank you for all that you guys do. Tony if you see this, you are...