Vancouver Good

For a long time, I associated hotel restaurants with over-priced, average food. But with restaurants like Yew in the Four Seasons, Market in the Shangri-la, Voya in the Loden, and now Cibo in the Moda Hotel…the days of bad hotel food are over.

Dinner at Cibo was delicious. It’s a small, modern room that seats about 50 people. On a Tuesday night, the room was full with a boisterous crowd – my table of seven ladies from the downtown networking association included.

Cibo Highlights:

• Great wine list, primarily Italian with a good selection of BC wines as well. Glasses are available in 3 and 5 ounce pours.
• The fresh baked focaccia bread for the table was excellent – an almost buttery soft texture and topped with good things like caramelized onions, cheese, and garlic
• I didn’t have it, but one special sounded amazing: bruschetta with truffle infused scrambled eggs and topped with shaved black truffles from France. $25, but mmmmmm.
• Potato gnocchi with beef bolognese – feathery light gnocchi that melts immediately when it hits your tongue. This is how gnocchi should always be.
• Roasted steelhead trout with umbrian lentils and a fresh salsa verde – this dish totally worked for me. The trout was perfectly cooked  – flaky, tender, and moist with the crispest skin. Umbrian lentils were rich and a great texture with the fish. The salsa verde on top brightened the dish and brought everything together. A memorable dish.
• The item I wish I’d ordered: crispy polenta and grilled radicchio with gorgonzola and vincotto. The dish looked insanely good and I can only imagine how good the crispy polenta, smoky radicchio, creamy cheese, and sweet & sour vincotto would be. I am totally getting this next time.
• The dessert and cheese menu is interesting with lots of Italian flavours, like panna cotta with grappa cherries or good parmigiano-reggiano with a good 12 year balsamic.

My ending? A strong, creamy cappucino from the hotel’s excellent Italian Espresso Bar at Uva Wine Bar.

The restaurant keeps the food seasonal, but maintains beautiful and classic Italian flavours. It reminded me of the food I ate during my Italy trip in Fall 2009.

I think Cibo might be my new favourite Italian restaurant.

Cibo Trattoria
900 Seymour Street (@ Smithe in Moda Hotel)
604-602-9570