Cibo, the recent Italian restaurant opened in the old La Tasca in Didsbury, is settling in well. Predominantly Venetian cuisine, the chef, Martin Cordwell has recently with owner Adam Karim, aka Bigfoot, returned from a short but intense eating trip to Venice, looking for inspiration.
Finally, a chargrilled tuna with capers, parsley and lemon was a dish that suits sunshine, cooked rare in the middle as it should be
They returned with a few new dishes which Gordo tried out last week, and of which he fully approves.
Not very summery, but pretty bloody fabulous is the pasta carbonara dish, thick and gluey with egg, cheese and really piggy batons of pancetta. Chef had bought himself some new pasta blades and has come up with one that works better than spaghetti. This is a Gordo Go.
The octopus salad is cooked properly, it can be very tough and unpleasant, this isn't. Swordfish carpaccio with prawn shavings, watercress, dill and cucumber is a great summer dish.
The fried courgette flower, stuffed with buffalo ricotta cheese and pesto is full on with its flavours and good fun.
Veal with lemon and sage is a delicately flavoured which needs nothing else, Gordo has always loved this dish and it’s executed very well here. A roast rump of lamb, needing to be cooked medium, makes the most of a very unusual mint chilli sauce. The flavours here are huge.
Finally, a chargrilled tuna with capers, parsley and lemon was a dish that suits sunshine, cooked rare in the middle as it should be.
All in all Cibo is an Italian that breathes a little fresh air into the genre; there are only one or two others in the city where the owner and chef are visiting Italy and showing true love for the ingredients. Too many are still in the eighties.
Well done, a good upgrade here.
Gordo, Happy Trails
