This relaxed restaurant and deli serves traditional Italian cuisine at reasonable prices.

The Venue
Located near the top of the Gloucester Road, Cibo is just slightly out of the way of all the main restaurants and cafes (it's near the prison). Cibo has a lovely outside seating area which is under cover in the winter - where you can sit and watch the world go by.

As you enter the restaurant you'll come across a huge dessert refrigerator (more on that later) and walls adorned with good quality Italian ingredients which are available to buy.

It's a fair-sized restaurant, and it feels traditionally Italian with tablecloths, white napkins folded into fan-shapes and polished wine glasses. Each table has a bottle of wine on it (you need to buy this if you want it) and on the walls there are huge blackboards detailing the specials.

The People
You're usually greeted by either the owner or duty manager who show you to your seat. Staff here are extremely attentive and the service is second to none.

Cibo's ambience is conducive to a relaxed meal. Food is served relatively promptly, yet there is no pressure to leave immediately after they've cleared your plates. One thing to note, a 10 per cent service charge is automatically added to your meal so be aware of this when you pay.

The Food
It's good tasty fare, and it's reasonable value with decent portion sizes - but it's not anything outstanding. The menu is sizeable with many dishes to choose from, most are typically Italian.

Kick your meal off with tasty homemade, pizza-style garlic bread with cheese. This is served on a raised wire mesh basket for an unusual twist (approx £4.50).

A large choice of starters (over a dozen) includes soup of the day, beef carpaccio, calamari, meatballs in tomato sauce, mozzarella salad - all are fresh and tasty. Prices go from £4 up to about £10. The antipasto platter for two is also worth a try if you fancy a little taste of everything.

As in most Italian restaurants, the selection of main meals is vast. It's broadly divided up into meat dishes, pasta, pizza, risotto dishes and seasonal specials. Each section of the menu has around a dozen choices.

There are classic pasta dishes, several types of risotto, thin and crispy homemade pizzas with all sorts of toppings, and there's a huge specials board. Specials change regularly according to seasonal ingredients and they always include a starter and main.

A simple spaghetti napolenta (a rich tomato sauce) costs about £6, right through to a prime fillet steak which costs £18. A buffet runs Monday to Saturday from noon to 3pm and costs £6, on Sundays (when it includes roasts) it's £9.95.

Desserts are a bit of an enigma...they look sensational, but taste unremarkable. A mouthwatering selection of gateaux, cheesecakes, roulades and homemade tiramisu, all beautifully decorated, are presented in a large glass cabinet at the front of the restaurant - they are truly a wonder to behold.

Staff happily talk through them while you choose but, even if you try all of them, there's nothing that stands out. They're just average tasting, nice, but nothing that lives up to the expectations set by the display case. Desserts cost about £4.50 each and there is also a range of ice creams and sorbet flavours.

The Drink
As you'd expect, the wine menu in Cibo is pretty well stocked, featuring wines to suit all tastes and pockets. House wine is pleasant, and at £10.95 a bottle it's reasonably priced.

There's the standard list of spirits and soft drinks, all priced between £3 to £4 for most major brands and soft drinks are a little less. Forza Italian beer is also available. Cibo's coffee, a great way to end an Italian meal, covers the usual range.

The Last Word
Cibo is a good little Italian restaurant, and it's Well worth a visit if you are in the area. As well as good food, the service is outstanding, and having a meal here won't break the bank.

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