My family and I were searching around in the mall and we came across this nice little place. Our first impressions of Ristorante Cibus Caffe (Cibus pronounced CHEE-bus) were just amazing: An orange-like modern room with right-angles of all sorts with hints of brown. The place felt very contemporary and had soft, light piano/guitar ballad playing in the background. Orange chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, which I thought was very eccentric but gave a great accent to the design of the place. Basically, the architects and designers of this place were paid a lot of money.

The restaurant is split into two parts: the caffe, and the ristorante/bar (where we ate). We were seated at a booth of solid, cultured marble and were given bread. The bread had a tough outer coating, but inside it was nice and soft. It wasn’t the best and was something you’d expect at any Italian restaurant.

Soon came the calamari, probably five minutes after we took our order. It was very fresh, not rubbery, and easy to eat. You didn’t have to go all nitty-gritty over this delicious squid. It wasn’t over-salted and was fried perfectly. It came with a marinara and mayo-garlic sauce.

The salmon was also heavenly. It was salted, buttery, juicy, with a crispy top, fresh, high quality, smooth — oh it was just AMAZING. Not probably what you’d expect from a venue like Palomino, but it was still AMAZING. The potatoes included with it were pretty good, not crispy, with garlic and salt. It made a great supplement to the salmon.

The risotto was a little tough, but that’s usually expected of risotto. it was cooked with shrimp and came with shrimp and asparagus. The alfredo with it was great.

The service was very productive and didn’t stop. Workers were trained well. They were fast even with maybe 20-30 other parties there. They never stopped.

Overall, Cibus is an inexpensive place worth going to and worth your money to the last penny. In Latin, Cibus means nourishment. This is exactly what Cibus is. Nourishment. Good nourishment.

8.4