After a decade of trading under ‘Peppered Prawn’ in the Woden town centre, the owners have decided to do something a little different and have revamped the restaurant with a new look, new menu and a new name – Cibo.
Meze/small plates~
This is why you bring friends along, you get to try more of the menu.
Arancini fried risotto balls filled with porcini mushrooms with napolitana sauce, fresh basil leaves (3 for $16.00). I noticed the ‘holes’ in the arancini as soon as they were put down in front of us. I found that the risotto mixture was too sloppy to make a perfect arancini ball without it crumbling. The interior was nice and salty with a district mushroom flavour but I was hoping for a more cheesy filling.
Crispy prawns lightly battered, golden fried, served with lemon wedge and lemon mayo (4 for $16.00). Despite being favoured by the other guests that I was dining with, I was impressed with the size of the prawn but I didn’t think there was anything special about this dish. 
Burek baked handmade layered pastry filled with ricotta and feta ($10.00).I didn’t get much of the filling in my bite but I really liked the flaky pastry. Not really made for sharing, I would just eat one myself next time.
Zucchini puffs with tzatziki (5 for $14.00). Not really memorable in comparison to the other dishes but they weren’t oily which I admired.
Kobasice thin spicy semi smoked pork sausages simply filled with ajvar ($12.00). I really enjoyed these as I found them to have lots of flavour in the sausages, although I was not a fan of the ajvar as I could taste a light bitterness from capsicum skin. This was my favourite meze plate of the night.
More substantial~
Pappardelle fresh ribbon egg pasta, traditional slow braised veal and pork bolognaise, grana padano ($22.00). I was very tempted to order this as I love pasta. I found that the sauce to lack some salt and found it overall a bit bland but the pappardelle pasta was fresh and was fantastic.
Pork skewers marinated with garlic, lemon, oregano, olive oil with spanish onion, tomato, tzatziki and pita (2 skewers $26.00). I don’t usually see pork skewers as an option on a menu, but these had a lovely char-grilled flavour whilst remaining succulent. It seemed like a complete meal because it was served with a small salad and bread.
Chevapi char grilled skinless sausage made of veal and pork, with spanish onion, feta and ajvar (300g $22.00). The chevapi was nice on its own but it was the perfect balance of flavours when you added a bit of onion and feta with every bite. Again I found the ajvar a bit bitter so I avoided dipping the meat in it. I thought as a main, it was a bit sad that this didn’t come with some bread or a simple salad to balance out the heaviness of the meat.
Sides~Bowl of chips ($10.00). Unlike the skewers, the chevapi sausages were served on their own and it was suggested to get a side of chips or bread to balance out all the meat. I thought the price was a bit steep for chips but fortunately they were delicious because of their crispiness and seasoning.
You can’t tell from this angle, but the bowl was pretty deep.
Pita ($4.00). This bread was warmed which quickly turned cold and brittle. I think $4 is a bit steep for one pita bread, I should have just borrowed some from the skewers plate, but they said that they made it on site so I was curious to try.
Something sweet~
Gelato panna cotta, white chocolate and raspberry, salted caramel ($10.00). I really liked the salted caramel gelato over the other flavours but TimmyC really enjoyed the panna cotta, it goes to show each to their own.
Palacinke Balkan style crepe filled with Nutella served with bon bon rocher gelato ($10.00). I felt that this ‘crepe’ was too thick and since it was presented in a rolled cigar, it made it feel even thicker, heavier and too sweet in one mouthful. If it was even slightly thinner, it wouldn’t feel as doughy in one bite.
Krofne European donut filled with raspberry jam and icing sugar ($4.00 each). This reminded me of a Nanna’s frozen jam doughnut, but fresh. The sweet centre was at a good ratio to the doughnut so it wasn’t too sweet, the doughnut itself was nice and fluffy in texture. These are made in house and they are definitely tasty when they are fresh.
A soft fluffy pillow encasing some delicious jam, that’s how I would describe this dessert.
We found the staff very friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. It is nice to have a restaurant concentrating on Mediterranean cuisine in the area. I would come back and try more unique dishes I couldn’t get normally in other restaurants.
Venue: Cibo
Address: Sky Plaza Apartments, 98 Corinna Street, Woden Town Centre, ACT 2606
Phone: (02) 6162 0122
Website: www.cibokitchen.com.au/ << they have a handy online booking system
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 