Cibo e Vino - Castle Hill

Cibo e Vino

It was a rainy Saturday night some few weeks ago. I was in a rush to go to a meeting - but hey, still need food right?

As such, we decided to try for a quick meal at Cibo e Vino. Now for all those looking for a quick bite - let me advise you now. Cibo e Vino is probably a restaurant where you need to be relaxed, carefree, time-ful.

As an entree to share, my partner and I opted for the 1/2 kg of mussels ($15). This was a plateful of mussels infused in white wine, tomato, herbs. There was a oil-brushed slice of crunchy crispy bruschetta on top, for us to soak in the beautifully herby and tomatoey broth that the mussels are cooked in. It was quite wonderfully fragrant~

1/2 kg of mussels - $15

As for the mains (which took over half an hour to come) my partner ordered a lamb rump ($30) whereas I ordered the duck ($30).

My partner went nom nom nom on the lamb. He said that it was quite tasty and liked it much. The lamb was char-grilled and sat on top of a white bean puree. Olive and roasted capsicum bits were scattered on top.

Char-grilled lamb rump - $30

My duck was char-grilled - crispy skinned with succulent, juicy meat (or duck fat). There was a heap of pomegranate in the midst of it all... slightly a bit too much though. However, the celeriac and chestnut puree and the roast garlic bits (which were really soft and fragrant) seemed to compliment the duck really well. The spinach just seemed to make the whole dish slightly healthier after I chomp down a mouthful of duck-fat LOL :)

Char-grilled duck - $30

Last but not least, how could we not order the shoe string fries ($9)? Not just any shoe string fries - but fries tossed with herbs, chilli, parmesan and garlic. These are sooooo full of flavour it's pretty amazing. Hard to describe - sooo much garlic bits and soooo soooo interestingly yum.

Shoe string fries - $9

Dessert time? Unfortunately not. I am now officially late for my meeting >.<
but it was kind of slightly worth it.... ish? Pretty decent meal. We managed to leave paying just $65 - tips included (with the help of the entertainment book but).

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30/40

Cibo e Vino
Shop 2, 299-301 Old Northern Road
Castle Hill
NSW 2154
Tel: (02) 8002 0912