Cibo E Beve: 'People Have Been Asking For It'

The new Cibo E Beve on Roswell Road blends the old and new: New is a revamped former pub, sleeker now with dark ceilings, buttery leather banquettes and bar stools and warm wood tables in a single dining room easily observed from the open kitchen. The old is local chef Linda Harrell and her partners getting back to the kind of delectable comfort food that they love best. 

Harrell, already a fixture on the local scene after working at Meehan’s Public House, Mangia 101 and Antica Posta, is part of the team that  owns Meehan’s and the nearby Food 101. The team includes partner Steve Buero, the brainchild behind the Brooklyn Cafe that he opened almost 20 years ago and sold in 1999.

“I grew up in New York, and Italian food was my love,” said Buero. “Linda and I have been dying to do it again. We’ve talked about it for at least three years. Ever since we closed Mangia five years ago, people have been asking for it. So when this location came up last July, we jumped on it. For a 70-seat restaurant, it’s compact, but it stays busy.”

Harrell puts her 20-plus years of experience into the menu that’s flavorful without being fussy. Among the standouts are her arancini,  saffron risotto fritters packed with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses; orecchiette with turnip greens and sausage; and braised Italian pork belly. Many of the dishes come in small plates for sampling.

“I wanted to create a smaller restaurant where I could give each plate individual attention before it left the kitchen,” she said. “When I go to a restaurant and read the menu, I always wish I could try so many different things. With Cibo, we’re giving guests the opportunity by offering so many of our dishes in small plates.”

[Cibo E Beve is Italian for food and drink]

The menu isn’t enormous but has enough variety to suit a range of cravings. It starts off with grilled octopus, figs and prosciutto, roasted oysters and the signature three-meat Cibo meatballs. Diners can get creative and build their own cheese and meat antipasto platter and pair it with a thinly-crusted pizza pulled from the wood-fired oven. Traditional pastas of pappardelle and risotto are tweaked with ingredients from wild boar and lobster to pistachio cream and sheep’s milk ricotta.

Main plates, priced from $16 to $29, include delicately poached scallops drizzled with a cream sauce that hints of white chocolate; a hearty dish of osso buco with orange and fennel; and chicken sauteed with lemon butter and served atop a bed of herb risotto. Finish up with a ricotta cheesecake, a traditional cannoli or a red velvet zeppole, bite-sized balls of cake coated with a chocolate mascarpone cream,

If it’s just a bite you’re after, slide into a comfy seat at the antipasto and pizza bar with a view of the kitchen for a small plate or pie. Bar services runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“I’ve always wanted to open a restaurant like Cibo E Beve - a restaurant where I’d like to dine,” said Harrell.

Cibo E Beve
4969 Roswell Road, 30342
404-250-8988
www.ciboatlanta.com
Hours: noon-9:30 p.m. Sunday-Monday; 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5:30-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p .m. and 5:30-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.