Il Cibreo

no wonder it closed. It was so bad.

The foods good. despite many negative experiences, I even came back after i got a hair in my calamari. But the worst service ever and it keeps on getting worse and worse. I walked out after 5 minutes tonight after being ignored by the bartender who was concentrating on her friends. The staff just has a habit of walking away when you come in. Really Pathetic.

Had the Sunday brunch. The food was good, and the mimosas kept coming. Wondering what the dinner and lunch meus are like. Will try it again.

The service was nice, and the bartender was a complete gentleman.
I went over on a Saturday night for dinner and the fact that it wasn’t packed should have been a clear indication to me of what was lurking inside.
I walked in and I could appreciate the lighting and décor some. I sat by the bar as I walked passed a group of milfs that looked hungry…
I ordered the meatball appetizer and the spaghetti and shrimp entrée. The meatballs tasted like frozen pre-​made meatballs, or just frozen meat made into meatballs. They drenched them with sauce. Now listen, there can exist a perfect balance of cheap main ingredients as long as the accompanying ingredients have some sort of good quality and freshness to make up for the lack of quality all around. Was that a little bit of a tongue twister? Anyway, if you’re going to use cheap meat for my meatballs then at least use high grade ingredients for the sauce so that I can’t really complain about the difference. Either way I got some meatballs that were very filling but lacked in everything else. They lacked that soft texture that all meatballs should have which allow you to cut into them gently with a fork or spoon. I had to battle and saw into these puppies whenever I wanted a bite. That is no bueno for me.
Same goes for the spaghetti and shrimp. It was as if the buyer went to the supermarket early in the day and picked out all the cheapest ingredients he/​she could find. The spaghetti was below average and the shrimp were extremely rubbery. The sauce was decent but again, give me some high grade ingredients somewhere so I don’t feel like I just got raped and pillaged for my money, and then fed some leftovers because you felt sorry for me.
Wine choices should be someones idea of what the perfect combination of flavors for your meal should be like. Whether that idea is shitty or not is mostly a subjective matter, but to put zero thought into your wine selections simply shows the more alert and intelligent patrons that you could really give a shit about them and are simply in the business for the money. Now, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with being in business simply for the money, but a loyal clientele you shall never find if this is your mentality.
Care a little more about what the people are eating and they will care more about keeping you in business. You dont have to be an oenophile or a michelin star rated chef, just care some about the potential people that come check out your place. Our Valley needs it.

Eh, mediocre burger – that’s my one thought about this place. They have a reasonable lunch deal – 11 bucks for an entrée and dessert. I got a burger and tiramisu, but you are seriously getting what you pay for – something very mediocre.

My boyfriend and I just moved nearby and love Italian, so we tried the place out. Not good at all. His stella on tap was completely flat and tasted like PBR, the pastas were bland and the pizzas were gloppy and cheesy. The bruschetta were gloppy and flavorless as well. And it was not cheap.
Never going back, and have NO idea how they stay in business when V & T Pizzeria is right around the corner and SO MUCH BETTER. Stay away.

Very nice one

Great food and lovely service! My Partner and I were there with a friend last night to celebrate his Birthday and we had an exceptional time. The Waiter and Barkeep were Aces. Looking forward to many more visits. Keep up the great work! Thanks!

Had a late night dine out on a Tuesday. The waiters were friendly and patient probably because at that point of the day there were very few people dinning at the restaurant.
The pasta with cheese and clam was fine and came in quite a big amount. But for some reason the pasta wasn’t fully cooked and we asked them to re-​do it they were happy to do so.
Elegant décor and is good for intimate conversation.

My pizza (I got the bacon, caramelized onion, and ricotta) tasted good but looked pretty gross. My friend’s pizza looked good and she said it tasted good.
Even though there was almost no one in the restaurant the service was kind of slow. On top of that, my friend ordered a Diet coke and it didn’t arrive until we had basically finished our pizza. And, she said it didn’t even taste like Diet coke (she thought it was regular Coke).
Also, the lighting kept changing, from very dark to light to medium and back again. It was just weird.
The restaurant kind of had a sketchy vibe.
Really not impressed.

My experiences here have been pretty good. I’ve been here 3 times and each time I order the same thing — campanelle bolognese. I really enjoyed this dish. The other people I came with seemed to really enjoy their food as well. All of that being said, I can say that I have had better italian food (which doesn’t mean this place is bad). This isn’t a place that should be well known for unbelievable italian — I think you can definitely do better in NYC. However, if you’re in the mood for italian and you don’t need to be overwhelmed with the best meal of your life, then I would say try it out. Overall, the quality of the food is solid, but not incredible. If you come eat here you won’t be disappointed at all, but you won’t be blown out of the water either.
The service was fine.
My Experience: 3 visits
Food Quality: 6.5 out of 10
Service: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10

I think this place is overpriced and not very good. I came here with a friend for lunch and got one of the flatbread pizzas while my friend had a panini/​sandwich. Our food was okay but not worth the price. The water also tasted weird. Probably won’t come back here.

Well My food was pretty good, so the 2 stars. My wife’s food was somewhat dry so we asked for extra sauce, and this took 15 min to come out. The excuse given was that all the sauce was made fresh. Really? You don’t have some basic sauce available int the kitchen? Also, even though our waiter was very diligent, he was assigned too many tables, and the result was fair minus service. Not going back.

Italian restaurant around Columbia University. A-​Ok. Service was warm, food was ok. The restaurant was bigger than I expected. That’s about it. Nothing terrible, but nothing special either.

My boyfriend and I decided to try this place because we really had a craving for italian but didn’t want to eat at Familigias across the street lol. At first checking out the menu outside I was a bit overwhelmed by the way the menu was worded and it seemed complicated. However we decided to give it a shot since there prices on pasta were the same as the chain place across the street. He had the spaghetti and meatballs I had the spinach and cheese ravioli special. It. Was. AMAZING. I am so glad I decided to give this place a chance!
The atmosphere inside was dimly lit and relaxed. They were Softly playing some 80s music and the candles on the the tables added a nice romantic touch. Our waiter was super attentive, he kept refilling my glass of water even when I only took a sip lol lol. The bread they brought us was some type of delicious rosemary bread with olive oil. My food was to die for. I don’t eat meat but my bf said his food was really good too.
The bathrooms were clean and well stocked with paper towels and tissue and soap. I read some paper in the bathroom about them having a special on Tuesday night so we will DEF be back and maybe I’ll try one of their wines: D

I love this place because of one dish. The arancini. It’s an appetizer and incredibly good. They batter and fry a rice ball containing cheese and peas, and then a delicious marinara sauce is drizzled on top. Perfection! I’ll usually eat this dish with a glass of wine at the bar. The house bread here is also very good. If you go for happy hour, the arancini+wine+house bread= about $ 8. Not bad!

Came here for dinner on New Years day with my family and my boyfriend. We had previously been here when it was known as Campo, and even before, at the restaurant that used to be there. I have always had a pleasant experience here prior, but this new management definitely needs some work. We were highly underwhelmed and quite disappointed with this place.
When we arrived, they seated us at a table for 12, even though there were plenty of smaller tables that would fit the 6 of us. In fact, there was a table RIGHT BEHIND US that would have fit the 6 of us comfortably. Instead, we were seated at the end of a huge table awkwardly.
Second, the waiter took FOREVER to come take our order, even with us just sitting at the table twiddling our thumbs. Yes, I understand it is New Years Day, and there were probably not many people working, but the place was practically empty as well! Poor poor service. Also, my family noticed that the tables around us had a water pitcher at their tables, but the server neglected to even bring us one. We waited about half an hour before we decided to pointedly ask the server for some water. And even still, it took him a while to bring it to us. Ridiculous.
When the server brought out the bread, the small plates on the tables were already dirty with tomato sauce. First of all, WTF kind of place does not clean their plates, if they are going to put it on the table for the customers to use. Sloppy work. The glasses we used to drink the water had a nasty aftertaste as well, as if they did not clean the glasses too. IF they are this shoddy behind the scenes…
The food was passably decent, but honestly, how could anyone mess up Italian food? The service was quite sub par, and this new reincarnation brought nothing new to the table. Will definitely NEVER be dining here again, until they most likely change management again. Or until they fire the servers and/​or teach them how to actually provide decent service. There has to be a reason this place has changed management at least 3 times now…

Highly recommend the pizzas and mussels. (The mussels are consistently fresher and better than other bistros we’ve tried).
One service note from last evening: we ordered the fried calamari and were told by the waiter that they were «out.» During our meal we observed a neighboring diner with… fried calamari. Our (very attentive) waiter was nonplussed, and the manager came over to explain what had happened – that there were no calamari when we ordered because the kitchen, in its pursuit of ultra-​fresh ingredients, does not prepare batter if insufficient demand is projected, and it so happened that after an interval the kitchen decided to go into production mode. I guess it all has to do with the way this restaurant works. We were ordering at 7 PM on a Saturday, so one might expect that more or less generic menu items would be available. At any rate, we thought that perhaps the manager would offer complimentary coffee or dessert, but that didn’t happen.

I went here back in September when I was visiting NYC. I ordered off the special menu… the pesto gnocchi was ahh-​mazing! Perfect consistency… I just about licked the plate. Perfect with my glass of montepulciano. Sitting out at the sidewalk patio was relaxing and great for people watching. The server we had was very friendly and attentive.

Formerly known as Campo, this Columbia favorite has reduced its menu, completely shifted staff (several times) and reupholstered the leather chairs. The lunch and breakfast menu is slightly more generic now. Skeen and Wladis have cut the more expensive food items out of their daily menus such as the apple wood smoked bacon burger and the 12 dollar lunch special including salmon filet. Gone are days of fried green tomato sandwiches. Replaced with seared tuna salads for 13 dollars (including soup and dessert) and other more reliable staples for the Columbia community.
The wait staff has improved greatly since I last reviewed: prompt with menu, food and bill.
Order a grilled tuna salad and it arrives in medium salad bowl with seared medium rare tuna. The acidity and sourness tips the balance of a good salad but it wasn’t inedible.
The eggs Benedict came with burnt asparagus, which I asked them to replace. The Cobb salad arrives in its new reduced portion but the quality remains.
Overall, Il Cibreo has affordable meals and solid service.