Cibo Urbano Cucina

"Cibo" is the Italian word for food. It is also the name of the biggest restaurant on the 17th Avenue Southwest shopping and dining strip. Cibo, the restaurant, serves big Italian-inspired meals intended for sharing, fully embracing the Italian belief that meals are an important social occasion. The atmosphere here is conducive to just such sharing.

“The first thing you see when you walk through the door is Big Blue,” says general manager Megan Adamson. She points to the blue, open-flame pizza oven that dominates the open kitchen at the rear of the main floor. Hand-made, old-world-inspired Italian pizza is a cornerstone of the restaurant's reputation. It also serves hearty meat and fish dishes, house-made pastas and antipasti (small dishes).

Standing over a selection of Italian lira (the country's national currency) inlaid on the entrance floor, Megan points out that the restaurant's sociable, family-friendly atmosphere has a lot to do with its handsome, homey digs. The warm, rustic decor is distinctively old-Calgary. The building was built in 1906 and has plenty of history packed into its two floors and summertime patio. Megan also points to the exposed red brick (some of which dates back to the late 1800s) and the reclaimed wood from old Alberta buildings that has been used in the construction of its distinguished countertops and wine racks.