Florence’s famed (and pasta-free) Cibrèo

I had never dined in Sant’Ambrogio, one of Florence’s oldest burroughs. And after seven hours roaming the Uffizi Gallery, I was hungry and eager to take a walk.

Maps can be largely useless in Italy – so I took the 15 minute stroll to the Santa Croce basilica and pointed myself north to where, 35 years ago, Cibrèo opened.

The restaurant is actually one of four enterprises, including a café, trattoria and theater, the Teatro del Sale, which I first spotted on via dei Macci. Finding the main restaurant was then easy – it’s on the opposite corner. The café is across the street, and the trattoria is further up via dei Macci.

The Kingdom of Picchi

Welcome to the Florentine empire of Fabio Picchi. In 1979, the now snowy-bearded chef was an eager 24-year-old, schooled in his Italian mother’s kitchen.

Picchi lucked out on some initial branding brilliance when he launched Cibréo. The young chef had a single wood stove on which to cook – difficult to keep a continual pot of pasta boiling. So Picchi simply left the Italian staple off the menu. In short time, Cibrèo became known as the only Italian Florentine restaurant that did not serve pasta (or maybe it was in all of Italy). Business boomed.

But it boomed for other good reasons – including Picchi’s Tuscan heirloom dishes – rustic, but drawn with complex taste.

Along with no pasta, there are no menus at Cibrèo. A server pulls up a chair to detail the night’s offerings – really, a discussion ensues about diners’ preferences, what might pair well, what’s recommended, and so forth.

While decidedly presentational, the effect is also intimate. I observed other diner reactions to the menu recitation. Faces opened with surprise. There were a few giggles. But mostly there was delight at this chummy yet business-like encounter, as if exquisite jewelry was being bartered, and well, you just better pay attention.

The kitchen’s open double doors completed the low-key theatrical effect. I spent a portion of my meal stealing glances at the efficient cast of cooks, sommelier, and waiters.

A pungent start

The meal launched with a yogurt, garlic, olive oil, lemon and turmeric cup. The turmeric prevailed, infussing it with a musty, pungent punch. I was intrigued.

Eight or more plates materialized: tomato aspic, ricotta flan, tripe, chicken liver pate, pickled red peppers, fava beans, pecorino, an almond cream mousse and others. It was a lively assortment, and with so many, it was fun to sample the well-executed flavors.

The ricotta: “off the charts,” proclaimed my dining companion. Airily velvet, and mildly sweet. Cibrèo sources ingrediants locally; cheeses originate from local Tuscan farms.

A ricotta and potato flan with ragu, olive oil and Parmesan was both deep in texture and flavor. Cibrèo’s signature dish - passato di peperoni gialli (yellow bell-pepper soup) arrived drizzled in olive oil (as did most of the dishes). It had the right touch of zing and earthy zest.

My companion chose the rabbit. I chose the veal stew. The rabbit was rolled with sausage and prosciutto, and paired with mashed potatoes. I found it delicate, and what I would describe as lightly saucy. It was well prepared, but I wouldn’t place it among my favorites. The veal stew was hemmed by bread sticks, like a pent up dam, and was delicious: hearty yet with intricate taste. A difficult combination that in this case, succeeded.

Veal stew

I found my side dish of asparagus spears to be overcooked – too limp for my taste. “Not snappy like they serve in America,” I casually mentioned to my dining partner.

“You’re not in America,” he replied.

Other reported favorites on the  menu: roast pigeon stuffed with candied fruits, lamb's brain steamed in garlic and butter, and roasted duck stuffed with minced beef, raisins, and pine nuts.

Food with flair

As a chef, Fabio Picchi is both passionate and theatrical. He features a culinary discourse on the Cibréo website that lapses into poetic overtones:  “. . . the embrace of our shepherds and their cheeses. . . the Florentine olive pressers . . . the truffle diggers from San Miniato and Piedmont . . . we are absolutely fond of our pantry, a philosophy that enlightens our steps.“

I would normally arch at least half an eyebrow at such culinary prose, but Picchi’s theatrics shine most where they truly count: in his food.  And he loves to pair food with flair, most evident in his nearby cabaret theater, Teatro del Sale where his famous wife, Maria Cassi, sometimes headlines.

By the six (or was it seventh?) course, we entered that rare zone of gastro-torment triggered by a surfeit of exquisite food. Yes, we had paced ourselves, but still.

“I’m dying,” gasped my dining partner.

What a way to go.

I stepped outside to bathe in fresh air in an attempt to re-set my palate. While Cibrèo’s décor felt freshly simple (pale yellow walls framed with home-style art, single tapers at each white-dressed table, an oak side table for wines and traveling dishes) the air was a bit stuffy.

The dessert, the digestif, the decadence

Back at the table and nearly three hours into the evening, our server suggested a course of cheeses. Why not, we said. But we barely forked into the array.

We needed to gird ourselves for dessert since we both possess, not merely a single sweet tooth, but rather a whole set of them: thirty-two, sugar-hungry chompers.

Coffee came first, a welcome restorative.  

We sampled six desserts, including a flourless chocolate cake, cream caramel, panna cotta splashed with berries and glaze, a raspberry tart and cheesecake scoured with bitter orange marmalade.

The latter was the clear standout. The cake’s body was richly dense with local cheese. The bitter marmalade enlivened it, lent it even more layers beyond the obvious two.

After a digestif, we said our goodbyes. We took the long way back to the hotel –– well aware that we shared what I rank as among the top five meals of my life.  
 
Price: starters, 22 euros; main course, 40 euros; dessert 20 euros; and wine from 40 euros a bottle.

Cibréo

055 234 11 00
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Via del Verrocchio, 8r, Florence