Cibaria Italian eatery opens at Manly Pacific Hotel
Flocking to the northern beaches for a frolic in the surf? Food lovers might take a detour to a new eatery inspired by an Italian piazza serving up a scope of fare, from spaghetti to straccetti.
Manly
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A “friggatoria” – a place where deep fried snacks such as arancini are cooked – is part of a new one-stop, multi-kitchen Italian eatery on the northern beaches.
Cibaria Manly has made its debut in the beachfront Manly Pacific Hotel, where it is serving up a host of dining and drinking options under one roof, based on an Italian piazza, or public square.
On the ground floor – where Daniel-san, the Japanese-themed cocktail bar and casual eatery used to be – diners now have a choice of traditional Italian cuisines laid out in a series of open kitchens.
The venue’s name comes from the Italian word “Cibo”, for food.
As well as the friggatoria, customers could start with an early breakfast espresso and panini in the cafeteria and stay right through to a late night dinner at the trattoria.
Other options include a visit to the bisteccheria (steakhouse) with dishes cooked over coals and embers; the antipasteria with dishes including a Catalana salad of Moreton Bay bugs, or the spaghetteria with items including Venetian-inspired squid ink spaghetti aglio e olio with crab lemon and spice crumble.
And then, for those with a sweet tooth, there‘s the pasticceria offering desserts such as tiramisu and straccetti or the gelataria with classics such as piedmont hazelnut and white chocolate gelato with roasted coconut.
For those wanting a drink the cocktail bar, 55 North by Cibaria, will become Manly’s cocktaileria, birreria (brewery) and champagneria.
A two-storey terrazza (terrace) area with ocean views, has been created for private functions.
The ambitious project is the brainchild of Sydney restaurateurs – and northern beaches’ locals – Alessandro and Anna Pavoni, known for their popular Ormeggio and Chiosco at The Spit, as well as a’Mare in Barangaroo and Postino Osteria at Summer Hill.
Allesandro said the concept replicated the piazzas in his homeland, where everything a person needed was at their doorstep.
“We’re excited to have finally opened Cibaria in Manly,” Allesandro said.
“The space is beautiful and we’ve loved creating the menu and building this incredible space.
“When people think of Cibaria I’d like them to think of the Italian way of eating and socialising around a piazza.”
Pavoni described the venue as an “all-day solution to different needs”.
“The great thing about Cibaria is that you can now create your own Italian experience in
one place”.
Manly Pacific general manager Dylan Cole said he was thrilled that the Pavonis had taken over the hotel’s 55 North bar and space once occupied by Daniel-san.
The new dining venue comes after the hotel completed a $30m refurbishment in early 2023.
“Alessandro’s knowledge of Italian cuisine and the Sydney dining scene, not to mention being a local to the Northern Beaches himself, will give Manly locals and tourists a truly special
destination,” he said.
“(They) can stop for anything from a drink and snack, to a long lunch overlooking the water, or an intimate dinner in front of the wood oven.”
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