Perfectly timed for long summer days, Manly’s about to score the Italian foodie hangout of our dreams.
The crew behind Ormeggio at The Spit are bringing Italian piazza life to the Manly Pacific with their incredible new dining destination, Cibaria.
Cibaria will be a buzzing all-day spot where you can roll in for your morning espresso, swing by for handmade pasta at lunch or dinner, relax with a cocktail, or stop in for a gelato after the beach.
The coolest part? They’re going all out with different food stations. We’re talking a dedicated gorgonzola trolley (yes, you read that right), a bisteccheria for your meat fix, and a gelateria that promises to drop incredible flavour combos (we’re told the Pina Colada is heavenly).
The mastermind behind it, Alessandro Pavoni, is taking inspo straight from his hometown piazza, where locals pop in and out all day for whatever tickles their fancy.
Opening in February 2025, we spoke to Alessandro about what we can expect very soon at Cibaria…
What inspired you to create a more relaxed, all-day Italian venue in Manly, and how does it reflect your own way of enjoying food?
Alessandro: I used to live in a piazza in my town and I remember how we used to go down any time of the day to have whatever we needed, especially the gelateria after dinner, or when I was older an aperitivo with my friends. Cibaria’s concept is based around the idea of the Italian piazza, something available for all times of the day for all walks of life!
Cibaria is an intriguing name – what’s the story behind it?
I was reading a book about the Roman army, and they used to call their food ‘cibaria’. From this word we now have the Italian word ‘cibo’ which means food. A variety of foods, led me to a variety of concepts and I love the idea of the ‘ria’s – hence CIBO-RIA = Cibaria. Italian restaurants have many names which indicate different features of that particular restaurant, the type of food, décor, style of service, etc… And those names often end with ‘ria’.
Examples are:
Osteria (local, restaurant/bar, casual)
Trattoria (casual, traditional, small)
Pescheria (fish restaurant)
Bisteccheria (charcoal meats)
Pizzeria (pizza)
Gelateria (gelato)…
… You get the gist!
Can you paint us a picture of Cibaria from sunrise to sunset?
This will be a space that embraces the European way of socialising, all day every day. Where a caffé turns into aperitivo, then turns into a meal with friends with incredible wines. It is meeting place for friends, for families, or a late-night cocktail and gelato after your passaggiata (evening stroll) along the beachfront.
What’s one standout dish from each counter that you think perfectly captures what Cibaria is all about?
The Bistecca fiorentina (an Italian steak dish), our pizzetta rossa/bianca, squid ink spaghetti with crab and Victor’s cheesecake.
We know the gelato will be a knockout, are there any special flavours we should know about?
The difference between us and all other gelato without being super-biased is that ours is super premium. It’s not just that we use premium products, but we have a more complex approach to our recipes. Instead of using the usual base recipe method, each recipe is based on a hero ingredient. It’s truly something special. As for the flavours, all of them will be good, but the Pina Colada will be a knockout.
The squid ink spaghetti with crab. Yum.
How has Manly’s beach culture influenced the way you’ve designed both the menu and the overall experience at Cibaria?
The Northern Beaches has a lot of variety across its demographics, from wealthy sophistication to backpackers and young families, but the one thing we all have in common is that we all want a quality casual cafe and restaurant to visit for all types of occasions. I’m a Northern Beaches local and I love to go out with my friends, or the next day with my young family, but I often struggle to pick somewhere that ticks all the boxes. Cibaria will do that. It’s really casual but professional in service, really varied in offer, good quality, approachable price, and a beach view!
Any insider tips on must-try dishes or special touches we should look out for?
Gorgonzola al cucchiaio! The gorgonzola trolley is absolutely inspired by one of the restaurants in my small town, Gardone val Trompia. They were famous for this soft gorgonzola, he’d do it table side, spread it on the plate, and people would just drool, it was such a memorable experience and I’ve been really keen to do my own version in one of my venues. We’ve had a friend of mine make a beautiful bespoke trolley, it will hold the soft gorgonzola and we’ll spoon it at the table, finishing ours with caramelised walnuts and organic chilli honey from Mudgee.
Cibaria
Open now!
Address: 55 N Steyne, Manly
Website: https://cibariamanly.au
Instagram: @cibariamanly.au
