First Look: Cibare at River City Casino

Italy came to River City Casino last week when Cibare Italian Kitchen opened on Thursday, Nov. 3. Located in a 3,644-square-foot space inside the casino, Cibare offers 83 seats where patrons can enjoy a menu of fresh pastas, Neapolitan-style pizzas and Italian entrees.

Though River City is most well known for its casino, “We’re a restaurant destination, too,” said executive chef Josh Schlink. Cibare’s chef de cuisine Pierpaolo Pittia, who is from Udine, Italy, said the kitchen is focused on the simplicity of Italian cuisine, using just three or four ingredients in dishes.

Fresh pasta is made for dishes like the classic bucatini all’amatriciana, featuring San Marzano tomatoes and a hint of chile, or the strozzapreti made with braised beef, pancetta and caramelized onions. The 6-foot-tall Wood Stone oven towering in a corner of the dining room can turn out seven to eight Neapolitan-style pizzas at once for lunch or dinner. The shorter lunch menu also features panini sandwiches.

Executive pastry chef David Laufer prepare sweet treats, which are available from the attached coffee shop and bakery beginning at 6 a.m., daily. Laufer, who previously worked at The Preston in The Chase Park Plaza, moved to River City for the chance to showcase more desserts in a retail outlet alongside his restaurant menu. “It’s the best of both worlds,” Laufer said. Customers can pick up whole cakes, pies or an assortment of cookies and pastries from the attached bakery, along with Laufer’s house-made gelato.

Cibare is open Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Here, a first look at River City Casino’s newest restaurant: