“You have to imagine: to live in Italy, in any city, in any town, you live in a piazza. You have different outlets of food, at any time. You can go and have an aperitivo in an aperitiveria. A panino and caffe in the caffeteria. You can go to the bisteccheria … where they cook over embers.”
Just talking to chef Alessandro Pavoni will make you hungry – and we haven’t even discussed the trattoria, the gelateria, the pasticceria, the friggitoria and the spaghetteria. Laughing, the chef tells Broadsheet he could go on for six more hours. Together with his wife and business partner Anna, he’s opened Cibaria – a piazza for Manly.
Within one space, all of the Pavonis’ “-rias” are up and running – for choose-your-own-adventure dining. Fritto misto, pizza fritta and pairs of lasagne fritters arrive piping-hot from the friggitoria’s fryers, ace next to a cocktail. Pink yellowfin and pearly scallops are prepped in the cruderia.
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SIGN UPFrom the bisteccheria’s fireplace? Alessandro recommends the swordfish that’s dry-aged in-house. “It’s charcoaled then served with salsa verde and all these fresh marinated tomatoes and vegetables. It’s so bloody beautiful. Served medium rare. The oils in the fish set, so [the meat’s] beautiful, juicy, fresh.”
The menu is staggering. Pasta is made in-house, as is a dough that’s fermented for 72 hours, shaped into pizzettas – one blushing with marinara, another simply adorned with olive oil, garlic and rosemary – then woodfired in the forneria. In a traditional Sardinian salad, lobster is swapped out for Moreton Bay bugs. The meat’s delicately poached, then served cold with celery, Spanish onions, tomatoes and crisp cups of cos. “It’s cold, it’s fresh. It’s just wonderful.”
Will you take a high seat at the kitchen-side bar, or one in a booth with striped lounges? There are communal tables throughout the 130-seat indoor space, too. All have views of the energetic open kitchens, ideal once the sun sets on the beach.
Chef Victor Moya (executive chef at the Pavonis’ Ormeggio at The Spit) is overseeing Cibaria’s menu – specifically the gelateria’s scoops – and a definitively non-Italian dessert. “[Victor’s] from Spain. He does the best Basque cheesecake you’ve ever had,” Alessandro says. “And I don’t give a shit if it’s not Italian. I’ll put it on the menu anyway.” The decadent cake is powered by cream cheese, but here’s it’s emboldened with ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
While the restaurant’s designed to mimic the communal meeting place of a piazza, where you’re welcome to dine in your thongs, the fit-out is something special. The design reference is Cala di Volpe, a luxury hotel in Sardinia’s shimmering Costa Smerelda, where Alessandro once worked. Esteemed design studio Luchetti Krelle took the textured walls, earthy terracotta shades and repeated arches – then jet-setted them to Cibaria’s beachfront space at the base of the Manly Pacific Hotel.
“The idea is to have a place for everybody – cos the piazza is for everybody,” Alessandro says. “The piazza is not for special occasions. It’s for every day.”
Cibaria rounds out a turbocharged period of growth for the Pavonis. In September 2024, they opened Postino Osteria in an old Summer Hill post office, joining the rest of their venues: their first, Ormeggio at The Spit; its breezier sibling Chiosco by Ormeggio; and the sleek A’Mare at the Crown. Taking stock of what they’ve achieved across a very tidy stable, the pair are making it official this year, announcing their group Maestro Hospitality. That means there’s only more to come from the Pavonis, Sydney.
Cibaria
55 N Steyne, Manly
Hours:
Daily 11.30am–late
Caffeteria 8am–4pm daily
Gelateria 8am–late daily