Same monitors showing ad nauseum the same NHL hockey.nobody watching again….and instead of some quiet Sunday morning music to complement the quiet sunlight, the same boring and jarring rock music. And the men's bathroom floor was untouched. I checked the floors and saw that same detritus under the mobile chiller beside the front door I saw last night. I went back the next morning, after an awful night at the adjoining (but attractive) ‘mere’ Hotel (see my parallel review), ordering a coffee to go. Worse, parking a plunger beside the toilet is virtually advertising “"This toilet overflows, and your shoes and pant legs are at risk!” REALLY detracts from the marketing message here. Having the toilet bowl cleaner in the bathroom is certainly convenient for the cleaning staff (when they occasionally visit that room) but such prominence is very unappealing, and low-class, in an aspiring up-scale restaurant.
Even ONE of those would have been helpful when we were there. Basic floor cleaning my Mom taught me was sweep up the heavy stuff, then vacuum the fine stuff, and then wash everything carefully. The floor was spotted with drippings, something of a biological origin was on the wall, and there was sand in the corners. Clean washrooms are simply essential in a good well-turned out resto.
#CIBO RESTAURANT WINNIPEG MENU TV#
But… The owner simply declined to invest in sound deadening, in a hard-surfaced, highly reflective brick, steel and glass-enclosed space! Sited on the banks of a quiet lovely river with a lovely panoramic view….What lost opportunity… With the boringly typical TV monitors set to hockey games that nobody was watching, the boringly typical music….no imagination about key elements of decor, entertainment, and ambience. There is enough volume and space in the black-painted overhead rafter area, along with places to hide among the 4 air-handling units, 10 downspout air diffusers and miles of black piping, to bury probably 200 cheap black-painted sound-deadening panels. My wife explained to me about the many inexpensive ways that her practice creates sound absorption for clients seeking it (most recently for the "Canada House" restoration in London).
The younger crowd came and stayed, the older crowd came and left, at least during our meal…I would have thought that the net cost-benefit equation of those dynamics would be very clear to anybody with an entrepreneurial manager's bone in their body. And the retirees were out in their groups of four, and they were wandering in, waiting moments at the door, and then they were …leaving! Two groups of four shouted the ‘It’s too noisy!’ phrase to one another as they decided to leave, and as they were standing closest to our table, I could easily hear that. Why owners believe noise will keep young Millenial bums on seats longer, and ordering more food and drink, is beyond me.But the other of the two demographics in the area that the resto is clearly targeting, based on who was there that night, has a lot more jingle in their 'Retired Old Fart' jeans than the 'Young Studs' do.
I liked it and will come back again, if only to see if it can improve in two key areas. The menu is fine, the price points are reasonable, the servers are young and energetic, and the food is well prepared. A unique bit of urban history most Winnipeggers know nothing of. Cibo is an eye-pleasing new resto on the banks of the Red River, in an historic preserved building once part of the downtown core’s district-heating system.
0 kommentar(er)
