Elise Hassey
Some of my favourite meals are built around a simple carb and a handful of excellent sides to dip, spoon and layer over it. Plates are passed, hands get messy, new flavour combinations take shape. That’s exactly what I love about Cibaria Noosa.
Start with one of the pizzettas and you’ll see why. The perfectly blistered, 24-hour fermented dough comes either bianca (garlic and rosemary) or rossa (tomato and oregano). Better still, order both. Then add a flurry of sides: charcuterie (don’t miss the thick-cut salami, which hails from the Italian town of Felino); buffalo mozzarella with just-ripe tomatoes, peach and basil; and tuna crudo brightened with green chilli vinaigrette and salmon roe. Load up the pizzettas and try different combinations. My tip: cut the crust open and stuff it with salami and mozzarella. Molto bene.Â
Cibaria Noosa is the latest venture from Alessandro and Anna Pavoni of Maestro Hospitality, the group behind some of Sydney’s leading Italian restaurants, including Ormeggio at The Spit, a’Mare and Postino Osteria. For their first venue interstate, they’ve taken their popular Cibaria Manly concept and applied it to the Sunshine Coast, anchoring the recently opened Elysium Noosa Resort on Hastings Street.Â
Given its prime real estate, the Mitchell & Eades-designed interior leans appropriately warm and inviting. By day, sunlight spills through the open windows, catching brick parquetry and soft yellow hues. At night, the lights dim and the open kitchen – led by head chef Lucas Bach (ex-Ormeggio) – becomes the focal point.
Inspired by an Italian piazza, the menu and kitchen are divided into different rias: a salumeria (cured meats), a forneria (pizza) and a bisteccheria (wood grill), among them. The extensive wine list includes a cheat sheet for matching each ria to a wine. A bisteccheria dish, for instance, might find a natural pairing in Amarone or Langhe nebbiolo.Â
From the grill, whole king prawns arrive in a chilli and lemon salsa verde. Deeply charred and crisp, they’re too good not to eat whole, shell and all. The spaghetteria offers plenty of temptation, but the spicy vodka penne, studded with sweet chunks of Moreton Bay bug, shouldn’t be missed.Â
Then there’s the tiramisù. I tend to consider it the benchmark of a good Italian restaurant, and Cibaria’s is superb. It arrives more set than most, with a well-aerated mascarpone and just the right balance of coffee and cocoa. Much like the restaurant itself, it feels tailored to Noosa’s climate.Â
Generous and full of energy, Cibaria is perfectly at home on Hastings Street – a rare feat to achieve in such a short space of time.Â
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