There is also an entire column of white pizzas, which forego tomato sauce in favor of ingredient combinations such as sausage and potato or mushrooms and prosciutto. Red pizzas begin with basics such as the margherita and then become more interesting with La Noce, in which the usual tomato sauce and mozzarella base is topped with ricotta, arugula, and walnuts. The toppings are, for the most part, traditional. The crust is light, thinnest at the center, and just slightly charred.

The restaurant’s core product, however, can hold its own against almost any AVPN pies around town. Unlike some nearby pizzerias, Cibo is not certified by Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), the agency that strictly regulates Neapolitan pizza. A few of those sandwiches make their way onto the evening menu. Conversely, the midday menu has a strong orientation toward saltimbocca, sandwiches made from freshly baked bread that are similar to panini but without grill marks from a press. At lunch, just four of the most popular selections are offered in a nine-inch size more suitable for one person. The dinner menu focuses most heavily on pizza, 12-inch pies in over 20 varieties. pesto saladĬibo has separate menus for lunch and dinner with different emphases but some overlap. The decor and ambience provide a suitable environment for a date or business lunch, but it’s not uncommon to see families with children. Three other dining rooms are found surrounding it with varying degrees of intimacy and natural light in each. A central room features a small bar and serves as the restaurant’s crossroads. The interior is, as one would expect in an adapted vintage bungalow, divided into several small dining rooms. The entrance and host station face Fifth Avenue and lie just beyond a patio that is cooled by misters and shaded by mature trees. For customers who arrive via bicycle, Cibo’s bike rack is hidden in a courtyard between its patio dining area and a valet parking lot accessible from Fillmore. It’s half a mile from both the Van Buren stations and the Roosevelt / Central station, but the route from Roosevelt offers a far more pleasant walk through intact historic neighborhoods rather than the vacant lots along the path from Van Buren. La Noce pizzaĬibo is at the upper limit of walking distance from light rail. On the north side, however, Cibo stands preserved along with its neighbors. South of Fillmore, it’s all vacant lots, many of which are slated for redevelopment. Now, it’s part of the northwestern quadrant of Downtown. At the time, the neighborhood was among Phoenix’s original streetcar suburbs. The site is a bungalow constructed in 1913 at Fifth Avenue and Fillmore. It’s among a handful of restaurants in historic homes that came before the current wave of development arrived. margherita pizzaĬibo, a pizzeria that recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, is one of the pioneers. As recently as a decade ago, however, Phoenix wasn’t having this discussion because there was so little new construction that old houses were often the only space available for new businesses. At the same time, adding more space than the market can bear can lead to the blight of empty storefronts.

Having shops or restaurants located below residences promotes a variety of uses in the pursuit of urban vitality. As new construction blossoms in Downtown Phoenix after years of delays, one of the details debated about various projects is the role of ground floor retail.

Cibos pizza menu