la cucina di ciro

i absolutely love ciro's. i've been a handful of times but never written a review for some bizarre reason.
ciro himself often comes out to chat to customers and discuss the specials which is a nice personal touch.
the wine list is extensive and impressive. i always order the prossecco which is sublime.
this time around i had the warming red pepper and zucchini soup which was perfect for this cold weather. my friend had the crumbed and deep fried brie which was delicious as well.
formainsi had the deboned roast duck in a black cherry sauce with roast root vegetables- really delicious! skin could have been a bit crispier but otherwise no complaints.
my mom's pasta was perfection- al dente and the sauce was so tasty.
we then popped next door (same premises) to ciro's wife's little café, the pudding shop, for dessert. the coffee here is fantastic and my pineapple and carrot vegan cake was gorgeous.
service was friendly and efficient throughout.
a great spot for a special occasion or just a luxurious lunch with friends and family.

i really want to like this restaurant.....the location is nice and the staff are excellent. our food was just really disappointing. we had dinner - justmainsand coffee. the chicken breast in a very strange (unbalanced, clumsy) mint sauce was dreadful. the steak was fine, but not delicious. please offer us veggies as an option to chips (which were really not great.) what a lovely and efficient waiter. i won’t be back - the music was terrible too.

after reading all the hype, i feel seriously let down...
the food was a let down and definitely nothing impressive nor did it have the "wow" factor. pastry of starter was soggy and themainsdidn't impress in taste nor presentation.
unfortunately not a place i would recommend or go back to in a hurry.

the waiter franco was attentive and friendly and made a dismal lunch a little less so...

it was my first time here and i'm seriously impressed. i was there for a birthday dinner which was held in a private room which made the occasion very special. the food here is incredibly good and of the highest quality. we were given a selection of starters, but the one that stood out was the brie & fig served with prosciutto. formainsi had the seabass with a sundried tomato crust with a side of spinach. this is probably the best fish dish i have had at a restaurant before. definitely highly recommended.
the service and ambience were good enough - nothing too spectacular.
will definitely be back.

my man and i had dinner at la cucina last night. we were blown away by the cosy setting, on-point service and sublime food. we started with the fennel salad, which is light and refreshing. i had the pumpkin souffle formainsand my boyfriend had the pomegranate rib-eye. we were both practically licking our plates at the end. we finished off with a delicious creme brulee and the meringue roulade. we'll definitely be back and will be recommending this venue to all our loved ones.

we had a very nice dinner at lu cucina di ciro. they had a variety of specials for the night and the food was amazing. from bruchetta for starters, deboned duck and ravioli formainsand pavlova for desert, everything was really good.

the service from the waiters was awesome and we had a table outside under the stars that was really nice.

great food and great service! friendly staff and ciro's food was amazing! my wife had the butternut soup starter that was on special and i had the halloumi with aubergine pate. formainsmy wife had the norwegian salmon pasta and she absolutely loved it. i was a bit disappointed with my roast lamb cutlet as it was slightly underdone against the bone. dessert was amazing. the food is expensive at r175 for a pasta dish but the portion sizes are decent. we took in a bottle of muratie 2007 pinot noir at r75 corkage not too bad, as the wines available are quite expensive. don't think i will be back but this is my wife's new favorite.

always good! italian french fusion at it's best. sophisticated yet unpretentious. fresh and full of taste. the starter was a warm vichyssoise (ideal for the rainy evening) with coconut and chilly. the calf liver formainsmelted in the mouth. highly recommended.

seriously, this has got to be one of the best ever top notch cuisine restaurants in johannesburg. we had calves liver, to share for starters, a far too big portion, rather to a starter to share - well, it was out of this world!
ourmainswere crispy duck with turkish figs- fantabulous! and off course handmade fettuccine with pancetta and chorizo! exquisite! the attention to excellence and the service, just a notch above ! ciro, the owner and chef, well known guy in his field, personally comes around and tells you about the specials of the day.
a cozy old house and could be a romantic experience.
the wines we felt were expensive, nothing under r240, we took our own, corkage r70.
i can seriously recommend this.

this place makes for a great lunch spot on a beautiful sunday afternoon. perfect location in parkhurst. i like the indoor/outdoor ambience at this restaurant. starters were good-formainsi had the salmon(linefish of the day) which was okay. ribeye steak was also good. experienced good service on both occasions that i've been there. overall i would recommend this spot

delicious food, divine setting but they need to pull up their socks.

we were a table of 10 on saturday night. this is one of those restaurants that doesn't include anything with the main - everything costs extra. i ordered salmon (delicious) and my side dish was roasted root veg (also so tasty) - everyone at the table ordered a side. ourmainsarrived, and only one very generous side dish, which was given to me. we were ravenous - it had been quite a wait. we all started. once halfway thoughmainswe called over the waitress to enquiry about the outstanding sides.

"they're running low on roast potatoes in the kitchen"
well why didn't you tell us?!
"oh"
can we have something else?
"i'll order"
.. (a small roast veg portion arrives) ..
i hope you won't charge us for this?
"of course not"

eventually a small plate of roast potatoes also arrived once we were nearly finished our mains. my generous side had actually been for 3 to share, but no one bothered to pass on the message. we eventually worked it out..
not once did any management come to our table to apologise.

i was still hungry aftermains(and i don't eat a lot) - the portions are very small. so we ordered dessert - such interesting items to choose from and all very delicious.

when the bill arrived what a surprise we had been charged for sides. and the r1000 deposit paid to book the table did not reflect either. "oh, i'll speak to my manager". eventually all was sorted out, but for the prices you are paying for a meal here, you never expect something like this to happen.

no apologies from management for any inconveniences (who were visible and chatting to all other tables but clearly avoiding ours). the poor waitress had to deal with everything.

we use to love la cucina. went for dinner and the food came scary fast after we ordered and once again with main course we were still digesting the starters andmainsfollowed. the food tasted rushed and put out with no or little care. not the standard we were always use to.

my new favorite treasure- everything about la cucina di ciro is on point. the service is exceptional and the added touch of the chef relaying the daily specials to each table makes the dining experience at this establishment that much more personal and memorable. the ambiance is charming, intimate and romantic.. highly recommendable for dates with the significant. the garden setting, the quaint interior decor, the surrounding lit up trees all lends la cucina di ciro a truly unique character. the starters,mainsand deserts were spectacular, each in their own right. i can't wait to work my way through their robust flavorsome menu. heads up to the chef and staff at la cucina di ciro for making my experience a pleasurable one, i'll definitely be back soon :)

went for date night and couldn't have picked a better place! ambiance is great it just fits in with the space! the waiters are attentive and friendly! i had a mushroom stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies which was good, my partner had a prawn starter which went down well.

formainswe had poultry! i had chicken with creamy mash and veggies which was good and my partner had a crispy duck which wasn't crispy but he enjoyed it!

the only thing that turned me off was the fact that the toilet is right by the kitchen *eeuk* but all is well!

i went there recently for a birthday. we were seated in a private room since we were a large party.

we arrived quite early and some of us were starved, so we asked for bread. we were told that bread will only be brought out oncemainsare ordered since the bread will affect our appetites (and hence how much we order). i understand the theory, but to be told that outright was a whole other thing.

it is an expensive restaurant but the food was good. i had a steak which was tasty and cooked perfectly. but it wasn't a "wow" steak.

overall, a good night out but i don't think it would be a restaurant that i would choose to go to again, except when invited for someone else's function.