Optima Magazine

37 – 39 Station Road • Rickmansworth • WD3 1QP • 01923 770055

Reviewed by Alan Cox

Sometimes you come away from a restaurant having expected more. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for. The latter was certainly true of my recent visit to Buon Cibo, a delightfully non-pretentious Italian Bistro tucked, literally, underneath the railway bridge in Rickmansworth.

Quirky is a perfect word to describe the unusual, almost wedge-shaped interior space. Yes, it’s small, but with clever use of mirrors, the interior appears almost double in size. The atmosphere is intimate yet informal, and everything is taken at a leisurely and relaxed pace.

Menu-wise it’s all about familiar sounding Antipasti, Piatti Principale/Pasta/Pizza and Pasta al Forno – but for me, that’s where familiarity ends. What I was expecting was a decent ‘run of the mill’ local Italian, the sort our high streets are bursting with. What I wasn’t expecting was such flair and quality from the kitchen. Here is a chef who really can cook up a storm!

Both our starter choices, the Gamberoni Piccanti (king prawns sautéed in a fresh spicy tomato and chilli sauce) and the Cozze (green tipped mussels in a creamy garlic sauce) were generous portions: very handsome in terms of appearance and delicious in terms of taste. I just longed for some bread to mop up the creamy sauce and juices from the large and succulent mussels.

For main course I opted for Surf and Turf Italian-style (Carne e Pesce) – medallions of fillet steak and king prawns in garlic butter, served with sauté potatoes and creamed spinach, and cooked to perfection. I love the simplicity of this classic partnering but it was the execution, in this instance, that impressed the most.

My wife, meanwhile, dipped into the Pasta menu, selecting Penne Amatriciana (smoked pancetta and onions in a fresh tomato sauce) which arrived in an enormous, yet elegant, bowl. No half measures here; healthy appetites required. Accompanied by a fresh Rocket and Parmesan salad, it was fresh and flavoursome. The only downside was being unable to finish such a liberal offering.

Wine is served here by the bottle or the glass. A glass of Chianti for myself (keeping it Italian, you understand) and a Spanish Rioja for my wife: no complaints from either of us, except to note that the waiting staff could have noticed our empty glasses, and offered refills before we had to ask.

I concluded with what has to be the largest portion of homemade Tiramisu I have ever seen. I confess that I struggled to make inroads into it, but this Italian classic was as decadent and creamy as you could wish for. My wife’s more modest looking Crème Brûlée was, as you’d expect, light and fluffy under its crisp and crunchy shell.

Buon Cibo have certainly raised the bar around here, in terms of high standards and growing reputation – not to mention the growing waistline. But hey, I’m not complaining. I’ll loosen my belt another notch if it means I get to go back and sample more of the best Italian food I’ve had locally.

Price Guide:

Starters: £3.95-£7.95
Mains: £6.25-£17.95
Desserts: £4.95
House wine: £1.95