Sunday lunch time at Cielo, quiet and pleasant, lovely breeze on such a hot day. Service a bit on the slow side, but overall not bad. Set menu for Restaurant week was lovely. we both had the Artichoke Salad, divine! Chicken was enjoyable too. Thank you for the choice of dessert, the Crème Brulee with the spun sugar was attractive and tasty. The view of the beach setting is nice, but unfortunately the highway noise was a bit bothersome/noisy.

What a lovely evening we had at Ciello. Service was very good and the food was lovely. Two of us had the baked ricotta and one had the salmon, followed by the mushroom stuffed chicken and a lovely slow cooked lamb (kleftiko). So tender it fell off the bone. Dessert was crème brulee and a red velvet cheesecake with guava which was both delicious. The portions were big, so we were all very full by the time we left. Well done Ciello. You will see us all again.

I've had this place on my to do list for a while and thanks to restaurant week we decided to make a booking. Who knew that we had a gem of a place here in benoni. Ive probably driven past it over a 1000 times. It's like a hidden treasure. The decor and the colours give that true Mediterranean feel and it's bright and open over looking the water and the guys skiing. It's got a chilled vibe indoor or out, and has a semi beach effect for those who want a different experience. Management, staff and the chef were very friendly welcoming and on hand throughout our time there.

We booked for lunch which was the 2 course. Either coffee crusted rib eye with artichokes and dirty mash or the chicken parmesan. Dessert was either baked alaska or sticky toffee pudding. My excitement was at its peak when I saw baked alaska on the menu as it's something I've never seen on menus before. I have made one years back which was quite successful.

For the food I opted for the chicken parmesan and the other two decided on the rib eye steak. There was nothing I could fault with mine. It was cooked to perfection the chicken was tender and juicy the flavour was spot on I didn't need to add salt or chillies which I had on hand just in case. The spaghetti was just right as well as the sauce. As for the steaks those also went down extremely well, the dirty mash was divine and I even tasted the artichokes for the first time it was cooked in a vinegarette and I was pleasantly surprised with the flavour.

Dessert. Well after my excitement I think this is the only thing that fell short for me. Baked alaska should be ice cream on a layer of cake and topped with meringue and baked. Ours were mainly cake and meringue and it took quite a few bites before I eventually found the ice cream so that was a let down for me as the cake was a tad dry. But as for presentation it was so eye appealing/ appetizing that the ladies on the table next to us asked to order one as well. If I wasn't so stuffed I would've ordered carrot cake as they walked around with the biggest one I have seen.

We also ordered some cocktails that were light and refreshing for the summer heat and some sparkling wine.

I would definitely go back here and even have a function here if needed as it's truly a lovely venue.
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