Cijjo’ Restaurant and Lounge

A great café experience.
We sat at one of the tables on the sidewalk. Watched the Castro Street crowd while unwinding from a long day. A good glass of sparkling wine, roasted peppers with duck prosciutto and something akin to hoisin sauce, seitan and mushroom pizza, what else could one ask for?
Cijjo is both eclectic and delicious, and the the wait staff are friendly and helpful. I’ll definitely be back!

I have had Cijjo on my bookmark list since a friend visited a few months ago. Sadly, I was disappointed.
I got to Cijjo super early for our reservation at 5:30. I walked in around 5:05pm to find a completely empty restaurant. I stood at the front for about a minute before anyone came out to greet me. The host flipped through some papers at the stand and said he didn’t even have the right paper to check me in but that it didn’t matter because they were having issues with OpenTable.
I apologized for being super early but told the host that I’d love to be seated early to have a drink. I was given menus and was left alone for at least 10 minutes before a woman walked in who seemed to be meeting the owner. She was offered a drink before me. It was only when someone who I assumed was the owner walked in and asked me if I was waiting to be served that the host/​server rushed over and asked me if I was ready to order. I asked what the dinner cocktail was on the HH menu and he said he had no idea since they have no liquor license. So FYI, the HH menu says «sake or dinner cocktail» but there is no cocktail to order, at least according to the server.
I don’t want to go into much more detail, but basically they were out of everything I wanted to try like bone marrow, burrata, and every wine we chose whether it was by the glass for me or the bottle. I was excited to try wine from France but instead we were offered one from Livermore. What a disappointment. How can you be out of dishes when we were the first customers there?
I didn’t have a great first impression of the service and our server had to be flagged down several times. I even went to the back to find him to let him know we wanted to order more food but he was nowhere to be found.
The only thing that saved the night was good company. I don’t think I will come back. They’ve been open for several months but it felt like they were clueless on how to provide basic customer service.

Cijjo has the potential to be great, but misses the mark on so many things that ultimately left my party of three disappointed last night. Therefore, I am removing two stars from my previous review.
–First person in my party arrives early and tells the greeter/​server that she is early but would like to have a glass of wine while she waits for the rest. She gets seated, offer menus, but the server does not return to take her drink order for another 15 minutes. Mind you, the place was empty — only 1 other table was occupied and 3 people at the bar.
–I was the 2^nd to arrive and upon arrival was poured a glass of water. Server never came back to ask me if I wanted to order anything. It was not until I flagged him down (10 minutes later) was I able to order a drink.
–While their wine menu purports to have many choices, the wines that we chose were not available. Randomly we wanted a bottle of a cab, and a bottle of a bordeaux. Both were not available. Server then tells us that because their wines are constantly changing, a lot of the wines on the menu are out. But that they have other wines available in the back that are not listed. So… what’s the point of a wine list if people can’t order off of it???
–my friend saw online that Cijjo had half of bottles on Tuesdays. This was not advertised or posted anywhere in the restaurant. It was not until we asked the server did he confirm that indeed wines were ½ off.
–Bone marrow, one of their staples, was not available. Same with Burrata. The items that we wanted to order.
–Lastly, we were there from about 5:10 to 9:00pm. The entire time the restaurant was empty. At most 4 tables were occupied, including ours, with a group of people at the bar. There was only 1 server and 1 bartender. Throughout the duration of our almost 4 hour evening, the server only checked up on us ONCE. Each time we needed something, we had to flag him down, including getting a refill on water.
Overall, Cijjo needs to raise the bar. Our group was left disappointed and likely will not return. There are many choices on Castro street where we can get better value for our money, and great service at the same time.

I came with a large group for Silicon Valley Restaurant Week as well as a wine night with friends and I wouldn’t be surprised to see myself back here for a 3-​peat visit very soon.
The squid ink pasta is my favorite, with the crispy pan-​fried noodles and giant, garlic prawns mixed among the dark pasta dish and lobster broth. It’s not a great group-​dining dish since the noodles can be pretty messy and takes quite a while to get the hang of eating, but it’s super worth it if you don’t can’t looking kinda sloppy in front of people.
The passion fruit ceviche, served in a fish bowl of a martini glass, is great for sharing, though I’m pretty sure I only let my seat-​mate get a single bite in there (Sorry, Wanugee!). Expect plump portions of scallops, shrimp, avocado, peppers, and passion fruit marinade.
For dessert I got the brined pineapple with brown dugar, dark rum and creamy coconut sorbet that helped settle out the richness of my squid ink pasta and satisfy my end-​of-​meal sweet craving perfectly.
The restaurant week deal was a steal since they didn’t seem to skimp on their regular portions and I got all that for $ 35 + tax and tip. I’ve done a ton of restaurant week dining in my time, and this is probably one of the better menus and deals I’ve ever seen — I would not hesitate to come back and do it all over again next week.

Ordered: Piedmont Truffle Fries, Middle Eastern Za’atar Chicken, Duck Tacos, etc.
Everything is okay and the portions were small; even the «Big Plate» chicken entrée we got was small! The menu I think was a tad confusing in that it featured various, disparate cuisines. There seems to be a lack of direction.

We went back twice since my last review and sadly things are not the same.
They changed the way they cook the bone marrow, which was the whole reason why we go back. It sadly is not on par with the original. Why break a good thing Cijjo???
Now I’m not sure if I’ll return…

FALLEN EXPECTATIONS…
What does one do when one’s expectations of a restaurant fall short? Go home and reheat leftover pizza from the night before! That is exactly what we were driven to do!
We had just spent the day enjoying the Mountain View Art & Wine Festival. We were so busy perusing the vendors and their creative goods, that we bypassed all the festival eats. Since Castro Street is lined with a multitude of good restaurants, it wasn’t an issue of finding a place to eat, as much as it was deciding on which one.
We wanted to try a restaurant that was new to the both of us. Since the menu looked appetizing, we gravitated to Cijjo’, a restaurant serving International Tapas. Big mistake. We should have read the reviews of our fellow Unilocal friends a little more carefully, as one reviewer noted a chef change in the last couple of months.
The atmosphere is ultra modern (but in a shiny, melamine kind of way), with a small bar and decorative wine display both lighted in purple and blue. The table centerpieces were all adorned with fresh cut flowers which made for a nice decorative touch.
We were pleased to read that all of their produce is sourced from local farmers. Choosing was difficult because everything looked really good. We labored over the menu a bit longer than usual; several minutes later, we decided upon these dishes:
* Pork Belly Lyonnaise ~ Braised pork belly, poached egg, baby Frisée, mixed greens, Bacon Dijon vinaigrette. The greens were fresh and the serving size was nice. The vinaigrette was decent but with a barely distinguishable bacon flavor. The poached egg was cooked perfectly, with a soft, liquid center. The big disappointment here however, was the cubed and dry pork belly. What happened to the reason we all eat pork belly? The juicy, fattiness of the pig’s belly!
* Cijjo’ Spicy Ahi Tuna Cone ~ Japanese Red Miso Tuile, Wasabi, Tobiko, Daikon Sprouts. This was a huge disappointment of the evening. The mush of tuna had very little flavor and color and was overpowered by the cone made into a sweet, Red Miso Tuille (wafer). The name states, «spicy», however, it had absolutely no hotness at all; zero Scoville heat units (SHU).
* Miso Marinated Black Cod ~ White Miso, daikon, scallion, Maitake mushroom, Shishito pepper. Black Cod is one of my favorite dishes! I’ve ordered this fish at a number of restaurants and have always been very pleased. My displeasure comes from the portion and presentation of this dish. A good piece of cod is usually served in a nice sized chunk. Our dish arrived with small pieces of cod laid out on a rectangular plate; definitely not a high quality portion of cod. For what we paid, it was not worth it.
* Shanghai Duck ~ Duck breast, Chinese Five Spice soy, plum, cucumber, scallion, house made pancake. The plum sauce was sweet, but the overall flavor just didn’t please. The homemade pancakes were nothing out of the ordinary. Reserve eating duck at a good Chinese restaurant.
My conclusion is that this restaurant focuses a lot on the appearance of things and falls short on flavor. Sure, the presentation looked appetizing, service was really great, the restaurant was clean, the menu looked inviting… but, in the end, the food needs to «speak» to its patrons the most; it just didn’t quite hit the mark.

After walking most of the afternoon on Castro to browse the 2014 Mountain View Arts & Wine festival, my fiancée & I were pretty tired and hungry. As everyone know, there are just so many choices now on Castro. We finally decided to come here based on an inviting décor and an interesting menu.
The décor is ultra modern with with tables and chairs. There is a bar counter on one side and a glass wine cabinet on the other side. There was a huge TV next to the bar that seemed inappropriate for the style and atmosphere of the restaurant.
We were promptly greeted and seated by the front windows. The menu, as I had mentioned, was very interesting. The dishes were mostly Asian Fusion with a smattering of French names, served under the pretense of Tapas. We settled on four:
1. Pork Belly Lyonnaise — braised pork belly served on a bed of mixed baby greens with bacon Dijon vinaigrette dressing and a soft poached egg. This was probably the best dish we had because it was the only one that had some taste, but it was not perfect as the pork belly was dry and the poached eggs was devoid of flavor. Yes, the baby greens were fresh and the dressing tasted like… vinegar.
2. Spicy Ahi Tuna Cone — spicy tuna served in a hand rolled Japanese red miso tuille, served with wasabi tobiko and daikon sprouts. There was no spiciness to the mushy tuna. The tobiko had no wasabi taste. The cone overwhelmed the whole thing.
3. Miso Marinated Black Cod — marinated black cod served with Maitake mushroom, and garnished with daikon, scallion and Shishito peppers. Three small morsels of flavorless fish. The mushroom had more taste.
4. Shanghai Duck — duck breast roasted with Chinese Five Spice and soy, served with a garnish of scallion and shredded cucumber over plum sauce, with homemade pancakes (really light flour tortilla). The duck was overcooked and not tasty. The best part was the pancake.
At a price of over $ 70 for the four dishes, I left unimpressed and unfulfilled! One star for the décor, one star for the service, one star for the presentation. No star for the food, nor the taste, nor the flavor, nor the quality.

When I lived in downtown Mountain View about 7 years ago, there weren’t any restaurants on Castro that offered an elegance worthy of an upscale date night or a special celebration with friends. Now Cijjo provides elegance and sophistication in a gorgeous setting with a welcoming atmosphere. Fortunately I work nearby so I can still enjoy all that Cijjo offers, from lunch to happy hour to dinner.
At Cijjo (pronounced «sigh-​joe») the menu takes inspiration from the owners’ travels in Spain and features «cosmopolitan tapas» meant for sharing. The influence of new chef Ryan Renteria, formerly of Alexander’s Steakhouse and The Sea, is noticeable. With him came an elevation in seasoning, execution, and presentation – especially where seafood is concerned. Although the menu always offered solid seafood dishes like ceviche or the black squid ink pasta with prawns, the variety has increased. My current favorite is the scallops dish. These are some of the best: crisply seared on the outside but perfectly cooked on the inside so they truly melt in your mouth along with the truffle foam.
It’s not all about seafood and Spanish flavors at Cijjo, though, which is why I love the selection of small plates from around the world. There are many options for vegetarians, and special menu notations for diners with other dietary requirements, like gluten-​free dishes. Or, if you’re on the other end of the spectrum and like bone marrow, Cijjo’s portions are easily some of the largest I’ve seen.
But what often draws me to Cijjo is the happy hour (4:30−6:30 Tuesday through Friday). What better way to relax and avoid traffic after work? Tuesdays are one of the best nights to stop by, when bottles of wine are 50% off. It’s very easy to turn a happy hour into a happy evening by sharing a bottle with friends. The sommelier is developing a new wine list, so I can’t wait to see what will be offered. But I’ve always enjoyed the suggested wines, especially the sparklings. Cijjo always seems to have the perfect pairing for whatever I’m eating, and I appreciate that the wines are both excellent and affordable.
Perhaps it’s a good thing that I don’t live in downtown Mountain View anymore. Otherwise, my weekly stop at Cijjo might turn into a never-​ending rotation of lunch, happy hour, dinner and brunch!

3 Major fails:
1. They just changed chefs, and the menus are very different, but the online menus have not been updated. Lame. Here are the new brunch menus:
part 1:
part 2:
2. When I arrived today, they said they were out of pork belly. How is that possible? No pork belly lyonnaise salad for me.
3. The Wellington Benedict is not on the new brunch menu. Bummer. So I settled for the steak benedict:
It was a total let-​down, and way overpriced at $ 14.

We came here on a Sunday after the Mountain View Farmers’ Market. The restaurant wasn’t crowded and we were seated promptly. The whole time, we had tapas in mind so you can imagine the disappointment when we found out they didn’t serve tapas for lunch. Sorry wife, no bone marrow today.
We decided to stay and ordered Cambodian pork belly sandwich and Hanger steak sandwich. Both dishes were rather small and pricey for the amount. The pork belly had a nice marinade but the steak was a little tough. The bread was not memorable.
Our waitress was courteous and carried a bright smile throughout. The complimentary bubbly per Unilocal check-​in was a nice gesture. The interior of the place looked chic. But all in all, until I try their dinner or tapas, this was a three-​star experience.

We came here (group) to see for ourselves what they had to offer, as the Unilocal reviews are somewhat of a mix. When I entered the restaurant I was visually overwhelmed with the art-​deco décor, for a split second I thought I was in Miami. We were greeted and seated promptly. The evening started with complimentary sparkling wine with Unilocal checkin, but was interrupted abruptly when a full tray of flute glasses disintegrated right in front of our eyes. Unfortunately Janet took the brunt of it, soaked with a finger cut. We all acted like adults, as this type of stuff happens to the most experienced waiters. The staff was genuinely concerned and did everything possible to make it right, including ointments and bandages for Janet’s slight injury. Since the table was quite a mess, we were reseated at a fresh table. We felt bad as the server was super nice and eloquent, but he decided that it was better to have a new waitress serve us. I really felt bad for the restaurant as some aren’t as forgiving as we were. The manager stopped by and offered a bottle of wine as compensation, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted to explain the situation, as to me the restaurant staff handled the issue with upmost courtesy and professionalism. Nonetheless, this mishap did not ruin my evening or discounted the positive experience in any way. In fact, it gave us something to laugh about, as the whole night we all faltered and almost broke a few glasses ourselves.
As far as the food, we had mixed emotions within our group, as we all ordered differ dishes. We started with the International Charcuterie, which was nicely presented in the wood block. It included slices of Italian Bresaola, Duck Prosciutto, Jamon Iberico ham with slices of baguette. I also indulged in the Castilian Grilled Chorizo & Mussels, which was quite good, well seasoned with flavors of paprika and sherry tomatoes. The mussels perfectly cooked and chorizo tender with crisp exterior. My wife had the Madrid Squid Ink Pasta with fresh water prawns in lobster broth. I tried a few bites and enjoyed it thoroughly. For dessert I had the Bahamian Bread Pudding, which has current, coconut milk garnished with caramel rum sauce. Very delicious. I tried a few other dishes my friends ordered and they were less impressive, but the Hanger Steak was tasty when cooked as medium to medium rare. The flavors were almost identical to the Chorizo & Mussels dish, but the meat influenced distinctive flavors of each dish.
All in all this place left me with a memorable evening, what else can you ask for? I will definitely go back to try some more.

I did my due diligence and picked my Unilocal friends mind electronically.
I’m happy with my choices last night. The international charcuterie was very good. Although I would love a little more bread. But the variety of prosciutto were fresh. My main entrée the squid ink with pasta with a couple of shrimp on top was very delicious. Although the shrimp I didn’t care for. It was a soggy mess and should’ve been cooked less. Nevertheless I love the flavor of the squid ink in the pasta! It came in a sizzling skillet. The portion was perfect for me.
I tried Adam’s entrée– mussels very tasty as well. But the rest of my friends food were not up to par. The ahi tuna roll was disgusting. The ceviche was I think the worst I’ve ever tasted! It was beautifully presented but it lacked that burst of flavor that it should be bringing to your mouth. Boring is the best description!
The dessert verdict: none of the three that we shared impressed me at all. The crème brûlée was bland with no vanilla flavor in it. It’s like they forgot to add it!
Bread pudding: three small round beauties that tasted well below anything I have tried. I didn’t feel the love here. I am somewhat of a bread pudding junkie and this was no junkie pleaser.
Chocolate cake: I’ve never met a chocolate that I didn’t like except this one. It tasted like store bought and so totally brought the house down.
The décor is chick. I love the white table. Fresh flowers and the wine cage.
I would return for HH and the charcuterie plate if in the area. By the way order the fries. It’s good!
A bleeding mishap with the male waitstaff which was unfortunate. And in no way reflected my review rating. He was very sweet about it and the manager compensated for it with a bottle of wine.
So my individual rating alone is four stars overall. Definitely the caring mgr helped with the extra star and it just so happened my entrée rocked my boat enough.

Cijjo easily stands out from the other MV restaurants and looks simply amazing from the outside in, heck! It even looks amazing from the inside.
Strikingly unique ceiling lights, soft purples hue walls, elegant bar, stylish wine display, down to the table setting and flowers, Cijjo impresses.
But about where things stop being great.
Ciijo advertises itself as a place that serves the world’s cuisine (sounds great), however i didn’t find that extremely apparent in the menu, the menu items of the night seemed very fusiony and while some menu items stood out as unique, nothing looked extremely appetizing. The menu looked very appetizing at first but as I read the ingredients, things didn’t look as good anymore. I asked my server for his recommendation however not even his pitch helped things out.
Regardless, I ordered the following:
Charcuterie Plate: Duck Prosciutto… This was actually a very solid plate in terms of taste however it was too salty as there was nothing besides some baguette slices to mellow things out.
The Ocean: Scallops, Shrimp, Mussels in a dashi broth. Sounded a lot better than what came out. The food was warm at best and had a fishy taste… never a good thing in my book. The mussels and scallop were also tiny and even the 1 shrimp was cut in half…
Braised Ox Tail: Not bad, but then again, the food got cold fairly quickly, the kitchen did not leave much time between the charcuterie and the ocean dish, everything pretty much came out at the same time.
Squid Ink Pasta! Now here’s the real star of the show! The baked giant prawn? Delicious! Although the meat was a little soft which makes me wonder about the freshness. The squid ink pasta had a slightly charred top which gave it a wonderful crunch alongside the normal soft pasta you’d come to expect. Everything in this dish was great (it was actually very hot!) except… the entire bottom of the dish was drenched in oil… I understand that they used a lot of oil since it was served in a cast iron skillet to avoid food sticking to their skillets and also for taste, but this was way too much, I didn’t finish half of the dish since it was too oily.
In the end, the two tastes that stood out to me the most were A: Too salty and B: Too oily. For a restaurant that serves small tapas; I expected a lot of good flavors… but it seemed to just serve good décor.
I can’t recommend the food here however it looks like a great place to have a glass of wine or just to drink some scotch at the bar.

REAL RATING: 1.5 stars
Sandy picked Cijjo out of a list of restaurants participating in Silicone Valley Restaurant Week. They were offering a 4-​course meal for $ 35/​person. Each course had three options. To my defense I wanted to try another restaurant but she was really digging this place because one of the options in the second course was bone marrow. I thought that was a valid reason to go because, well, I love that sh*t.
OYSTER SHOOTERS ~ 1 star: This wasn’t part of the 4-​course menu but since we’re oyster whores, we had to try them… These shooters were the worst I’ve ever had. The WORST. The oysters were warm! You can tell they didn’t have them sitting on ice. Instead, I bet they were sitting in the open allowing the kitchen heat to ruin them! The quail egg, vodka and black sesame concoction they had in the shot glass was also atrocious. I literally, and I mean literally gagged.
Sandy’s 1^st course ~ ROASTED BABY ARTICHOKE BISQUE ~ 1 star: Good consistency but completely lacked flavor. It had bacon bits and that was the only way you could get any flavor but once you run out of bacon, it becomes almost unbearable.
My 1^st course ~ PORT POACHED PEAR SALAD ~ 3 stars: The pear was nicely poached but the salad didn’t blow me away. A little more goat cheese and a little more flavor in the dressing would have bumped this up one more star.
Sandy’s 2^nd course ~ ROASTED BONE MARROW ~ 1 star: The reason why we came was a complete bust. I think Sandy would have given this 2 stars but I thought it was absolutely terrible. How is it possible for bone marrow to not have ANY flavor? Although it was a fat bone, it just wasn’t good. I actually opted to stop eating it. Call me a food snob. I don’t care.
My 2^nd course ~ INTERNATIONAL CHARCUTERIE ~ 4 stars: Ok! Finally something good. This meat plate came with a standard proscuitto, duck proscuitto and Spanish salami. All were really good. The duck proscuitto was fatty, salty and tender.
Sandy’s main course ~ VEGETARIAN TOWER ~ 0 stars: This horrendous excuse of a main course consisted of portobello mushrooms, tomato confit,
roasted peppers, panko crushed eggplant, grilled zucchini, yellow squash, corn and salsa stacked on top of each other. I couldn’t believe how disgusting it was. Everything was mushy and the flavor made both of us gag.
My main course ~ HANGER STEAK w/​CHIMICHURI ~ 4 stars: The steak was cooked perfectly — juicy and tender with a nice char. The chimichuri was great and paired very well with the steak.
Sandy’s dessert ~ LOUISIANA STYLE BEIGNETS ~ 4 stars: I love beignets and these were really good — good flavor, nice texture and fluffy. Served with chocolate sauce, caramel and fruit purée, this was a good way to end a terrible dinner.
My dessert ~ CHOCOLATE COINTREAU MOUSSE TORTE ~ 1 star: I’m not a dessert person so I always let Sandy run with it. She ordered this as well. After one bite, we both gave up on it and just ate the beignets.
Service was also a bit slow and our server was very awkward. When Sandy stopped eating her Vegetarian Tower, he asked her what was wrong with the dish in such an uncomfortable way. It made me cringe. However, he did comp her glass of wine as a way to apologize. Seriously, he shouldn’t have charged us for the whole meal. It was that bad.
I hate to say this but I’d be shocked if Cijjo is still around this time next year.

Wandering around Castro Street with quite a hunger in our bellies, my best friend and I couldn’t decide where to stop. Cijjo caught our eye because it’s the new neighbor in town. I knew I HAD to check it out because I’d read about the amaaaazing pork belly just that morning in Glenn G’s intriguing review. It was fate!
FOOD:
— — –
We felt like sampling various items, so we ordered a bunch of tapas (small plates) to share. Don’t expect these to be huge or very filling — you’ll need quite a few to satisfy a normal appetite. Even with the below spread, we could have eaten more.
* Westphalia Pork Belly (Germany style braised with house spice rub, cantaloupe purée, pickled root vegetable relish) — This was the first thing I ordered, and I regret nothing. The pork belly was so perfectly moist, flavorful, and tender that I instantly wished we weren’t sharing plates. Each bite was more than satisfying. This is a must order!
* Piedmont Truffle Fries (white truffle butter, parmesan reggiano, chives) — The ultimate comfort food for starving friends. Since these are tasty and light, it can be difficult to stop eating them.
* Jamon Iberico Bellotta (Spain-​imported aged shoulder of acorn-​fed black hoof pig) — We really treated ourselves with this one. Essentially this dish consists of paper-​thin slices of the shoulder of the black hoof pig, which is a descendant of the wild boar that feeds only on fallen acorns. The result is a savory treat. No wonder this is considered a delicacy!
* Smoked Salmon (smoked salmon atop an English muffin) — This dish reminded me of a bagel with lox, but 10 times better. The smoked salmon is fresh and has the perfect texture. The cream cheese was deliciously unique. An awkward piece of lettuce covered the entire concoction, as you’ll see in my photo, but it did add a nice touch flavor-​wise. In terms of presentation I would prefer a different configuration.
* Shrimp Bruschetta Romano (prosecco and butter poached shrimp, tomato vinaigrette) — The sauce drizzled on top of the 3 shrimp was incredible. In contrast, the sauce the dish was placed in was not as outstanding. It slightly overpowered the taste of the shrimp.
AMBIANCE/​SERVICE:
— — — — — — — — –
Modern, tasteful décor makes this a lovely place to dine. When we first arrived it was rather noisy, perhaps because of the room’s acoustics, but it became more peaceful when some of the customers departed with their video-​game-​playing-​on-​maximum-​volume children. It’s better to come later in the evening when the atmosphere is more relaxing.
Our server was super sweet and very knowledgeable of all the items on the menu. She consistently checked in with us and made sure we were doing well. The only thing that was strange was although we pointed out right away that we were not interested in a salad item, but she continued to press us about ordering one of their salads. She also asked us 3 times if we wanted some alcohol, when we had clearly indicated we only wanted water. It felt like she was hot-​selling us so we would add more items to our growing tab.
DATE TIP: This can be a trendy, romantic place for a date. Be prepared to pay some big bucks for not-​so-​big food! But it’s a great place to show off your adventurous attitude toward food and life. These are often synonymous.

Our party of 10 had reservations on a Friday evening to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
I was immediately impressed with the modern interior imparting a swanky lounge like vibe. We were shown to our table against the back wall however we were never properly greeted (either when we were seated or at any point) by who I eventually found out was one of the co-​owners overseeing operations that evening.
Their beer menu was impressive in its variety and they also had several tasty brews on tap (Chimay, Gentleman’s Club ale). As we dug into the menu, it became clear this was a tapas restaurant that wanted to cover a broad range of cuisines and flavors.
Unfortunately, when style and substance do not meet on the same plane you produce an unpleasant, disjointed dining experience.
After tasting the 11 different dishes we had ordered, I was left with a bland, dry, and disappointing taste in my mouth, both literally and figuratively. The Alsatian Tarte Flambee (read pizza) had a goat like pungent white cheese. The Kumomoto oysters were dry and tasted like they were thawed out that morning. The Madrid Squid Ink Pasta was dry and burnt. The Sao Paulo Hangar steak had a rough chewy texture. The only saving grace of the evening was the Piedmont Truffle fries which in all likelihood tasted better than it would have had it not been surrounded by the 10 other less than mediocre dishes.
For a tapas restaurant you would think they would make a concerted effort to change out your plates. Sadly, none of our plates were ever changed out and our waters were re-​filled once (at the end of the evening).
Successfully running a higher tiered restaurant requires as much attention to service as the quality of dishes they serve. It is as much an art form as it is a science. Cijjo needs to re-​consider both its tactical and strategic game plan or I’m afraid they will fall victim to the hyper competitive Mountain View restaurant industry.

SMALL DISHES BIG FLAVORS
(4.25 stars)
International tapas with a twist.
— FOOD, yummy
— PRICES, pricy
— SERVICE, omg amazing
— AMBIANCE, modern
Came Saturday for lunch and we were the only ones there. Many others came in about 30 minutes later. Received great service by waitstaff, very friendly. We ordered and shared dishes which is perfect for two with light appetites.
HEFER STATUS.
FENTIMANS CURIOUS COLA — fermented botanical cola, with ginger and herbal extracts. Different then Pepsi or CocaCola! Not as sweet and had a nicer flavor from the extractions.
BUNDABERG GUAVA — sweet but can be diluted from the ice cubes.
SPICY AHI TUNA TRIO ($ 11) — Cijjo cone, Japanese Red Miso Tuille, wasabi tobiko, daikon sprouts. There were three of them and they were DELICIOUS. My favorite item here thus far. The cone was this sea same wrap with a light crunch and sweetness. The cone itself is the Chef’s own creation. The spicy ahi was mixed with the red miso paste which helps counteract the spicy, technically this dish isn’t that spicy at all.
LYONNAISE ($ 9) — French bistro, citrus frisée, lardons, soft poached egg, Dijon vinegarette. The portion was super tiny and not sure if it was worth the $ 9. It was good but tiny. Packed with flavors from the lardons, yolk, and dressing.
CIJJO’S SLIDERS ($ 11) — American Kobe, Carmelites shallots, chipotle BBQ, micro greens, and brioche. Very tasty sliders, you get three of them. First bite you can really taste the richness of the Kobe beef, it had a very itty bitty hint taste of the taste of liver. It kind of threw me off since I didn’t expect that. Then you have the heat from the chipotle BBQ. Wasn’t too thrilled with the BBQ sauce, it was too strong for the sliders and masked the flavors of the slider. The richness of that meat should be paired with a lighter sauce. It was still great and we ate it.
PEIDMONT TRUFFLE FRIES ($ 6) — super skinny fries, love it. Awesome presentation in a wire basket with a light printed news paper texture paper sheet holding the fries. Shaves of Parmesan sprinkled on too. This paired well with the sliders.
WILL I BE BACK? Oh yes!!!
JABA Approved… Until the next review.

Cijjo is the latest restaurant to take over the spot next to Kappo Nami Nami. It’s been several different cuisine types but was most recently ‘Super Size Me’ Phở Garden. I had stopped by once to take photos with the enormous bowls but never came back.
Cijjo (a name chosen for its European roots but with no special meaning) is completely different and the space has truly been transformed, almost unrecognizable from its casual prior phở setting. There’s a bar area to the right, an impressive wine wall to the left, and even chandeliers. Some of the new paint job was visibly uneven, but hopefully they plan décor or art to cover those areas. Seating is intimate with mainly smaller tables, but there is a large dining table in the back that will be cordoned off in the future, according to staff.
Officially, Cijjo is in a soft opening phase and has been for about two weeks and has only opened for lunch service for about a week. They’re still hammering out their menu and final details, but it’s promising.
The waiter introduced the cuisine as «international» and said the dishes represented cuisine from around the world. The representation is mainly Europe but they do have some Asian-​inspired dishes like the Saigon burger and a few Middle Eastern ones as well.
Honestly, when I see such a broad menu, there is always some worry– «Jack of all trades, Master of None,» but thankfully everything we ordered was well executed and very tasty.
Piedmont Truffle Fries — $ 6. Nicely deep fried thin fries with a sprinkling of Parmesan. The truffle flavor is a bit too subtle but the fries were tasty, though we did ask for ketchup.
Kumamoto Oyster Shooters — 3/​$ 13. Oysters, quail egg, sparkling sake, and yuzu. The oysters are served fresh in the shell on top of the shot glass and were quite good. I think the sesame seeds on the glass would have been better in the shot as would some microgreens like Alexander’s hamachi shots.
Roasted Bone Marrow — $ 14. Two large bone marrow with Demi glacé, mushrooms, and a onion puréed were served with bits of toast. Very well executed and I loved the Demi glacé and onion purée.
Jamon Iberico — I recently carved a leg of Jamon Serrano so was excited to try the more expensive Iberico version that the chef cuts from a leg here. It’s a dinner item but they gladly served it for lunch. Delicious and wonderful.
Alsatian Tarte Flambé — $ 13. Almost like a thin crust pizza of fromage cheese, applewood smoked bacon and caramelized onions. The onions were finely chopped but were actually more raw than caramelized, which we shared with the waiter. They kindly comped that though I honestly told them the bacon makes everything all right.
Madrid Squid Ink Pasta — $ 15. A fresh water prawn grilled and served on top of squid ink noodle in a cast iron skillet. It’s a simple preparation but tasty and I enjoyed it.
Bahamian Bread Pudding — $ 8. Pre-​made and served with a nice caramel sauce but neither warm nor soft enough.
Overall, we had a good meal at Cijjo. The menu is great, with a range of dishes that really does feel international and representative of ‘real’ tapas cuisine. (The most similar might be Iberia in Menlo Park.). The squid ink pasta, the Jamon Iberico, the bone marrow are all dishes that are different and some were quite ambitious in execution. Service was friendly, attentive, and inquisitive regarding our experience.
If there’s one challenge for Cijjo, it’s really going to be pricing and portion size, especially at lunch. As you can see from our order, we tried many things and left full but not overwhelmed with so many dishes. Plates are supposedly larger than their specified Tapas section but both were shareable and on the «need to order more than one» size. Prices are probably more appropriate for dinner, but add up quickly either way.
That being said flavors were very good and I suspect they’ll figure out the right balance as many Castro Street restaurants eventually do. I think they’re a welcome addition to Castro and hope to try more of their unique dishes.
Cijjo accepts credit cards including American Express.

Hmm all these 5 star reviews look fishy to me.
Came to Cijjo last night for happy hour and left very disappointed. HH is offered until 6, but apparently you can only partake if you are sitting at one of their 4 bar stools. Why even bother offering HH if only 4 people can take advantage? Lame.
Because Cijjo is still in their ‘soft opening’ phase, they made an exception and allowed our party of 5 to order from the HH menu. Cool.
We ordered truffle fries ($ 5), charcuterie plate ($ 12), spicy tuna hand rolls /​cone ($ 4 ea) and wine ($ 5 /​gl). Presentation was beautiful, but the portions were absolutely laughable. I get that its tapas, but these portions were barely sharable and we all left hungry. As far as flavor goes, I can’t speak about the charcuterie (cured meats), but the tuna cone and fries were good, although nothing spectacular. Maybe we just didn’t order the right thing?
Lastly, our waiter, while kind and knowledgeable, tried way too hard to up-​sell us on food and drinks. I personally found it annoying and unbecoming for a new establishment.
We couldn’t wait to get out of there and onto a different restaurant that serves real portions. Although, I must say, the décor is quite lovely. They did a great job with the small space, and I especially love the dramatic wine case. Bravo.