Review of Three Italian Restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio

Cibreo Italian Kitchen is located in the Gateway District of Cleveland, Ohio.  It is part of a group called the Driftwood Restaurant Group that opened their first restaurant in 2005.  Founder and Chief Executive Office, Scott David Kuhn, moved to the East side of Cleveland in 1986 when he was a teenager.

Scott worked his way through college working in restaurants learning about all levels.  He attended the University of Akron’s culinary program and received a degree in management at Malone College.  Scott’s second restaurant was in 2007 and his third restaurant was opened in 2010.  Scott opened Cibreo Italian Kitchen in February of 2019.

Chris Hodgson is the President of the Driftwood Restaurant Group.  He is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and bought fell in love with the food truck industry in New York City.  He actually brought the first food truck to Cleveland in 2010.  His second truck was featured on the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race where he finished in second place.

The vision of these men have rocketed Cibreo Italian Kitchen to one of the top restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio.  They have over four hundred positive posts online with a four-point-three-star rating.

Mama Santa’s is located in the Little Italy district of Cleveland, Ohio.  It was first opened by Nancy and Guido Schffidi on July 25, 1961.  Prior to moving to Cleveland, Guido and Nancy lived in Gioiosa Marea, Sicily.  There Nancy worked as a hairdresser and Guido was an auto body repairman.  Guido battled in World War II and was sadly a prisoner of war.

The building where Mama Santa’s is located is one hundred years old.  It served as a café, a clothing store and bank in its previous life.  Nancy and Guido’s sons started working in the place when they were teenager and today, they run the day to day operations after Guido retired in 1996.

Using original Sicilian recipes from Nancy’s mother has been their recipe for success.  They have over one thousand evaluations on the internet with a four and a one-half star rating.

Located at 12405 Mayfield Road in the Little Italy section of Cleveland, Ohio is Valerio’s Ristorante.  It was established on August 4, 1995 by Valerio and Stella who immigrated to America from Florence, Italy earlier in 1995.

Valerio was born and raised in a small town in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata called Carbone.  He attended a Florentine culinary school where he mastered the techniques and flavors of Italian cuisine. He had always dreamed of opening a restaurant named Valerio’s Ristorante.

With unique recipes like their Veal Ossobuco or Spaghetti Lobster, patrons keep coming in time and again.  They may only have one hundred and fifty-three reviews on the world wide web, but they have a strong four-point-seven-star rating.