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Cimona Cafe is in the heart of Steveston Village. The cafe features a reasonably priced menu including seafood, pasta, sandwiches, salads and fresh baked goods.
While I have read the other reviews here, I cant say that the 20+ times I have been to Cimonas were bad experiences at all - mind you, I didnt have the Calamari that one reviewer was moaning about. I go for the terrific Spicy Chicken soup, a sandwich and a pint of beer, and for that, Cimonas is great. Why do people expect Haute Cuisine from little cafe's with reasonable prices? I have never experienced anything like the bad experiences that the previous reviewer (Read: "Absolutely Horrific") says they had, and as a Steveston local, this is my inexpensive little restaurant of choice. If I want to spend more money, there is always Papi's or The Tapenade.
There are not too many places in Steveston that you can go for a causal meal. I've been going to Cimona for years now and live in the area. I frequent Cimona at least twice a month (mainly for breakfast - have never been to lunch or dinner) but there breakfasts are great. They provide healthier options and the service is outstanding.
Cimona is that place that is always full but you never have to wait more than 5 minutes. There is not much seating inside (guessing about 40) but if you come with by yourself, a party of two or four - it easily accomadates, getting in larger then four you may lose some of your intimate feel with your group. They boast a little patio that overlooks the heaping crowds down in the village. Although minimal waterview, its attracts people because of the solid food, value, and service. Although a bit old in style it does not lack character - it is one of those places that I dont think needs updating cause 'it aint broken."
Overall, if you want a great weekend breakfast with great service and a casual feel - Cimona is your place to come too.
I dined here this evening. I ordered a cheeseburer w/caesar salad. Nothing expeptional about the place at all. This was my first visit. . I originally expected to take-out my order, but the resaurant was empty, so decided to dine in. Sericve was ok, but the waitress kept yelling to the kitchen staff , which was not pofessional. Burger was dry, caesar was good. Nothing to rave about.
This restaurant is certainly not deserving of more "credit", as some (obviously inexperienced) diners have suggested in their reviews.
My husband and I decided to try Cimona on February 12th, at approximately 5:30pm. Upon entering the establishment we were met with an overwhelming odor of sourness; I was very put off but my optimistic husband assured me that I was smelling vinegar (I prayed he was right).
The yam fries appetizer was our first red flag that our choice in where to eat would possibly be one that we lived to regret. The fries had the distinct texture of food that has been previously cooked, then microwaved hours later (very soggy, saggy, and tepid). We should have left right then and there, but decided to stay and hope that our main courses would be more palatable. This was our mistake, and after experiencing first hand the substandard quality of our (obviously microwaved) yam fries, we should have cut our losses and left.
The calamari dinner I had was literally inedible, without exaggeration. The calamari rings were so rubbery and hard that I could barely pull one apart using all of my strength in both hands - no joke! The tzatziki dipping sauce wasn't terribly bad, though I have had much better at low budget franchise restaurants for much cheaper. My husband's pasta dish was only slightly below average, but none the less difficult to finish as by the time he was half way through his dish the penne noodles were swimming in what we think was oil.
I used the women's washroom at the end of our meal, which in my case remained uneaten at the table. Directly across from the doorway to the women's washroom you can see one entrance to the kitchen - it looked filthy.
Upon approaching the counter and paying our bill, we saw the problem immediately; the cooks were most assuredly no older than 16, and they were blatantly sneering at us.
My husband and I eat out several times each week, usually trying different places around our city and the Lower Mainland in general. I can honestly attest to the fact that I have never, in many years, had a dining experience quite as disgusting and disheartening as the one I had at Cimona.
I have been to the Cimona website and tried to find a way to contact the manager in the hopes that I might offer some feedback in a respectful and helpful manner. However, it's not a shock to me that the only contact info provided is a phone number, which probably leads directly to the restaurant, which means I'll be speaking to the waitress or hostess should I choose to call at this time. Our experience tonight was of such a nature that I feel compelled to go straight to management to report my impressions, so perhaps I will try to contact them tomorrow.
My opinion is that the food at Cimona was so horrific that I feel forced to watch closely for signs of food poisoning at this point. Chances are the food we ate, while way below standard, won't make us sick or anything like that. But still, the possibility had crossed my mind.
Do not eat here. Trust me.
My boyfriend and I stopped in for brunch today, and right away I was unimpressed. We were seated in the corner by the fireplace, and our chairs were crammed into the corner in an uncomfortable manner. It was freezing in there, so I had to eat with my coat on. I ordered the vegetable breakfast wrap, and my boyfriend had the club sandwich with soup. His food was good, mine not so much. In addition to the typical breakfast veggies, my wrap had yam fries in it. YAM FRIES! The taste and texture of the yam fries didn't work at all with the wrap, and I couldn't bring myself to eat more than a couple of bites. I finally managed to flag down our server after about 15 minutes, when my boyfriend had already finished his meal. She apologized and offered to get me something else. I ordered the eggs benny, and it took another 20 minutes to arrive. The eggs were poor quality, but they were cooked properly. The ham was gross, the muffin wasn't toasted, and the hollandaise was pale and clearly not made in-house. Overall, it was edible but not good. After the server dropped it off, she never returned to check on us. We waited about half an hour to get a bill and eventually gave up and went to the counter to pay. We definitely won't be back.
I came here with friends for breakfast. Luckily people were just about leaving so we only had to wait a few minutes before a table became vacant. As the place is relatively small, the wait can be unpleasantly long especially if you have more than 4 people.
The breakfast menu is consisted of mostly eggs items: about 8 different types of omelettes, 4/5 kinds of eggs benny, with choice of free range eggs and vegetarian options! And they are all priced reasonably (less than Whitespots or other similar chains).
My bacon eggs benny came with some very nicely done potato hash (cube-sized and nicely seasoned and pan-fried). The eggs are poached perfectly with yolks still running. And 2 full strips of bacon for each egg benny.
Service is efficient and friendly. Food all arrived in less than 10 mins, waitress came to check on us twice afterwards.
I would definitely go back next time I am in the area for brunch.
Breakfast = Bacon benedict.
Coffee = cold from being poured into a cold cup.
Food = cold from being presented on a cold plate.
When I say cold, I don't mean "off-hot". I mean COLD. Warming a plate for service of hot food is pretty basic food prep.
Hash browns = deep fried. Not a lot of effort in that.
Hollandaise = NOT hollandaise. Since egg yolks are the base of hollandaise, this sauce is supposed to be yellow. Mine was white heavy cream, microwaved.
English muffins = not toasted. So cold.
Bacon = ok.
Eggs = poached, but with whites still a bit runny.
Yet another restaurant that obviously hired just anyone, and that anyone doesn't know basic cooking.
All that, and I had to pay for it, too!
This place really deserves more credit than the previous reviews! I've been a regular at this cafe for a while now, but ever since it switched owners I've noticed some changes that didn't exactly sit right with me - the menu is slightly more expensive and has got a more ''contemporary'' feel to it, even though it still remains a classic Sunday brunch cafe to me.
Service is really a hit or miss here, I once waited over 45mins for a Soup & Salad combo but other times the food will come out right away. I definitely recommend the Cheeseburger - best I've had anywhere and that's saying a lot! I know its made fresh in house everyday and theres just something about it that's so delicious
Whenever I'm around Steveston and looking for a bite I usually end up at Cimonas just because its got a great variety of tasty foods to choose from
Went here for breakfast, the service was crappy the waitress didn't even seat us so we sat our selves. She came over and just handed us the menus no hi or anything. The food was decent (but really how can you go wrong scrambing eggs?). Overall pretty boring nothing special...Will not go back.
I have been to Cimona's five times in the last three months. It is a cozy cafe setting with a warm yet simple feel. It is a great pace to grab a simple bite to eat when you don't feel like cooking and don't want to get dressed up or spend more than $10 on a meal.
They have very good soups. I have tried their butternut squash soup, pea soup, tomato soup and chicken soup. All of them have tasted very good.
They have everything from deep fried fish sandwiches, to creamy pastas, to veggie burgers and falafel wraps.
The falafel wrap with a side of soup is about $7.00 and very tasty, filling and healthy. All of their burgers, sandwiches and wraps are under $10.00 with a side order and it is tastier, more filling and healthier than fast food.
I will definitely be going here for an inexpensive tasty dinner again.
My boyfriend and I came here one Friday night for dinner. The decor is a little cheap looking for my taste - plastic tablecloths, eclectic artwork with no depth. However, for a casual meal, it's not too bad, I guess. The prices were really cheap. I had the fish and chips. The fish was a tiny bit overcooked, but not to the point where it was unbearable. My boyfriend was more satisfied with his meal than I was with mine. The servers were not overly attentive, but they got the job done. One thing I found pretty weird was that you can see the dishwashing station if you're seated near the back of the restaurant.
I have dined at Cimona's at least a dozen times over the years. Sure the food isn't outstanding and the service can be hit or miss, but this all has to be taken in context. I know that I can bring my wife and two kids in anytime and we will all leave full (maybe even with some leftovers) for under 50 dollars.
This is not a fine restaurant its a cafe! This little diner offers great value. Simple hearty dishes great for a cheap dinner or even better for a Sunday brunch.
From the time we ordered it took close to an hour for the food to arrive. I ordered a halibut and chips - it was clearly not fresh. It was frozen packaged fish. On top of that we had to ask multiple times for water and ketchup.
Visit any other restaurant on Steveston and you'll get better food, service, and value.
I'll never go again and I suggest others do the same.
| 1. | Aji Taro (22 m) |  |
| 2. | Jun Sushi (62 m) | |
| 3. | Thai House Restaurant (62 m) |  |
| 4. | Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant (74 m) |  |
| 5. | Lucky Tao Restaurant (79 m) |  |
| 6. | West Lake Vietnamese Kitchen (98 m) | |
| 7. | KFC (139 m) | |
| 8. | Jimmy The Greek (139 m) | |
| 9. | Fair Bee Coffee & Tea (139 m) |  |
| 10. | No. 9 Restaurant (139 m) | |
