Excellent Restaurant @ DCA
 

Discovered a terrific restaurant in Terminal B, downstairs in Delta Terminal but close to US Air. Ciba Bistro was such a pleasant surprise :) We wanted some decent food prior to our flight. It was the dinner hour. We looked at the posted menu and decided to check out this bright and very clean restaurant. It is really an Italian restaurant, but I noticed that they also serve breakfast.
I ordered the Pasta Bolognese. It was fantastic!! $16.00, big portion and one of the best preparations of this dish I have ever had. My husband had a Portobello Mushroom and goat cheese Panini, which he loved. I might also add that they have a bar and make a fine martini.

I'm pretty partial to Sam and Harry's myself.

Is that the restaurant now in the former Legal Seafoods space?

Airside or landside?

It is landside.

I have never eaten there, but noticed they have a to-go window next door. You can order via touchscreen and pick it up in the window.

It's great and, given the speed of the checkpoints at DCA, eminently doable.

Basically whenver I am flying out or returing (afternoon or evening), that is where I will eat lunch or dinner.

Yes I've eaten there several times. It is actually not bad as a restaurant and quite good for an airport.

It's owned by that terminal group .. Cibo or something. This almost seems too glowing a review.

Perhaps, and I'm always dubious of posts that contain successive
exclamation points; but O2K's credibility is such that I was considering
trying the place out next time I'm at DCA (when hungry I've generally
made a beeline for Sam & Harry's).

I agree with Obscure's review. I've eaten at Ciba's and enjoyed it. ^

Did not know about the to go option- will have to check it out.

Thanks for the kind words, violist

OK, so I actually had the opportunity/need to eat at National:
went to Cibo and got the bolognese on the strength of this
thread. It was in fact pretty good, though the pasta was in
the usual way precooked and then reheated. Also it was not a
proper bolognese, as it had chunks of celery (instead of tiny bits)
and red bell pepper (should be absent). Also no cream (necessary)
or chicken liver (recommended). I sat at the counter overlooking
the kitchen, which was useful because the hostess/waitress had
put in for penne rather than the requested linguini, plus the cook
asked if I wanted the dish spicy (answer: affirmative; result: a
few shakes of pretty hot pepper).

The hostess decided to wait until I had a big glob of the stuff
in my mouth before asking whether everything was okay, very
weird and insensitive.

Price was right, and the food was satisfying. A glass of cheap
generic Tempranillo was no bargain but went well.

I will check Cibo out next time. My current favorite place landside is Matsutake.