Jibarra -- Raleigh NC

[wcmckinney]

I came across this website recently: http://www.jibarra.net/

Jibarra seems to be billing itself as High End Mexican on Six Forks Road. I like that idea alot and have thought for a long time that the Triangle has been in need of a restaurant like this, though a little surprised that it would locate to Six Forks, though perhaps with the North Hills boomlet that sort of thing is more possible now than previously. Has anyone yet been to this restaurant? Reports? Am going to try and get there in the next week or so if possible...

[bandregg]

"Tequila Lounge"

Ugh.

[Varmint]

Here's a little blurb about Jibarra from the N&O's Greg Cox: http://www.newsobserver.com/987/story/380265.html

I'm pretty damn excited about the place, myself. I'll need to try it soon.

[exnyer]

My wife and another couple tried Jibarra on 12/30/05 after they were open just 3 days. Our waitperson was pretty green, but I expect that it will improve. As for the food, I just return from mexico a few weeks ago for work and I have to say the the food at Jibarra reminded me of the delicous food that I've eat'n in Mexico. They also serve the Tequila with a chaser of spicy tomato juice (Bloody Mary mix) that I just had served to me at a top restaurant in MX. I wish I could remember that dishes that we ate, but the post holiday rush has made the meal a blur, except for the fact that we definitely want to go back.

[foodiehall]

Just returned from our first visit to Jibarra....found the food, ambiance, and service to our liking, plan to return, and hereby recommend it to others. We were impressed by the amount of business considering this place has been open less than a month. I'd describe the setting/decor as casual, understated elegance...very different from other Mexican restaurants we've been to in this area. Surprisingly---considering the number of people in the place---the noise level was no problem. Server was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. I'm kicking myself for not having anything to write with while there....not conversant in Spanish so cannot remember proper names of dishes. I started with appetizer of 3 small fried turnovers filled with shrimp and rice (?) accompanied by avocado salsa, some sliced radishes and anemic-looking shreds of iceberg lettuce (this would be my only complaint....iceberg lettuce is hardly better than nothing, IMO). For my entree, I had a braised goat shank (the other option was goat ribs) with potato confit (looked like regular ol' sliced potatoes to me). Meat was falling-off-the-bone tender, similar in texture to pork or lamb shank but flavor was milder, less distinctive than the other two. This also came with avocado salsa. Since this was our first time here, I broke down and had dessert: although menu called it bittersweet chocolate cake, the cake itself (actually in the form of two bars of cake) appeared too light-colored to be chocolate, was covered with a decadent bittersweet chocolate ganache, accompanied by a tomatillo jelly and whipped cream. Hub had sort of a "tapas dinner": had some tortilla soup and 3 other appetizers. Had the same fried turnovers I did (am embarrassed that I can't remember the name), ceviche, and flautas filled with shredded barbecued rabbit. All this plus a couple mojitos and coffee for hub came to a little over $80, a pretty good value IMO.

[Zeb A]

I don't have time to write much of anything, but we went to Jibarra for dinner on Friday night and enjoyed it so much, we went back on Sunday with family. The menu was interesting, the food was great, the atmosphere was good (intersesting plates, bowls, etc.), the staff was friendly, informative, and professional, and prices were fair (in fact, appetizers were very reasonable). This:

Cochinita Pibil

Pork marinated with annato seeds and sour oranges, served shredded on a banana leaf with red marinated onions and habanero salsa 6

was great!!!

Simply put, this is a great addition to the Raleigh dining scene. You owe it to yourself and your fellow Raleigh diners to visit this restaurant!

[Zeb A]

My wife and I have now been back to this restaurant multiple times, and I am even more impressed. I am not a competent food reviewer, so I leave that to Varmint, who I again am encouraging to visit the restaurant. I think they are serving some of the best and most interesting food in Raleigh. Though completely different, I certainly put it on the level of restaurants like Vin and Fins.

A couple recent favorites:

1. Birria Jalisciense de Chamorro

Lamb shank vaccum stewed in birria adobo and served in its own juices 21

-- very tender flavorful meat

2. Cochinita Pibil

Pork marinated with annato seeds and sour oranges, served shredded on a banana leaf with red marinated onions and habanero salsa 6

-- mentioned this before, but is is just great--don't go without ordering this dish

3.

Rompope del Convento

Mexican eggnog presented in three ways: Sponge bathed in rum-vanilla bean syrup, natilla pudding and a shot 6

-- sounds good, and it is

[Varmint]

Unfortunately, I don't get out to dinner nearly often enough. But I will try my best to get there before too long.

[s9498]

Just went last night and was extremely pleased by the selection. I had heard rumors that this was an upscale El Rodeo, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I thought the atmosphere was great, almost a little too trendy for North Raleigh.

My friend and I waited an hour for the rest of our party to come. While waiting, I had the most delicious Mojito. The waiter (who was extemely knowledgeable and helpful) brought us little dishes complements of the chef. I am sad to say that I don't remember what they were called, but one was a littleneck clam with cilantro aioli that was topped with poprocks (which were "fun for the mouth")

I had the Pechuga de Pollo Rellena with huitlacoche. That was fantastic. I really hard a hard time selecting what I wanted to eat, but I had always wanted to try huitlacoche (mexican truffle). I highly recommend this restaurant.

[Varmint]

I FINALLY made it to this place for lunch today, and I'm kicking myself over why it took me so damn long to go here. I knew I was in for a treat when instead of your traditional chips and salsa, we were given a plate of sliced jicama, sprinkled with dried chilis and salt. Squeeze some lime over this, and you have a wonderful snack. I had a crab, corn and chili soup (more of just a rich broth) that was served with a couple of small crabmeat "cannolis". Well, the bowl arrives with just this cannolis, which are not made of pasta, but of butter. The waiter pours the broth over the cannolis, causing them to melt and introduce even more richness to the soup. Wow.

I also had a pambazo, which is a stuffed sandwich of pototo, chorizo, avocado, tomato and lettuce (with a chili sauce), served with a simple salad of greens, radish, onions and beans -- dressed with nothing but oil, salt and a touch of lime.

Folks, this place is the real deal. This is intelligent, creative, high end Mexican cooking, and I'm trying to figure out the next time I can get out to North Raleigh.

[phlawless]

It's pretty amazing how our experiences at this place could have been more different., Varmint. Granted, I went for dinner about a year ago, maybe things have changed, but it was probably one of the worst meals I have ever had in a restaurant. The two of us who went just ordered small plates, and they were absolutely horrible, so bad we sent two back, which I never do.

I trust your palate, Dean...but I don't know if I would give this place a second chance.

[Varmint]

I never give up on a place after trying it when it's just opened. They've been open since the beginning of the year, and you probably went before working out the kinks. Anyhow, I sampled 4 dishes yesterday, and all were good to excellent.

[neoplasticity]

I just went there this weekend with my wife and brother in law who was in town for business.

The decor is very nice if you like someplace that is modern without being harsh and I personally thought the ambience was good as well. The wait staff was friendly and service was very prompt without being obtrusive. So it had the beginnings of a great dining experience. The food however was just average.

The cerviche was serviceable but the fish was chewy. I've always liked my cerviche to have more the consistency of sashimi so I found the chewiness fairly unpleasant.

I ordered the corn encrusted salmon which sounded interesting and the dish wasn't bad but I found the fish to be dry.. In retrospect, I should've known better than to order salmon, I find cooked salmon to rarely be a good fish but the preparation seemed unique and I wanted to try it.

My brother in law ordered the young goat and it was very tender but the piece of meat was the vertebral column and a rib. very little actual meat and mostly ligaments and bone.

Overall, I doubt I will go back. While the service and decor were good, the most important part, the food, was lacking for my taste. It may be that I just dont like the kind of food they offer...

[viva]

Actually ate here last night -

Apparently they have just changed/updated their menu, according to our waitress.

Had the delicious Cochinita Pibil as an appetizer: "Pork marinated with annato seeds and sour oranges, served shredded on a banana leaf with red marinated onions and habanero salsa". The habanero salsa was more like a foam than a traditional salsa. Served with very nice fresh corn tortillas.

Dinner was (I forget the traditional name) a deconstructed chile en nogada made with venison. It wound up being two "cubes" of venison meatloaf with the sugar/raisin flavors of the nogada, and three "cubes" of a fluffy/creamy/goat cheesy mixture with the red & green peppers. It was... strange looking, but the flavors all worked nicely together. Unfortunately this was one of their new menu items, so an official description is not available online... so y'all will have to live with my very poor description.

Dessert was a Buñuelos con Cremas de Cítricos y Miel de Piloncillo: "Small tower of crunchy Flour Sheets served with Two Citrus Pastry creams and fresh fruits showered with piloncillo syrup." My birthday dessert!

More importantly, they had a delicious Margarita de Jamaica with hibiscus syrup, that was fruity without being overly sweet. "100% agave Tequila and fresh hibiscus flowers, roasted and simmered with sugar cane stalks blended with fresh lime juice, agave nectar and orange liqueur."

Would definitely go to this place again.

[ChefSwartz]

2 things:

1. The chef and the pastry chef are husband/wife.. They are both very passionate and dedicated. I think if history repeats about couples in the kitchen, which it usually does, this restauarant will evolve into one of the best in the triangle.

2. chef worked with none other than ferran adria. no joke

Edited May 21, 2007 by ChefSwartz (log)

[Zeb A]

Really, if you had an unhappy experience at Jibarra, you owe it to yourself to give it another chance. I now have dined at this restaurant well over 15 times, and it is simply one of the most unique and consistently excellent dining experiences in Raleigh. Service typically is excellent as well.