Has anyone eaten at Bice restaurant?

[Mary Diehl]

Has anyone eaten at the Bice Restaurant at the PBH? I was thinking of making reservations for our June vacation but don't really know anything about it. Thanks in advance!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I have not eaten there yet, but am also considering it for our July trip. Did you notice a discount coupon in the thread JessicaR started on restaurant coupons? The menu is available through that link also.

 

[kellymonaghan]

I've eaten there (a tough, dirty job, but someone has to do it!).

Only the first visit, but my review so far is mixed.

First, I think those who loved Delfino Riviera will be disappointed. The room is nowhere near as gorgeous and romantic as before. The prices, however, are just as exalted, maybe even a little higher. We paid over $80 a head, with only one glass of wine.

The food was hit and miss. The calamari appetizer ($17) was fabulous, light, airy and sweet with a nicely spiced dipping sauce. An arugula and cremini mushroom salad (16) was so-so.

The pappardelle al telefono ($16) was superb. A very simple dish with broad noodles, mozzarella, basil and a tomato cream sauce. However, the farfalle with salmon and peas ($19) was disappointing I thought.

Snapper in a caper and olive tomato sauce ($32) was excellent, but the ossobucco ($36) was a genuine disappointment. The meat was meltingly tender, but the gravy was way too salty and the saffron polenta was gummy and had a slight metallic taste.

The desserts were good. Tiramisu ($9), panna cotta ($8) and, best of all, sformatino di Panettone ($8), a bread pudding with hazelnut ice cream.

The service was genial but slipshod for such a high priced dining room.

Wines are $9 to $20 by the glass and $36 to $500 the bottle, with most bottles in the $40 to $60 range. Some excellent, but pricey Tuscan wines (including some highly regarded Montalcinos) if you have the deep pockets.

Still, it's a stunning room with a great view. Someone proposed (successfuly) while we were there and got a round of applause.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Thank you for your review. I think we will skip this spot when we visit PBH for our romantic getaway next month. I think we will do just as well with Momma and save a few $$ in the process.

 

[tampaman]

I was thinking about going to Bice this July, but was wondering if you think it might be too stuffy for a teenager to be comfortable? I'm sure he can find food that would interest him, but I don't want him to be out of place if its too fancy or romantic. I'm hoping that since it is in a theme park hotel, it will be more mixed that usual...because I want to try some good food! Thanks for the input...

 

[kellymonaghan]

Imgonnabe40, we had the same thought. The food at Mama's is very good, although you will not find the fancier dishes there that you will at Bice.

Tampaman, the place is not stuffy at all (Delfino Riviera might have been described that way). The room is open and airy and the waiters are friendly and casual.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Hey...

I've not eaten at the one here in Orlando - but I used to work for the company and worked for their restaurant in Sedona, AZ. The one I worked in had EXCELLENT food. Bice's is a 5 star restaurant known around the world.

Smiles,
Holly

 

[jlima]

We ate here Memorial Day weekend; this is from my trip report:

Sunday night was Bice restaurant at PBH with excellent food but marginal service. We had asked the concierge to recommend somewhere as we wanted a few hours by ourselves when our kids went to Camp Little Rock, and she suggested Bice as it was new. A HRH bell desk CM drove us over in a van and then it was about a 3 - 5 minute walk. Waiter never took a cocktail order; I asked to order a drink when I ordered my dinner. They never refilled our water and just left the oil and vinegar at the table with the bread. I've never been to an Italian restaurant where they didn't pour out the oil for you. Waiter never offered to refill iced tea; had to ask for it then discovered when the bill came that you paid for iced tea refills. DH had shrimp fettuccini and I had osso buco. Dinner was $112 for one cocktail, 3 iced teas, 1 salad, 1 soup, and the 2 dinners mentioned above. Food was excellent but staff needs to go back to waiter school.


The service was below average but the food was good . . . but on par with many restaurants where I live . . . maybe this is as good as it gets in Orlando; what is the best restaurant in Orlando supposed to be?

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Wow, I hope you didn't tip that server much! And although I no longer work for the Bice organization, I almost feel like I want to apologize. I haven't been to that Bice's but I do know how they feel about food and service.

I know that if Rafaele Ruggerri, the owner, read your report he'd be very upset. I can tell you that he has an absolute passion about giving excellent food and service in his establishments.

As I said, I no longer work for them - but when I did - it was all about the service. Heck, when I went to work for them they made us do three weeks of training before we ever even got NEAR the floor. When I was first hired I thought that was going to be stupid as I'd already been a server and a manager for six years. However, I learned a LOT about food service.

That server should have been on the ball, after all the way Bice sets things up, servers have a lot of support. They have bussers that do a lot of the prep work AND runners to take the food out. Basically all the server needs to do while the restaurant is open is pay attention to their tables. And at night they don't have many tables at once. So he had to be extremely bad. (bet he doesn't work long there if he keeps that up!)

We had strict rules about how fast we did certain things - like getting to a table to take orders for drinks after guests were sat.

Your comment about the olive oil made my mouth drop open. I remember Rafaele himself conducted a class for us on exactly how to present the olive oil to a guest. It wasn't just pouring it - it was presenting it!

I'm sorry your experience wasn't the best.

Holly

 

[CPM]

I'm still so disappointed that Delfino is gone. I had the best meals there. So romantic too.
Bice is a chain. I have eaten at the one in Sunny Isles and Aventura. Over priced and food is just okay. Service has been snooty and slow at both locations. I'm not in any hurry to eat at the Orlando one.
I hope the trend isn't to put chain restaurants in these nice resorts.

 

[jlima]

The HRH has The Palm . . . another chain; I've eaten at the one in Vegas and it was just OK. It's at the Forum Shops/Caesars Palace which gets a lot of tourist traffic. I've never seen a thread on this board about The Palm at the HRH.

 

[kellymonaghan]

I hope the trend isn't to put chain restaurants in these nice resorts.

Like it or not, running a hotel is a business and the bottom line rules. I, too, loved Delfino, but from what I heard, it was a money loser for PBH.

Chains have a proven ability to draw crowds and make money. The Palm is a good example. Even Tchoup Chop, which isn't a chain, has a "brand" name behind it.

It will be interesting to see how Bice fares. It got a very negative review from Scott Joseph the restaurant reviewer from the Orlando Sentinel. He lamented the loss of Delfino and said he thought PBH was going after business travelers on expense accounts rather than locals looking for a nice meal.

 

[Timbo69]

I have not eaten at the Bice in PBH, but hope to the next time we're in Orlando. I have been to Bice in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Sunny Isles and have never been disappointed. Each location is a little different in terms of decor and ambience, but always a fine dining experience. The food has always been excellent and the service impeccable.

I've been in and around the hospitality business for a long time and I know that there will be times when things go wrong...it's bound to happen anywhere you go. The best solution is to immediately let a manager know that you were unhappy. If you go somewhere and have a poor experience and don't tell anyone in charge, then they can't fix what they don't know is broke.

If I had a suggestion for Bice, especially in Orlando, I would encourage them to provide free refills on soft drinks and iced tea. I think that this location probably gets more families with children and when they find out that free refills are not the norm, they will probably not return simply because it is cost prohibitive.

For those with children and teenagers, I don't think that Bice is "too stuffy" for them. Besides, it's good to expose children to a variety of situations and experiences.

Bon apetit!

Tim