Bice in Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Bice

This immense restaurant, reminiscent of a colonial dining room on a luxury cruise liner from the golden days, emanates warmth and buzzes with conversation 10 Reviews

View slideshow

Picture 1 of 2

This immense restaurant, reminiscent of a colonial dining room on a luxury cruise liner from the golden days, emanates warmth and buzzes with conversation. We were pleased that our two-toned and two-textured sofa was in a comfortable position primed for people watching. Soggy warm bread with flaccid tomatoes meant the evening started damply, but the accompanying olive oil was bold and distinctly grassy. My partner chose the buffalo mozzarella with tomato and basil for a starter, while I, berating him for his dull choice, went for a warm lobster carpaccio with crispy artichoke and caviar dressing. Sometimes it’s best to play it safe. While the lobster slices were generously portioned and as thin as bougainvillea petals, the dish was trying to be too many things at once. Submerged under a thick, overly creamy dressing, the fried artichokes lost their natural goodness; their tough stringy blades only serving to get stuck between my teeth. My partner smugly got stuck into his indecently large ball of gloriously silky cheese with ripe, tangy tomatoes, heightened further by a subtle splash of balsamic vinegar.

For mains, my companion’s delicate half moons of ravioli in a sage and veal reduction were packed with braised wagyu beef and were wonderfully al dente. Such a rich, heady filling left my partner as stuffed as the ravioli parcels themselves. My beef tenderloin, with a complimentary side dish of spinach from the excellent waiter, was succulent, robustly flavoured and determined to melt away in my mouth. In true Italian fashion, only a single rosemary-garnished tomato and a couple of small potatoes accompanied the meat, though sadly the latter were not roasted, as promised, but nuked.

Unloosening our belts, we allowed the dessert menu to twist our rubber arms and when we cracked the lid of the chocolate fondant and allowed its magical gooeyness to gush out, we were glad we did. We should have left it at that though, as the ricotta cheesecake, a stodgy, lacklustre lump, ought to be blacklisted from the cheesecake family. But this was largely a successful dinner.

When we visited the restaurant a few months ago we were disappointed by the service and our main courses. But it looks like Bice is getting back on track.

The bill (for two)
Buffalo mozzarella Dhs75
Lobster carpaccio Dhs98
Grilled tenderloin Dhs115
Mezzalune wagyu Dhs72
Cioccolatissimo Dhs40
Cheesecake Dhs36
Total (including service) Dhs436