I read the urbanspoon ratings and reviews so we "went for it". Argh. $$ is really $$$ and the food is sub-standard to any "Italian Restaurant" to which I have been. The waiter "highly recommended" the Mixed Antipasto Appetizer which consisted of sliced cheapo canned olives (like the ones bad pizzerias use), unadorned roasted red peppers right from the can, flavorless-unadorned artichoke hearts straight from the can, supermarket quality mortadella and genoa salami, 3 small pieces of flavorless "parmigiano cheese", ditto the Fontina, 2 small pieces of surprisingly good mozzarella di bufala with some dried out basil chiffonade, 2 miniature bruschetta on some dried out-not toasted italian bread, 3 tiny pieces of thick cut prosciutto, and the topper?: 3 slices of canned ham, you know... like Hormel? When the waiter came by to ask, I almost didn't give him an answer but he seemed to really want to hear, so I told him that for such a lovely restaurant, this was a very disappointing offering. His reply: "What do you want ME to do about it?" \r
We had ordered a capellini with pomodoro e bufala which was over-sauced, a bit greasy, and actually tasted OK, but the consistency of the way overdone capellini was a real turn off. \r
Finally... The check came. That lovely, recommended appetizer was $21.00! I almost fell out of my chair. When in doubt, ASK FIRST! I should have taken my own advice.\r
So, if you find yourself in Coconut Grove and are looking for not-so-great "Italian Food" with a loud, fairy obnoxious atmosphere, with snotty waitstaff, now you know where to go. For me, Bice Bistro is a "must avoid".
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