08/29/07

Upscale and trendy "Modern Pacific" dining in downtown San Diego's Little Italy district

by freebie_grabber

I ate here with my uncle and his date (yeah, I know -- weird combo, eh?) back in February of 2002. We were seated outdoors just as the sun was setting, so the magic hour cityscape scenery was great. We ripped our way through countless beers and cocktails, and indulged in uber-expensive, microscopic-portion "Modern Pacific Cuisine" dishes. From what I recall, the food was great. We spent several hours at our table, but I don't think our server (herself a young hottie) was in any hurry to shoo us away, judging by my uncle's urban hipster wardrobe (backward kangol and sport jacket) and our easily-three-digit bar tab. If you haven't already read about it, Rice is downstairs from the W Hotel's "Beach Bar", with sand and a fire pit. If you've got cash to burn and you want to impress a date, take her here!

• Pros: Upscale ambiance, excellent food and drinks, hip location
• Cons: Microscopic portions, high prices

01/31/07

Marginally acceptable for Breakfast, but a Disaster for Dinner

by rkreisler

My dinner experience here was horrible. The wait staff didn't know anything about wine, in our party of six, everyone's food was either cold, over-cooked, dry, too salty, too sweet, or all of the above. My steak was well-done (a filet well done!!!!!!), and the panna cotta was rubbery, and you had a sneaking suspicion half the things they served were out of a box/can. We were one of six tables in the restaurant and the food took forever to be served.

As you can guess, I was hesitant to go back for breakfast weeks later, but friends of mine were staying at the W, so I obliged. The chilaquilles were decent, but they couldn't make it spicy enough even after we requested extra spicy. The peanut butter french toast thing was the sugariest thing I've had in my entire life. After three of us each took one bite, we had to push it aside. We were on the patio on a beautiful day and for the two hours that we lounged there, we had countless refills on coffee, but every cup was lukewarm at best, and they said they had no way of producing a hot cup of coffee for us - a "fresh" brew was just as cold as the last.

• Pros: Food had good presentation, nice bar/lounge scene, good-looking people, decent mixed drinks.
• Cons: Food was poor, expensive, service was sub-standard for the price and expected caliber.

11/02/06

Avoid at all times, awful

by restauranter77

I usually do not write restaurant reviews, especially negative ones because of the degree of impact on the restaurant's business... however after a night of stomach cramps and extreme nausea after eating at Rice, I felt indebted to voice my opinion. Not only was this restaurant incredibly overpriced ($130) for dinner for 2 with some of the smallest portions I have seen... but the food made me sick! Will never return. You're better off going to one of the small non-room-service-level restaurants in the gaslamp district where you get what you pay for.