Monday, June 13, 2005

Rice at the W Hotel in San Diego

Rice 421 West B Street, San Diego, CA 92101, (619) 231-8220

photograph picture of the San Diego Skyline. Filed under Restaurant Review, San Diego, Rice at the W Hotel

Recently we escaped the cold San Francisco summer for a couple of nights at the San Diego's W Hotel We love this Hotel Chain for their cool style, but mainly for the beds. I don't think I have had a better sleep, ever, than I have had in a W Hotel bed.

We arrived at about 1pm on a Saturday. We hadn't eaten all day and needed something quick. A too-late lunch would have spoiled our already-reserved evening meal so, although we wouldn't usually make a habit of dining at a W restaurant, in the interests of speed we dived into Rice for a snack.

photograph picture of the Rice logo. Filed under Restaurant Review, San Diego, Rice at the W Hotel

The stylish but sparse restaurant was completely empty so it wasn't too difficult to make the decision to sit outside with the small handful of other lunchtime customers.

photograph picture of the St.Agur Szechuan Pepper Chicken Salad. Filed under Restaurant Review, San Diego, Rice at the W Hotel I chose a $14 St. Agur Szechuan Pepper Chicken Salad from the lunch menu. The salad was unexceptional. The Szechuan dressing was barely perceptible. They weren't very generous with the blue cheese either. Plenty of chicken though, albeit a little on the dry side.



photograph picture of the organic eggs. Filed under Restaurant Review, San Diego, Rice at the W Hotel Fred just fancied some quite simple, $12 organic eggs . chive frites . smoked bacon , chicken apple sausage or spanish ham . your kind of toast 12 from the breakfast menu. He wasn't in the mood so he skipped the meat options and ended up with a plateful of yellow food. But as it was just what he wanted, he was happy.



photograph picture of the mojito and champagne. Filed under Restaurant Review, San Diego, Rice at the W Hotel One thing you can usually rely on a W hotel to get right is the drinks. 2 weeks later, Fred is still talking about how good that lunchtime Mojito was. The champagne by the glass was served at exactly the right temperature with a cute little red raspberry bobbing in the bubbles. The San Diego W has a couple of other interesting bars on site, including a unique beach bar that I will post about another day.


photograph picture of the salt and pepper shakers. Filed under Restaurant Review, San Diego, Rice at the W Hotel Look at these funky little salt and pepper shakers. There is no denying that the W, and indeed Rice, is full of cute looking things (including the wait staff). But I can't help but get the feeling that the emphasis at Rice is more on style than on substance. The quality of the food didn't really live up to the surrounds in which it was served. You can have the cutest shakers in the world but if they haven't got any salt and pepper in them, I don't quite see the point.

This review was a




All My San Diego Reviews:
  • Rice at the W Hotel
  • Cafe Bassam, Gas Lamp
  • Chive, Gas Lamp
  • Tartine, Coronado
  • Cafe 222, Marina District
  • Soleil @ the K
  • The Living Room & The Beach at the W


    • Other San Diego Food Bloggers:

    mmm-yoso!!!

    The local's guide to San Diego eats



    posted in and and and
    Rice at the W Hotel in San Diego

    6:55 AM  

    6 Comments:

    • At 13/6/05 15:14, Anonymous Anonymous said…

      not a surprising review / definately will look forward if you found anything 'worthy' in san diego.....

       

    • At 13/6/05 16:31, Blogger Brenda said…

      I LOVE W beds! And the Westin Heavenly beds, too...

      As for the restaurants, I find they really vary since most are leased spaces - not operated by the W. Here in Seattle, the Earth and Ocean is good, in W Union Square (NY) there's an Olives that's normally good, although last time they like triple salted my scallops! Yuck! The lobby bar in the W New Orleans is decent for appetizers.

      And, I love the "first impressions" tag - much better than implying it's a full blown review. I'm probably going to borrow that from you. :-)

      Love the new signature, too.

      ~ B

       

    • At 13/6/05 20:49, Blogger Amy Sherman said…

      Another huge W fan here. I've been to one in NYC, Atlanta, and Seattle. I love, love, love the beds, the understated urban chic decor, cool b/w photography and also have found checking in at wee hours they have accomodated me bringing toast, cereal, yogurt, English muffins way past the time that room service stopped serving rooms. All hail the W! Long live the W!

       

    • At 13/6/05 23:05, Blogger cards by cara said…

      Mmm ... you can't get much better than a good mojito!

       

    • At 13/6/05 23:05, Blogger cards by cara said…

      You can't get much better than a good mojito ... I must agree!

       

    • At 14/6/05 20:43, Blogger Sam said…

      Actually - the first W I tried was 5 years ago next to the New Orleans convention centre. (they have 2 x Ws in NO) I can't tell you what a relief it was to go there for lunch instead of queueing for disgusting overpriced convention centre food.

      I have stayed at the W in Seattle and had a load of fun at the bar there though we didn't venture into Earth and ocean.

      Sometimes we go to W in SF and hang out in the bar and have a bar snack(some of which are pretty good), but the thought of eating in their XYZ restaurant has never even crossed my mind.

      CF - glad you like the 2st impressions tag - steal away.

      And for everyone who loves the beds - i am seriously thinking of buying one. They are only $1000 which isnt bad considering the amount of bliss they deliver.

      (of course, the scrumy bedding is about another grand on top of that)

      check back soon to find out about the amazing San Diego W beach bar.

       

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