Andrea was getting her hair done today so she gave me the challenge to find some place for dinner. Our obvious top picks were all booked of course. I came across Luce, in the Intercontinental Hotel, which was a former Michelin star restaurant…they had one star for over a decade, but being closed for the two plus years during the pandemic and a change in head chef resulted in the loss of that star. But the menu still looked interesting and was worth a visit.

We opted for the caviar service to start…caviar is sourced from Tsar Nicolina which is always solid . The blinis were delightfully small (Yukon Gold potato chips were also provided) and the crème fraiche and the egg were whipped which was very nice and paired with a Schramsburg rose sparkling wine. After that came the four bites of amuse bouche which were quite amusing for this bouche… the last bite presented in the chicken foot dish were especially entertaining. Most of the dishes afterwards included a broth or sauce served tableside which was a nice touch.

The wine pairings were very interesting and enjoyable. Overall the dishes were all solid, but I sometimes felt like it was just very, very good hotel restaurant food…competent but missing a spark. The sommelier was engaging and had a lot of interesting things to say about the pairings. Service was attentive but a bit casual and not very refined at times. The chef did come out at the end of the meal and spend a bit of time to talk to us, which we certainly appreciated. Overall, it was a solid meal and we hope they do well.