BICE Comes to Soho
BiCE Cucina Midtown on 55th Street has long been a personal favorite for any Italian foodie and so to learn that the eponymous restaurant brand has now brought its pedigreed family ties and its long-standing culinary traditions (which go back nearly a century) to 15 Watts Street, in the heart of fashionable Soho has been met with unrepressed glee in certain parts.
In 1987 BiCE first became one of the chicest and glamorous Italian restaurants in New York City. With its Adam Tihany, sleek uber-elegant design notes, BiCE struck a note with the jet-set types such as fashion designers Bill Blass and Calvin Klein and Norma Kamali, who flocked to see and be seen over the house signature Osso Bucco or Endive Salad and the other famous signature delights of BiCE. BiCE re-emerged as BiCE Cucina with its Manhattan partnership with the legendary impresario Peter Guimaraes. The latest BiCE Cucina that just opened on the ground floor of the famous NEXT model building on Watts Street in Soho is very much the baby of the third-generation BiCE heir Raffaele Ruggeri whose father Roberto Ruggeri created the legendary foodie brand in 1987. But the roots of the BiCE brand go back to Milan and 1926 when the famous restaurateur’s grandmother Beatrice and her husband Geno opened the very first family trattoria which is still there to this day. BiCE Milano is still open every night on Via Borgopesso 12.
Bice was Beatrice’s nickname, and she remains at the heart of this family business. She was known for her extraordinary hospitality and genuine warmth and there’s no denying she’s passed on those traits to her grandson who will be the first to greet you with a smile and the booming and oozingly charming Italian accent the minute you enter the bight stylish room open to the buzzing Soho street. The made-in- Milan imprint of style and hospitality is full throttle all night long whilst drooling over the Tagliolini Aragosta of lobster being scarfed down at the next table and then hearing the maestro’s booming voice from across the room as he seats another guest or five. ”It’s a Milan state of mind Manhattan style,” says the fabulous Raffaele Ruggeri who makes you feel like a long-lost friend the minute you meet him for the first time. ”You come into my restaurant, you come into my home.”
BiCE Cucina Soho has been an instant hit and the buzziest Downtown hot-spot since, oh maybe Cipriani Downtown, which is an arms-length or ten away. There is no denying this blue-chip family brand of fine Italian dining has enlivened the food scene in Soho even more in the post-pandemic era. The long-standing BiCE franchise chef Giuliano Tassinari is setting a truly modern tone from the kitchen with thorough vegan, vegetarian full menu options to go along with the decades-long signature BiCE classics such as Ravioli Massaia and the Parpadelle al Telefono. ”The goal is to bring tasty and healthy food for the new generation whilst preserving the traditions of the house heritage,” says Chef Giuliano. And you know you are in the presence of a highly trained and competent chef when even the simple house Caesar Salad is the most delicious one you will ever have anywhere in New York City. But the must-order first course must always be the Octopus Carpaccio, which arrives looking like a piece of plated art you might see hanging at the Uffizi. When you visit BiCE make sure to ask Chef Giuliano to stop and explain the vacuum sealing process involved with his classic seafood dish. The Lobster Salad arrives chilled to perfection along with an incongruous – yet somehow it works – steaming side of what at first looks like warm lentils. ”It is actually hot black rice with a vegetable sola base and I’ve paired it with the Lobster Salad because I want to give the feeling of eating the land and the sea in a light way together.” Suffice to say, it’s a deliciously complex and inventive touch from the chef and not for the first time either. ”My greatest joy is in creating a brand-new dish for my guests.” So people, don’t be afraid to BiCE – ‘I will have what Chef G. has devised from the kitchen tonight.’ For sure the arbiter’s next visit to BiCE will be to sample the dry-aged tomahawk to go along, yes, with the other famous house classic here, the Linguine Vongole.
BiCE is a global brand. BiCE was the first New York City restaurant brand to franchise itself. BiCE led that movement, and the Ruggeri culinary traditions and expertise still lend themselves to nine other BiCE restaurants in almost every fashionable cosmopolis imaginable. From Worth Avenue in Palm Beach to the iconic Burj Khalifa of Dubai to the Borui Hotel in Shanghai and a brand new one opening in Doha, Qatar just in time for next year’s World Cup of Football. ”We always maintain the simple perspective my ‘nonna’ (Bice) always told me,” says the BiCE Group CEO. ”They will eat very well and be well taken care of when they come to dine at BiCE.” Amen.
