By Simone Zarmati Diament

Although a hotel restaurant, Bice stands on its own, with a separate entrance leading straight to the jazzy bar -one of the nicest in town, with sushi happy hours and martini nights. The handsome room, with subdued lights and rare wood floors, looks warm and friendly whether packed or empty, as soft music from the piano player in the bar wafts through the door throughout the evening.

Since the Grand Bay Hotel was purchased by the Wyndham Group, the Italian chef is gone, and this Bice, an updated version of an old classic, is a far cry from the one we knew.

German-born executive chef Wolfgang Birk, who has honed his skills in Michelin-star hotels in Europe, and in five star hotels in the Caribbean, smartly moves away from nostalgia. He has evolved his own contemporary Italian cuisine, solidly grounded on flavors, texture, and harmony.

While the menu still features some of its siblings’ standard signature dishes -for instance calamaretti fritti, and osso buco -the fare is tailored to the chef’s creativity. The skilled servers are enthusiastic about the new menu and the daily specials, and their impeccable old-fashioned style transmits a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Mouth-watering appetizers

While choosing the wine from a sizeable list, nibbling on aged parmigiano and a variety of fresh bruschetta topped with fresh tomatoes, and chopped portobello mushroom flavored with white truffle oil, only opens the appetite for more.

Although the chef has to stick to the old Bice classics: Tuscan-style baby squid ($12) deep fried in a light batter, or the classic mozzarella Caprese ($12.50), shrimp cocktail ($15.50) here is paired with a zesty gazpacho. The Grand Bay she crab soup ($8.50), a recipe inherited from chef Pascal Oudin’s tenure there, is a rich and velvety crab bisque, laced with sherry and cream and with plenty of lumps of sweet crab meat.

But it is with his own recipes that chef Birk soars.

Almond-crusted crab cakes, sweet with flavorful chunks of fresh crab, yet pleasantly pungent, are attractively served with avocado, roasted bell pepper and taro root chips. Tuna tartare ($14.50) is artfully presented. A generous serving of diced dark red sushi quality tuna marinated with ginger and cilantro, is stacked over a pale green base of citrusy-tasting avocado, topped with a raw quail egg and a shaving of black truffle, and drizzled with a richly scented white truffle oil.

The kitchen shines with a mouth-watering bowl of clams in a dense, delicious sauce of saffron, white wine and fish stock. Served bouillabaisse-style with a slice of peasant bread generously smeared with rouille, the richness of the sauce, fragrant with slivers of garlic and chunks of fresh tomatoes, is lightened by the bitter touch of steamed broccoli rabe.

Sublime tasting pastas

Hand made pastas are addictive, with just the right amount of seasoning, superb textures and heavenly flavors.

Spaghettini all Ciro ($16), a simple dish prepared with olive oil, garlic, and hot peppers turned out to be spectacular, because the combined tastes of roasted tomatoes and fresh cherry tomatoes, added to the zesty pepper, exploded in the palate.

Silky-soft ravioli stuffed with ricotta, veal and spinach ($16.50) are bursting with flavor; enhanced by an earthy wild mushroom sauce with a touch of spring brought by fresh rosemary, they are sublime.

The dramatic presentation of the triangular black and white stracci ($18.50) is as thrilling as its taste is appealing. The supple squid ink and egg pasta is accented with tender, moist crab meat quickly sautéed with olive oil, garlic, a bit of fresh tomato and a touch of basil.

Beautiful, succulent entrees

The menu offers a good choice of seafood and fish entrées.

Tonno crocante in crosta di pancetta con funghi e patate ($27) is a stand out: beautiful and succulent. The assertive flavors of perfectly cooked, perfectly pink cylinders of tuna wrapped with paper-thin pancetta fried to a crisp, marry well with the topping of truffle essence. Also heavenly is the accompaniment of light green potato ramp puree (ramps are spring onion-like scallions), earthy wild mushroom ragoût, and the coulis of fresh tomato and onion.

Snapper ($26), although overwhelmed by its pistachio crust, is set over a firm timbale of vegetable couscous studded with diced zucchini, red onion, and green peppers, in a light fish stock reduction fragrant with saffron and shallots.

For those determined to have meat, the abundant serving of grilled Black Angus steak ($32) is a triumph in contrasts, and a must. Grilled to order over hot coals, the moist, tender, flavorful meat is fanned around a delicious saffron risotto cake, and the richness of its topping of onions caramelized in port wine and ginger, is mitigated by the fresh bitterness of baby arugula.

Osso buco ($28) served with saffron risotto, is the dish that made Bice’s international reputation. In contrast to the other entrees, the veal shank ­ braised for hours in a sauce made with white wine, veal stock, fresh tomatoes, and mirepoix, and finished with a gremolata ­ is tender but quite uninteresting.

Well meaning ending Desserts ($8-$10) although not inspiring, are well executed. Tiramisú with mascarpone and white chocolate was good, sweet and moist, and we ended up finishing the plate. The cheesecake, that night, was mealy; and we felt trounced by the promise of profiteroles stuffed with crème pâtissière. Chocolate soufflé must be ordered ahead of time, and if you need to end dinner with something light and sweet, there are gelati and sorbetti ($7).

With chef Wolfgang Birk at the helm, Bice is one of the best spots for contemporary Italian cuisine, big on flavors, textures, and atmosphere.

Simone Zarmati Diament is the editor of The South Florida Gourmet.