Amici Restaurant

i will give the Holiday Inn one thing - no matter what they call their restaurant inside their hotel... they are consistent! unfortunately they're consistently bad. I travel for a lot of my work and i always stay at the holiday inn - and every single restaurant is never good.  Amici is no exception.

The menu is rather limited to a few basic items: chicken wings or flat bread for appetizers. and a few salads, paninnis, and a few pasta dishes.

I tried the chicken wings: which were actually, okay at best. the bruschetta was odd... if you are one to eat with your eyes - this is NOT the dish for you. some store brought bread and a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegarette - paired with a plate of goop. literally a gob of goop. it looks as if it was scooped out of a can and thrown on the plate in three lumps of mystery gunk. i ate it. i gagged. i couldn't tell what it was - just glad it wasn't alive.

my main dish had was the chicken fettucini alfredo. big disappointment. i went with that choice as it is a very easy dish. you can buy the premade sauces at a local grocery store and have more flavor that the dish that was brought out to me. matter of fact - i would have been more satisfied with chef boyardee than the dish that was brought out to my table. the chicken was dry - tasted as if it was precooked and reheated. the pasta had ZERO flavor. i don't know where the sauce came from or what it was made of but had nothing! absolutely nothing for flavor! the only thing that had any flavor was the cheese that was grated on to the dish - and that was just salty. my guess would be a kraft parmesean cheese that was sprinkled on top.

the wait staff was nothing of noteworthy. the only thing that may have saved any type of grace is that drinks are well balanced and poured. and that's it. save your money and your appetite... go to jack in the box down the street.

Not your average hotel restaurant.

My wife and I wanted to go someplace unique that we had not been to.  We had passed Amici a couple of times in our comings and goings from the Holiday Inn (Not the Express)  It always seemed that either the place had just closed for breakfast or wasn't open for dinner yet.

This time we actually planned on going to dinner there.  We were very satisfied upon entering, we were received by a friendly hostess and seated immediately.  Despite the high ceiling and a fair number of people in the lounge area, the noise level was pleasant.  

The surroundings are very up to date and clean.  The clientele were wore casual but not denim.  

The menu, while sparse in it's offering, had something for everyone.  Seafood, steak and your traditional pastas and lasagnas.  The appetizer fare was pretty simplistic.  i would have liked to see some traditional Italian style apps, but this is the Willamette Valley.  Someday I will find a decent antipasta.

We ordered drinks and a small vegetable/bread platter to start, not wanting to fill ourselves before dinner.

For our dinner, I had the Chicken Parmesan and my wife had the a shrimp pasta dish.  The food came out timely and quite hot.  The chicken had a crispy exterior with a very fresh olive oil taste to the bite.  The parma had a great taste and did not have that left out too long taste that is all too common.  The marinara was very tomato-y in taste but had excellent seasoning.  Not too salty and no sugar taste.  This was ragu for adults.  The shrimp tasted great with a very nice bite, no rubbery frozen flash cooked food here.

I would say the drinks are moderately priced,  They carry draft beer's from Hop Valley, which is right across the street from the hotel.

The wait staff was very attentive and never intrusive.  

All in all, I will be back.  Hopefully, they will go for more traditional Italian food in the future.

Hidden off of Gateway (main drag off Interstate 5) in the Holiday Inn in a cul de sac, a delicious steak dinner, wine & dessert were served thanks to a groupon offer.  The building is new, the restaurant in cozy & comfortable (patio for al fresco dining also available), and the restaurant staff was very friendly & accommodating!  The bartender called out a greeting upon entry, the waitress made many trips to make sure the dinner was satisfying & even the head chef came out to get feedback.  This doesn't usually happen in most places?  Not the typical "discount" experience...The wine menu features local Oregon & Washington wines selected by the chef...still working on getting the wine menu finalized?  Well worth the trip to explore, enjoy & experience this little Italian contemporary themed restaurant.  They would love to please you!