ICE Restaurant and Bar

Had a reservation for a party of 18. The staff was woefully unprepared even though the reservation was made a week in advance. Ran out of two menu options. I had the scallops over a mushroom risotto. The scallops were overlooked and chewy. The risotto was mushy but with a good flavor. I was disappointed in the food but the service was the worst part. Though at the end the servers did really try to make up for it with a real recovery. Sadly the food offered no such coup de gras.

Last year I use to attend Jazz Night at this restaurant every Thursday.  Those nights they charged a small $5 cover and it was comped if your bill was a certain amount.  I genuinely missed being able to go down there once a week for dinner but my work schedule just doesn't accommodate those visits.  Located below the ground level of the PNC Building, ICE is a beautiful place to have dinner.  Clearly this place was put together by a professional designer, its dimly  lit and a great place for a romantic dinner, enjoying jazz music and just plain relaxing.  

Whoever is in the kitchen is very talented.  The food is always delicious, perfectly cooked and presented.  They have a full bar with televisions playing sports, but I always look for a booth along the wall.  They'll bring out your water and a basket of a variety of freshly baked and cut bread and butter wedges shortly after you sit down and try to decide what you want from your menu.  I always am there to relax because Thursday nights were my one night a week off of work and I would want a cold beer with either the Ice Burger or more often the Fried Chicken Sandwich with a slice of Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo.  I'm a potato guy and their fries made me very happy.

If we're really hungry, I enjoy the crab cakes for dinner.  The salmon is never overcooked and the steaks are juicy and tender.  I have never came close to complaining about this place, but I am going with Five Stars because this is not only a place I am a fan of, but I want to keep going back and take my friends to show them how great servers, a friendly owner and a talented chef make for a great experience.  This business is an example of what people want to see in Downtown Toledo.

I'm torn between giving them three or four stars so I'll go with three.

They're in a below ground space, our cell phones not working, with a dark, uninspired decor.  And the chairs are very uncomfortable.  Parking is a problem if anything is going on downtown.  We ended up in a lot next door to the place which was nice because it was very cold and windy, but had to pay seven dollars for this.

But the food was pretty good.  We had a flatbread pizza as an appetizer.  It was just ok.  The appetizers were half off, I think because there was a hockey game that night. The salad was good.

I had fish and chips, substituting a baked potato for the chips.  The menu described the fish as lightly breaded, and it actually was.  The fish was very good, the baked potato just ok.

So overall it's good enough, not something to go out of your way for though.