Rifugio Ütia Bioch — Restaurant in Pustertal - Val Pusteria

This is the revision to a five star review that I had posted two years ago.

This used to be one of my favorite places for lunch while skiing in Alta Badia, where I have been vacationing for 40 years. The last two times I have been here (last year and again this year) I have been sorely disappointed, to the point that I have decided not to go here anymore. There are too many nice places around here to choose A mediocre one like Bioch has become.

In both occasions we had to wait for about an hour to get our food. Mind you, this never happens anywhere else around here, no matter how busy the place is. The food was ok, but of a significantly lesser quality than it used to be. The food here used to be better than the average in the area, while now it is worse. But the real problem is the service. My impression is that since enlarging the space by about twice a couple of years ago, the staff and especially the kitchen have a hard time keeping up, especially when the terrace is full in nice weather. A sad case of too much success I suppose.

In addition, and worse of all, the staff treated me badly when I complained about the service and the fact that tables that had been sat later than us where being served first. When I said that I would make sure to post a bad review on google, I was essentially insulted by the waiter. The owner of the establishment was nicer and a bit more apologetic, but in the end, they did not even offer to pay for the glass of wine I had with lunch, let alone for any of the dishes. I realize that Italy, where I am from, is not the United States, where I live, but any self respecting service establishment in the US would have at least offered to pay for a dish, and likely for the whole meal, given a similar occurrence. The fact that I essentially got insulted instead, although more or less par for the course in Italy, is simply unacceptable to me.

A very sad ending to a long run of my patronizing this restaurant.

These people at Bioch Hütte are the dinosaurs, the dying breed. Mark my words, the dinosaurs of gastronomic world. They live in a world before snap, tik, ig, selfie… They still trade in smiles, taste buds, true experience. Oh, and they know their food. And they sure know their wines. You come here not exepcting anything. You ski and you have to pause somewhere. And at 2079 meters above see level you do not expect a culinary experience. Or odd 12.000 different wine labels. You just don’t. And then they invite you to a pastry with finest San Daniele prosciutto. And polenta from a mill somewhere near, made by real people and people they know. And it shows: because this isn’t your n number of carbs. No no. You feel it. You taste it. Maybe it would somewhere else be offered as a side dish, but here? No no. It has a life of its own. Meats? Don’t get me started. That Spanish Josper grill adds a cloak of refinement and taste to every single cut of meat. You show them a picture of your favourite wine label - and sure enough they house it. Jesus Christ Marry and Jospeph! At 2079m above see level. What I value above all though is this: you come the very next day for nothing fancier than some homemade tiramisu. You are on this day not a very “good client” or spender or whatever moniker this numbered money oriented world would attach. And yet the smiles, the welcoming, the friendliness, the gastro experience are all there. Because they just love what they do. Someone once said: if I’ve seen further than other men it’s because I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants. If you find yourself skiing in the Dolomites and want to improve on the already perfect day of sun, snow, mountains do come to Bioch Hütte. They’ll add some odd 50% to a already 100% day. Compliments!!! A huge fan

After an intense day of skiing, we stumbled upon this wonderful restaurant. Ütia de Bioch, known for its sophisticated wines, offered us a unique experience. For our starter, we ordered the "Classic Ladin Tutra," a crispy pancake filled with spinach and ricotta. In my opinion, it was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted; the fried dough made it unique and irresistible. For our main course, I decided to try one of the Michelin-starred dishes, called "Tortellini Double Beef and Intense Incense Lemon." To my surprise, the tortellini had an intense lemon flavor with a hint of wood and a rich beef taste. This restaurant offered us an incredible experience. I highly recommend it for lunch after ski. The service could also be improved; I received a dish that was supposed to be the first course, not the starter, specifically, the colleta di manzo impanata.