Vita Rock House — Restaurant in Providenciales

TLDR: Very pretty setting for dinner with good, but not great, food, service that is slow but friendly, and prices high enough that everything needs to improve.

The Story: We drove to the Rockhouse Hotel to try out their restaurant. There are no signs or directions about where to park, or honestly where the restaurant is located. You just drive down a road until it kind of ends in a circle that looks like it should have a valet – but doesn't. There are golf carts around that indicate that that is how they get around, but there is no one around to help you figure out where to park or how to EVEN FIND THE RESTAURANT. We finally drove to the far end of the property trying to find parking and then walked back over unmarked streets with no signage in the hopes that somehow, some way we might find our way to the restaurant. Eventually we saw some people who told us we needed to continue forward and then pass by the parked truck . It turns out that it did go to the restaurant, but some back-end way past garbage cans and everything I would never want my patrons to see, until we finally found the host station. Our table was not ready so the host suggested having drinks at the bar. He showed us the way, and we ordered an espresso martini and a paper airplane. Both were fine but spendy. OK. Let’s just get the expensive part out of the way. This place is not cheap. However, when I pay high prices for food, I have expectations about how that food will be prepared, presented, and how it will taste. Finally seated at the restaurant. Our server was very nice and attentive to an extent. There were long lapses where we wondered if he had left for the evening. In the meantime, we ordered a bottle of Rose Champagne along with the Buffalo Mozzarella (Dried Figs, Heirloom Tomato, Basil, Prosciutto) and the Salad of Beetroot (Citrus, Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette). The Champagne was about a 3.5-time markup from what I pay in a store. The Buffalo Mozzarella was SO GOOD with the figs and prosciutto that we have been working on perfecting it since we ate it. Something about the figs that makes it really pop. The Beetroot salad was only ok. It could really have used some acid or sweet or heat. Just OK. For dinner we ordered the Rigatoni (Braised Wagyu Short Ribs, Parmigiana) and the Roasted Cauliflower (Romesco Sauce, Almond). The cauliflower was good, still some tooth to it, and the sauce was well made. The Rigatoni just CONFUSED me. The rigatoni were perfectly cooked. The meat in the sugo was moist and flavorful. There was a perfectly cut mirepoix included with the meat, but the carrots in the sugo were only slightly heated and still very crunchy. Basically, flash heated and raw. They worked so hard perfecting everything else, I couldn’t believe they would forget to cook the carrots. Against the stern advice of my wife, I asked the server to inquire with the kitchen as to why they would serve a perfect rigatoni sugo with raw carrots – could it be a textural counterpoint? Maybe they wanted that raw, sweet, crunch, in with their slow cooked meat? Are you seeing where I am going with this? Basically, there in my opinion there is no excuse for raw carrots in this dish, and I wanted someone in the kitchen to either say, “yeah, we messed that one up” or “nope, that is exactly how we wanted it to be… CRUNCHY.” No one from the kitchen came by. Our server told us “That is how they wanted it to be.” No further explanation. But then, if I were him, I probably wouldn’t care either as a server. So maybe it was a mistake they wouldn’t admit to, or maybe they really do want you to have oddly soft-crunchy carrot pieces in their Bolognese/sugo. YMMV. Please please please: if you have read this far and happen to order this meal, message me and let me know how your carrots were prepared in this dish. I’m still completely befuddled. It made me not finish my otherwise good pasta.

Good: Ambience, Setting, View, some food Bad: Rushed out at the end of the night despite slow service. Mediocre:...

Woooooowwwww—yup, this place did it for me. I will say if you’re using Google Maps and type in “Vita at Rock House”, it will take you to the hospital LOL so make sure it’s “Vita Restaurant”… misleading. Anyway, once you arrive, opt IN for the golf cart ride to the restaurant from the parking lot because if you’re in heels, baby nauuuuur don’t do it. This restaurant is on a hill, very much giving Euro summer, Greece vibes, beautiful property. The view was STUNNING, our reservation was at 7 so we caught a beautiful sunset as we were settling in. They tried to initially seat us inside in the “restaurant”, ask to be seated below… way sexier, ambiance and view is nicer and you’re close to a live pianist who sang excellent covers. The service was slower and I think they overcharged my daughter’s “kids meal” hamburger as it was $30… but I didn’t really care. The mussels were exquisite, in a light almost pomodoro like broth but slightly more spice provoking. The charred bread was also perfect for dipping. I had a $21 mocktail (it was basically a twist on a porn star martini) and it was very much aesthetic. I had the jumbo prawn pasta dish for my main, and the prawns were 10/10–dense where necessary, succulent and flavorful in the middle with that grill flavor. The pasta itself was okay as it was kind of a cross bread between a scampi and an alfredo… but I could make it easily. Dessert… tiramisu… YEAH… GET IT… It was so moist and rich. The flavors were explosive and was probably one of my favorite tiramisus I’ve ever consumed. This place was just the creme de la creme, it had everything going and it did NOT disappoint. Come here if you’re looking for a...

Included in my reservation notes that this was a special occasion, as my apartment had just burned down from the California Wildfires and I informed the hostess of this as well upon arrival. We were told that our table was not ready (We arrived at 8pm on the dot, our reservation time) and we're not seated until 34 minutes later. We were placed by a sliding door with servers going in and out right at our table, nobody acknowledged anything in our reservation notes regarding our situation nor tried to make it a special occasion. We did not want anything "free", but we expected at least a decent table, especially considering we made this reservation a few days in advance, and to wait over a half an hour was insulting. The icing on the cake was when the dinner was over, we asked if the golf cart that dropped us off at this hotel could pick us up and they told us no. My boyfriend and I stumbled around in the dark trying to find the entrance, as we had never been here before and the lighting was minimal, only to find the golf cart driver pass us by and wave "hello". He had not gone home for the day and I don't think they wanted to bother helping us. The bartender "Von/Vaughn" is the only reason they got a single star from us. He served us drinks and made us laugh while waiting, and also gave his condolences. He did the bare minimum and we truly...