Rice Mediterranean Kitchen — Restaurant in Coral Gables

I been frequenting Rice well before the re-branding, when it was known as Rice: House of Kabob, and have witnessed their growth across the metro area. Referring to the Coral Gables site, this place has good Persian food and is located at a nice spot along Giralda Avenue. However, all it takes is for one action to tarnish years of patronage. That action was taken by an employee at this locale, which completely took away any interest whatsoever in this place that offended me so greatly that I would not eat there, even if I were given whatever I wanted for free.

On Friday, April 19, 2024, I went to buy lunch at Rice that consisted of a vegetable soup. I ordered the soup and I got it, but I got not even a spoon to accompany it. So I asked the woman on-duty if I could have a spoon and a piece of bread to accompany my soup. She looked at me as though I were asking her for a free meal and said no, that if I wanted any bread, no matter how small, then I needed to pay for it.

This raises a bigger question of where are we as a society? A successful restaurant raking in big-time is so petty and miserly so as not to even give a piece of bread for a soup. Every venue I have been to that sells soup offers either bread or crackers of some kind to use as a dip. The fact I asked for a small piece or two to accompany my soup, really is degrading enough as it is. To be told by this employee that she couldn’t give even that and that I needed to buy an entire pita bread round is offsetting. I have seen a lot of parsimonious actions done by restaurants and eateries but this by far takes frugality to the next level.

Naturally, this ordeal took away any appetite I had that day and caused me to not enjoy this soup. I will never visit this location again because I do not want to spend my hard-earned money at a place where people think as selfishly as this. The action of this woman is shameful and really paints a negative picture of this location, and the other sites...

My husband and I ordered food for delivery from Rice. The delivery estimate said the food would arrive in 20 minutes. After 50 minutes, we called Rice to find out what was going on. First they get 5 stars for actually answering the phone (something rare these days with businesses). They said our delivery man picked up our food already, and to to call back in 5 minutes if the food hadn't arrived. We called again 10 minutes later and the owner said he'd try calling the delivery person. The owner couldn't reach him, and my husband and I never got a hold of the delivery person after calling 3-4 attempts and leaving a VM.

The owner of Rice, though, refunded our entire meal (including tip and delivery fees). We ended up driving to Rice in Coral Gables and when we arrived our food was waiting for us (no extra charge). While eating in the restaurant the owner walked over to us with the driver, who he had tracked down to explain to us why after 1 1/2 hours the food hadn't arrived (even though the app said 'delivered'). The driver gave a weak excuse with lots of holes in his story.

Rice gets 5 stars though for several reasons: answering the phone, caring about the customer experience, refunding our money, letting us talk to the driver (who wasn't affiliated with Rice by the way), and for the food.

The food was so delicious. It was fresh, filling, flavorful, and a hefty portion. We will definitely be back...for dine-in...

Let's face it. There are plenty of food places popping all over Miami offering "make your own bowls". Rice however, is one of my favorites in Coral Gables.

Every time I come here, the store is always clean and the food displays are very organized. I also like the industrial earthy design of the dining room. Lots of seating arrangements both indoors and outdoors. As far as the bowls, I like mixing up Black Lentils and Artisan Super Greens for base. (You can also opt for a pita roll version instead of a bowl.). Then I go heavy on the dips and spreads. I love the Sriracha Tomato Hummus, Smokey Eggplant Harissa, and Charred Carrot Tahini. For protein, the Braised Beef is my favorite but I like the Braised Lamb too (extra $2). They are both very flavorful. If I don't feel like eating meat, the falafel is also very tasty. For the final toppings, this is where I really go crazy cause I love veggies! I normally just tell the friendly servers to put everything except for olives. The crumbled feta is a must for that extra punch. The bowl only comes out to $13 with tax and trust me, it's very filling. I always have left overs so I take it back to work to eat later in the evening.

I'm a big fan of Rice. The food is always fresh, the service is always fast and polite and it's affordable. I try to come here at least once a week especially if I get a long lunch or picking up food for my...