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This Kimpton Grand Cayman Dining Review of Ave Restaurant and Avecita is from our stay at the resort prior to the busy 2019-2020 holiday season.
Ave Restaurant is the resort's main restaurant, where a breakfast buffet is served daily from 7-11am; Sunday brunch is served from 12noon to 3pm. Dinner is served nightly from 6-10pm.
Ave Restaurant Breakfast Buffet
We were at Ave Restaurant soon after it opened at 7am, since we were meeting a guide at 8:30am. The breakfast buffet includes an omelet station, and near it was some great, very spicy hot sauce. There were also other hot dishes on the buffet, from quiche to bacon and sausages.
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There were an array of cold cuts, smoked salmon, veggies, salad, cheese and fresh papaya:
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Pastries included pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins, twists, and some delicious coconut danishes.
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By the juices there were big bowls of fresh blueberries and blackberries, which I appreciated; cheaper hotel buffets often don't have fresh berries.
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We decided to sit outside on the terrace, which does have a canvas roof shielding it, although when it started to rain heavily and some of it blew towards us, we moved inside.
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Keep in mind that espresso drinks and specialty coffees are not included in the breakfast buffet rate or as part of the complimentary Virtuoso breakfast. Even so, the $5 we paid for a cappuccino was worth it, as it was the best cappuccino by far that we had in Grand Cayman.
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Dinner at Avecita Restaurant
Avecita is inside Ave Restaurant, and offers Spanish style tapas and small plates, both traditional and modern. There's a 7pm Chef's Counter 5 course dinner, but we opted to order a la carte.
Here's the menu during our visit:
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We started off with an excellent traditional egg and potato tortilla, which raised our expectations for the rest of the meal.
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The sausage and goat cheese tapa, while basic, was also tasty:
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The beef cheeks main with roasted celeriac had great flavor, but should have been more tender–it hadn't been braised long enough.
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A similar problem beset the Charred Octopus, which I enjoyed more than the beef cheeks, but weren't nearly as good as the Charred Spanish Octopus at The Belvedere Restaurant at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
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Some calamari croquettes in squid ink were excellent–the squid ink sauce was so good that we kept our server from removing it, using it as a dip for some of the focaccia and fresh bread he brought us.
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We concluded with a satisfying cheese plate, which was accompanied by some fresh raspberries and truffle honey.
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The Verdict
The Ave Restaurant breakfast buffet at the Kimpton Grand Cayman was a good spread, with highlights including the made to order omelets with Seafire hot sauce; fresh papaya; the coconut danish; and the cappuccino, although it and other espresso drinks are an additional $5 and not included in the buffet. While I find Chobani and Stonyfield disappointing yogurt brands, no doubt it's challenging to import better quality dairy products. Service was excellent, both from the cheerful omelet chef and from our server.
We enjoyed our evening at Avecita, but it didn't wow. Our favorites were the traditional tortilla, the calamari croquettes in squid ink, and the cheese plate with truffle honey, alongside the fresh focaccia. The beef cheeks and octopus would have been better if they'd been more tender, and the roasted cauliflower also would have benefited from more roasting and more flavor. Our server was delightful, however.
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Value for the money was poor. Food tastes awful, and service is slow. Not suggested