Recently had a supper at Ricardo's to celebrate a family birthday. A relative had suggested this restaurant as it was close to their residence.
Ambiance was delightful, service was polite and attentive, wine list was reasonable and above all, the food was excellent. I will happily return and how fortunate for my relatives to live so close. We'll be back!
189 - 193 of 250 reviews
Of our entire group of 12, 10 people agreed that Ricardos has gone down hill. They
projected a definite attitude when it came to service. The food is no longer worth the money. We eat at 5 star priced spots all the time and this wasn't worth it.
The "bar manager" served us and forgot our drink orders, he took forever bringing them.
When we asked for fresh wine glasses as we ordered 6 bottles of $60 wine and became snarky when we poured our wine into dirty glasses because he had been back to the table without them twice saying, "why did I bother?". When questioned why the popular beet salad had been taken off the menu, the owner said, "because the cooks say it's too much work to slice the beets." really??
It's a long drive to get to Ricardos and they clearly don't need my
business... Enjoy all of your success!
I posted this review initially on Open Table and wouldn't have bothered posting it here but the owner, after seeing that post, tracked me down and harassed me on Facebook slinging a bunch of nasty insults to me and my family. Really??
When inquiring about the legitimacy of this customers complaint, we the owners managed to speak to via Facebook or email to the bulk of the guests at this table on the evening in question. Everyone expressed that he did not speak for them and were not disappointed in anything at Ricardo’s except for the embarrassing behavior of their host that evening. Embarrassing enough that even the complainant’s mother, one of the guests that evening, had heard enough and left for the night. Our bar manager while being verbally accosted by him, did very well not to worsen the situation by keeping his emotions in check somehow. This patron has been in 3 or 4 times recently with each time being worse than the last with his unacceptable behavior to our staff. Fortunately for us we may have seen the last of him. Unfortunately for other local establishments, you will undoubtedly have to deal with this “customer nightmare”.
We just had the most horrific experience at Ricardo's Mediterrean Restaurant in Kelowna.
We have been going to Ricardo's since it opened although we have not been there in the last few years. This occasion was a birthday dinner and we had heard that the blackened prime rib was exquisite. We arrived and were seated immediately and ordered a bottle of wine. While others who arrived after us seemed to be receiving their drinks we waited for 25 minutes before our wine finally arrived. Not a good sign!!! We ordered the blackened prime rib and while the sauce was delicioius the meat was extremely tough --- the waitress sensing our disatisfaction asked if we would prefer somthing else but given that we had been there for an hour and a half we needed to get home to relieve the baby sitter and decided to tough it out and try to finish the meal. After a few more bites we decided that it was just to tough to eat and asked for the bill. The waitress advised that she would remove the item from the bill which we appreciated but given the importance of the evening we considered our dining experience on this occasion to be a disappointment. We left without even finishing our wine and did not leave a tip, which we have never done before. As we left the restraunt we were followed outside and accosted by the owner who proceeded to berate us for not leaving a tip --- without asking us why or giving us an opportunity to explain she just went on and on about what unsophisticated and ignorant diners we were for not tipping the waitress. We were stunned!!! Without ever asking for an explanation or showing any interest in why we did not leave a tip she told us not to come back. My wife and I have travelled extensivelly throughout North America, Europe and Asia and without a doubt this was the worst behaviour by a restraunt owner we have ever encountered. Diners beware --- find another one of Kelowna's very fine restraunts where your patronage is actually appreciated.
We the owners at Ricardo’s do something unprecedented. We stand up for our employees when we feel they need our support. In this case, we feel our manager /server of 5 years was being mistreated for dinners that weren’t to the customers liking. We removed the items from the bill as stated but somehow the customer still felt hard done by thus deciding to punish their server and not leave a gratuity. She did everything within her power to ensure the customers satisfaction. Quality check was positive when the server first asked, but later after they had consumed 75% of the meal was when they decided to complain about how bad it was. The server offered them “new” meals, but they refused. She offered them many solutions (while they continued to be “overtly” rude to her) Everyone has the right to leave or not leave a gratuity we understand that, however when we feel the punishment does not suit the crime, we speak up for our valued employees staff that in turn brings people back in droves because of their invaluable worth to us. Now we shall digress here and state that there are indeed two sides to every story while social media is beginning to make a mockery of restaurant reviews.
This is my third time to Ricardo's, and I have to say, excellent everytime! I am learning I can count on exceptional service and food when I bring my guests there.
A comment on the patron who visited on Aug 9, the same night I was there, I was sitting on the patio with you. As a mother myself, I cannot agree with your review. Shona also served my table. Shona was kind and efficient and lovely. Maybe it was the four bottles of wine you had that skewed your experience? My daughter wanted to take Shona home with us:-)
Thank you to Ricardo's for a fantastic night. I can't wait to come back!
Both my parents, my sister, my two children and I were at your restaurant on Thursday August 9, 2012 to enjoy a nice family dinner. We enjoyed a few bottles of wine, the dinner was delicious, and our server was also very friendly. However, after dinner, we ordered dessert, and just as we did so, my son (aged 5), got stung by a wasp on the left hand. I asked for ice, which I received fairly quickly. Once I got my son calmed down, and sat back at the table to enjoy the rest of our evening, I also requested baking soda as a natural method for drawing the venom out of wasp stings. The gentlemen that I asked came back a few moments later and told me, “the kitchen is way to busy to ask them for baking soda”, and gave me After Bite instead. After Bite does nothing for wasp stings. Within minutes, the palm of my sons hand was starting to swell up. Before we got our dessert to the table, we received our bill, which we were not ready for. We got Shona’s attention as she was walking by to express our dissatisfaction. We felt that we were being rushed out of the restaurant. Shona was not friendly about the situation at all, and the only explanation she offered was that dropping the bill on the table early was how you do things. When we got our dessert, we had to request utencils, and the girl that brought them, only came with 3 spoons, there were 6 of us. My dad went into the restaurant to ask for 3 more so we could all try and enjoy the rest of our meal. He expressed again his concerns with Shona, who then told him that if he didn’t like the way our table was treated to not bother coming back. Shona came to our table a few moments later, slammed a Ricardo’s card on the table, and told us that because we had children with us, they drop the bill off early. As a parent, I found this remark to be extremely insulting. Nobody there asked if my son was alright either, but no worries about him, after spending a few hours in the hospital he’ll be fine. So the next time someone gets stung by a wasp, and they request baking soda, make sure they get it. I highly doubt after the way we were treated that we will ever be back, and I won’t be recommending your restaurant to anyone either. My dad was at your restaurant a few weeks before this incident, and had drinks with you. Our bills the last couple weeks at your establishment were over 1200.00 together.
We at Ricardo’s don’t make a habit of responding to online complaints, (see all reviews), but I feel we must explain the situation as we saw it. By both accounts, everything was more than satisfactory up until the wasp bite. Baking soda was asked for. Josh did ask the kitchen for some. Unfortunately Ricardo’s does not have any baking soda in house. We just do not use it in any application in our kitchen. Josh did however find some After bite. He read the ingredients and applications. Baking soda? Yes. Good for wasp bites? Yes. He brought it over to the table and they thanked him. Their server Cassie was noticing the situation was worsening as the child was in considerable discomfort. As stated dessert was ordered. As it arrived, Cassie thought it may be considerate of her to bring the bill as well. As a parent myself, I would have appreciated this seeing that the restaurant didn’t have the remedy we requested and may need to leave quickly to seek medical assistance for the child. As stated in the review, they did in fact seek medical attention afterwards so Cassie’s judgment in bringing the bill seemed like the correct decision in retrospect one would think? This is where our opinions differ. We felt we were trying to be considerate of the situation yet the customer found it very rude that we dropped off the bill before they were finished. We do not make it a habit of bringing the bill before dessert or as dessert arrives, but I feel like my staff did the right thing in this particular situation. As a parent I would want a remedy for my child as soon as possible. When that is not possible, one would think to seek the assistance required, (get medical assistance asap). 4 adults consumed 4 bottles of wine and perhaps this may have had an effect on ones judgment and not stay for another 30 minutes and argue with staff how they were improperly treated and were very disappointed in our service. As neighboring tables noticed the complaint, they couldn’t help but comment to our staff that we did nothing wrong. As a restauranteur, I can say that my staff handled the situation as best as possible given the circumstances.
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Updating Map... 