Rickys River Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Noosa Heads

We've been dining at this restaurant since it was Ricky Ricardo's. It was our go-to in Noosa when we wanted a very special dining experience. Traditionally we arrive mid lunch service, and let the wait staff know that we're very much in no hurry and would like to spend some time enjoying the food and the view. We often were the last to leave lunch service as the team reset the tables for dinner service. This has never been a problem and given the relaxed atmosphere and the friendly staff, it was almost encouraged. This relationship came to an end this year. We dined in last week of January at Ricky's while holidaying in Noosa as we have for over 20 years. We were treated as badly as I have ever been treated in any restaurant. Ever. Anywhere. The food was OK. Not spectacular as previous, just OK. The service however was diabolical. There was a local server who initially served us and was fantastic, as usual. Then a female supervisor with a strong French accent took over. This was the turning point. dishes were served out of sequence and will zero sense of friendliness. It seemed she wanted to be somewhere else. She even became slightly annoyed when we ordered a second bottle of wine. We couldn't understand why yet. Then after ordering dessert food and cocktails, she returned to the table and advised our table was needed as we had exceeded our time and the final courses would have to be served 'at the bar'. We were quite shocked and explained our many previous visits and how as the dining customers were clearly thinning out after lunch service and normally staying at the table we were seated at was the norm. 'Very Sorry - not possible" was the response with zero flexibility. We reluctantly make our way to the somewhat uncomfortable 'bar'. a bunch of stools around a low table. Around 30 minutes later I made my way to the toilet, and walked past the table;e we were previously sitting at. There were now eight vacant tables where we were and it was 3:30pm so dinner service was at least two hours away. The supervisor was in the area. I stopped and asked why we were moved when clearly she had lied to us. She sneered at me and said something about ' your bad luck today' and walked away. On returning to the table, fuming with anger at this stage, I mentioned this to my wife, who approached what appeared to be the manager, who also had a French accent. He claimed "he would look into it". We did not hear from him re our complaint. We soon learned why. Just a few minutes later in the private dining area right behind us, no more than 5 meters away the manager had sat down with a staff member and appeared to be terminating his employment. The staff member became visibly upset and was pleading to keep his job, and the manager led him away. Thankfully we could not hear the conversation however that is not the point. Publically humiliating a staff member is an abhorrent thing to do especially in from of customers. Needless to say, we will never return to Rickys while it is owned and managed by the current owners. Later that week we dined at another restaurant, recommended by a family member and had a superb Noosa experience, so now we have found a new highlight restaurant and will be sharing this with friends and business associates...

A real let down....this restaurant came highly recommended to my partner and I.

My partner and I have been to many fine dining restaurants and unfortunately Rickeys Did not deliver last night For dinner. Yes the restaurant itself was nice, the food was also nice however our experience not Soo much.

Was seated, our order taken by the waitress and our entree and mains were delivered to the table within a reasonable time however the service started slipping from there.

Our waitress was too busy having long multiple conversations about her personal and social life to the couple on the table in front of us which we found to be not only very unprofessional but inappropriate as her voice projected throughout the restaurant which my partner and I personally felt was very distracting and did not make for a very pleasant atmosphere. We did not feel like we were experiencing fine dining restaurant.

After finishing our glasses of wine the waitress took away our glasses and empty wine bottle without even offering us another beverage leaving us sitting at the table with glasses of tap water. Not only was this disappointing my partner would have happily purchased another bottle of wine had the waitress offered.

We were given our dessert menu and waited a further 25- 30 minutes while this particular waitress was conversing with these diners before I had to call over another wait staff to take our dessert order. My partner and I then had to wait a further half an hour before our dessert came to the table, during this time we were never asked if we would like any further beverages or if we needed anything.

I don't mind waiting however at this point it was towards the end of the evening and the restaurant was quiet and the time it took to take our order and receive our dessert we were seated and received both our entree and main meals. As paying customers we felt that our table had been neglected. Despite the food being nice, poor service really leaves a bad taste in your mouth when choosing restaurants to attend and recommend to family and friends especially when you are...

My partner booked a lunch at Ricky’s to celebrate my birthday with my parents. Unfortunately, my parents had a punctured tyre on the freeway just before arriving. When we called the restaurant to let them know, the first thing mentioned was the 120 dollar per person no show fee. We explained we were still coming, but there may be a delay while the car was safely sorted with the tow truck. We kept the restaurant updated with several calls, and to their credit, when we did arrive, we were greeted warmly and seated at a lovely table by the water with a great view.

We ordered drinks which came out promptly, and then looked over the menu. Three of us were interested in the tasting menu, while one preferred to order a main. There was no mention on the menu that the tasting menu had to be ordered by the whole table, so we were surprised when the waiter advised us that all four of us would need to order it. At 160 dollars per person, this is something that should definitely be clearer on the menu. After a quick check with the kitchen or management, they agreed to allow three of us to do the tasting menu while the fourth could order their preferred dish. That flexibility was appreciated.

A minor hiccup occurred when the ladies went to the bathroom and someone closed and locked the access door back into the restaurant. They had to exit through a side door and re-enter through the front. Small thing, but not ideal.

The food itself was beautifully presented and very flavoursome, though the portion sizes were small enough that we added a side to feel satisfied. The overall experience was relaxed and unrushed, with our lunch lasting about two and a half hours, which suited us fine. For four people, with two drinks each, the bill came in just under 900 dollars, so definitely a premium dining experience, but not unexpected for a venue of this quality.

Despite the initial confusion and a few small things, my partner loved it and has already called it her new favourite restaurant on the Sunshine Coast. We...