Casa Ricardo antigua Casa Ovidio — Restaurant in Seville

This is a belated review of the Casa Ricardo which we visited in December 2013. We were early for a concert at a nearby church, and found this place through a local person’s recommendation.

A visit here is a cultural experience on several levels. The first time we went, the place was filled with convivial locals enjoying great tapas and wine. The food was terrific, the barmen were helpful and patient with our limited Spanish, and very entertaining -- their interaction with the customers is a show in itself. The bar is decorated with posters and iconography celebrating local patron saints – many of the long-established tavernas in Seville are closely associated with the surrounding parish, and display corresponding devotional items. So the visitor experiences the sense of a close-knit community with unique religious and social ties, as well as the joie de vivre of the Spanish tapas hour among hearty patrons. Good prices too.

The second time, we made a long trek across town purposely to visit the bar again, hurrying so as to arrive before closing hour. When we arrived the bar was actually closing up as it was a slow night. The barmen kept the kitchen open, remembered and prepared our favorite dish from the prior visit, and were as accommodating and gracious as could be. They asked several times if there was anything else we would like, showing no hurry whatsoever, even though we were keeping them late. This place was a highlight of our three-week...

My wife and I stopped in here while walking through near the parasol, and were drawn in by their 8€ menu del día. We asked the server what was on the menu del día, as it isn’t listed anywhere, and he listed off 3 items (that matched the menu stating that there were 3 choices for the primero), and we chose two of them. He didn’t ask about the segundo, but we figured they’d ask after the first. Afterwards, the server ignored us, so we called him over to see. He claimed that we ordered the surgencia del día instead of the menu del día, and there were no other dishes. Mind you, we asked specifically about the menu del dia, and he didn’t even mention the term surgencia del dia in his explanation. We pointed out that we had asked about the menu del dia, and he insisted that as one of the dishes was the surgencia del dia, we weren’t eligible for the menu del dia without buying another. When we disagreed, his response was a rude “what else do you want”? We asked for the check, paid, and left. They clearly didn’t deserve any further business, and in the process we ended up paying 6€ less than we would have, and they earned themselves a bad review. For somewhere trying to fleece tourists, they managed to fail pretty badly. If the restaurant reads this, our server didn’t provide us his name, but was the heavier-set of the two servers on at about 3pm...

We've had the pleasure to enjoy our last supper in Seville with the help of Jesús here, who has provided us with one of our best dining experience so far.

Although there was no menu - besides our friendly waiter - and we did not know exactly what dish we will receive next (as our Spanish is limited), it has been the best idea to rely on Jesús' recommendations.

The grilled cheese with dried fruits was a dream (would love to get the recipe 😇), but so were the other dishes that only made it to the second place on our list, too.

Dear Ricardo's team, we hope you'll get this message where we once again would like to express our gratefulness for your superb hospitality and cuisine - will visit you again in case we're back in Seville some time 👍👍👍

¡¡Muchas...