Ricardo's Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Lacey

With a price point of nearly $70 for a boneless ribeye, and a place that makes its name on the quality of its steaks. I expect something unique and frankly memorable. To my disdain, what I found here was on par with a Texas Roadhouse, but at triple the price.

What I received was inconsistently cooked, I ordered medium rare, more than half of it was medium well and parts were well done. To add insult to injury the entire plate was room temperature.

The level of marbleization I'd expect from a high quality steak was down right nonexistent, it was difficult to cut and a chewy piece of meat. If I had to guess the meat grade this was somewhere between USDA Select and Choice. When taken by itself, the only real flavor that came through was in the crust of the steak, everything else was bland or simply tasted like black pepper. I will say that it's accompaniments were good, except for the rhubarb demi glaze. I had about ten decorative drops of it on the entire plate, not exactly enough to get a feel for its flavor or purpose on the plate.

So you may ask, why not send it back to the kitchen and have it redone? I would, I wanted to, but you can't exactly do that when your waiter visits the table a total of four times over an hour and a half visit. By the time he came back after dropping off the plates, I had already gone through the full cycle of emotions of being upset with the quality of food in front me, getting impatient for him to come back and then accepting what was in front of me, because God knows I didn't want to wait even longer for it to be remade whenever he decided to check on the table.

For reference on time, he refilled my glass of ice water when he dropped off the meals. By the time he came back I had finished the water, the ice had fully melted and I drank that. I had an empty glass for about an additional 10 minutes before he came to see how everything was going. So I'd say a total of about 20 to 25 minutes before he came back.

My guest couldn't even order a second drink she wanted to try because he simply never came back.

He deserved zero tips for his service. Speaking of which, do you know how awkward it is to have your waiter stand over you while you determine his tip? When we paid the bill, he pulled out one of those portable card readers which automatically makes suggestions on tips. I'm an add change to the tip to make the bill a whole dollar amount kinda person. So to have him standing next to me, while I pulled my phone out to open the calculator app to do that math was unpleasant to say the least.

Out of sheer peer pressure and awkwardness I gave him a tip. Which frankly was undeserved, but I assume he knows his service is terrible so this is a means of pressuring folks into giving him one.

The only saving grace I found at this place was its charcuterie board and its vanilla ice cream that came with the desert sampler.

In the end, I will never ever come back here. Too bad I can't get a refund, but hey, thats always the risk with trying new places. Sometimes they're winners and other times, such as this, near...

Where do I start! The steaks were perfect, the lobster was huge and those crab cakes are the best in the country in my opinion. The sauces and dressings, the drizzles and seasoning all paired well with each other without tasting one dimensional clearly a lot of thought went into this taste profile, Chef Josh came to our table often to visit and the GM Brian was attentive and made us feel right at home. Our waitress Peggy was adorable, we all just loved her and the entire experience. I suggest making a reservation and asking for full service because this resteraunt knows how to do that. We thought this would be a perfect place to bring business associates your trying to impress or a date but best of all just friends enjoying a meal worked well for our party.

They asked if we would like to try a tasting of pork belly which none of us thought we would enjoy so leave your picky food choices at home because they know how to prepare pork belly to perfection with none of that globby fat so many others served me before and then let’s talk about those Brussels sprouts usually they are bitter I’ve never liked Brussels sprouts nor has my husband but Chef Josh is so gifted at bringing out the right flavors in everything that we tried for the first time that I now love them both. We were told the Brussels sprouts are seasonal so go there quickly or order them in advance when you make a reservation because you have got to try them! just sayin.

So let’s talk about those crab cakes, they are creamy, and at the same time flaky the crab tasted like it has just come from the sea there was no greasy aftertaste and somehow you don’t get tired of them you just want more! I could make a meal of them and happily order some to go.

We ended the meal with creme brûlée next time I’m not sharing it I want my own! The hard caramel over the perfectly made custard was amazing.

Everything was Devine with not even one tiny complaint or disapointment. This is our second time at this location, the first time wasnt perfect but they have clearly worked out the kinks and I’m happy to have a local restuarant finally cater to those of us who have been forced to drive to Seattle for a real meal. This place in on par with El Gaucho’s, Ruth Chris steak house, and better then Fleming’s or Charlie’s in Tampa, Fl. I personally prefer this place to all of them but that’s me.

We ended the night with a cocktail in front of the fire pit and the lovely smell of steak, cigars and spring air was perfect and matched the romantic chic, timeless atmosphere inside. we were told they are opening a new gastro pub on 6th ave in the old shanghai building and we are excited for the grand opening!

The food was so good we forgot to take pictures so you will just have to go to see and taste it...

BLUF: Unassuming steakhouse restaurant in a corporate building featuring “#SEXYBEEF” that is aged in house among other featured seasonal appetizer and entree options. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really appreciate having this option so close by in Lacey, WA. There really aren’t many great options in this area besides a select few in Olympia. Tacoma has made some headway, but they remain miles behind what’s going on in Tacoma. Here at Ricardo’s, they’re putting in the extra effort to create a well balanced menu to complement there featured steaks.

I visited Ricardo’s for a work event and we ate in the PDR. We ordered from the regular menu. We had a collection of appetizers to share. The best of these were the crab cakes - healthy ratio of crab to filler and topped with a great sauce. The pork belly was also well crafted. We ordered wine and beer by the glass, but there was also a great wine selection by the bottle.

Now come the steaks. Most of us ordered the more reasonably priced filet and ribeye. The filet was a better cut and much better prepared than the ribeye. I tend to like the fattier cuts better, but the ribeye wasn’t all that tender or fatty for a 45 day aged cut of beef. Would have liked the cut of beef to be a bit thicker. Loved the Brussels that we’re served with it. The best things on the menu came at a price. The 30 day chateaubriand and 50 day tomahawk were incredible. The bone in tomahawk is the best thing on the menu by far. Needs to be split by 2 people or it’s too expensive.

Overall I think the steaks are really good, but for their price I think they need to be outstanding. I think some of the steaks were over cooked based on how people ordered. One “black and blue” came out MR. I thought my MR came out closer to medium. The other thing I was upset about was the crust. The grill must have been overused to send out our order and lost its heat. This did not create the correct flavor profiles and textures I’m expecting with my steaks. I think if they have such difficulty pushing out a large table of steaks when the restaurant is otherwise busy, then they need a larger grill or they need to switch to broilers. There’s no better crust on a piece of meat than that created in a 1500F oven.

I’ve rambled a bit and focused on the stuff I disliked a bit more than all that I appreciated the most. I’m VERY happy I’ve found this restaurant and will happily return. I would like to come back for the happy hours and would also like to try more of the entrees. Great job guys, looking forward to returning...