Ricardo's Cafe

Have been a regular of Ricardos for years, though yesterday was the first time I have ever left disappointed. The prices for meals are unreasonable for the portions you receive. On top of that, I felt quite nauseous after my meal and then ended up with a bout of food poisoning.

First time at Ricardos, always looks busy so I thought it must be decent. First up, food was superb, no arguments there. However, a couple of easily recitified faults that really took the shine of this place. Firstly, wobbly table. I just don't get how this is overlooked, it's a core requirement at, you know, a cafe. Lean on the table, coffee spills, bah! Secondly, why did my coffee come out 10 minutes before my breakfast? Simple common sense to realise that customers may like to drink at the same time as they eat. Not too hard to co-ordinate surely. Lastly, it's never pleasant to have a fly crawling around your coffee cup. This is a result of the cafe making the interesting decision to utilise manual sliding doors as the main entrance. They are never closed properly by customers so the buzzing horde is inevitable. All up.worth a visit for the food.

Noisy environment and poor service with rude staff. Food was really average and Luke warm! Food came out separately that one had finished before others started. Recommend other cafes around Jamison Centre.

Breakfast yesterday, service only just, meal was ok but the wait time was ridiculous, it didn't look that busy with plenty of empty seats

Sadly its very obvious the owners have changed. There isn't the same attention to detail and the standards have dropped. Paid $19.00 for a cheeseburger that had no sides and was sub par to the original. Very expensive lunch all up.
Staff were friendly and helpful though.

Ricardo’s was my go to a number of years ago when I worked north side and thought I’d treat myself with a friend today, which I wish I hadn’t. First of all there was no one to greet us as they used to, we had to figure out where our reservation was, which you needed before as the place was always pumping on a weekend, but the place was pretty empty, which should have been the first warning. Table was sopping wet and the menus were too. Coffee was burnt and cold, that we couldn't finish. The food was served without acknowledgement from the server as she noticed a friend walked in. Food ended up being cold and had two long black hairs in the eggs.
Could not get out of there fast enough. Also, I know times are tough, but the pricing was extremely steep, with a Sunday surcharge on top.
Definitely not the Ricardo’s I remember, which is such a shame. Won’t make the trip again.

Very loud inside, hard to have a conversation. They need sound proofing. The fritters as a dish need some more thought by the chef. If he/she have not tasted the dish yet, they should. It’s dry, salty and underwhelming. One of those dishes that you instantly forget you ate due to its forgettableness, until you become extremely thirsty a few hours later due to the salt factor. Oh, also, the surcharge on Sunday is 7.5%. Ouch.

My daughter & I had the most delicious lunch there. I had this most amazing dish of a variety of mushrooms cooked in garlic butter, poached eggs, all served on sourdough bread. Washed down with a mango smoothie.

Staff were friendly, takeaways were quick, desserts looked so delicious and although they were a little on the expensive side, it was totally worth it! I can't wait to try dining in next time!:)

Beautiful eggs Benedict. All the pastries look outstanding, and would absolutely go to town on the sweets if not for a nut allergy probably getting in my way.

Perfect coffee happy time, strong flatwhite and great mocha I recommend coffee as first choice and food one of the best, prices are $$$, enjoy

Best Eggs Benedict in Canberra. I had it with bacon, avocado and mushrooms on the side.

Freshly squeezed orange juice was delicious as was the coffee. 10 out of 10.

Sadly under new management. The lady on the front counter couldnt have been any ruder if she tried! The selection of cakes is far less than what it used to be. Very disappointing. Staff need training in basics of customer service. Saying which table! Staff before use to take you to a table made you feel welcome.

My advice use the other two cafes there

Used to be amazing, but something has changed: (the food is now average at best, same for the coffee. The avo on toast was downright bland, plus horrendously overpriced.

The old Ricardo’s it would’ve been exciting to see how they make such a basic meal so fantastic and flavoursome, but now it’s just plain sliced avo (not even smashed), some tomato, and a few bits of feta. None of it with any seasoning, sauce, or even a squeeze of lemon.

It’s a shame, we loved this place, but after this lacklustre experience I don’t think we’ll risk it again.

Sorry but your cream brulee is so dry. The yuzu lemon tart is too runny. I use to visit weekly

I'll My definitely get my BDY cake from here

Here's se update:

I'v traid the black forest cake twice.last month and It was the best cake I've ever had. There's something about its taste that I cannot describe in words ️ All my friends loved it. But, the only issue is that I cannot get myself a small piece cuz they only sell it as a whole) ; So you either buy the whole cake or wait for someone's bdy to get it. Believe me it is a must I'm even thinking of inviting my friends so that I can get it again

Riccardo's is a great brunch place. The coffee is good, the meals are fantastic and the service is wonderful. Only gripe is the sweets in the front. Although they look delicious and definitely a (visual) work of art, I'd say the taste let's them down. But, as I said, the rest is excellent.

Yummy food. Big breakfast was awesome. I also bought 3 cakes which were really good. They also have cronuts!

Makeshift sign indicating " wait here to be seated" not readily visible and was told to "next time wait to be seated". Wont be a next time! Majority of people entering also missed the sign. Biscuit was not cooked sufficiently. Coffee was great.

Very disappointing. Thought we'd try something new. Big mistake. We ordered the Potato & Chorizo Breakfast Skillet. Horrible. The potatoes tasted like they were days old, no baked egg and the Neapolitan sauce was terrible. Tasted like it was out of a jar.