Ricardo Ocean Grill

Had dinner last evening here. Very cozy, family feel with with a downtown menu.
I chose the rack of lamb with spinach and roasted potatoes. It was out of this world.
Not every restaurant does lamb the right way, but the chef was on point.
I’ll definitely be going back. Expect to drop a few pennies, but it will be worth it!

Excellent service and great selections on the menu. Homily feeling with the décor and venue and tasty cocktails! I’ll definitely be back

Always good service and the food is great, cozy and romantic place, nice to seat outside when the weather allows…

Had an amazing time at Ricardo Ocean Grill. Came here tobight for me and my boyfriends anniversary.
Originally went to ricardos steakhouse and was told the place was booked up for the night. The hostess kindly directed us to ricardo ocean grill with two comp drink tickets.
When we got there we were told that they were booked also with 2 parties of 15. They had seats outaide so we decided to enjoy the nights weather, which wasnt that bad.
The food was amazing and the staff was great, along with the 2 comp frink tickets I recieved a free shot for the Unilocal check in and also the manager gave my boyfriend and I another round of shots on the jouse for dinner outside the chili weather.
All in all will definately go back again. Thank you for making our night

Sure Ricardo’s Steakhouse is palatial {compared to Ocean Grill} and yes, you can drop it like it’s hot there with the slamming jams. However, Ricardo’s Ocean Grill is identical to the Steakhouse– except, it is particularly narrow. YET, charming, intimate with an undertone of super coolness.
We were greeted warmly. The attention to detail was definitely there. Ocean Grill has a funky, rustic-​along with a romantic energy.
Emily the bartender, hooked me up with The Ricardo’s Martini with Chambord, vodka and a whisper of fragrant pineapple. My thoughts went wild!!!
Servers, were highly observant: water was never empty and continuous thoroughness from start to finish and dinner was mouth-​watering.
I am a believer that good things do come in small packages– and that’s fine by me ;-)

I had high hopes when I decided to have dinner here on a Friday evening. Unfortunately, I quickly realized the bar would be set incredibly low. The service is far from great: we were asked to move tables mid-​meal to accommodate a larger party, our waitress forgot our appetizer and then tried to blame it on the bartender, and once our food was delivered our waitress never came back to check on us. The food isn’t amazing to top it off.

My work friends and I go to Ricardo’s often to enjoy their happy hour drink deals. This time, we went on a Wednesday after work and we made sure to confirm with the waitress that it was indeed happy hour. Much to our surprise, when we received our check all of the guys’ drinks were full priced (12 dollars) and all the ladies’ drinks were half off. When we inquired about the discrimination they informed us that Wednesday was now ladies night. We were never alerted to this fact by the waitress who simply told us that it was happy hour. She said that we should have known because of a tiny, crappy sign on the door, even though she should have told us when we inquired about the happy hour drink deals. When we asked for her and the manager, Esteban, to rectify the situation because they had clearly misled us, they refused. It’s so sad that, for a measly twelve dollars, a restaurant would be willing to lose seven faithful customers. We will never be there again. Their loss! They should learn how to treat their customers with decency!

Terrible service, rude staff, illegal addition of automatic gratuity.
Wait staff informed us it was happy hour, then revealed when we got the check that it was ladies night and proceeded to charge the men in our party $ 14 for drinks (listed at the regular price on the menu at $ 12 in the first place).
We were regular customers but we won’t be back. To boot, the manager Esteban was very rude about the whole situation and then left before we could request that the illegal automatic gratuity be removed. He also refused to give us a phone number to reach his superior.
Definitely won’t be back here, don’t do it unless you’re ready to overpay. Harley’s, around the corner, had a great happy hour regardless of your gender.

I arrived at this location Sunday for a Sunday b-​day dinner with a friend. I ordered sea bass with mash potatoes and my friend ordered scallops that was paired with fried zucchini and something else (I forget lol). I had a cosmopolitan and he had a margarita. The cosmopolitan was decent. We also received complimentary shots of our choice thanks to Unilocal (sweeeet!!!).The ambiance of the restaurant was dim with not many patrons and a very romantic feeling and current r&b and hip hop music dancing in the air (I almost forgot I was at a restaurant lol). The sea bass was amazing with careful prep along with mash potatoes. It felt like «forever» waiting on both dishes as we both were fighting hunger pains until the delicious garlic bread our waiter brought out to tame us (I tried to restrict myself with the garlic bread for the entrée but the garlic bread was superb!!). Overall I would come back for the sea bass because it was cooked to perfection; moist, savory and fulfilling along with the garlic bread mmm-​yum! It was worth the wait :)

Ricardo Ocean Grill… Highly recommended. We initially went to Ricardo’s on 111^th on a Saturday. The waiter let us know there was a 45min wait. Typical for New York. She did share that their sister restaurant had not wait at all… Offered us a free round of drinks if we decided to patronize the restaurant that evening.
It was a win situation for us… No wait, food was superb! Everything was tastefully seasoned. My drink, passion mango margarita was delicious. Steak with pork chop seasoned and cooked perfectly. With sweet plantain and a side of rice and beans. Garlic bread fresh and buttery.
Once again, very pleased.

Much like Ricardo’s sister location, this place dies not disappoint. Tucked away on 2^nd and 119^th, this is another hidden gem of east Harlem that can be easily overlooked. With high quality food and great drinks, this is the perfect place for a great date night. Intimate, small, and a calming ambience, I absolutely adore this restaurant.

I have been to this restaurant several times over the past few years and I have neglected to review it. After going last night, it was a must. It’s small, usually empty on a weeknight so the service is great and the environment is quiet and comfortable. I say clear of RIcardo Steakhouse because it is a mad house over there.
I like a restaurant where I can where what I want, and they are not sticklers for dress code.
The bread to start was enough of an appetizer and it is delicious. The Salmon Parmesan is awesome my boyfriend loved the Chicken Romano. The drinks were delicious and the price is right.
We ate outside on a breezy warm comfortable June evening and it was perfect.
Next time I’m going to try dessert.

Beautiful Saturday night out in Harlem, would of never heard of ocean grill if it wasn’t for the 2hour wait for the restaurant Ricardo’s steak house and glad I was suggested to come here overall great ambience great service I like how the staff from the bartender, waitress, busboy and hostess were all working as a team, helpful and attentive and ready to suggest anything from the menu absolutely amazing food I will definitely be back soon. Must try the salmon parmesan definitely a great portion for the price and seasoned to perfection, My partner had the Angus skirt steak wow very delicious. Great cocktails pear Cosmo I will highly recommend this restaurant to my friends.

Epic fail! A customer at this 24 seat restaurant was in hysterics over a death in the family. Fair enough that it’s terribly sad but she was wailing, weeping and falling down to the point that someone called 9−1−1. She briefly left the restaurant and then came back to use the restroom AND BLEW IT UP. The smell and subsequent clean up with acrid cleaning products triggered an asthma attack for another customer. But did the management do anything? Offer to escort the wailer out, give other customers a free drink or discount? NO!
Did I say it’s a 24 seat, 200 square foot restaurant?
And there’s no way to give 0 stars…

AMBIANCE: A small quaint and intimate locale. No kids. Nice music in the background. Seats no more than 9 couples at a time (throughout the whole restaurant). Went here since the more popular Ricardo’s was filled and they didn’t accept any more walk-​ins so glad we went to this little hidden gem.
STARTERS: Ordered an Ocean Goddess drink, which was delish! Grand marnier, Coco Ciroc, and pineapple juice. YUMMY! Appetizer: Fried of the Sea, which contained fried calamari, scallops, shrimp, accompanied with a sweet sauteed chili peppers on top of salad.
DINNER: My fiancé had the skirt steak, pork chops, fried plantains, which came with a side of rice and beans. I had jumbo grilled/​sauteed scallops served with vegetable rice with fried zucchini on top. DELICIOUS is an understatement!
DESSERT: Chocolate lava cake served with vanilla ice cream (which tasted more like a gelato but still good nonetheless) and whipped cream.
We’ll definitely be returning to this little hidden gem!

For starters I had the sautéed shrimp with a glass of Moscato. The garlic bread went perfect with the sauce the shrimp. For my entrée I had the pork chops, spinach and mash I highly recommend this dish. The meat was tender and was seasoned just right. The ambiance was wonderful it was dimly lit. This is a great place for a nice date.

This is definitely the lesser, neglected adopted stepchild compared to Ricardo’s Steakhouse. It is a small, compact space that is probably better suited for the warmer months (read anytime anyone opens the door, regardless of where you are seated— you’ll know).
Dining companion and I had
Plain mojito
Primor margaritas (uses Patròn tequila, all others use house/​well tequila)
Appetizers of crab cake and sauteed shrimp
Drinks were on point and I definitely recommend those. Crab cake (2) was ok, nothing I’d order again. Shrimp were delicious and inspired me to get an entrée with shrimp.
For the mains I had the skirt steak and my dining companion had the Red snapper, minus the cheese. Once I saw the breaded snapper, I found it odd that they add mozzarella which would make it resemble a parmigiana dish. Flavors were apparently good because it was eaten within seconds by my companion. Skirt steak was perfectly cooked at medium with an awesome sauce. Accompanying shrimp were good, mashed potatoes tasted out of the box while the spinach arrived cold and after one bite failed on my taste buds. Portion size was great as I could not finish anything on my plate and had it to go.
Ended with flan which was decent. Nice presentation on dishes. Sufficiently clean restroom. Yes only one. But this place is sooo small so who cares. This place is best for an established relationship & I probably wouldn’t recommend for a first date. Too bad there isn’t more to the neighborhood to raise the bar.

Good food, good portions but horrible, terrible service and a dining experience that left me unwilling to ever return. Seriously. This place will rob you if you’re not careful. I decided to give it a few days before I write this review, but I’m still seething about the overall experience. See below for the complete rant.

I went to dinner with a friend on November 4, 2014. It was a Tuesday and we called ahead to ensure a table for 2 was available. We were told there were no tables available and the earliest seating would be 9:30 pm. Okay, no problem. We arrive at 9:30 sharp to find the restaurant completely EMPTY! We asked if it had been busy earlier and were told no, not at all. Strange. I was annoyed, but we stayed regardless.
Upon sitting down (and before even introducing himself) the waiter barked that it was cash only that night, so I ran across the street to the nearest ATM. Upon my return to the restaurant (still with only me and my friend) the music was inexplicably and suddenly blasting. Seriously — I would never complain about this sort of thing but I couldn’t hear my friend sitting across the table. I asked the bartender to lower the music, and she did– but not before scoffing and rolling her eyes in response.
But no matter. Our waiter approached our table, and we asked for some wine suggestions. He said he had «just the thing,» went to the back and grabbed a bottle for our approval. We asked what the price was and he said it would be between $ 20 and $ 40. Perfect, right? Just wait. The food; appetizers and main dishes came. Everything tasted good. Like, really good. But not once did the waiter approach us during the meal. Not once were we asked how the meal was, or if we needed anything. We couldn’t even get a busboy over to the table to refill our water glasses, which were empty for the vast majority the time we spent there.
Truly, the restaurant was empty, and each time I had to stand in order to get someone’s attention. It was as though every employee were on a break. After finishing our entrees, we waited a full ten minutes with nothing in front of us before I was forced to approach the bar and ask for a dessert menu. The place is tiny, but the whole time the bartender, waiter, and busboy acted as if we weren’t even there.
We finally had enough; we finished our desert and asked for the check. Remember that bottle from earlier that was supposed to be $ 20 – 40? Well it was $ 50. This was more expensive than nearly any other the bottles on the wine list! Worst of all, the waiter had the balls to tack on an 18% tip, despite the fact we were only a party of two. Anyone who works in the restaurant industry will tell you this is done only for parties of eight people or more. I was willing to forgive all the terrible service up to this point because the food was delicious, but I felt blatantly lied to.
I truly felt like Ricardo’s Seafood Grill took advantage of us. I don’t mind spending $ 100+ per head on a meal– it’s not an issue. Truth be told, I sincerely liked the food there. However, I will not be returning solely due to the terrible service and deceitful, duplicitous practices. If there was a manager on duty, he or she clearly didn’t show up for work that day.
Edit:
The owner, Jimmy contacted me shortly after my review apologizing and was kind to offer myself and my friend a complementary dinner. I went to the sister restaurant; Ricardo’s SteakHouse on ¹¹⁄₁₉ and had a great time. Food delicious, portions were great, crowd lively and servers attentive. I’ll be the first person to recognize that every restaurant has their off days and bad characters. I’m glad to go to a place where the owners care about their brand and go the extra mile to fix things when issues come up. Jimmy definitely went the extra mile and I can say I’ll be coming back again. =]

Went on the spur of the moment. It was a great decision. This place isn’t always open but we caught it on a good day. The place is tight, but the music and atmosphere more than make up for the lack of space.
Bread was delivered to the table and it was heavenly. Buttery and garlic seasoned to perfection. They honor the free shot with your check in. Any liquor of your choice. BONUS POINTS! Daddy loves it when ya honor your word.
The sangria was a little weak, however the mixed drinks were better. Appetizers were good, the calamari was tasty and it comes with scallops and shrimp.
It’s a seafood restaurant, but nothing struck my fancy, so I ordered the pork chops with mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. The chops were great, however the spinach lacked sau and teé… my dinner companion also had a pork chop with a small skirt steak. That skirt steak was seasoned to perfection. The sweet plantains were plentiful and wondrous! The kid ate chicken fingers and fries, not on the menu, but they’ll hook you up.
Dessert here is awful, the large cookie was bland but the ice cream made it tasty. The banana fritters were even more bland, not sweet at all. The crust had not an ounce of flavor. Use sweet plantains or coat the batter with sugar.
I’ll be back for some seafood. Great service, but don’t add the tip to my bill. I decide how much your service is worth. Don’t count my shekels…

My brunch experience at Ricardo Ocean Grill yesterday was perfection. Everything was just right. One of the 1^st things you notice about this place is that its extremely tiny. As small as the place is I didn’t fell cramped at all, maybe because it wasn’t crowded. The second thing I noticed was their phenomenal playlist of up-​tempo 90s R&B. Seriously the music was on point! This contributed to the overall cool vibe of this place.
The food was really good. I had the Shrimp and grits and it might have been the best shrimp in grits I have ever had. It was very cheesy and full of flavor. The large bits of bacon in this dish take it to another level. My friend had the ocean Benedict and I stole a taste of that. This dish was outstanding as well, the salmon that tops the benedict is incredibly flavorful and the potatoes and salad were perfect sides. Ricardo Ocean Grill does an exceptional job of blending lunch with breakfast while staying true to its seafood theme. Its clear that a lot of thought went into putting their menu together and their execution was flawless yesterday.
Mimosas are the reason I do Sunday brunch. I was hesitant to try the bottomless mimosa special here because its only one hour. Most places in NYC do 1.5 or 2 hours. The time limit became a non-​factor, since the place is so small, the server is easily able to keep up w/​the refills. With less time you can manage to drink more mimosas here than you would in the other places that only refill you maybe every 20 mins. The Mimosas are made nice and strong, and with 6 flavor variations there’s plenty of variety.
last but not least, the service was attentive, fast and friendly. Our server did a good job of keeping our champaign flutes full and our food came out fast. This is one of those rare reviews when I can’t think of one negative thing to say. Based on my 1^st experience I would definitely take someone I wanted to impress here. They get 5 stars with no hesitation and I can’t wait to try their dinner menu.