Ricciardis in Brownwood
 

Went to the private opening tonight and OMG, we were expecting good, but this was better. From the veal parmigiana to the exceptional shrimp & scallops Juliana with salad or soup included to the homemade cannoli we were very impressed. They will open on Wednesday and the only problem we see is that you will have trouble getting in. We will definitely be regulars. P.S. the pizza is great - voted best in Orlando at their other restaurants called Valdianos.

Thanks for the post. We went by there this evening. Didn't realize it was open until we saw people sitting outside eating. Can't wait to try it!

The sigh outside said it would be open to the public on Wednesday. The gift shop next door is open and my wife loved it says the prices are very good.

We attended the Private Opening last night also. Really impressed with quality of the food. Really nice atmosphere in the seating area also. Great sized portions of food as long as they stay that way. We will return next week to see if the same.

The Rustic Rose opened up beside them also. Very reasonable prices. Was very surprised at that... Great merchandise and very nice workers also.

:bigbow:

My wife couldn't miss stopping in at Rustic Rose too. Prices are good and we walked out with armfuls!
Both new additions are great for Brownwood.
Cody's told us at lunch they should open in September.

I sure hope they have good NY style pizza!

we went to the private opening too and was very impressed!!!! GREAT food, Service and the Pizza was amazing!!!!

So just how does one get invited to these private openings??? Missed Mezza Luna and now Riccardis.

You need to know someone that works there or go onto their Facebook page and like it they give away passes to come in to them

Riccardis
 

I went to the friends and family night and it was amazing...They are just the nicest guys that own it and the staff was great..talk around town is they were not very ready for the opening and was very confusing but the first month is always going to be. Don't listen to others try for yourself but I will still give it another month or two too get the kinks out

Wife and I had lunch there yesterday. Good meal, prices were fair and décor was very nice. Owner came around and asked how everything was, then talked about happy hours which is still in the works. will go back.

Let's hope the good reviews continue to roll in

Thank you for that info

My sister ate there and said it was awesome. Very well could be my new favorite hang-out when I am not at Evans Prairie !

Had lunch there today. I had their chicken parmesan. YUM! I'm looking forward to going back. I also thought their prices were reasonable, too.

Is this restaurant out of Massachusetts?

No. Out of Orlando/ Winter Park.

Riccardis in brownwood
 

We had lunch there yesterday and it was amazing. The eggplant
Parmesana was to die for. Cheesecake is homemade and heavenly.
We can't wait to go back!

Rustic Rose is now open and definitely worth a visit.

Had dinner there last night. Chicken Marsala and lasagna were both done perfectly. For their second day they certainly had their act together.

first time tonight - Calamari and pizza - wonderful food and great service

Had dinner there a couple of nights ago. When the hostess greeted us we thought she said there would be a 45 minute wait. We decided to wait. Five minutes later our table was ready! I think what she said was a 4-5 minute wait. Our hearing isn't what it used to be. :sad:
Our meals came out quickly and were generally good. The only glitch was my wife's meal. She ordered baked ziti with sliced sausage. It was tasty but no sausage. Our guests thought that it said ziti with ground sausage on the menu so we didn't mention it to the server or the manager. It turns out the menu did say sliced sausage.
Today we stopped to have a glass of wine at the outside bar since the weather was improved. We ordered a couple of glasses and enjoyed the relatively warm weather. When we got the bill we realized they don't have happy hour pricing. It was something we should have asked before ordering. Saw their pizza being served to a couple at the bar. It looked great. We'll try it next time.

Went to Meza Luna tonight (while actually late afternoon since we got there at 4:30) cause didn't think we could get into Riccardis. Very anxious to try this new place; however I will say I thoroughly enjoyed my linguine with clams and my husband loved his pizza. Friends had chicken parm and marsala and they thought the chicken was tough. My only complaint would be the Vendance wine they serve at happy hour prices which is just plain awful. There are some good inexpensive wines they could serve instead that would certainly taste a lot better - Lindenmans, Yellow Tail, etc.

Wife and I had lunch at Ricciardis today. Talking to the Pizza cook, who came from there Orlando location, said this is their first full restaurant,the other locations are pizzeria's. My wife had the chicken parmigiana said it was good but not any better than others she had. I had the Tortellini Carbonara which was outstanding, actually surprised me, best I've had outside of NY. Talked to the manager and he knows Italian food. Lived in Italy for 27 yrs. We will be back. Ps. we also think Meza Luna is very good.

Just went there for dinner Sun
 

Went for dinner at 5 pm and the wait was 45 min. which is what they said it would be. Food was great. They said that Sat night the wait was two hours. I was astounded at the number of selections on the menu. When the owner came by the table I told him the food was great and was surprised at the large selection as I know that makes it hard on the kitchen if they have crowds. He said that they will edit the menu after they have been open a bit and know what are peoples favorites. So if you really like something in particular or something not so much be sure to tell him or the dark haired girl at the front desk as they are taking notes.

We were there about 3:30 and when we left the crowds were gathering. Love my eggplant strata.....

Had lunch there yesterday. LOVED the pizza.....crispy crust, seasoned well, great sauce and bubbles in the dough. ( If you are a pizza lover, you will understand the last description.) we also tried the Stromboli which was wonderful too. Wait staff friendly and attentive to needs.
Only downside was the size of the pizza......ten inches. I understand that this is a full service restauant and they are serving a variety of tasty dishes. Hopefully if enough people mention this, they will make larger size pizza pies for takeout service.

Went there tonight (1/26) one hour wait! Sorry I will not wait that long.
Took home 2 pizzas - they only make 10" size pizzas. Decent tasting, thin crust (very thin). Compared to what I have had so far in The Villages this is pretty good. I have not yet tried NYPD pizza.
At least being close to Brownwood I can bring this home if I want.

Can't wait to sit down and try a meal.

We had dinner this evening. In my opinion, it was OK not great. The marinara sauce was very bland. The decor is interesting but not very Italian. Given their location and pricing they will do well.

Had dinner there on Saturday early evening. Was told a 45 minute wait and that was spot on. Service was good. I had the Tortellini Portobello and it was fantastic, hubby had Bolognese with angel hair and he raved about it. Also the appetizer Broccoli Rabe was good an the Mozzarella Brick was yummy. Only problem was they were out of a lot of wines mostly the less expensive ones. Probably due to the amount of opening business they are doing. We are pretty sure they will do just fine in Brownwood. Another great addition to The Villages.

Husband and I had dinner there tonight with another couple. We both had Veal Parm and it was excellent. Large tender veal on fettucini with salad and hot rolls. Terrific!
The rest of our group had pepperoni pizza (loved it), pasta fagioli soup (great), portabello on polenta appetizer (great) and a salmon/pasta/olive oil dish that our neighbor loved and took home what was left. Comparable prices to other Italian restaurants but quality was superior to others and atmosphere was more appealing. We'll definitely go back.

My opinion seems to differ from most. My family went here for dinner earlier this week and while the wait wasn't bad, the food experience wasn't thrilling. The soups we ordered were good but 5 table spoons worth and cost nearly 5$. It seems like they might have been busy because we waited a while for food and our server kept apologizing for the wait, but when the food came out it wasn't worth it. I got the pizza and it was okay. One person ordered shrimp and scallops pasta and the seafood was way overlooked while the pasta was undercooked. Another person got tomato/mozzarella salad and there were 4 lousy pieces of mozzarella and 2 whole tomatoes worth.
Maybe this was an off night so I might give it a try again. For now, I wouldn't recommend this place.

I am from Chicago and love true Italian sauces on my pasta. Are these home made

Ricciardi's Sauces
 

Yes all the sauces are homemade!!!! The desserts are also homemade by the owners mother and all authentic and to die for.
If not satisfied ask for Jackie, Lee or Joe a they WILL MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE RIGHT!!!!:coolsmiley:

what is a good time to get there on a saturday night so you do not have to wait an hour or more?
thanks.

Ate here last night. Arrived at 5:00 and had short 20 min wait. The food was very good.....pizza, mussels diablo, and linguini with clam sauce. Salads and soup were very good. Hot bread was good. The Riesling was excellent. The waiter was attentive. I have two complaints......we were seated right next to the bar. It was very cold and rainy outside, so folks gathered by the very small bar to wait for seating. They were shoved against our table so close that their jackets and sleeves were dipping into our food. They had no consideration that we were behind them and trying to eat. My other complaint is.....the acoustics are terrible......so very loud, we couldn't hear one another to try to talk. Possibly it isn't this bad at other tables and if this is the case, they need to get rid of the table that we were seated at. I'm sure that if it were warm out and folks were outside waiting for tables, this wouldn't have occurred. Because of this situation, our dining experience was not good....but the food was good.

My prediction is no one will get in the place on Saturday night without reservations. The place is good, may have some growing pains, but will get it together.

Reservations are only taken for 7 people or more.

Loved the food, ambiance and Candy our waitress!

About 10:30 AM.
Then you only have to wait a half hour because they open at 11.

Skip

New place will take some time to get in the swing of thing but they need to be sure not to give too many bad first impressions! I always give a place a second chance and sometimes even a third.

need a phone number to make a reservation. help!