Riccardi's
 

We visited this new Italian restaurant last night and am very glad we did.
They have several vegetarian appetizers which were quite good. The escarole was our favorite but the broccoli rabe was also quite good, especially the large pieces of garlic sauteed just right.
My wife enjoyed chicken Marco Polo and I had the Shrimp and Scallops over pasta. It was prepared with a brown sauce which I found unique and very tasty.

The selection of wines were good and pricing very reasonable.
Very nice decor and good service. Met the owners (father and son) and they seemed to genuinely want you to have a positive dining experience.

Riccardi's is a welcome addition to the Villages and if they keep the standards that we experienced last evening we will be back often.

Where is Riccardi's located? I googled it and it did not come up.

Brownwood

Not impressed. The food was very bland, lacking flavor. We ordered a pizza and Veal parm. Neither was very good. I was really hoping the pizza would be good. Doubt we'll return.

We haven't been yet----looking to go soon. I am always amazed at the different experiences at the same restaurants within approximate same times.

We'll give it another chance but the first experience was not good. I had the seafood zuppe. It was rather bland and not a large portion. I had a similar dish at Hacienda last week It was $4 less, the portion was much larger and the flavor was great. My wife had the shrimp and scallops. The scallops were overcooked and the overall flavor was bland. By the way, the service was not good. They had only been open a couple of weeks, so maybe it will improve.

We have been several times and are happy with it. We feel it is much better than Mezza Luna.

Follow your nose
 

Walked by there on Saturday and it smelled so good! If the aroma is indicative of what the food tastes like I think it will be a hit. I sure hope it does well.

I usually avoid posting about restaurants because everyone has different tastes.

However, I must agree with you on this. Everything we had was very bland - need a lot of cheese and salt to give it flavor.

I sometimes wonder if places do not add spices because they think it may affect "older" people!

Been there twice and it has been quite good. Going again this week with 20 people, so I'm hoping that the service and food will be as good as it has been on my last 2 visits.

We went with friends a week after opening and would give it a C+ overall. One of our salads had a bug in it so our friend gave it to one of the owners who didn't apologize, just walked away with it and never returned with a fresh one. She finally had to ask the server to bring another one and the server didn't apologize either. I had chicken francese which was good but it was served over the tiniest portion of pasta I have ever had. Since that is the least expensive part of the meal, restaurants normally pile it on. Wife's pizza was good but nothing extraordinary.

Probably will not go back but predict that, like Red Sauce, it will stayed packed during the season and be a success not because of the food and service but because of the prime location in the square and that most of us love Italian food.

We thought the same. I don't understand why they are not more generous with the pasta. Mezza Luna does the same thing when ordering an entree that comes with pasta. We were sitting across from a couple and they brought the gentleman what appeared to be chicken parm. I thought wow he ordered it without spaghetti. You could see his look of disappointment, but said nothing. Wrong. The mini portion was under the chicken. So little you could not see it. Restaurant owners listen. The pasta costs so little, but it will make your customer feel satisfied and that he got his money's worth. I must also address the noise and harried atmosphere at Riccardi's. Nice lighting etc, but I find the staff literally running here and there. This does not add to a relaxing dining experience. Been there twice. Not impressed.

Been there twice, first time with 10 ladies, everything was good portion wise and excellent in flavor. Next time with another couple again, food, service etc. was great. I have brought home a box both times and I can eat. I did tell the owner their wine prices are high comparatively speaking and he said they will eventually be doing a happy hour. We will definitely be going back!

Had lunch the other day, great food and the bartender server Ashley was a real gem, returned the following night with some friends from out of town, I wish I hadn't raved so much from my lunch, they were very crowded, dinner service was very poor and slow, food was same it seems when the crowds get very large the kitchen can not keep up with the quality I experienced at lunch. I sent my chicken marsala back it was dry and tasteless, manager Joe seemed unconcerned did not offer anything other than he would take it off the bill ( no kidding ) everyone else said food was OK except my wife's Tortellini was like soup.

I will wait until they get there act together, I will post again if I ever decide to eat there.

Bill S
Oxford

We were there last Sunday. Food was awful, bland, tasteless. You can buy better sauce in a jar. We have yet to find a good Italian restaurant in this entire area. Red Sauce and Olive Garden seem to be better than any of the other Italian restaurants we have tried, including Giovanni's and Mom and Pop's if whatever it is called. We tried the Greek a Restaurant in Spanish Springs and that was awful too, although they had the best calamari other than the one Lopez serves. The better food seems to be at the country clubs.