Ricky P’s Orleans Bistro

6÷25÷16 I brought my family there today, party of seven seated by the east side front window. Our waitress was absolutely terrible, inattentive, distracted and made you feel like she couldn’t have cared less that you were there. Now this is about our fifteenth time there and I must say that for the last three times it has been going downhill. Two omelettes Rockefeller were not hot, a French toast was sent back, all wet inside, beignets came out without the hot syrup and our waitress never came back to top off coffees and other drinks. Having come there since it opened I think there is a lack of interest or they just don’t care anymore. It troubles me because I have really enjoyed going there, we drive two hours to go there. The last three times we had the same waitress, we should have asked for Don instead. There are plenty of other interesting food venues along Central Ave but to make it a point to drive from Ft Myers/​Cape Coral to Ricky P’s I think we’ll pass.

Neat place! A little bit of the spirit of NOLA, wish they had some of the more sophisticated creole food but what they do make is well done. Enjoy a cold Abita ! Do t be like the fool sitting in the next booth who ordered a Corona when there is fine Louisiana beer at hand??!
The Shrimp Remoulade isn’t hot but it is delicious. The Jambalaya is first class.

I had shrimp Po-​boy that was claimed as one their specialities and was not disappointed! Very tender shrimp coated with a well seasoned crispy layer on top of fluffy bread. Never been to New Orleans so can’t comment on authenticity but I do know about good food and this sandwich was qualified as so!

Great muffalato poboy. We want to try the gumbo and jambalaya. Will be back
We are back again. ⁵⁄₁₄. Brought friends. We are trying the BLFNT posted boy, a Frenchulatta, and the special today, shrimp n grits with andoulie sausage gravy. Already got a sample of just the grits to be safe. The chef is a true man of the south as he knows how to cook grits right. If you want a sample of New Orlean’s character, stop by here.

Awesome what else can I say. I lived in NOLA for years and it is like you are there walked in Ricky was shucking craw fish said hi and asked if I can have some for lunch he said there cold but of course they were incredible great food great service will be back. Sunday they have a jazz brunch just like in Nola if u are in area definitely must stop

I have eaten here a handful of times. The first few were great. Second to last time they only had one waiter and were super busy. Poor guy couldnt keep up. On my last and final visit my shrimp came out under cooked. Food came out in less than 5 minutes of ordering. There were only 3 other tables. I sent the dish back and they did remake it. It will take a lot to get me to come back here again.

Another tough choice: 3.5 stars would be more accurate, but I bumped it up to 4 because of the gumbo. That was some pretty good gumbo. Be forewarned, this review is purely for the takeout service, I have no comment on what it’s like to actually eat there.
Stopped in here with a friend to grab a quick takeout dinner before a party. I’ll admit that I was worried that it wouldn’t end up being quick at all, since this seemed like your standard sit-​down restaurant that only offered takeout as a second thought. But in reality we got our food about 10 minutes after walking in the door.
The restaurant itself is cute if a little run down looking. The walls are nicely decorated, there’s a small bar in the corner. I didn’t get a good look at the dining room because it seemed to be mostly made up of big-​walled booths but it all looked pretty nice, if a little dim. I’ll admit that until my friend pointed it out, I didn’t even know this restaurant existed. The sign and exterior could definitely use some work.
Like I said, my friend and I ordered takeout. We ended up waiting at the bar because there was nowhere else for us to wait. While we were waiting, we made small talk with some of bar patrons and the bar tender. They were all very pleasant and chatty.
We got our food and left pretty quickly, and the food was still nice and hot by the time we ate it. I got the chicken and andouille gumbo and the catfish po’ boy, and my friend got the shrimp po’ boy. The gumbo was definitely the best part: it was dark, fragrant, and very strongly flavored, served with perfectly cooked white rice. If they didn’t spend time making a brick roux themselves, they sure tricked me. And it wasn’t overly salted like a lot of gumbo’s that I’ve had. The cup was pretty small though, there was maybe ¹⁄₃ cup of actual gumbo in mine. The po’ boy was a little less enjoyable. Both my friend and I agreed that the bread was troublesome. It was too big, and the crust was too tough, causing the sandwich to squish out and fall apart whenever we tried to bite through it. It was a big mess. A fairly tasty mess, with a large portion, but not the best I’ve ever had. The accompanying fries were pretty good.
The price for the sandwich was pretty reasonable considering just how big of a sandwich you get, even if it does fall apart; but the cup of soup was $ 6, when it should have been about $ 4. Next time I’ll try a bowl, and if the size is more reasonable I’ll recommend that. For now, I’d recommend stopping in here if you’re curious, but if you’re a serious Cajun connoisseur, I’d probably pass it up.

My wife and I patronized Ricky P’s this past Saturday. Now I really wanted to like this place, being that I spent over 5 years in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. I had the shrimp po boy, dirty rice and stuffed mushrooms for appetizer. First the po boy was just ok, my bread was hard on the edges which lets me know the bread had been sitting out which if you have ever had an authentic new Orleans po boy the bread is the key part to making it work, they also gave me basically cool fries not cold but not piping hot out of the fryer, at the very least give me hot fries, I asked our waitress and she happily obliged to give me a new batch of fries. I also had the dirty rice which I can tell was just zatarains boxed dirty rice and on top of it really had no flavor and that too was just luke warm. Last but not least the stuffed mushrooms appetizer was cold, I can literally tell these were not fresh made but thrown in a microwave, we had to ask for a new order of mushrooms which still did not taste good smh. Our waitress really didn’t seem too concerned about how our food was, and my wife literally didn’t get a refill on her water after our bad experience with the shrimp po boy.
I really wanted to like this place but as someone who spent 5 years in New Orleans this is not close to anything you would get there. I won’t tell anyone to stay away from this place just proceed with low expectations.
All I can suggest to the restaurant is to make fresh, hot food and at the very least learn how to make dirty rice. My wife and I will not be returning to this place because the food was uninspiring and just not authentic.

Wanted to love it, but how do you mess up a poboy? The shrimp were small-​almost like popcorn shrimp, not well breaded (it was sliding off) and oversalted. Hubby had cold bread (BIG no no) couldn’t taste any remoulade, served on a bed of lettuce with a really sad tomato. Our appetizer of stuffed mushrooms was delivered cold — had to send those back. Fries that came with poboy were luke warm — had to send those back. Potato salad wasn’t bad. Dirty rice was terribly bland and weird texture, like when you boil rice and keep taking the lid off. Service was average, not friendly but not unfriendly just sort of meh. (Though I never got a water refill and I was dying of thirst cause of the oversalted shrimp.)
Recap −−1÷3 of meal wasn’t served to temp, service was meh, and food was disappointing.

Absolutely HORRIBLE — service was a negative 0 … Hubby Ordered a bottled beer & had to find the server to get another … We asked about the oysters & the waitress said there were 12 … Reality 6 arrived … The place was not at all busy yet our service suffered … Quite a long waiting game. Also, the Three crab cakes were so small hubby is ready to go out to eat again —
Will not return.

There are very few Cajun restaurants around Tampa that really capture essence of New Orleans. This is it! Close your eyes, taste the food, enjoy your drink. The ambiance is perfect, you will get to meet the owners, Rick and Lisa, who always want to talk to the patrons. There are lots of Nola events here as well… Walk right on in, meet the crowd, grab a drink and experience this place as only a true Nola addict can.

I can’t give it five stars, because there are a few characteristics I’m not entirely happy with, but definitely just shy of five.
I have two complaints at this point. One mirrors what others have said, which is that some of the Po Boys are like a plate full of bread with some other ingredients mixed in there somewhere. My picture of the Cochon De Lait should explain that. The menu describes it as «Slow roasted pork, swimming in a delicious marinade, piled high». Mine was not swimming in anything, nor piled high; it was about the same amount of pork you’d get at a Sonny’s BBQ on a burger bun, if that, and wrapped in a massive hoagie. Overall, it was even a bit dry. Now my picture of the Ultimate Shrimp Po Boy shows you do get more primary ingredient with that one, but it’s basically fried shrimp and a few pieces of lettuce; dry again.
My other complaint is the Creole Jambalaya. I’ve tried it twice, it’s a big deal in NOLA, here it’s mostly rice and you get to hunt for a few pieces of chicken and sausage.
With that out of the way, everything else I’ve had has been fantastic. The Shrimp Étouffée is awesome, although I’ve found it to be a bit inconsistent. You’ll see two different pics I posted where one is a large portion of shrimp with not *that* much sauce on them, it’s rather orange colored and has chives on top. Another visit I posted a pic of has them nearly swimming in a much more white version of the same sauce. Both tasted great, just odd that they differed so much.
File’ Seafood Gumbo has been consistently quite good. Chicken & Sausage Gumbo is also great; I just go based on what I feel like that day. Chicken salad and shrimp salad are both large and very good. Pork Chop and Chicken Venti are great.
Last but not least, booze and ambiance. I hate weak drinks, and I really hate expensive weak drinks. I ordered a Long Island here, it was NOT weak, and it was NOT particularly expensive; PERFECT! So obviously they have a liquor license and pour proper drinks. They also have a variety of beers, including the Abita brewery who is located in LA.
Several times I’ve been, there has been live music inside from the upstairs balcony. I also visited on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday 2016. it was raining, but they had tents set up outside and a huge crowd of people looking to enjoy some Mardis Gras festivities. They ended up doing an impromptu people parade down the sidewalk a few blocks across the street, back and then through the restaurant; it was great.
Service has been consistently great, place is clean, prices very reasonable, drinks strong. Other than that poboy issue, I continue to go back regularly and enjoy everything else.

why the sad 2 stars?
food was decent. nothing spectacular.
seafood platter — catfish was ok, oysters were ok, gulf shrimps… you guessed it ok, crab cake wasn’t any good. the potato salad MEH, the salad with balsamic tomatoes bad choice. $ 22
boudin balls — 4 small dollar coin size for $ 8 that’s a rip off for some rice rolled up and fried. taste was nothing special. even though the server raved about it.
crawfish boil — it was ok $ 18
chicken venti — that was good but I didn’t expect a whole half chicken on the bone. descriptions on the menu need to be clear. $ 11 ordered it for my 8 year old and he wasn’t too excited about all the work it was going to take. fries were really good. nice crunchy texture.
hubby had a beer and Ricky P Bloody Mary and he said it was ok.
bananas foster cupcake — it was a pretty bland and tiny cupcake for $ 3. it was just overpowering with the really sugary frosting that was hard as a rock.
at first when we walked in the restaurant was about 30% full we got pretty decent service but as our dinner went on and the restaurant started to fill I constantly was waiting and looking for our server. took her 10 mins to come back and take my credit card for payment. both times I was out of water it sat unfilled for a while until she reappeared. I noticed that she was also serving tables in front of the restaurant as well a bunch of tables in the back. the service really wasn’t her fault, more of management for having her serve so many tables and all at different areas. well, we more than likely won’t be returning since there wasn’t a «wow» factor.

This was my third visit to Ricky P’s, and it is a place I will probably visit again, but it has yet to impress me enough to make me want to come back. It is the kind of place I want to love– I love New Orleans, the food, the culture– and Ricky P’s does a great job of capturing the ambiance of it, but the food keeps disappointing.
Tonight I dined here with some friends, and I wanted to incorporate their views in with mine to make sure it wasn’t just me who thought the food was lacking. Everyone agreed it just isn’t up to par. I want New Orleans themed food to be flavorful, spicy, and satisfying and the food here is okay. A little bland, average. Nothing to brag about or crave. It sounds great in the menu but often taste bland.
There are not a lot of vegetarian options, which is a strike for me, but my friends didn’t like their non veg options either.
I’m also a little disgruntled that they only serve beignets on Sunday– a favorite NOLA treat that I would like to have well made and with coffee on a rainy day afternoon– not just with brunch.
The redeeming factors, and why I am giving it 3 stars instead of 2, is the staff and the décor. Everyone I’ve encountered here has been top notch, attentive, friendly and helpful. The inside is full of great NOLA themed decorations– it is spacious and easy to get a table. It has so much potential.
The place always seems crowded, usually with an older crowd, and the wait staff mange to make sure everyone is getting what they ordered and in a timely manner. The tiny bar makes great drinks and usually has a great variety of Abita beer on draft and in bottles.
I will be back and hope to have a couple good impressions so that I can update this review with more stars. I want to like this place.

Clever food good service interesting cocktails
All this and heaven too!
I do enjoy the bar here. And the food. And the company.
My kind of place. Not the average Central Avenue joint.

TL;DR — Stale Bread = Bad Sandwich = Just ok
For me, what makes or breaks a sandwich is the bread. When half your menu is made up of sandwiches, you better make sure the bread is on point!
On this particular day, the bread I got wasn’t stale but it wasn’t fresh either.
It was the 3 – 4 day old bread you’d eat if thats all there was left in the house but you’d be okay with using it to feed the ducks too. Minus one star.
I supposedly got one of their more popular items, the BLFnT, which is short for Bacon Lettuce Fish and Tomato Sandwhich. Aside from the old bread, the fried fish filet was just blaaaand. I tried dousing it with one of their hot sauces but still couldn’t make it as enjoyable as I hoped. The whole time I kept thinking about how much happier I would be eating across the street at Bodega. Add to the fact that I was still hungry after eating my meal which included a side of fries. Automatic minus 1 star in my book.
In all I spent 15 bucks total including tip. Not sure I’d go back. Too many other appealing options and places to try to go back and eat an average sandwich.

My wife and I decided to go to St Petersburg to watch the fireworks at Straub Park since the kids were Jammin in Jamaica. We found a Bed and Breakfast on Beach Drive for the night and off to «the Burg» we went. We made lunch plans with my sister and thought Bodega would be a good place BUT they were closed for the Fourth of July. We look across the street and There was Ricky P’s and after looking them up on Unilocal,we headed across the street.
The place screams «The Big Easy» from across the street but even more when you walk in the door. I love little places like this and we were quickly seated. Our server was very nice but seemed to need a little prodding helping these first timers get acquainted with the menu. As usual I ordered my iced tea with lime and the girls just wanted some water. My wife and I chose to split a blackened shrimp Po Boy with Creole slaw and each try a bowl of soup along with a bowl of Creole Jambalaya to share. My sister just wanted a blackened shrimp Po Boy and some Creole slaw. I ordered the Cajun Corn & Lobster Bisque and my wife ordered the File Seafood Gumbo.
Our soup arrived and we sampled them both. The Gumbo was delicious but the bisque was another story. Neither of us liked the taste since it was bland and lacking lobster flavor. Our server quickly swapped it out for a bowl of gumbo and now we were both happy. Well the wife would have preferred a second piece of bread to sop up that goodness in the bottom of the bowl.
Our server had our Po Boy split in two and served with slaw with each half. I was very pleased that everything was just as I requested. The Jambalaya had 2 spoons and and was placed between our dishes. I love when the servers pay attention to the little details. My sister took a look at her Po Boy and realized she had a Two Meal shrimp sandwich in front of her… lol
My sister LOVED the creole claw and half of that Po Boy before running out of steam and later taking the rest of it ToGo… Mama and I asked for a side of remoulade sauce and OMG did it set off that Po Boy! WELL DONE Ricky P… The bread you use for your Po Boy was fabulous!
The creole slaw was not really my style but it was good. The Creole Jambalaya was was Meh… The Andouille sausage was weak on flavor and it was bland to be blunt. I was surprised by that because their gumbo was anything but bland.
They have a full bar and an outside patio so I am willing to bet it is a great spot to go in the evening. Parking is on the street and they do have a bike rack. I should have checked to see if they offered WIFI but was slacking… It is the 4^th of July after all… lol
Overall a mixed review but the Bisque and Jambalaya are why it did not get a 4. Maybe I just experienced an off day from the kitchen because that Gumbo and Po Boy says the kitchen can burn when it fires on ALL cylinders… *wink*
4 — Service
5 — Gumbo
2 — Bisque
5 — Po Boy
2 — Jambalaya
5 — Décor

Ricky P’s has a nice system for parking at Ray’s games. It is $ 20 to park, but you get a $ 20 food and drink voucher to be used that day. The location is great. The spots are closer than most of the parking at the Trop!
We started with the boudin balls, which are sausage and rice fried in panko breadcrumbs. They came with a spicy mustard sauce. They were good but not great. I had the shrimp étouffée. Again, good but not great. It was really creamy and not worth the calories.

There is a lot to like about Ricky P’s. The atmosphere is great, it has NOLA vibe to it which is great New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. The service is good and everyone that works here is friendly and warm.
So why 3 stars, well I’ve been hete about 3 or 4 times with the hope that it’ll be great but it’s always just average, nothing that I say to myself I love this and I’m going to come back and get this again.
On our visit yesterday, we were their for Sunday brunch. They have a raw veggie and fruit bar which is a nice addition. My friend ordered the crab cake breakfast and I ordered the cochon de lait. Her crab cakes has good flavor but they were small and mushy. They didn’t look appetizing, oddly shaped and without much color from cooking them, they may have been undercooked. As for my cochon de lait, it was good but a tad too salty. The coleslaw had was good and added a nice creaminess to the sandwhich. We both had the creole potato salad which was delicious but the potatoes were undercooked so I would hit a hard potato here and there.
I would also say they need to update their website, a few that are on their weren’t on the menu and tge describe their bloody Mary’s with a seasoned rim and blue cheese stuffed olives, which I love but not spiced rim or blue cheese olives. I would say a little tweeking and quality control would put Ricky P’s at good or great instead of average.

Went to Ricky P’s after about a year since my last visit… and things are ROCKING.
I had one of the best meals out I’ve had in ages… every detail was perfect.
The Oyster Po Boy was one of the best sandwiches I have eaten in a long while, just delectable.
I managed to eat an entire bread pudding for dessert, a great deal at 6 bucks. A basic pudding, but that whiskey sauce is like crack.
Service — excellent (and very patient with us)
The ONLY issue was the live New Orleans jazz music. It was played way too loud and the acoustics are AWFUL in the room. You could almost feel the entire place breath a sigh of relief every time the band took a break, since you could actually have a conversation.