Ristorante I Ricchi

This is the worst place ever. I am a minority business owner and I came in for a quick lunch by myself in between meetings downtown dc and I was treated so disrepctfully by the manager and owner. Clearly they cater to men in suits and don’t respect their customers. I spent over $ 80 on lunch. The only two good things about the experience was the bartender and my server Justin. Specifically, the black manager was straight up disrespectful and glaring and the owner, although sitting right next to me at the bar could have cared less how my experience was. Take your money and spend it at one of the many other amazing restaurants in dc where they don’t judge you based on what you are wearing or how old you are. Disappointed as a female business owner myself!

Excellent food and service. Visiting from NYC had a groupon for two for dinner. Our service was a young tall guy can’t remember his name. He was really nice and attentive. I will come back again.

We hadn’t been in awhile, there are only a few Italian restaurants I can honestly visit.
For some reason you can get perfect food on Groupon, so i would get one for all your stockings.
Order the things with polenta or homemade sausage, it makes the mussels and what not that much better.
Yes, they are having a special feast for Christmas eve. You know what it is, so if you want that tradition, but don’t have a sister who is a chef, go to I Ricchi on the 24^th. They do have tables, I checked.
Some here complained about tipping based on the retail price. No one asked me to do that, but have a little class and tip appropriately. The food is as good as it gets.

Amazing, décor, food was top notch! The best New York Strip Steak I have had in years!

We came to this restaurant for a date night on a whim after I Ricchi was recommended to us by OpenTable. It’s a smaller place, but the food and décor were delightful, and the dining area was peaceful despite a wedding party occupying the front room.
We were seated only a few short minutes past our arrival, in time for our reservation. We ordered two drinks. Both were a little on the strong side, but I’d rather have my drink too strong and get my money’s worth than having it too weak, right?
I ordered the roasted chicken with rosemary potatoes and asparagus, which was incredible, and my girlfriend ordered a pasta which the name escapes me. We both shared dishes and were very impressed with the food. My only feedback is that the chicken was a little tough to cut through and chew, but the flavor made up for it and it wasn’t dry or anything.
I’m not sure what caused some of the more meager reviews on here, but we would probably come back.

Had the most romantic, intimate, delectable dinner at I Ricchi in DC. WOW. I can not recommend this place and it’s private room enough! They took care of our every need and were purely professional and loving in their service of our table guests. The owner is generous with her time, and was completely appreciative of our patronage in making us feel like part of their family at dinner. Just phenomenal from start to finish. THANK YOU!

This restaurant came recommended by the concierge at the Marriott. It was no where near as good as he said it was.
It took a really long time for server to greet us.
Once he did, he was ok and very friendly.
The staff was friendly but the best was our bus boy who never let us have an empty glass of water. He was the best.
For the food. This is an Italian restaurant. We had to ask for bread. We started with the heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad and it was delicious. My main meal was a huge disappointment. I ordered the lamb chops. They looked wonderful on arrival, but as soon as I tried to cut into the meat I knew there was going to be a problem. I ordered them medium rare. They came out well done. No pink in sight. I sent them back. When my server returned with the new meal I was glad to finally have some food, as my fellow dinners were almost done with their meal. I guess the chef didn’t want to over cook again because the second time they came out they were raw on the inside. Almost like a black and blue steak. At this point I was very hungry and annoyed. I had to send them back. I wish I would have ordered something else because when the waiter returned for the third time the chop I cut open was reserved to me and again over cooked. It came with a fried polenta cake that had possibilities if it were seasoned. It was bland. The green beans were the only thing on my plate I enjoyed. One of my companions ordered the squid ink cavatelli. It was tasty but way undercooked for anyone. She didn’t want to send hers back. When you crunch pasta you know it’s under cooked.
As a consolation, my server brought me a cocktail which I did not want. A horrible consolation for a patron that didn’t get to eat with the rest of the dinners. So, my two stars I think are generous. The lamb was a $ 38.00 dish that should have been cooked right if not the first time surely the second.
FYI– we didn’t have a coupon.

We were welcomed by staff opening the door for us then being greeted by the hostess. I asked to be seated by a window and got a positive response. The service was quick, attentive, polite and professional, by waiter Ervin.
The basket had warm delish tomato focaccia bread which we dipped in the oo/​balsamic. I enjoyed the fresh burrata cheese app and hubby enjoyed his calamari. My trout was delish with its sides of fingerlings and rabe. The portion was large for me so yay lunch tomorrow. We both liked our wine. He chose the shrimp dish and said it was okay, he would’ve preferred a lil pasta instead of corn bread.
The tiramisu was flavorful, creamy, light and delicious. The frozen chocolate meringue with raspberry sauce was also an orgasmic treat.
I rarely rate 5.

The 2 stars are for the uncooked pasta, I am a pasta lover and when I go to an overpriced Italian restaurant, I do expect the chef to know how to cook pasta. Now on to the full review: the bar is nice, the limoncello martini is good but nothing spectacular which was the feel for their food as well. We were a large group for dinner and shared much of the food so I got to sample a lot of their menu. The insalata mista was ok, the dressing is a bit heavy. Salsiccie & faglioli is good but a bit bland. The scallops were really nicely cooked and very tasty. The pastas were undercooked which is the biggest disappointment in an Italian restaurant. The tortelloni has a very nice combination of ingredients that worked very well together. The spaghetti pomodoro’s sauce is light and balanced. The cavatelli neri was an interesting dish, I had never had squid ink pasta before, it has a unique taste and if it had been cooked correctly I am sure I would have enjoyed it immensely. Grigliata mista della casa was ok, the fried polenta was the best part. Bietola saltata was bland but it melted in your mouth. The bread was good but a little dry. We had to ask for it a couple of times before anyone bothered to give us the baskets. The restaurant has a very comfortable décor, staff is overly friendly but not very efficient. They have quite a nice wine list.

First off I will say I did not visit this restaurant with one of the deals the other ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ reviews complained about. I made a reservation on Open Table for the girlfriend and I, came and enjoyed, paid the check and left. We did not «deal» with he deals.
That being said — we enjoyed it immensely. We went for our anniversary, and the setting was very nice. Linen tablecloths, lit candles, and wait staff that was very professional.
On top of the 2 baskets of bread and bottle of wine — which were spot on — our meals were very satisfying. I had the 14oz NY strip, she had the orange chicken, and we both had a side of the rigatoni. It was the best cut of beef I’ve had in a couple years. Her chicken was very tender. The pasta I thought was ok, but paired well with the rest of the food.
For dessert she had the Tiramisu and I had the Semifrodo strawberry meringue with vanilla gelato. Both were amazing.
I would say — for Italian, it was great. For steakhouse level cuts of beef/​veal/​chicken, it was perfect — and the Italian flair was a nice addition. If you can spend a pretty penny, or use one of those deals and expect the up-​charge for the top dishes, then I definitely recommend!

Went here for lunch with my father. He had the meatball appetizer and shoulder steak and I had the sausage/​beans and the tortellini without mushrooms. The Living Social deal was for $ 25 and included 2 entrees and 2 appetizers or desserts. It was phenomenally good! The total non-​dea reciept was $ 54. Taxes came to $ 2.90 so we paid the waiter tip on what the bill would have been. The service spectacular and the food delicious! We’ll becoming back for dinner – there’s a Living Social for that too! Oh and 50% off all day for women on Tuesdays!

Meh. We bought the Living Social deal and also had a 20% off coupon to use on it. I’m happy we had that b/​c while the food good it wasn’t anything to rave about. I ordered the tortellini. I think there were only four or five tortellini. If I m going to get a dish with four or five tortellini I’m assuming it’s the BEST tortellini of my life. This was comparable to The Olive Garden. The antipasti we had was good. The dessert was good. Again nothing to write home about. The atmosphere is nice and romantic and the service was great. It just wasn’t a memorable meal that was supposed to be worth $ 169.

You can judge a restaurant by its servers.
The first time in this restaurant and definitely coming back again…
The guy who took care of our car was nice… then the hosts approached us outside welcoming us with a big smile. and politely we had seated.
Our waiter was «AJ» and as you know the first time being here in this restaurant and he explained the menu and each items on it as he was cooking it by himself.
The first the bread came with the olive oil.
He recommended the house salad. we loved it and the dressing was tasty amazing.
We had the stake and the spaghetti.
They melt in the mouth…
Any way.
Great place to go. will be back again
LOOK FOR «AJ»

We chose to use our Living Social voucher for a mid-​week lunch at I Ricchi. From the phone reservation through the food experience to the payment of the check, it was one of the best restaurant experiences that we have had in the DC area highlighted by the outstanding quality of the cuisine and service.
Based on several of past Unilocal reviews, I was anticipating at least a disappointed I Ricchi reservation taker when I called. Quite the opposite — the gentleman [who turned out to be the maître ‘d] answering the phone was gracious and emphasized that they would «take good care of us».
Arriving on an early quiet August afternoon, we met the maître ‘d [Evan]. He remembered the reservation conversation and escorted the two of us to a comfortable table for four. The server — Jackie — greeted us and outlined the specials of the day.
For our appetizers, we chose the grilled Mediterranean octopus — Polipo Panzanett and, instead of the fried calamari, we easily requested and received an awesome sautéed calamari. Both dishes were succulent.
For our entrees, we had the seared scallops — Capesante and grilled mountain trout — Trota. Again, it was seamless to substitute grilled vegetables for the potatoes usually accompanying the trout. The scallops were huge, tender and delicious, atop arugula, fennel and citrus. The trout was nicely seasoned and cooked to perfection.
A few glasses of the house wine added to the enjoyment of the meal and the experience.
Jackie was attentive and responsive, keeping our courses well timed, our glasses full and our table pristine.
With the value of the Living Social voucher, the bill included only the wine and its tax. There was an appropriate notation of the total «value» of the meal, which we used to calculate a proper gratuity for Jackie.
Our only regret was that others have not had the 5-​STAR experience that we savored.

So after reading some of the reviews and trying I Ricchi on my own with my husband, I have to agree & disagree with some of the other reviewers.
I like many others went to I Ricchi with a living social deal. The deal was I pay $ 69 for a three course meal for 2 and 2 glasses of wine (2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts, & 2 glasses of wine). The wine is preselect so you either get a choice of either 1 type of white wine or 1 type of red wine. My husband and I had the white wine. It wasn’t to bad. Soooo here is were I have to agree with other reviewers, the living social deal is a little of a rip off. You pay $ 69 for the initial deal but once it’s said and done I had to spend another $ 48 when I got there (13.90 for my husbands $ 6 upcharge, and for something else + $ 35 gratuity). They also have select menu options that with the groupon/​living social deal some meal
options have an upcharge of $ 6. Also, they tell you at the end that the gratuity is 20% of the original amount of $ 179, therefore it’s $ 35 dollars. I’m not tripping BUT… um… if I buy a deal off of living social I want to enjoy it & not have any extra up charges and surprises when I get there. I understand the waiters have to get paid but «I THOUGHT» gratuity was what I wanted to pay or what «I» think the waiter deserves (but that’s just me AND yes my husband and I can afford it. We are both engineers and my hubby gets paid well). But where I have to disagree with the other reviewers is they said the staff and waiters were rude. The staff was very nice and I didn’t feel my husband and I were treated like kids. Our waiter, AJ, was very comical and nice. He knew his information and was cool. He did mention the gratuity at the end but it wasn’t in an unpleasant manner. He did what he was suppose to and that was tell me the $ 35 charge when my bill gets to the table. I wasn’t mad at him bc he did his job. My comment earlier about the gratuity was more directed to the owner bc I’m sure that is her rules, but I will say AJ deserved his money. If I had gotten a rude server I’d been pissed and they wouldn’t have gotten the $ 35 because at the end of the day gratuity is WHAT THE CUSTOMER WHATS TO PAY.
Any who now onto the food. A bread basket was brought to the table with oil and balsamic vinegar. The bread was good. My husband and I started with appetizers before dinner. We shared meatballs and calamari. Both weren’t bad but not the best we have had. Next, I had the pasta with the rabbit ragu (not sure of the correct name). It wasn’t bad but once again not the best. I’m picky when it comes to sauces. I don’t like runny sauce, I like my sauces with more of a thicker base. Overall it wasn’t bad though. My husband had the filet mignon with polenta and green beans. I have to give credit where it is due and I don’t like steak, but that was a damn good steak. My husband said it was the best steak he had ever had (not sure if he just hasn’t had good steak or if it was just a good night, lol). The polenta was bland and I didn’t taste the green beans. My hubby said they were good. Last, we shared the cheesecake and this gelato ice cream cake. The cheesecake was good but I thought the base was a little to nutty for me. The gelato cake would have been better if it had thawed out a little. It seemed as if they brought it straight from the freezer, but not bad.
Overall, I Ricchi was a good experience. I can say I will not come back or would have eaten there without a living social deal. It wasn’t horrible but it definitely wasn’t the best Italian food that we have had. I also have to agree with another review that I read. It was worth about $ 69 that you pay for the groupon/​living social deal but it’s definitely not worth $ 179 that they say the total comes out to be. Definitely go when they offer a living social or groupon deal, if not you will be disappointed.

My husband and I got a groupon to go to this restaurant and I have to say I was sorely disappointed. First, the server was extremely patronizing to both of us. We’re in our twenties and I suppose since we had a groupon he thought we we unsophisticated dolts or something. He treated us like children for the duration of our stay. I did not appreciate that. In the end, he actually told us what to tip him, which was so incredibly tacky and rude that I almost didn’t tip him anything at all. Outside, the free valet also asked for a tip before we had the chance to tip him, which was ALSO incredible rude.
Additionally, the food just wasn’t that great. It was good for the price of the groupon ($ 70), but certainly not for the $ 169 that they would have charged. Frankly, my parents make better food that I ate there. Actually, Maggiano’s food is WAY better. And I make my own lemon sorbet that is head and shoulders above the sorbet I had there. I was deeply unimpressed. Frankly, I wouldn’t even go back there WITH a groupon ever again.
As a side note though, the bus boy who did most of the servicing of our table was INCREDIBLE and needs a raise. He made sure our water was never empty and everything at our table was always perfect. When he refilled our bread basket, he left out the type of bread we clearly hadn’t enjoyed. I wish he had been our waiter.

Dinner was amazing. I loved the atmosphere. It was honey and inviting to me. Our waiter Anthony was awesome. He grew up in Italy and knew exactly what we liked. We asked for a peppery wine and just got that.
For dinner he recommended the calamari and the mushrooms. They were both amazing. The mushrooms tasted like u put ur face in a garden or forest. Very earthy and flavorful. The calamari was perfectly battered and cooked. The bread is homemade and is the perfect texture and flavor.
My husband had the beef tenderloin and it was like butter with the most amazing flavors. I have the rabid pasta and it was amazing.
Overall this was an awesome dinner and night. I had read a lot of reviews stating the management/​owners didn’t care but I did not experience that tonight. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone and would definitely go back.

After walking past this restaurant a few times and wondering, «is that a plant shop or a restaurant?» I, with the help of my LivingSocial deal, got to go inside for dinner. And lucky for me, was sat among the potted plants next to the window. I had a nice dinner, but it was not worth anywhere near the price. If you want to spend $ 90/​pp for dinner in DC, you’re much better off going to a trendier restaurant on 14^th st (or any neighborhood really) than eating this unimpressive Italian fare/​
*FOOD*
Our deal was for an appetizer, entrée, dessert, and glass of wine per person. To start we had the fried calamari and caprese salad. The calamari wasn’t tough at all, but the breading wasn’t crispy. I’ve had better calamari at happy hour. The caprese salad was good, but I prefer more basil.
For the main course we had the steak and scallops. Steak was solid, but a little over cooked for medium rare. The scallops, recommended by our server, were not great. The entire dish lacked cohesion. The scallops came with a ginger sauce on a bed of grilled zucchini and pear… weird. And the scallops didn’t taste all that fresh.
Dessert was unimpressive. We had a weird semifreddo cake (like ice cream cake?) and a chocolate dessert. Maybe we should have tried the gelato?
*SERVICE*
When the server needed to see my LivingSocial coupon, she took my phone away… and of course the screen locked before she could show it to her manager and they both had to come back and have me unlock it. Maybe they should write down the code from my phone at the table so I never have to wonder if they’re going to bring my phone back.
The water glasses are SO small. Like enough water for 2 big gulps. And this meant the busboy would come to our table every 4 minutes to refill our water. It felt like I was on a date with the busboy as well for how long he was at our table. Tip: either buy bigger water glasses or have a nice vase of water on the table.

Everything was top notch. I had lunch here last week with a birthday friend. I had a Caprese, some of my friend’s Penne with Tuscan Ragu, Pesce di Giorno (Branzino) and liked them all. Caprese’s tomatoes were ripe, mozzarella fresh, and the basil was fragrant. Penne was cooked al dente and the ragu was very tasty. The fish of the day was delicious and plenty.
The service was impeccable from the beginning to the end.

We visited Ristorate I Ricchi on a Saturday night with the Groupon deal. I was a bit apprehensive about what we would get with the deal, but I was blown away by the meal and value we received.
We arrived around 7:00 pm and the restaurant was very full. I thought that we were probably one of the only parties using a Groupon because the restaurant seems to have a steady regular customer base. In fact, we were seated at the bar and at 7:30 there were several people drinking at the bar waiting for a table.
Our server Anthony was very friendly and polite. He explained what we would receive with the deal and also pointed out several of his favorite menu items. Part of the deal includes two glasses of sparkling wine and two glasses of red or white wine with your entrée. We opted for the red which was a Barberra from the Piedmont region.
We started off with the salmon Carpaccio and the caprese salad. The salmon was excellent. Thin slices of flavorful cured salmon with a light crème freche and peppered with diced tomatoes. It was a large serving and I thought probably enough for two people to share. The caprese was very good as well. The mozzarella cheese was superb… creamy with a bold flavor. It reminded me of the fabulous caprese salads I would have nightly at cafes in Rome and Florence. Anthony said the cheese was imported from Italy.
For my entrée I went with the Papardelle with rabbit ragu. It was superb. The noodles were long, moderately dense, with a slightly chewy texture. In my opinion they were perfect and were most definitely homemade. The ragu sauce was actually not too intense and did a surprisingly good job highlighting the rabbit. Rabbit is a mild flavored meat and the chef adeptly crafted a sauce that was light enough to compliment the rabbit. Well done.
For desert we ordered the dipped cookies with wine and the chocolate mousse cake. I didn’t care for the desserts too much, and should have went with the tiramisu, but I was already full from such large first and second course servings that dessert was simply an afterthought to me.
Overall we had a fantastic meal at I Ricchi. I do agree with the other posters that it’s expensive, but for the location and the fact that you are getting handmade pasta dishes for $ 20 – 25. I don’t think it’s completely unreasonable. I would definitely go back, and I’m thinking bringing the parents along would be a great idea.