Don Ricardo’s Restaurant

Don Ricardo’s was a staple of my diet in Boston during my 4-​year stay. On a bad day, I’d go for their tostones and their awesome pitcher of sangria. On a good day, I’d go there for their seco de cordero and their awesome pitcher of sangria. The owner Mr. Ricardo is genuine and has always taken great care of my friends and I when we visit. Thank you for setting the standard for me!

A local friend brought me here. This is authentic, family run. Mom cooks, dad servs — it was quiet when we went and we were the only ones there. The food was fabulous and they were very helpful. Spices were really interesting. Its not a fancy place though!

A wonderful place with great food. Really enjoyed the lovely owners. He let me practice my Spanish. I ordered the whole meal in Espanol. :)
Great food, great service, and lovely atmosphere. The carrot sauce is fabulous. :)

My cousin and my favorite place to meet up in Boston. The place is owned by a cute peruvian couple and they definitely treat it like their family dining room. The portions are big and the sangria is strong. Try the carrot sauce, it goes with everything, seriously. And they’ll give you more of it if you ask.

Ok, obviously since I gave it 5 stars, I think this place is great. Let’s just hit the high points:
–the service: the owners are the nicest, friendliest, most welcoming couple you will ever meet. Feels like you’re eating in a friend’s home.
–the carrot sauce (plantains, yucca, doesn’t matter what you dip in it… SO GOOD!)
–the sangria. enough said. order the entire pitcher (or even two!) you won’t be disappointed
— i’m partial the albondigas, but my boyfriend is more adventurous and has yet to be disappointed by anything on the menu. Daily specials are also a great bet: the escabeche was fantastic!
–And at the end of the meal, even though my pants were unbuttoned AND the zipper was halfway down, I ordered the coconut flan. And I don’t regret it at all!
Bottom line, go here and you won’t be disappointed.

Local small business with good food, decent prices, and the sweetest owners. What more can I say? It’s really a hidden gem in the South End.
The place doesn’t look like much from the outside but, as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. The ceviche is always a winner and you can’t go wrong ordering a side of maduras (sweet fried plantains), tostones (fried savory plantains) and/​or yuca fries.
Dang, I’m getting hungry just writing about it! nom nom
Don Ricardo’s is a great place to go for an intimate meal with friends. No one will rush you to get out, and the service is excellent. What are you waiting for???

We started w/​the plaintain appetizer (Maduros) that came with a great carrot sauce. Plaintains were nicely sweet.
The Fruto de Mar entrée was a bit salty, but a relatively generic seafood over linguine with a slight tomato based sauce. The seafood wasn’t that great… a few fish pieces taste a bit too fish and the shrimp was overcooked.
The Tallarin En Salsa Verde was basically a thin fried piece of chicken on top of fettucine with a pesto sauce.
The cups of water unfortunately had the taste of grease… not like plain tap water.
The place is very inexpensive and the hosts were friendly. Portions were big for what you got and food was very home-​made feeling.

This place is great, its run by this old Peruvian couple. They are always amicable and courteous. Its also nice to be able to brush up on my Spanish.
The Food.
Their chicha morada is woooonderful– and sometimes I feel like I come back just for this. If you come here you MUST purchase this drink (its made from purple corn), and is a standard Peruvian beverage.
I generally purchase the same thing every time I come here: the lomo saltado. I think this place NAILS this dish. The fries are crispy, the meat is juicy, and the tomatoes and onions are just right. This place always makes a great rice and beans– and if Mrs. Ricardo offers– try some of their homemade hot sauce to spice things up. My husband loves their lamb dish (seco de cordero), so definitely consider trying that out.
Before coming to this place I absolutely hated flan. It was here my husband convinced me its worth splurging on!
Overall, this place serves pretty Authentic Peruvian food (it rivals my mother’s), and is worth trying out!

I came here for a late dinner with a group of pals on Friday. Don Ricardo’s was packed. Unfortunately, the front of house has only one person working: Don Ricardo. We waited 10 minutes before we had to get our own menus, waited another 10 minutes before Mrs. Ricardo came out of the kitchen to take our order. 10 more minutes to get our drinks, then about 30 minutes before our food arrived.
The food was okay but inexpensive, so there’s a high value quotient. I ordered the chicken soup (tasty and bracing on a chilly December night) and a seafood paella. The rice had a good flavor (I suspect Goya) but the seafood was not fresh and the mussels were overcooked. The table got side orders of fried plantains and a Peruvian dish called tacu-​tacu. The tacu-​tacu is a rice and black beans dish with tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Pretty tasty, especially with an amazing house-​made hot sauce. I think getting two take-​out orders of tacu-​tacu with a side of hot sauce might be the way to go here.
In summary: service is slow but friendly.
Food is okay but is a good value.
Get the tacu-​tacu.

Don Ricardo’s is located in a really hidden spot in the South End. I’ve passed by there many times in the past years until one day. Don Ricardo was standing by the door and smiling at us as we entered. We were seated by this very nice lady and once we spoke spanish her smile got even wider. Great service, check!
The food had a home style flavor with nothing special. The home-​made hot sauce is what they should be known for though! And with the price being sort of on the medium priced, the food is ok.
The setting of this place is simple and nice. It’s quiet with the addition of some old romantic spanish music. I happen to really like simple and nice, so check!
I live footsteps away from here, so location is ideal. However, for those traveling from far, parking is a pain. For those traveling on bus or train, this place is very accessible.
Overall, I would come here for take out when I’m desperately hungry and wanting some simple spanish food.

It is not everyday the hot sauce hunter goes out and finds his prey in an unlikely spot, but that is the whole point of hunting isn’t it?
4 words: Home made hot sauce.
This place was recommend to me by a local. I went back and checked it out on a different night. I was waited on by Don Ricardo himself. The ambiance is nice but simple, there are typical south American decorations and some posters. It is nice and quiet one one other couple there on a Thursday night, there is nice romantic Latin music playing. Great ambiance without the stuffiness of a posh place. I would say great place for a date if your date is OK with the location and going to a small hole in the wall.
The menu is nice and has a good selection, there are also daily specials. I went for the fish soup first: nice and thick with big chucks of fish and veggies. and Don Ricardo asked if I wanted hot sauce, and then is when the evening took an unexpected turn.
You know that feeling when you are at a garage sale and find something rare that is way under price, so it was when I tried this sauce. Mild at first but with a real kick, man I am sweating just thinking about it. He uses 3 kinds of Peruvian chiles, 3! Plus tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion, etc.
Ok, but what else besides the hot sauce? I got the Churrasco steak, it comes with a side dish of powered yuca (I’ll fix this later!) and a big plate of tasty rice and black beans. Decent but of meat, no, not beef tenderloin, but good! The hot sauce was awesome on the rice.
And, when I asked if he sold the hot sauce, he said, ‘of course, what size would you like! I was in Nirvana. Now I hold this little find in my hand, eager to try it.
Price very reasonable, soup, main course, a beer and a jar of hot sauce for $ 30 (including tip). thumbs up!

They take reservations, but unfortunately the nice Spanish speaking lady who answered the phone didn’t understand me, so she handed me off to another nice lady who did.
It is an easy walk from the Union Square stop on the Silver Line (well, once you get your bearings), as it is on the quiet side street named West Dedham Street on the way to Tremont Street, in a white strip building across from an elderly home, I believe?
We ordered a couple of dishes to share:
.Palta Rellena: Stuffed avocado with chicken salad $ 6.95
.2 Empanada (beef and spinach & cheese) $ 1.50 apiece
.Tallarín en Salsa Verde: Peruvian style pasta, served in a sauce of basil, spinach, garlic, parmesan cheese, complimented with a beef or chicken Milanese $ 12.95
.Coconut Flan $ 3.50
.mango juice $ 1 or $ 1.50, I forget
.that interesting purple fruit drink with diced fruit $ 2?
It turned out that it was too much food for the two of us — although it probably didn’t help that this wasn’t a leisurely meal for us, as we were headed off to a show at the Black Box afterward…
Everything was fine, but nothing outstanding. The empanadas had a thin crispy shell. The stuffed avocado was cool and rich. The thin chicken cutlet in our pasta dish was tender and moist within the fried breading. The pasta sauce much like a finely blended pesto. The flan was a decent custard with the coconut not being simply the milk, but you could feel the coconut shreds as you bit down.
I’d come back to try some other dishes — I still have to try the carrot sauce spoken so well of by some Unilocalers. But I probably wouldn’t make a super special trip out of my way to do it.

The appetizers here were fantastic! Fried yuca and plantains in carrot dipping sauce. And the pitcher of sangria had our party in very good spirits!
This is a cute, casual dinner at your south american abuelito’s house. Grandma doesn’t speak english, but she more than makes up for that with her sweet service (lots of hand gesturing involved).
Of the entrees ordered, the beer simmered lamb was the winner but the paella sounded delicious and so did the stuffed avocados (will be trying these next time).
We had 5 people in for 7pm dinner on saturday night, and had no wait.

Take it from a guy who burned two whole years in the South End before discovering this gem: Don Ricardo’s is the TRUTH.
It’s like going to your grandparents’ house for a delicious home-​cooked meal. Only your grandparents are Peruvian, and they’re really, really warm and friendly to everyone who walks through the door.
All of the appetizers are worth a try, but the guacamole and the yuca with carrot sauce are the ones that keep me coming back. The guac is rock solid, and it comes with a really unique, spicy salsa that nearly steals the show. A dab of each and you’re all set. And the carrot sauce… my god, the carrot sauce. I pair it with the yuca (it’s like a Peruvian french fry) instead of the plantain because it seems like a better fit with the savory sauce.
As for the entrée, I’ll make it easy on you — you want the albondigas. Two massive meatballs stuffed with a magical combo of eggs, olives, peppers (and, judging by my intense cravings, a healthy dose of Peru’s infamous national export).
The sangria is great, but if you want something nonalcoholic, try the Chicha Morada — a purple corn drink that goes well with just about anything.
If you’re in the area, help me atone for those two Ricardo-​less rookie years in the South End and give this place a try. You’ll be very glad you did.

Loved the very simple, stripped-​down atmosphere. Wasn’t as crazy about the food or service.
I got the lomo saltado, my favorite Peruvian dish. It was serviceable, but not particularly exciting. I could’ve done with more of the main course and less of the refried beans, which easily covered half the plate.
Service was so-​so, with my water refilled once: at the end of the meal. The older woman running the place sat and stared blankly while I ate. The older man (Don Ricardo, I assume?) was friendly enough, but nothing too out of the ordinary.
Finally, if you have a $ 15 minimum for credit cards, say so on the menu, please, so I don’t have to scrounge for cash when you present the bill.

Stumbled upon this place when coming back from Washington Street one day and, excited by the sound of it, resolved to go and sample the wares. On a rainy day last week, I did, and had a lovely time of it.
I’d heard some good things about the guacamole on here, and I will concur: it was some of the best I’ve ever had. It was VERY simple, and not bogged down with a lot of extra ingredients or spices: avocado was the star here, and the flavor was perfect. The chips and guacamole come with a salsa that packs a deceptive little kick, but it inevitably plays the background. If you love your avocados, don’t miss this.
So too will I increase the carrot sauce mention count: this stuff was ridiculous, and though my girlfriend and I prodded Don about what was in it (his list: carrot purée, vinegar, garlic, onion, olive oil, salt), I have to believe he was leaving out the secret, addictive ingredient or two that make you want to drink it with a straw. The ripe plantains that it came with (maduros) were off the charts. A truly excellent dish.
Our entrees were paella and seco de cordero, a traditional Peruvian lamb dish. The lamb was good, not great. The rice and beans were really lacking in any sort of soul, which was really disappointing, because that’s the sort of food that should be right in their wheelhouse. The lamb was hearty and rustic, and the flavor of the meat came through without any fussing; given the state of the rice and beans, though, I wonder if that wasn’t a happy accident. My date, the far bigger paella fan between the two of us, raved about it.
I couldn’t resist getting the flan for dessert, and it did not disappoint: it was as rich and creamy as a good flan should be, and the caramel sauce was excellent enough to lick off the plate (so I did).
The sangria’s really good, packed with fresh fruit that’s good enough to scarf down when you’re finished drinking it. Don Ricardo and his wife are a highlight: they really make you feel at home in their tucked-​away little spot, are exceedingly friendly and accommodating, and were good sports about our little carrot sauce inquisition. A definite recommendation.

boston.com’s cheap eats recommends this south american restaurant hightly. it’s simple, unadorned, just steps from tremont. the food is decidedly homespun, nothing fancy and nothing great.
had appetizer special of avocado with shrimp, best with a side of salsa. and they didn’t scrimp on this plate. also tasted friend’s chicken enchilada. forgettable. next had the salpicon de pollo, a chicken stew in tomato sauce w/​pinto beans. boring. the pollo guisado was the same. i definitely like this type of cuisine but i couldn’t think of any reason to return, even in a pinch.

I had NO IDEA this place existed, despite priding myself on a handmade map of the South End with all the restaurants in the area (only 2 of which I haven’t been to). I found Don Ricardo’s right here on Unilocal,and I’m so glad I did.
The food was delicious, Don Ricardo was very friendly, and the whole experience was very authentic. As per other reviewers’ suggestions, we had the sangria, guac (the hot sauce is deliciously hot!), the plantains (with yummy carrot sauce), the lomo, and the fruita del mare. Didn’t have room for dessert, but will certainly have to go back to try the flan or the tres leches cake sometime.
One small word of warning about parking: make sure to park DIRECTLY behind the restaurant if you use the back lot, not in one of the numbered spots, or they’ll tow your car! (Even if you have the permit on your dash)

Oh how I wish I was born in to the Ricardo family…
Hola! Mi nombre es Hana T. Ricardo.
Why? So that I can eat their amazing flan.
Okay, so maybe I can’t join their clan,
Which is why I’ve come up with the Free Flan Plan!
AKA– the Suck Up Way.
…
Señor Ricardo, usted es un beautiful man! [Sucks up for free flan]
Ooh! Mi lovely Señora Ricardo! Su yuca es excelente! Mmm [Bats eyes and smiles. Sucks up for free flan]
Does it work? I hope my Free Flan Plan works!
Anyway, if it doesn’t work, I’d still come back here in a heartbeat.
With free parking in the back, an über friendly couple, yummie flan,
yucca, and plantains, as well as good looking entrees,
Don Ricardo’s is such a jewel!

3.5 stars. I love me some lomo saltado. I was looking for some Peruvian food, and this place offers Peruvian, Brazilian, and other Latin American dishes.
The lomo saltado was fine. I mean, how can you go wrong with marinated steak tossed with French fries? Our food was well-​prepared, and the service was friendly.
There are lots of plants around, as well as what might be travel posters. It’s not fancy, but it is definitely decorated with care.