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Does Rico Bistro have the BEST food in La Romana? Whilst we don’t want to start a restaurant war, the answer to the question is VERY POSSIBLY. Of course being only (VERY) amateur food critics it would be impossible for us to really compare, especially as we are regulars and big fans of a number of other La Romana restaurants, such as Dom Ham, Lucas and Andaluz. So whether or not Rico Bistro has the best food in Romana we can’t really say, but we recommend you give it a try and decide for yourself!

Inside Rico Bistro: clean, modern and with a kitchen view of your dinner being freshly prepared! rico_bistro_la_romana

Walking into Rico Bistro feels like walking into a different country, it is clean, very clean, tidy, modern and best of all the service is impeccable – you can’t help but fall in love with the place before you even sit down. Located in the town of La Romana, Rico Bistro is a lovely little ‘hole in the wall’ that is so much more. Having passed by various times while driving down the Santa Rosa, this little checkered oasis always caught my eye, so we were curious and excited when we were invited to come and do a review. rico_bistro_la_romanaThe owners, Martin and Elaine Briones, from Casa de Campo are an absolutely lovely couple, who confess to not having any cooking or restauranteur experience but are big fans of eating… our type of people! Their goal was to set-up a local restaurant where people could come to enjoy a casual night out with friends and family, with a similar style to TGI Fridays or Chillies. They are 100% passionate about their new venture, which they absolutely love doing, they treat every customer like a family and actually refer to themselves and their team as the ‘Familia de Rico Bistro.’ The establishment is easy to get to, with a parking lot in the back, and well lit in the front. Rico Bistro is quaint with red wood furniture and vibrant colors – all which only go to showcase the impeccable cleanliness and sanitary conditions, which one is always concerned about. The staff are friendly, attentive and surprisingly efficient – quick to smile without any effort.

Rico Bistro’s beautiful outside patio and seating area rico_bistro_la_romana

In order to fully showcase their varied and delicious menu, the Briones prepared a special ‘taster’ menu for us – which meant that over the course of an hour we were able to taste (and fall in love with) almost every dish on the menu.  Below you can read our descriptions of everything we tried along with a few photos of these dishes.

The Food! YUMMY!!

***Comida Mexicana*** Rico Bistro’s Mexican food is excellent; simple, classic Mexican dishes such as quesadillas, burritos and tacos made with the freshest and tastiest ingredients.

Nachitos de pollo (RD$150) Nachos topped with shredded chicken, peppers, onions and topped off with cheese – these tasty snacks are a great twist on the traditional ‘Nachos’ dish, and much easier to eat! 15

Quesadillas de Pollo (RD$150): Wonderful! They have a interestingly delicious smoky flavor – courtesy of a hint of cumin, an ingredient sadly lacking in Dominican cuisine. 8.

Burrito de Res (RD$195): a lovely medley of rice, corn and coriander, which goes nicely with the slightly tangy sauce. 16 — ***FRESH Pasta*** All the pasta is made by hand in the restaurant from scratch and it tastes great!

Lasagna (RD$126): Spectacular! For just RD$126, you can’t beat this generous portion of meaty, creamy, cheesy lasagne.  The freshness of the ingredients explodes on your taste buds!

Canelloni (RD$240): Beautiful! Deliciously creamy with mushrooms and spices.

Cheese Ravioli (RD$195): Although ‘cheese ravioli’ may sound a little dull, I assure you it is not, it’s delicious – very creamy and cheesy but with vegetables in the sauce which gives it a unique ‘garden fresh’ flavor.

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***Platos Fuertes***

Churasco w/ rice primavera ($480): The Churasco is amazingly tender – you don’t need a steak knife to cut it, its like cutting into butter and then it just melts in your mouth. The Churasco comes with fries, salad or rice, we had the rice primavera, which I wasn’t very excited about – until I tasted it, the flavor was incredible so fresh and interesting – who’d have thought simple rice and a little veg could taste so good!

Churasco served with Thai Rice 12

Chicken Gordon Blu (RD$240): Delicious wrapped chicken; crispy on the outside, stuffed with cheese and ham on the inside and drizzled with a creamy mushroom sauce. Again this dish is served fries, salad or rice. This time we sampled the home-style fries with a special ‘Rico Bistro’ ingredient which were very nice, but for me what surprisingly stole the show was the ‘Thai’ rice that is an explosion of fresh flavor – ginger, chives, sesame seeds and platano maduro!

Chicken Gordon Blu served with rice primervera 11.

—- ***Deserts***

Ice cream crepe (RD$71): delicious, fluffy and light – just as a crepe should be! 9. Cheesecake (RD$100): a slice of heaven! Light, fluffy yet creamy and simply divine. **A must try** 7. Flan (RD$80): Everyone loves flan! This generous portion will certainly satisfy even the biggest flan craving! 4.

Please note although our experience at Rico Bistro was very positive and we are confident that the Briones will maintain the excellent quality of ingredients, cooking and cleanliness, this is not something we can guarantee! That being said we are already excited about our next visit to Rico Bistro and can see it soon becoming one of our top spots for a casual dinner out – we look forward to seeing you there! Rico Bistro
Ave. Santa Rosa #74 La Romana 809-556-9842 Lunch hours: 11:00 a.m – 3:00 p.m Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m – 11:00 p.m. Open: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun (CLOSED WEDNESDAY!)

We LOVE Rico Bistro!!! we_love_Rico_bistro_la_romana

More photos of the delicious dishes:

The following photos were taken by us during our review. Please note our photos of the food are not representative of the portions you can normally expect – we had a special taster menu.

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Do you LOVE Rico Bistro? Please leave your comments/tips/recommendations below!