Valencia Eats Throwback: A Favorite for Tapas, Bar Ricardo
La Pergola is my go-to eatery in Valencia for their wonderful bocadillos as I wrote before, but for more of a “special occasion” and when I don’t mind trekking across town, Bar Ricardo is the restaurant I think of. This place serves up simply well-executed, simple tapas - really comfort food in a casual environment.
One special aspect of Bar Ricardo is that they don’t take reservations. While reservations are nice if you can plan ahead, for people like me who can be more spur-of-the-moment when it comes to eating, it can sometimes be difficult to eat in Spain. Because people often take very leisurely meals, restaurants fill up with reservations quickly because turnover is so low, and most of the time they won’t allow waitlists. So at Bar Ricardo, all you have to do is sidle up to the bar and tell the staff there that you want a table, and they’ll put you on a list.
***Update: during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to control gatherings and indoor occupancy, Bar Ricardo is temporarily accepting reservations for the first time in their 70 year history! See their contact information at the bottom of the post for reservations ***
While you’re waiting, you can have something to drink.
As for food, Bar Ricardo makes some of the best patatas bravas in town, right up there with Central Bar. I think I like bravas the best when the potatoes are well-fried and well-tossed in the spicy oil.
Mojama, the dried and cured tuna on the left is nice, as is the standard bread with tomato.
Puntillas, or tiny cuttlefish, are one of my favorite tapas.
So, I thought the balls below were buñuelos de bacalao, or cod fritters, but on their menu I only see albondigas de bacalao, or cod meatballs, so maybe that’s what these are?
Chistorra, a type of sausage, is a solid choice.
Bar Ricardo also has delicious desserts. Here, we’re having the Tarta Santiago in the back, the almond cake. But the real star was the tarta de Capuchina, the one in front. It’s this moist, spongy, rich cake that’s very eggy.
Apparently the origin is that it was made by nuns of the Capuchin Poor Clares order, and like many monasteries they made desserts with the many egg yolks that were left over after starching their habits with the egg whites.
On another visit, and they really pushed this sepia con mayonesa tapa (cuttlefish with mayonnaise). It was the last day before Bar Ricardo was closed for summer holidays, and I’m thinking they might have had a ton of extra sepia that they needed to sell! The sepia was pretty tender though, and it was a good dish overall. I’m glad they did push it so that we ended up trying it, because it’s not something that would really catch my eye on the menu otherwise!
Of course, we got the mandatory crave-worthy bravas again, along with the chistorra.
They also have montaditos, or simple little sandwiches of seafood or meat on bread. If I remember correctly, these are lomo (pork) and ternera (veal).
And not surprisingly, we ended with the Capuchina. Somehow this manages to be dense and rich yet light and fluffy at the same time.
For dependably excellent tapas of quality ingredients simply prepared, Bar Ricardo is really a must visit. The (non-COVID time) no-reservations policy is a nice cherry on top, for those of us who don’t always plan ahead.
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Calle Dr. Zamenhoff 16
46008 Valencia
Spain
barricardo.es
963 823 789
