Ricardo Steakhouse Sizzles SPAHA

The idea was to make use of the theater-style open kitchen as a showcase – warm, sexy, non-traditional angus steaks and house seasonings – in effect creating a new world steakhouse offering excellent, gourmet cuisine at affordable prices. And with the slice steak, including sides, priced at $14.95 – there’s no excuse not to switch up from Tad’s. Ricardo Steakhouse also offers its unique concept through its catering division, providing out-going service to the growing corporate and entertainment industries in the area

Special To Black Star News

The upscale, uptown Ricardo Steakhouse, draws hipsters in droves, an early example of Spanish Harlem Renaissance 
Tastemakers have renamed the neighborhood “SpaHaâ€?, short for Spanish Harlem.  And brothers Jimmy Mateus, Eddie Mateus and childhood friend Louis Bratsis are early adopters – seeing the area as ripe for a revival when they launched the soft opening of Ricardo Steakhouse on 2nd Avenue between 110th and 111th earlier in the year. 

These first-generation New Yorkers had a simple dream:  creating a gathering place for friends.  Case in point was Ricardo’s Halloween bash, featuring an über hip, sexy and multiethnic crowd – a throwback the kind of early 1990s all-walks-of-life party scene you’d find at Nell’s or The Supper Club, before Giuliani clean sweeping unwittingly homogenized the once eclectic New York nightlife. Once the brothers Mateus completed a five-story residential building with ground floor commercial space, they thought “why notâ€? SpaHa. It was here the concept of Ricardo Steak House was born. New Yorkers were starting to re-embrace “comfort foodâ€?, but they wanted to put a gourmet spin on it.

The idea was to make use of the theater-style open kitchen as a showcase – warm, sexy, non-traditional angus steaks and house seasonings – in effect creating a new world steakhouse offering excellent, gourmet cuisine at affordable prices.  And with the slice steak, including sides, priced at $14.95 – there’s no excuse not to switch up from Tad’s. Ricardo Steakhouse also offers its unique concept through its catering division, providing out-going service to the growing corporate and entertainment industries in the area.

With its spacious interior, exposed kitchen, sweeping counter area, open–air terrace, and Afro-Cuban artwork, Ricardo Steakhouse has become one of the local hang-outs, while still a Tri-State destination.  The restaurant looms as a symptom of the booming development and renaissance currently revitalizing Spanish Harlem.  Celebrities such as Lamar Odem are already permanent fixtures here. Mixology is also a critical component of Ricardo late night.  Sitting at the bar on a Thursday night, you’ll literally see a rainbow of high balls glide past just as quick as bartendress Vanessa can pour, taking breaks to throw air kisses at regulars.  On tap:  everything from a pale pink French Martini to the centuries old Grolsch Swingtop, the featured lager here for steak pairings.

For more information please visit www.ricardosteakhouse.com

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