I drive by this restaurant practically everyday. It is located in a strip mall right off of El Toro Blvd in Lake Forest. It shares the same parking lot at Nickels, Nickels, The Billiard Hall and the El Toro Gourmet Meats store.

Today we were going to return to Lindo Michaocan in Santa Ana, but due to one thing or another, Tim and I ended up at La Cocina de Ricardo. Ricardo’s is a small space. There appears to be additional seating on the other side of a wall that divides the space. There is a tinge of smoke in the air, but not from the grill, but the Cigar and Tobacco shop next door. Perhaps their ventilation systems cross.

Tim and I were greeted by the server and served rather quickly. When we arrived (around 12:40) there were only 3 others in the place. By the time we left, the place was full. On our side of the wall, it seats about 25 or so. Chips and salsa were brought to the table. The chips were warm and the salsa looked handmade. Ricardo’s has a fairly large menu and they even serve cervezas and margaritas.

Tim ordered a lunch special of three tacos and I ordered the Carnitas. Let me start off by saying that everything I had, including the salsa tasted like nothing. It seemed like there was no salt in anything. The carnitas were dry, the rice was dry and the beans had good texture but also lacked flavor. I was not impressed.

An old co-worker of mine, Christian, who runs the OC Mexican Food Blog (ocmexfood.blogspot.com) gave Ricardo’s a 4 out of 5. Maybe I went on an off day. I went there with some expectations and unfortunately they were shattered.

Sorry, but for this visit, I wasn’t impressed.

Perhaps on another day, I will go back to Ricardo’s and see if anything has changed.

La Cocina de Ricardo
www.lacocinadericardo.com
23532 El Toro Rd., #11 
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Phone (949) 586-1477 
Open 7 Days a Week, 10am to 9pm