January, 2009

Rating : 7 out of 10

Tariff : Dinner for 5

• 5 entrees
• 1 appetizer
• 6 cocktails/glasses wine
• tip
• $200

Atmosphere & Location

Named for Swiss hotelier and restaurateur John Rickey who, in 1956, bought the property where the restaurant and Inn Marin are located along Highway 101 in Novato.  Rickey's has a spacious, comfortable dining area with an old world flavor: wood floors, oriental carpeting, huge framed mirrors, stone faced fireplace, a bar area to the side and elegantly set tables.  They serve from a large menu of "old-fashioned American favorites." We entered through the restaurant door.  However, one can enter or exit through the hotel lobby, where there is a cozy lounge area with couches.

Cocktails & Appetizers

Between five of us we tried a variety of drinks--house merlot, margarita, cosmopolitan--all of which were good. Two drinks were weak and when one of our party asked the waitress if they could be 'fixed up' she was nice enough to bring two individual shots to add. The wine was reasonably priced ($6), but at almost $10 a mixed drink, it was too expensive to have seconds. We shared an order of calamari and it was very nicely done--lightly fried and tender tentacle pieces served with a cocktail sauce and herbed remoulade ($9.75).

Food

Our entree choices were grilled filet mignon, BBQ pork ribs, roasted half chicken, and grilled vegetable Napoleon.  The filet was cooked to order and came with baby carrots and veal demi sauce, on a heaping portion of deep red cabernet risotto. I really liked the risotto's unusual flavor, but it was too strong to eat so much of. BBQ Ribs were messy (of course!) but good, although one diner among us makes a specialty of Southern BBQ'd pulled pork which can't be surpassed. These were served with garlic mashed potatoes and a cheese biscuit, which was apparently very good! The roasted half chicken was moist and tender and the skin was nicely seasoned. It went perfectly with grilled vegetable risotto and gravy. The Napoleon, one of three vegetarian entree possibilities, was a neat stack of roasted veggies--mushroom, eggplant, peppers--with tomato coulis (a savory French sauce) and balsamic syrup, over a thin layer of polenta. The veggie slices were firm and flavorful--actually my favorite of all the dishes.  It was not a very large entree, however; I could have certainly eaten more polenta.  The other person who chose this ordered it dairy free (due to cheese) and so she didn't get even get the polenta!

Dessert

We were too full for desserts but couldn't resist sharing the homemade chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  It was rich and decadent, as expected. One woman at our table was celebrating a birthday and not only did the waitress comp us the dessert and deliver it with a candle on top, but the live musical performers played Happy Birthday while all the diners sang!

Service

We got a table at the last minute on a Friday night, which was great. Our service was friendly. The waitress was also knowledgeable about a number of the dishes.  There is a fine line between friendly and too friendly, though, and she sometimes crossed it by hovering, coming back too regularly, asking if the live music was too loud (and it was) without any intention I could see of making it less loud, or asking effusively if everything "wasn't just delicious!"  We had a lovely evening and Novato needs more choices for fine dining, but in the end I was disappointed that Rickey's wasn't a bit more moderately priced. As it is it will not be somewhere I will end up eating with my family.  While there was nothing to complain about the selection of dishes and the food quality, there are other 'fancy' restaurants in Novato easily as good and not quite as expensive.

Rickey's
250 Entrada Drive
Novato, CA 94949
(415) 883-9477