Tico DC

I don’t usually like tapas because I think they are too light, but this place… wow it was great! The cabbage salad was DELICIOUS (it’s not your traditional cabbage so get ready for a treat), the cauliflower was my favorite, and the beets were nice with a play on ricotta by using a tasty (and healthier) spicy yogurt.
All in All: Wonderful!

Holy churros… Get the churros. The highlight of the meal. Super soft and crunchy, not too salty, and served atop a bed of cream, strawberries, and chocolate pebbles. If you’re a fan of salty and sweet desserts, and regardless of how many tapas you’ve had already, get one for the table.
Tico offers Latin American tapas that don’t necessarily have the spice level advertised but that you won’t really get anywhere nearby. They are tasty and not too absurdly priced. Some are a bit too heavy and others not too appealing but the menu is extensive so you can definitely find a few that will suit you.
Among the ones we got, I’d highly recommend the two texture beef tacos, the shredded cabbage salad, and the chorizo risotto. The tacos were light and the beef super tender. The cabbage salad a nice interlude for balancing the meat and heavy grain tapas. And the risotto was a bit heavy but served in a nice creamy, tomato-​like sauce.
I wasn’t really crazy about the cauliflower or the Mac and cheese. The cauliflower itself was really tasty but it was swamped in a bed of cheese that made what I presumed would be a light side to another heavy one. The Mac and cheese had this grittiness that to some would come off as an interesting twist but for me seemed like an unbalanced dish with an assortment of inputs that didn’t mesh well together. Both enjoyable, just not my favorites.

Great happy hour and amazing service. Jay the bartender went out of his way to treat us well. I appreciated that. Will definitely be returning for more ladies happy hours after work. :)

Please don’t go here. It pumps out mediocre ‘Latin American’ food for big groups of people that look like tourists. The wait staff is also not very attentive or friendly. I get water spilled on me every single time I go here. I also never know what to wear, because it both reminds me of a Chevys, but also seems to expect some kind of business-​casual attire. If you do feel somehow compelled to go here, here are the yeses and the nos:
Yes:
Fried oysters
Lamb meatballs
Roasted Cauliflower
No:
Mac and Cheese
Scallops

I’m surprised this place has 4 stars.
This is my first time to a tapas place and now I know I will never, ever go to a tapas place ever again.
When I read small plates for this place, I did not know JUST HOW SMALL they were. Oh my G, smalllllllllllllllllllll plates for such a huggggggeeeee price! Definitely not worth it!!! I bought the spicy shrimp and lobster as well as duck tacos which without tax is about $ 27. OMG, I could have eaten all of this in like 5 minutes. Soooooo smalllllll! My friends who were with me also
had to slow down eating so that it didn’t look like they were doing nothing the whole time.
To give you an idea of the taco size, look at my picture. The length of two of their tacos is the same length of an eating utensil!
The food came out fast which I did not like because that means that the food is probably cooked already in the kitchen and just gets scooped up onto a plate when a customer orders it. Not fresh/​made to order so why such a high price?
And the drinks are highly overpriced too. Half a cup of ice and half a cup of alcohol for $ 11-​$ 20.
There were a ton of employees and they all stand near the kitchen and stare at the customers. It’s quite awkward!

Great food, drinks, and atmosphere!
Our meal was seamless from beginning to end — we had made online reservations through Open Table a few nights prior to our meal. When we arrived, we were seated immediately. For a Thursday night, the restaurant was mostly packed, but the arrangement of tables and the high ceilings did not make it feel cramped. Our server was attentive and had great recommendations. We enjoyed the craft cocktails (the hibiscus margarita and a rose cocktail). We also enjoyed that the small plates flowed through the night so there were no big gaps in the meal.
Based off other Unilocal reviews and our server’s suggestions, my boyfriend and I ordered the duck tacos, mac & cheese, chorizo risotto, the cauliflower (?), and the pork belly sliders. The agreed standout was the chorizo risotto, although all the dishes were tasty. We didn’t think the duck tacos were all that special (and a little pricey for 2 street-​style tacos). For dessert, we ordered the churros, which came out piping hot and were surrounded by some sort of cream, chocolate pearls, and strawberries. It was the perfect end to the meal.
Will definitely be back to try their happy hour and brunch, but not sure if the price of dinner is worth what we spent (hence the 4 stars rather than 5). Like other reviewers, I think a few of the small plates could be a little less expensive, but I don’t believe anything will be changing anytime soon given the restaurant’s popularity.

I’m vegan and my boyfriend is a picky eater. I did a lot of research before finding a restaurant that caters to both our palettes and also provides a unique and memorable experience without white tablecloths. The atmosphere was very cool. Interesting art adorned the walls and the overall vibe was lively but not overbearing. Our server was very friendly and helped me choose a good selection of tapas. We decided to order a la carte. I got the Cauliflower, Shishito Peppers, Edamame Tacos, Roasted Carrots, and Golden Beets. (My favorites were the beets and Tacos). My drink was the infamous hibiscus margarita.
My carnivorous companion opted for the Beef Tacos, Ribs, and the Chicken Entrée. Corona to drink. I like that the corona came in a tall glass with lime. It was a nice touch that didn’t seem pretentious to me, although maybe it was due to the fact that I was a few margaritas deep.
We ordered the Tres Leches and papaya sorbet for dessert. I also got vanilla Rooibos tea. I sneakily asked our server to put a candle in the boyfriend’s cake and she graciously agreed. He said the Tres Leches was the best he’s ever tasted… and he is from the Dominican Republic… so that’s quite the compliment.
Throughout our evening, our waters stayed filled, dirty plates removes, silverware replaced, and drinks promptly refilled. Amazing service for a buzzin’ Saturday night. A great first impression of D.C.
I would definitely recommend, especially for larger groups. Though the tables are far enough spaced out that date night was a success.

Since moving to DC, I’ve accumulated a bunch of tapas-​style places that I need to review, but for now, I’m reviewing my as-​of-​today favorite, Tico.
Made a day-​of reservation and was greeted by friendly staff. The menu was explained, and we decided to leave it in their hands for the «kind of hungry» menu where they decide at 35 per person. The tasting menus were described as «5 to 6 small plates and a dessert to share» for 35/​pp, «5 to 6 small plates and an entrée and dessert to share» for 55/​pp, and «10 to 12 small plates and an entrée and dessert each» for 75/​pp. As none of the entrees approached 40, we declined the 55/​pp as a bad deal.
We started with scallop ceviche and a seasonal green bean salad. Both, particularly the salad, were bigger than I expected for 6 small plates at 70 dollars. The ceviche was a standout and was perfectly spicy and a delightful avocado dressing.
Next, the tender lamb meatballs with tomato and ricotta. These were good, but seemed out of place in a place serving «American food with Latin touches.» I probably wouldn’t order them again.
After that, we were served scallops and chorizo a la plancha, as well as roasted cauliflower with chipotle sauce, crunchy fava beans, and lots of cotija cheese. I’m not a huge cauliflower fan, but it’s hard to lose me with everything that was on it. The scallops were amazing, just like the ceviche. The chorizo was good as well. For our final savory course, we had duck tacos with charred serranos, mango salsa, and duck cracklings. We were both pretty full at this point but these were the highlight of the night for me. They were so perfectly savory and the duck was so tender and delicious… I would come here and order five of them and be so happy.
We end with caramel tres leches which is exactly as delicious as you imagine it is.
For drinks we tried the rose sangria (I thought it was eh, my wife liked it), the hibiscus margarita (amazing), the location vacation (great), and the caju caipirinha (good but intense and would only drink one).
14^th Street has a plethora of good restaurants and small plates style, but it’s going to be hard to not default here.

Tico was awesome! We went there to kill some time before dinner and I found the restaurant on Unilocal as it was on 14^th street.
We were pleasantly surprised! We sat at the ceviche bar and had amazing service. As we didn’t try their ceviche, it looked delicious. Our waitress was very friendly, knowledgable about the menu, and helpful when it came to her opinion. There was lots of art on the walls which made it pretty hip. We found out, from our friendly waitress, the owners wife has done it all herself, very cool!
The food was delightful! They have lots of small bites and we wanted to try everything. We had the Manchego cheese small plate and the cabbage salad small plate, both amazing! We wanted to try the street corn, spicy olives, and the many different tacos, next time :) One thing I noticed as we were sitting by the ceviche bar/​kitchen was a few desserts being made. I didn’t see the desserts on the menu, but one that stuck out was a plate full of large cookies wth a pitcher of milk. I will be back to find this ;)
They have quite a few delicious margaritas also; and on Monday nights they have their special hibiscus margarita for $ 30 a pitcher. All and all a fun restaurant!

4 out of 5 stars.
Went here at 7 PM on a Thursday with no reservation but had no wait. Great atmosphere & décor. Friendly, but relatively slow, service.
— Happy hour cocktails were too sweet for our taste.
— Lamb meatballs were good but weren’t anything special.
— Chorizo risotto and the mac & cheese were super delicious, rich & creamy. I recommend getting one or the other to save room for other plates.
— Ribs were great .
— Definitely ordering the sweet corn next time!
— Not too many simple veggies options (which I’m sure my BF loved)
Excited to go back & try out other small plate combinations!

Visited here this past Sunday for brunch. If Unlimited Mimosas is apart of your main brunch item, then skip this place. There’s a $ 25 dollar charge for a bottle of cheap, Champagne. Over-​Charged drinks. A Grey Goose with tonic is $ 14.
Service is extremely slow. I mean slow!!!
The omelet dish has barley to no seasoning and the potatoes were Über dry.

I really like this place. It’s a fun place to be at especially during the day when the natural sunlight illuminates the gorgeous colors of the restaurant. The service is always pretty good and it can get very busy in the evenings any day during the week. I’ve been here when it’s busy and when it’s not so busy. I prefer it during the day time. The food is 3.5 stars overall but the service and décor really solidify it for me to a total of 4 stars. The tacos are good, I love the corn, and my husband really enjoyed the manchego cheese as well. There is some street parking or you can take the metro to the u street exit. The seating in the dining area is comfortable but the bar seating doesn’t look that comfortable. Sometimes the wait can be over an hour on busy nights so please plan accordingly. Check out my pictures taken here as well.

I had an amazing time dining here.
Came here on a Saturday, winding down from a work trip.
This was the first time I’ve ever eaten by myself at a place this nice, and felt a little awkward about it at first.
The staff I think felt bad for me since it was mostly couples dining here and were almost overly attentive to me. But it was nice and thoughtful of them to make sure I was comfortable and enjoying myself.
I ended up getting the tasting menu, the smallest of the three options where the chef generally sends out 3 – 4 tapas depending on what he wants you to try that night. I decided to go with that since I didn’t feel like reading the whole menu haha.
One of the staff members brought me a complimentary glass of sparkling rosé! So thoughtful of them.
The tapas were amazing, they came out about two at a time, I think they gave me 5 or 6! They were each amazing and delicious, I was in heaven. My favorite was between the mac and cheese and the cauliflower tapa.
Then they gave me another glass of sparkling wine on the house LOL… definitely felt bad for me.
I would totally come here again, I loved the ambiance, food, as well as the A+ service.

We lucked out and snagged a table for two for a late dinner despite Tico being almost at capacity. Every table was full, the bar was packed, and the room towards the back was hosting a private party. It was also pouring rain out with lots of DC cops passing through. In other words, your typical Saturday night :-).
Food:
Tico offers a tapas-​style menu with a mix of Mexican, Mediterranean, and American influenced items. For small plates, we ordered the black risotto croquettes, lamb meatballs, the roasted cauliflower, and Tico’s mac & cheese. Listed in the a la Plancha section, we ordered the «Sausage and Peppers and then we split Tico’s Bacon Cheese Burger as an entrée.
Standouts —
Roasted Cauliflower
Tico’s Mac & Cheese
Lamb Meatballs
Service/​Atmosphere:
Since it was packed that night, it was a bit slow getting our food, but it picked up once we got the first item. I believe the front of the house also stopped by to check on us which I appreciated. There are speakers all around that blasted some funky old school and soul jams so the music had me entertained and dancing in my seat. The walls are decorated with colorful murals and because they have ample space they have varied seating options which makes for an uncrowded experience even when there is one.
I enjoyed my first visit here and would likely come back again.

Dined with a group of 15 last night and the staff went out of their way to accommodate us. The was so much team work between the staff that we didnt even know who our server was. Everyone was friendly and hospitable.
The food was unique and delicious! I hate cauliflower, but theirs was amazing. The whole tasting menu was very delicious. I highly recommend this place for dinner with friends.

Gosh, did Tico really open in 2014? I feel so behind to just be trying it now — 1.5 years later. As they say, better late than never, and it certainly is better in this case.
Before I get to the food or the drinks, I have to say that this is the best service I’ve received in a very long time, possibly ever. Dominic was our server and he even had a trainee in tow. Lucky girl, to learn from the best. He was personable, pleasant, and knew the menus like the back of his hand. All of our questions on the food and cocktail menus were answered immediately and without hesitation — he knew everything! Service can make or break a dining experience and Dominic added so much to our experience at Tico.
The cocktail menu has a lot of tequila on it, as would be expected. I had the rose sangria on tap (dry rose, pisco, citrus, passion fruit tea; $ 9) and it was ok. The rose flavor was good but the drink tasted a bit watery and there was only one slice of orange in it. Justin had the Pueblan Monkey (Monkey Shoulder scotch, ancho reyes chile licor, lime, ginger liqueur; $ 12). Despite my self-​perceived disdain for scotch and savory flavors in cocktails, I really enjoyed the flavor. His after dinner cocktail was the P90X (rye, PX sherry, angostura, orange; $ 13) which was dark and seductive.
We stuck to the small plates for dinner — none of the entrees interested us and we decided to wait for tacos ($ 10−14/two) for their happy hour menu (some available at $ 4/​each) at a different time. Dominic recommended five plates for the two of us as a starting place so we stuck to that… plus the beets which Justin wouldn’t allow as one of the five. The beets were a great pick though (golden beets, spicy yogurt, pistachio; $ 9) with perfectly cooked texture. Highly recommend. My favorite dish of the night was the mac and cheese (serrano ham, green peppers, manchego, crispy bread crumbs; $ 11). The black bass ceviche (leche de tigre, orange, crunchy corn; $ 12) was a nice change from the regular, especially with the corn mixed in, but didn’t have the usual ceviche heat. We ordered the one special item of the day — a skewer of date, shishito pepper, sausage and toasted bread, drizzeled with a blue cheese sauce. It wasn’t my favorite of the evening though I did enjoy the blue cheese sauce. Two of Justin’s picks were the spicy shirmp and lobster (with mini clams, chorizo, almonds and crispy rice; $ 15) and the smoked beef tongue from the grilled section of the menu (with Tico’s hosin sauce and garlic; $ 10). The latter was a little too BBQ flavored for me; my least favorite item of the evening. Our last course was the mac and cheese and the chorizo risotto (with poblano sofrito, green onion and parmigiano; $ 12). Both were rich, creamy, and quite fabulous. The only change I would have made to the risotto would be to cut up the chorizo into smaller pieces so you could get a piece in every bite.
For dessert we had the caramelized banana split with chocolate gelato and peanut butter mousse, topped with chocolate sauce and crushed peanuts ($ 10). It was very decadent, as it sounds. The top of the bananas were crunchy from the caramelization and the crushed peanuts elevated as well.
Overall, a very, very good meal and absolutely somewhere I’d be willing to go back to. The next trip will be for the happy hour $ 6 cocktails and $ 4 tacos. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and was still full on a Friday night 1.5 years after opening — they’re clearly doing it right.

I loved Tico!!! We made a reservation on Open Table beforehand because we read on the reviews they get pretty busy. Even though they had a full house they walked us right to table when we arrived. That was the start of a great dinner
Tico has a pretty good selection of cocktails and and a ton of tapas to try. It appeared the hibiscus margarita was pretty popular because here were pitchers of this all over the tables around us. We ordered a variety of items from the menu and couldn’t have been happier.
The crispy Manchego cheese was amazing along with the shishito peppers, and sweet corn. My favorite was the lamb meatballs. So good we ordered a second round. They were the perfect texture, not too dense, and the sauce was amazing.
Our service through the meal was great. We never felt unattended to or forgot about giving the business of the night. This is not a quite restaurant by any means. Expect a lot of noise, laughter, and music. We set close to the open kitchen so we had a full view of what was going on. Very entertaining
Overall, I’d make the trip back to DC just for Tico!

One of the things I like about D. C is that there’s rarely ever a wait at restaurants… even on a Friday/​Saturday night. Tico was no exception to this observation. Large space with modern décor and a generally cool vibe.
Lots of options to choose from so we both decided to try the «Kind of Hungry» meal option ($ 35 per person). Was worried that the dishes wouldn’t be enough for us; man was I wrong. List of things we tried: Roasted Cauliflower (cheesy and well seasoned), Mac n Cheese (creamy, good), Roasted Carrots (could have been cooked better), Homemade Chorizo (amazing), Golden Beets (interesting sauce, decent), Sweet Corn (good), Tacos (veggie and meat, well made), and the Bittersweet Chocolate Tart (comes with ice cream, very rich, delicious). Was also able to fit in a Hibiscus Margarita ($ 11) and draft beer ($ 7) to boot.
Service took a little bit to come around, but they were able to cater the meal to the fact that my friend is vegetarian and I’m not — huge plus. Great place for drinks or food no matter what time of day.

I came to Tico for brunch on a Sunday with my husband and his friend. For some reason I really wanted to try Tico, so I finally had the chance. When we got there we we didn’t have any reservations, but we were able to be seated as soon as we walked in. That was a plus for a Sunday brunch spot in DC. However, with there not being a lot of ppl there we waited like an hour for our food to come out. We ordered stuff like pancakes, burger, omelette (in other words eggs), and hash. Basically things that don’t take long to cook. I’m not sure what the hold up was but .yeah. We were starving.
… So an hour rolls by and our food comes. I was hoping. just hoping that the food was going to be EXCELLENT. Do to the wait. Kind of like the feeling «it was worth the wait». Needless to say, it wasn’t. The food wasn’t horrible but we have definitely had better brunch food.
I ordered the Duck Confit Hash with, the jalapeño corn, and the sun dried tomato chicken sausage. The Duck Confit wasn’t anything to brag about. The peppers and onions were cooked right and the poached egg was awesome. But I’m pretty sure the star of the dish was suppose to be the duck. I guess it just wasn’t ready to come out and shine. The duck seemed to be over cooked or over heated. Basically like it has already been cooked and then they reheated it for too long. It was very chewy. The potatoes could have also been diced a «tad» bigger. They definitely should have been diced bigger than the peppers & onions. The sausage was good. I really liked the jalapeño corn. It was warm, creamy & spicy.
My husband ordered the Caramelized Banana Pancakes with a Ham & Cheese open face omelette. The pancakes tasted just as they are named. Caramelized. The pancakes were moist and good. Both of us did not like the Caramelized sauce that came on top. It was that burnt caramel flavor, not just a plain caramel flavor… Yes there is a difference. The burnt flavor comes form a technique of burning the sugar that differs or can from just a plain caramel sauce. In other words there is more than one way to make caramel and the one they use is most likely burning the sugar in a pan by itself before adding liquid to it to make it a sauce. It tasted almost like banana foster but with a burnt flavor in every bite. He liked and ate all his omelette.
Our friend ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger. It had a fried egg on it. He said he liked it and it was pretty good.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed with Tico’s brunch but I would like to try their dinner menu. I do love tapas so maybe the tapas will be a better experience for us. It probably won’t be anytime soon bc I have other places I would like to try, but at some point in the future.

Solid four. We’ve been here a couple times already and the small plates are pretty good. It’s always packed for a reason– we went to another bar while waiting on our table– took about 45 minutes for them to text us (it was 8pm on a Saturday night).
— Octopus is good, but has a lot more filler (chickpeas I think?) than octopus.
— The lamb meatballs are done very well, with a flavorful tomato sauce.
— The scallop ceviche has an interesting crunchy topping. Tastes fresh, but the portion felt small.
— The calamari has a good, crunchy texture, but was a little on the salty side.
— The fish tacos were good, great mix of flavors and crunchy texture.
Nothing was bad, and the service is decent. Can’t complain, and would probably come back.