Rico Libre — Tapas with a Twist in Birmingham

Good variety of fish & meat dishes. Few vegetarian dishes currently available as the menu is currently limited, very different to what is shown on the website. Could not dine there.

Really good experience. Fantastic food and friendly and quick service - even with two really big groups and the restaurant being pretty much full. Would highly recommend (and would probably say to book ahead).

Exceptional food that’s bursting with flavour. Particularly enjoyed the scallops and the chorizo croquettes!

We booked last minute for a group of 7 and we were not disappointed. Amazing service and food full of flavour. Fantastic value for money and would highly recommend!

Wow!!!! Such amazing food and service!!!! Mussels to die for!!!

Cauliflower - the best I’ve ever had Aubergine Bravas Absolutely beautiful and perfect for Vegans

Super tasty food, nice quick service (even with quite a large queue) friendly staff. Lovely chilled vibes.

The food was amazing, very nice place and helpful staff. Great combinations of flavours and tasty dishes 🥰 will come back!

Average food, not real Spanish cuisine.

I couldn’t recommend this place more on so many levels. I have a severe nut allergy and staff were so confident and proactive in this regard. They even told me they’re able to cater to a range of allergens which is great. The service was super and the food was amazing. I can’t wait to go again!

The aubergines were delicious! Great atmosphere and staff were lovely. Food fantastic

Food was amazing pork cheeks, Gambas everything was fresh and served by lovely waitress who looked after us

Such a little gem. The Margerita's were some of the best I've had in the Midlands!

We've loved dinning at rico libre for years, and are often recommending it to friends and family. However we were left disappointed by their recent menu changes, having removed so many of their vegetarian dishes. It was disheartening to see a restaurant that once catered so well to various dietary preferences now limit its menu in such a way. We ended up leaving without ordering. I hope the management reconsiders this decision. Until then, we’ll be looking elsewhere for a dining experience that values variety and inclusivity.

Lovely place! The food was really good and the people were very friendly. Great service as well, so I definitely recommend it! :)

By far my favourite restaurant, fantastic location, even better food, and lovely staff! Will be back soon!

We were certainly surprised by the twist - however, the twist was unfortunately that the chef made the same traditional Spanish dishes but much, much worse. The meats on the platter were bland and worse than the bog standard stuff you can get from Aldi or Lidl, the scallops came with pineapple (it was a terrible combination) and without the chilli as it was described on the menu, although in hindsight that was probably a good thing, the short rib was dry and didn’t go with the rest of the dish at all, the octopus came with olive tapenade, which again was a terrible combination, along with another unenjoyable sauce. Olives were soft and clearly a few days old or more and so on. The only things we enjoyed were the croquettes and wine, the rest was a very weird, poor attempt at a twist on Spanish cuisine. They need to go back to basics and get those right before changing classic, tried and tested recipes. At £100+ (pre discount) for 2 people this is nowhere near acceptable, there are dozens of better restaurants locally that I would go to over this.

I'd gone in with high hopes. Half an hour wait for our drinks to be served - when they did arrive, my mom had asked for a vodka soda and lime - was presented with a glass and a pint sized can of soda. No garnish in drinks- pretty shoddy effort. Could have been worse though - one of the couples nearby waited around 20 minutes just to receive some wine glasses as they had brought their own booze.... Eventually ordered our food, after a substantial wait we were presented with two of the dishes ordered - scallops and meatballs. Unfortunately, no plates or cutlery were provided. Had to ask twice, at which point the food was cold. The lamb we'd ordered was presented approximately 10 min after and the server said it was our last dish- we had ordered prawns and breads, which upon asking we first 'hadn't ordered', then after some deliberation had apparently gone to another table. We cancelled the last two dishes. 40 quid for one flabby scallop each....somehow charred on the outside and undercooked. 2.5 meatballs and a bite of fatty cold lamb! I work in hospitality and this is the most pathetic display i have ever witnessed. Had to apologise to my mom for such an awful bday present. All in all, one of the worst experiences I've ever had eating in Birmingham. An embarrassing display from this establishment.

Wow, fantastic food and service was relaxed and friendly . Calamari was the the star of the show, followed by potatas braves. Ticked all the boxes, we certainly be returning. I

We enjoyed the food, the lamb skewers were the hero! Service could have been quicker but it was a busy Friday night so no complaints. Good value, ~£60 bill for 2 people with a bottle of wine

A chance encounter on an evening walk and very glad curiosity took over the brain. All the tapas dishes were fantastically made - massive compliments to the chef(s). Also, fair prices and portion size. The staff were friendly and attentive. Happy bellies all round.

Absolutely delightful experience at Rico Libre - the pork cheeks were to die for, calamari some of the best that I've had, and the goat's cheese croquettes nothing short of delicious. Will definitely be returning!

Had a great time. Spanish food was good and very sociable.

Although a bit difficult to find, the Uber didn’t know where it was but it's not far from the Bullring and within walking distance. Food and service excellent, and all staff smart and professional; the female staff were dressed in their cultural dress and looked m just right for the restaurant. White cava, prawns, scallops, short beef ribs and the hake for us and would have it all again. Will definitely return.

Fantastic food. The vegetarian options were all really delicious, the crispy aubergines being the absolute highlight. The kitchen staff really excelled. All the front of house staff were friendly and engaging and the atmosphere relaxed and enjoyable. Definitely recommended.

First time visit. Some of the BEST food I have ever tasted. Pure quality and incredible service!

Absolutely loved it!! Great portion size, food was super tasty good value for money. 100% going back!

Charisse was amazing! So lovely and welcoming, a great addition to the team ❤️

Booked in last minute on a Saturday with no problems. The food was perfect. Portion size excellent and each dish tasty. Staff very friendly and welcoming, esp as we were last minute. If you’re looking for excellent authentic Spanish tapas, this is it!

My Husband and I dined at Rico Libre for the first time. The staff are friendly and welcoming. We ordered the 3-4 recommended portions but it was abit too much as for a tapas plate size, they were a bit larger than we were expecting. The food was enjoyable and standard tapas menu with a limited choice. They did offer vegan alternatives on the vegetarian menu, which I thought was nice and inclusive. The prices were great for the city centre location. The only downside from my point of view is that the tables are quite small and can get a bit cluttered and the seats were hard wooden chairs and not the most comfortable I've sat in but overall a nice place to visit for a casual meal.

Good food, nice atmosphere, well located in the custard factory in Digbeth. Sharing platter was very poor, this could be simpler and much better value. I was surprised how much of a shortfall this dish was. We ordered two of these. :( Wc’s need some attention particularly as they’re used by all.

Not the best to be honest. After hearing great things the food was just a little off, atmosphere and service was good though.

Great selection of tapas, some on the more unusual side (in a good way). They serve alcohol but we took our own wine and there was a £4 corkage.

Absolutely fantastic food really enjoyed the food. Service was fast and efficient. Will definitely return.

So impressed with this place! The food was absolutely stunning , I wish I could’ve tried everything!! Highly recommend the meatballs. Staff were brilliant to and made a real effort for my friend’s birthday👍

This would get 6 stars if possible... The chefs here really know what they're doing - the quality was amazing and the portions were very generous. Definitely come back again. Great atmosphere, laid back and with attentive staff.. awesome ..!

Great night from numnah my server

This is NOT a Spanish restaurant! I would put zero stars if I could. The service was really poor, the food was bad, the place was dirty, and the music was way too loud!

This is THE worst attempt at making Spanish food that I have eaten. The selection of cheeses were poorly cut and somehow both poorer quality than supermarket bought and also not at all Spanish. The Moroccan lamb skewers were overcooked and dry, the gamba al ajillo were inedible, and I don’t even understand how tortilla could be made so badly. I wanted so bad to have a local Spanish restaurant that I could share with my friends, but rico libre is not it.

We haven't been since it moved location. If anything it might be better, food delicious and we felt very well looked after. BYOB is still in place and everything thoroughly recommended

Had a lovely meal, served by Amie Very filling Strongly recommend the pork cheeks

Went here for some food before a gig at the Institute. Fantastic. Came nice and quickly but was really well presented and very tasty. Need to come again then there's no gig to get to and spend some more time

Had an 18:00 booking on Friday evening. Straight away got met by a friendly and lovely staff member, took the seats and got introduced to specials. Food arrived quickly, and it was absolutely fantastic. I always rate the Spanish restaurant by its staples, such as croquettes and patatas bravas. Rico Libre had it amazing! Also need brisket and pork cheeks were fantastic as well. Sangria jug was actually massive, and really well done beverage as well. The service throughout was incredible, the ladies were attentive, caring and just overall pleasant. Overall, I'm looking forward to come back.

Amie politely served us with cocktails, mains, and specials that we chose. They were all brilliant, and I will definitely be coming back. Highly recommend for the price

La camarera Amie un 10 se nota q lo ha echo mas veces! I la comida tremenda , estaba buenísimo todo! Volveré!

This was not pre planned well researched booking but a spur of the moment booking for 4 people. I am so impressed I had to do a review! The food was fabulous. As a vegetarian tapas often offers more options than most restaurants but they can also be quite similar core ingredients- lots of aubergine and tomatoes. Not this place- fantastic array of veggie and meat based dishes. I have to say the fried aubergine here was outstanding- I could eat that over and over again! Confit mushrooms and Brie was also amazing and we all loved the flat bread. Ratatouille pie was tasty and solid effort on the Patatas bravos. Next time I come to Birmingham I have to come again what a brilliant meal and great venue. Service was a little slow at times but still very friendly. An absolute gem of a place.

Excellent Tapas and friendly service, cocktails and draft beer good too. Will definitely return when in area 👍

I loved how different this restraunt was. Zusanna's customer service was informative and helpful.

Lovely venue, terrific food and friendly service.

Mum was great and all delicious!!

Such a fantastic time we all had. There 25 of us and it was such a smooth service. They were all so accommodating! Also, the girl serving us was an absolute credit to the team! She was so attentive, nothing was too much.

Came here for a birthday celebration, good service and amazing food

AMAZING!! Really great tapas and sangria!!

Muminah,bushra,saminah,Micheal, Daniel was absolutely amazing 10/10 service, food matched the service, second time being here and continues to exceed expectations, I'd recommend to come here, thanks everyone xxx

Amazing birthday celebrations with great food and an attentive team! BYOB was a plus. On a few occasions the servers dropped the dishes for other customers which was not reassuring but otherwise a fab experience!

It is with deepest regret that I write this review as I do not enjoy leaving poor reviews however, this is an exception. Me and my friend decided to eat here and it was welcoming and inviting. We were quickly shown to our table and provided with menus. A few minutes passed and we were invited to order drinks, we chose two cocktails, with a can of Coca Cola. And decided to order from the menu. I had the rump steak tapas, my friend had the Spanish omelette, and we shared the cheese and charcuterie mix. After around ten minutes the drinks hadn’t arrived. My friend chased up the drinks and then the Coca Cola was brought over. After another five minutes the cocktails arrived. This was poor services as l, it was not particularly busy, and should not take around ten minutes for a can of Coca Cola to arrive. The mains then arrived and the steak was cold, greasy, and fairly unappetising. The omelette was described by my friend as “soggy” and “bland”. The charcuterie mix arrived and was well presented but not the best. The olives were not pitted and put me off further eating. To bring some light into this grim review, the manager did discount half of the total, which was pleasing. It seems as if it has been a case of overpromised and underdelivered. I do hope this was just a bad day.

We had so much fun at Rico Libre celebrating our friend before her wedding! Michael and the team were incredible - attentive, fun, and so helpful with our menu options. All of the food was so delicious, with some traditional style tapas and some modern twists too. In fact, we had such a great time that we forgot to take photos of the food! It was such a highlight of the weekend. The smokey margarita was delicious too!

Amazing Tapas restaurant in the heart of the custard factory. Thanks to the great weather, we were able to eat outside on the terrace. All the food was so tasty and whilst the menu may seem small, there was plenty of choice that satisfied us all. Staff were great and we will definitely return.

Mum was our waitress, along with Michael. Food was superb, great options for coeliacs. Happily will return. Cheers folks :)

Great dinner at Rico Libre. The menu was marked up with allergens and they had lots of gluten free options to choose from.

Pretty tasty food, but perhaps at a price not befitting its quality. Brisk, impersonal service (which I suppose is fine if you're into that sort of thing). Probably quite well suited to couples rather than groups, but goes to lengths to fit both into this cosy venue anyway, probably to couples' chagrin.

Lovely Food, the specials were amazing. We were in a rush, so the staff had us in and out in 45 minutes with 7 dishes between 2 of us. Larger than normal tapas portions, so maybe 5 or 6 dishes would have been better.

Amazing food - Highly recommend 3-4 Tapas each. Could be a touch faster but a great vibe 🌟

Food was amazing but service was terrible. It was a quiet early dinner service on Thursday and the host seemed to do everything to ignore our table. Walked past us three times and he didn't even try to make eye contact or check we were enjoying out meal (we were trying to ask for drinks, salt and aioli for most of the meal). Finally got his attention and 15 minutes later the waitress brought the salt and no aioli. It would have taken him seconds to do it when we asked and not have it arrive when we had basically finished. It's a shame because I've eaten here with my girlfriend before and the service was incredible, but this time I came with my flatmate and I felt very unattended and ignored. Service and care felt very different. Guests should not feel this way when the restaurant is far from capacity and especially not when the host walking past us and to the only other outdoor table to go and tend to customers he knew personally. It spoiled the experience of a restaurant I was very keen to show off to my flatmate. Food was good although lack of condiments and everything detracted from the experience. The pork belly came when we had nearly finished every other dish. Not an issue and the menu warns they will come seperately, but honestly we were left wondering if it had been missed off the order with how long it took and the lack of communication (usually you might get a 'your pork belly won't be far behind' or something to that effect.) All in all I was a bit disappointed compared to past visits.

Food was good Service was very slow

Excellent hospitality!!!!! The food is very nice as well. Just a little bit noisy, but everything is good so far. One of favorite restaurants in Birmingham.

Great service by Matt, I asked him to recommend some dishes and he did not disappoint!

Good choice of tapas including a lot of vegetarian options. Authentic Spanish dishes. Also, good choice of daily tapas dishes. Restaurant was a little noisy, though - mostly due to a rowdy group.

Had a Groupon deal as a present. We were welcomed very warmly. Waitresses Bushra and Muminah were really chatty and welcoming. Sangria was good, not too strong and all the dishes were really authentic and flavourful. Only issue was finding the place as the Rico Libre sign was not obvious.

Bushra was amazing. Great atmosphere, food. Great value The best night night our. Thanks so much 😊

I've been going to Rico libre for years now and it never disappoints. The food was absolutely delicious and such a great variety. The staff are great and I'm looking forward to going back !

lovely tasty food with a great atmosphere and friendly polite staff

We have been here several times and the food and service is great! As regular visitors to the Costa Blanca it’s lovely to experience a little bit of Spain at home!

I'm only giving a 3 becsuse the food and service was good but the decor was not great. Worse I had no idea when I booked i would be made to sit on the side benches - SO UNCOMFORTABLE!!Kind of ruined the meal for me tbh.

Disappointed by this restaurant, awful service. Visited with a friend and got sat at at one end and forgotten. Food was poor / average at best and felt reheated from frozen rather than fresh and authentic. Don’t under the hype for this place, also be warned BYB is allowed but felt like you were inconveniencing them, even though it’s £4pp.

Fantastic tapas and paella would definitely recommend. Great cocktail selection too 🙌

Lamb stew is to die for. Wonderful.

I was really looking forward to this but it let me down. This was very simple food, done badly :( I have heard good things so maybe it was an off day. The people and music were good.

Used to be amazing, but you'll be disappointed if you went to the old place. The food is pretty good, but the menu is average at best and it has none of the charm or brilliance of the original. Old review : Incredible selection of tapas and all amazing!

FOOD POISONING A group of 4 of us went to this restaurant in December 2022. 3 of the 4 of us got food poisoning. I was very sick for several days. The one who didn’t get sick was 8 months pregnant so this was a very near miss in that it could have caused a stillbirth. I provided information to the management and they said they would look into it with it 24 hours. They did not do anything and have stopped responding to my messages. Avoid this cesspit at all costs.

My partner and I visited Rico Libre at their old location in Digbeth prior to the pandemic. They have since moved location. We recently visited on a Saturday evening and were both very disappointed with the quality of the food and service. The new location feels soulless and cold. The authentic feel of the old place has been lost and amplified by the fact that you can now get a groupon deal at Rico Libre. Very disappointing return visit, great shame as we loved the previous location.

The food was excellent. However, we were rushed to finish due to the table being booked. The waitress misled us about the time we had been allocated until her colleague corrected her. They did offer recompense with a drink in the bar and we really did enjoy it overall and would go back again

No Star. Telephone number doesnt work. Does this place even exist?

Excellent food and service. Will definitely be going again

Amazing tapas. All fresh and full of flavour. A really great selection. I think this will definitely become a firm favourite with us and we will be back very soon!! Friendly service and great food!

Dined here early evening on a Saturday. We hadn't booked but it is advisable to book if you can. Plenty of choice all freshly cooked and delicious. A little disappointed with the Churrios portion priced at £5 for 2 small churrios.

Enjoyed a late meal (kitchen stayed open to accommodate our late arrival), ordered one of everything on the menu and was delighted by the tastes, the succulence and the presentation. Only a short walk from city centre and well worth the visit.

Amazing. Every dish was a little plate of heaven. All very different and delightful. Just sad we are on holiday and can't make it a regular visit! Muminah was very quick and pleasant. Really cannot recommend enough.

Lovely vibe here, restaurant is tucked away. Portions are a good size, food hot and fresh. Our server was Muminah, and her service was fantastic, professional and polite. Overall a pleasant meal out, thank you! Will be back, do love Tapas!

Lovely food and atmosphere. Nice to have decent Tapas in Birmingham

Fantastic service. Serenx was a star. Lovley food

I came in, i ate the whole menu. I left.

Thank you for a wonderful birthday meal! Food was impeccable and cocktails even better!

We ordered almost everything in the menu and almost everything was tasted yumm

Service excellent but constantly felt under pressure to order, dining experience was rushed and un necessarily pressured. Food was good but not amazing.

Incredible food - best tapas in town

Tapas was very oily. Nice tempura prawns. Not fresh.

Not as good as previous experiences here. Food still good, but service was very hurried which spoilt the night for us

As a Spaniard living in Birmingham I thought better….. Easy food. Tortilla was absolutely no tasty, that’s a shame for Spanish chef… pulpo was very nice but not a la gallega, croquetas was the best!! Delicious!! But cannot see a Spanish restaurant where everyone don’t know about the food, don’t blame the service.

Great food great atmosphere fully worth a visit