Gosh, never again. My friend picked this place because it had every specific request we needed - 1. Loads of vegetarian food (the whole party is vegetarian) 2. Bottomless drinks per person (since the whole party doesn't drink) 3. More than just mimosas for bottomless drinks 4. Reservations at a time that worked for all of us We got seated in this busy Saturday morning brunch day. I'm not quite sure why the food isn't even that great and neither were the drinks. We ordered pretty much everything that was vegetarian on the brunch menu. Some items came out cold like the Mac n Cheese. Honestly, the nachos weren't even that great. I could've made better nachos myself at home. The churros came out cold and who likes cold churro's? The only decent item was the mushroom and cheese quesadilla, but unfortunately I don't even eat mushrooms. The mimosas weren't that great. Not sure about the margaritas as I didn't try them, but we left brunch feeling ... sober? Besides the weather being muggy and cold, I got home and felt sick to my stomach. I threw up all the food that I ate and was just overall not feeling well. Not sure if it was the food's fault, weather, drinks, or my own. However, I don't recommend this place for vegetarians, even though it seems veg friendly.
Olivia P.
Bad for groups. Food was meh. I hosted a meetup group of 8 ppl here and the manager (John) was incredibly rude. I will not return to Tico or Nama-Ko, which is what the restaurant is rebranding to in Sept, as the host confirmed the "new" restaurant will have the same staff. Also planning to tell everyone I know about this bad experience. Great job, John!
AlexisJ
Jack was an excellent server- attentive and very personable. The food was great and the drinks did not disappoint either during the bottomless brunch. Manager was also friendly and was checking in at tables. Nice vibe and dope art. 10/10- would recommend.
Catelin D.
I saw this place on Food Network YEARS ago, so of course I was eager to go when I moved right into the neighborhood. The service is impeccable. The tapas are good and there's a great crowd
Amber M.
I was so excited to try Tico for brunch because (1) it is VERY vegetarian friendly and (2) it is one of the few remaining spots in DC that serves unlimited brunch. The Good - the service was good and the waiters seemed to be very attentive to customers. Food was brought out quickly and drinks were quickly refilled. The 'Not So Good' - only a few items on the menu come out hot. In other words, if you order the breakfast tacos, the eggs come out cold/lukewarm. If you order the nachos, it comes out warm. If you order the churros...lukewarm. I was told, when I asked for the eggs in my tacos to be scrambled hard (instead of soft) that all eggs are pre-made and can't be changed. Something about eating cold eggs just wasn't very appetizing. When I mentioned it to the manager, he tried to bring me some warmed tacos, but it was obvious the eggs were just thrown in a microwave. I'm so sad because I really wanted to like this brunch. I'm not asking for the world, just hot food. Unfortunately, we won't be back.
Denise T.
Bottomless Brunch: My wife is a vegetarian and their bottomless brunch menu is VERY vegetarian friendly, so I made a reservation to give it a shot. I also really liked the diverse bottomless drinks menu. You can get more than just mimosas. Service: Our server was nice enough and attentive. Gratuity was automatically added to our bill. Management: The manager did their usual "Is everything tasting good?" pass through and my wife asked about the usual food serving temperature. We learned the egg dishes aren't served warm and there are only two hot dishes on the menu. The manager seemed a bit annoyed by the question, but he asked. Food: mac and cheese - won't remind you of your grandma's but I liked the spicy flavor. It is tasty. brisket hash - was tasty. I don't care for poached eggs, but the brisket was moist and flavorful. cabbage salad - solid flavor, but I didn't care for the peanuts. chicken tacos - simply and pretty tasty. French toast churros - they could have been softer, but the whipped cream was good. Margarita - simple and tasty. Price: too much for room temperature food. Overall - I wouldn't go back. With all the brunch options in the city, this definitely isn't a place I'd go back to.
MoTrad
Overall, the place and staff were friendly. However, we wanted to have sushi. The Sake was super smooth. But I recommend either dropping the sushi bar, or get a real sushi chef...at a very minimum, fix the rice!! More than 50% or the sushi taste should come from the rice. What was used, was the same rice used for burritos. Separated grains, wet at times, non sticky. Doesn't even seem like the rice has any hint of vinegar. Completely ruined the taste of the rolls. I think a a fusion restaurant could potentially marry two cuisines, but perhaps, not freely mix ingredients. Hope things get better in the future. Best of luck.
Isriana
The food was not too bad but there are inconsistencies with each plate . The vegetarian section has a lot of variety but not any stand out dishes. So a little underwhelming like their crispy cauliflower was not very crispy and the vegetable dumpling tastes more like batter so little things like that .
Purpose T.
I had weekend brunch and it was underwhelming. We tried a few different items to share and the food was just okay. I'd heard a lot of great things about Tico from other foodie friends in the area, so perhaps my expectations were too high. Maybe the dinner menu is better.
MaureenA
A $50 brunch that's bottomless should be bottomless! My waiter should not be hard to find, the drinks should be pitchers and we shouldn't be limited in our time at the table and if we have to be then the service needs to be faster so we can get more food. Will not be back
I brought my brother here but was a bit disappointed. The service was less than ideal. We kept asking for items on the menu that never arrived and our waiter clearly paid more attention to diners who were drinking alcohol. Additionally, some of the food items lacked flavor like the dumplings and the chicken tacos. I'm not sure I'll be coming back anytime soon.
JimJam328
this was a great casual, just for fun brunch experience. Extremely healthy and delicious choices, our server already knew the drill - 2 of everything on the menu, she kept drinks coming, and even did the birthday surprise for a friend.
We went to celebrate my daughters birthday! Great service, great ambiance, great food and so much food for the money. Drinks are unique, such a friendly fun place. We are picky with restaurants and found everything we wanted at this little gem. So worth it!
CJ729
This was probably one of the BEST bottomless brunch experiences I have ever had. This was my first time coming to Tico, and I was impressed as soon as I walked inside. It is a large, gorgeous venue with amazing service. My guests and I felt incredibly cared for and welcomed. We were very impressed by ever tapas plate that came out, and the bottomless brunch is on point. For each drink you order, you essential get 3 drinks since a mini craft is giving to each person doing the bottomless brunch. Our server was absolutely amazing and on point; he was always attentive and checking in on us. He also made sure to warn us when we were coming up to the 15 minute mark of our endless food and drinks to make sure we could put a final order in. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting the DC area.
Jed R.
Brunch dawg. It's DC, so you gotta go for brunch. We went one weekend for a group brunch. This was my first time but I've only heard great things. The great things panned out. Drinks were being drunk, food was being frunk, you know how it be. The food just comes out, in waves, then you specifically order items if you want more of something. Drinks came out in pitchers so down it and keep going. Great spot, that whole area is great, if they added the sushi joint to the brunch it would be a 6/5. Would recommend.
Gosh, never again. My friend picked this place because it had every specific request we needed - 1. Loads of vegetarian food (the whole party is vegetarian) 2. Bottomless drinks per person (since the whole party doesn't drink) 3. More than just mimosas for bottomless drinks 4. Reservations at a time that worked for all of us We got seated in this busy Saturday morning brunch day. I'm not quite sure why the food isn't even that great and neither were the drinks. We ordered pretty much everything that was vegetarian on the brunch menu. Some items came out cold like the Mac n Cheese. Honestly, the nachos weren't even that great. I could've made better nachos myself at home. The churros came out cold and who likes cold churro's? The only decent item was the mushroom and cheese quesadilla, but unfortunately I don't even eat mushrooms. The mimosas weren't that great. Not sure about the margaritas as I didn't try them, but we left brunch feeling ... sober? Besides the weather being muggy and cold, I got home and felt sick to my stomach. I threw up all the food that I ate and was just overall not feeling well. Not sure if it was the food's fault, weather, drinks, or my own. However, I don't recommend this place for vegetarians, even though it seems veg friendly.
Bad for groups. Food was meh. I hosted a meetup group of 8 ppl here and the manager (John) was incredibly rude. I will not return to Tico or Nama-Ko, which is what the restaurant is rebranding to in Sept, as the host confirmed the "new" restaurant will have the same staff. Also planning to tell everyone I know about this bad experience. Great job, John!
Jack was an excellent server- attentive and very personable. The food was great and the drinks did not disappoint either during the bottomless brunch. Manager was also friendly and was checking in at tables. Nice vibe and dope art. 10/10- would recommend.
I saw this place on Food Network YEARS ago, so of course I was eager to go when I moved right into the neighborhood. The service is impeccable. The tapas are good and there's a great crowd
I was so excited to try Tico for brunch because (1) it is VERY vegetarian friendly and (2) it is one of the few remaining spots in DC that serves unlimited brunch. The Good - the service was good and the waiters seemed to be very attentive to customers. Food was brought out quickly and drinks were quickly refilled. The 'Not So Good' - only a few items on the menu come out hot. In other words, if you order the breakfast tacos, the eggs come out cold/lukewarm. If you order the nachos, it comes out warm. If you order the churros...lukewarm. I was told, when I asked for the eggs in my tacos to be scrambled hard (instead of soft) that all eggs are pre-made and can't be changed. Something about eating cold eggs just wasn't very appetizing. When I mentioned it to the manager, he tried to bring me some warmed tacos, but it was obvious the eggs were just thrown in a microwave. I'm so sad because I really wanted to like this brunch. I'm not asking for the world, just hot food. Unfortunately, we won't be back.
Bottomless Brunch: My wife is a vegetarian and their bottomless brunch menu is VERY vegetarian friendly, so I made a reservation to give it a shot. I also really liked the diverse bottomless drinks menu. You can get more than just mimosas. Service: Our server was nice enough and attentive. Gratuity was automatically added to our bill. Management: The manager did their usual "Is everything tasting good?" pass through and my wife asked about the usual food serving temperature. We learned the egg dishes aren't served warm and there are only two hot dishes on the menu. The manager seemed a bit annoyed by the question, but he asked. Food: mac and cheese - won't remind you of your grandma's but I liked the spicy flavor. It is tasty. brisket hash - was tasty. I don't care for poached eggs, but the brisket was moist and flavorful. cabbage salad - solid flavor, but I didn't care for the peanuts. chicken tacos - simply and pretty tasty. French toast churros - they could have been softer, but the whipped cream was good. Margarita - simple and tasty. Price: too much for room temperature food. Overall - I wouldn't go back. With all the brunch options in the city, this definitely isn't a place I'd go back to.
Overall, the place and staff were friendly. However, we wanted to have sushi. The Sake was super smooth. But I recommend either dropping the sushi bar, or get a real sushi chef...at a very minimum, fix the rice!! More than 50% or the sushi taste should come from the rice. What was used, was the same rice used for burritos. Separated grains, wet at times, non sticky. Doesn't even seem like the rice has any hint of vinegar. Completely ruined the taste of the rolls. I think a a fusion restaurant could potentially marry two cuisines, but perhaps, not freely mix ingredients. Hope things get better in the future. Best of luck.
The food was not too bad but there are inconsistencies with each plate . The vegetarian section has a lot of variety but not any stand out dishes. So a little underwhelming like their crispy cauliflower was not very crispy and the vegetable dumpling tastes more like batter so little things like that .
I had weekend brunch and it was underwhelming. We tried a few different items to share and the food was just okay. I'd heard a lot of great things about Tico from other foodie friends in the area, so perhaps my expectations were too high. Maybe the dinner menu is better.
A $50 brunch that's bottomless should be bottomless! My waiter should not be hard to find, the drinks should be pitchers and we shouldn't be limited in our time at the table and if we have to be then the service needs to be faster so we can get more food. Will not be back
Restaurantji Recommends
I brought my brother here but was a bit disappointed. The service was less than ideal. We kept asking for items on the menu that never arrived and our waiter clearly paid more attention to diners who were drinking alcohol. Additionally, some of the food items lacked flavor like the dumplings and the chicken tacos. I'm not sure I'll be coming back anytime soon.
this was a great casual, just for fun brunch experience. Extremely healthy and delicious choices, our server already knew the drill - 2 of everything on the menu, she kept drinks coming, and even did the birthday surprise for a friend.
We went to celebrate my daughters birthday! Great service, great ambiance, great food and so much food for the money. Drinks are unique, such a friendly fun place. We are picky with restaurants and found everything we wanted at this little gem. So worth it!
This was probably one of the BEST bottomless brunch experiences I have ever had. This was my first time coming to Tico, and I was impressed as soon as I walked inside. It is a large, gorgeous venue with amazing service. My guests and I felt incredibly cared for and welcomed. We were very impressed by ever tapas plate that came out, and the bottomless brunch is on point. For each drink you order, you essential get 3 drinks since a mini craft is giving to each person doing the bottomless brunch. Our server was absolutely amazing and on point; he was always attentive and checking in on us. He also made sure to warn us when we were coming up to the 15 minute mark of our endless food and drinks to make sure we could put a final order in. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting the DC area.
Brunch dawg. It's DC, so you gotta go for brunch. We went one weekend for a group brunch. This was my first time but I've only heard great things. The great things panned out. Drinks were being drunk, food was being frunk, you know how it be. The food just comes out, in waves, then you specifically order items if you want more of something. Drinks came out in pitchers so down it and keep going. Great spot, that whole area is great, if they added the sushi joint to the brunch it would be a 6/5. Would recommend.