Ricky Paiva
Rickhouse
San Francisco, CA
Where you shakin’ at? Rickhouse
How did you first get into bartending?
I’ve been in the service industry since I was 17, and I basically told my company that I was going to be a bartender with or without them. Luckily, one of the restaurants I was working for got their liquor licesnce right before I turned 21—so on my birthday, I started bartending.
Books or movies:
Both—Boozehound for books, and any awesomely funny movie like Hot Rod or 80′s films like RAD.
Favorite mushroom:
I do a lot of cooking on my time off and I’m totally in love with mushrooms. I usually keep porcini, shitake, and baby bellas on hand—but generally, if it’s fungus, I love it!
If you could open a bar anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Why are you offering me a bar?? But seriously, I feel like the right bar to open will come when it’s time. I’ve always had a dream to open a hot dog style cart on the beach in Mexico with a large block of ice to make fresh shaved ice margaritas.
Favorite ORO puro: Italia and Albilla
Visit Ricky behind the stick at Rickhouse or try one of his signature creations at home like the Hard Heart, featuring ORO Pisco’s Albilla or Acholado.
