The River Cafe

1 Stunde Fahrt von Soho, bei Verkehr. Schön an der Themse gelegen. Innen schön, nicht gemütlich und recht laut. Sehr guter, freundlicher Service — London typisch. Das wären 4 – 5 Sterne gewesen. Leider ist das Essen nicht der Rede wert. Ich habe ein River Café Kochbuch und mag auch die reduzierte italienische Küche. Aber einfach nur ein paar — zugegeben top qualitative — Zutaten zuzubereiten reicht nicht. Kein Aha Erlebnis, kein besonderer Geschmack, einfach nur langweilig und nur auf Grund der guten Zutaten kein Desaster. Wir waren zu dritt mit je 3 Gängen, alles unterschiedlich aber im Ergebnis gleich. Bei dem Top Angebot in London lohnt der Gang ins River Café definitiv nicht.

I just adore this place — my favourite Italian in London by far. Not only is the food excellent, fresh, and seasonal — but the ambiance is lovely, service is fantastic (a rare find in London) and prices are (in my opinion) very reasonable.
The starter of grilled calamari is absolutely to die for, and the pasta is always cooked to absolute perfection. Desserts are delicious too. Suitable for a romantic meal or lunch/​dinner with friends and/​or family — everyone I’ve taken here has been extremely impressed with the vibe, quality and flavours.
Definitely not a place to miss.

The cooking at The River Café was indeed quality but it was simply far too expensive for my liking, £40 for a main course at that kind of level was really questionable. It would set you back around £90 if you have a 4 course meal, that is more expensive than most tasting menu in other 1 Michelin star venues. If I directly compare to The River Café to most of the other 1 stars restaurants (Eg: Launceston Place, Fera, Murano), they all involve higher technical skills, nicer presentation and most importantly, better tasting profile. So while The River Café has a nice river view, friendly service and good food, at close to the £100 mark, my expectations were not met.

We reserved 3 plus weeks in advance on the recommendation of a colleague who eats here frequently. We knew in advance, that this would be a splurge meal both in price and quality of food.
The location is a little far out from central London, and hard to find. We had a 7:15 reservation, but almost wish it was a little earlier. Within 30 minutes, this place was packed! It became very loud, and difficult to have a conversation. You can tell there is a loyal following here with regulars. Tables are in very close quarters to one another and small. We had a hard time placing everything on our table for 2, I couldn’t imagine some of the small tables that had 6 people.
Service was excellent. No complaints. We were treated very well; the staff was very knowledgeable about all the dishes and made recommendations. We never really had the same server. We had several that took care of us, and service never suffered despite being so busy.
We started with some aperitifs, and had the appetizer — Scallops with greens. Excellent. Very nice preparation, and cooked perfectly. My only complaint — there was only 2.
Next we moved onto the langoustine stuffed ravioli. I could have eaten another dish. Excellent.
For mains, I had the bronzino/​sea bass, served with roasted potatoes and tomatoes. It was cooked perfectly, good portion size. We also had the fillet, served with spinach and beans. Also cooked perfectly.
For dessert, we shared Affogato. Espresso poured over gelato.
We weren’t surprised by the price point as we knew it was going to be expensive. I would return on a future visit to the area without hesitation.

What a great dinning experience! To get it out of the way, the only minor negative is that the ambiance does not match the food and service. Not terrible, but a large unremarkable room as compared to the exquisite food and excellent service.
So with that slight ding (not enough to reduce it below 5 stars) lets get to the positives. Start with the bar. We arrived 30 minutes early (misjudged the London night traffic which is not quite as horrible as the day traffic) and, while seated early, did have a chance to enjoy cocktails at the comfortable bar. The custom drinks were excellent and would definitely recommend the summer cup and Mediterranean cosmopolitan. I had a local gin in my G&tT, which was very good but I did pine a bit for the fresh fruit martini.
For appetizers, we had the crab salad (very solid) but the clear winners were the grilled scallops with eggplant and the grilled peppers with leeks and Swiss chard. The risotto with fresh porcini mushrooms as a split middle course was epic. For main courses, the grilled Turbot was good but the marinated lamb was even better. Off the charts, was the veal shank, which was as good a dish as I have had anywhere. Melt in your mouth texture with incredible flavor.
Lemon tart for dessert was exquisite and the cheese course was also excellent. Wine list was superb in the Italian categories and the Som. was very knowledgeable and eager to help. Throw in the excellent service and this is must eat in London.

Very delicious dishes. the Pigeon is very juicy and tender, and Scallops is very fresh and tasty. I forget to bring my camera to take photos, so use your imagination, lol. The interior design is very unique, open kitchen, so we can see the Chiefs cook our food on the other side of serving tables. Upscale restaurant, so be prepare for the bill. Service is excellent!

Great expectations of eating here after surmounting considerable difficulties in getting a reservation (only at 9.15 pm four weeks ahead). Weather not yet nice enough to eat outside, and tables inside were maximally packed. Full house on Friday meant almost unbearable noise, so much so I could not hear what the sweet waitress tried to communicate about menu dishes being out of stock. Nice, all Italian rustic menu, mostly northern Italy, little truffle, little risotto. Great, really great wine list and very knowledgable sommelier, but pricey, certainly for very average supermarket quality Montepulciano in carafe, that should have been 20 pounds instead of more than double that.
Food was excellent, charcoal grilled calimari esp nice, home made fine, fresh ravioli recommended, HUGE portion turbot almost justifying its HUGE price, wonderful desserts. But 465 pounds for three as final bill requires much more comfortable seating, larger tables, more sophisticated dishes, and much better open wines for more decent prices. Go, if you want to splurge, on a warm evening, take a taxi or Über for the 50 min ride from central London, take one bottle of wine and don’t let them pour it out too quickly, share dishes and don’t stuff yourselves on bread and olive oil that gets served first while you wait some 30 min for your appetisers!

Gradient y2-​y1/​x2-​X1 = 1+2÷3−1 = 1.5
Gradient of l = −2÷3
Y-​y1 = m (x-​X1)
2x + 3y — 9 = 0
Math = great
Great = river café

Excellent service, very organized staff, amazing food. We took a taxi from Hammersmith Station since it’s quite a hike from the station. The design of the restaurant was bright, cheerful, and beautifully colored. We went with our 7 year old and she also loved the food. We started with appetizers (steak tartare, grilled scallops with anchovies, and grilled artichoke with mozzarella), all were delicious starters. For entrees we had tagliatelle Ruth vongole, gnocchi with Langostine, Branzino sea bass with baby artichokes. All were excellent. We can really taste the high level fresh ingredients, especially the evoo. Best Italian food ever. We were stuffed but still managed to experience chocolate nemesis and gelato. The staff were very attentive. They even called a Mercedes Benz taxi for us when we got the check so we didn’t have to wait long and got to the station safely. We’ll definitely come back next time we are in London.

The River Café is unlike anything I’ve ever been to (décor wise) and filled with bright crazy colors, lots of white and looks like modern 80s. The food was good, though not the best I’ve had. I can imagine in the summer, the outdoor dining experience must be pretty spot on, with gorgeous views of the Thames (especially at sunset!).
The staff was accommodating of my gluten intolerance (I had warned them ahead of time, but it did take a few extra minutes for the chefs to discuss among themselves). They were willing to make anything on the menu for me with the exception of pasta dishes.
For an appetizer I ordered a buffalo mozzarella salad. Usually these salads are layers of tomato, basil and mozzarella. Instead, I received a bean, tomato and olive salad with grilled pumpkin and a one pound ball of mozzarella. My husband ordered a crab salad with polenta and tomatoes. He used some of my massive ball of mozzarella to eat his tomatoes because I had plenty to share.
For dinner I ordered a whole Dover sole and my husband had ravioli with ricotta and mushrooms. Our dessert consisted of some awesome gelato.

Been following the chefs for 15 years and own/​use several of the cookbooks. Food was ~4 stars (disappointingly not 5); service 1 star. Left unattended for ~25 minutes after seating; ordered wine WITH DINNER and it was brought before salad/​apps and even before the cocktail; requested pasta minus the mint — not only did the pasta come with the mint, we weren’t advised of this or offered to order a different dish. Total bummer. Would not return considering the price and distance city.

This is the best restaurant in the world
Best location, staff, menu, execution, owner
I dont really have much to add — except have the grouse when its around
Always order soup in spring and summer
Never dont have the bolitto misto
They treat everone like rockstars on a red carpet,
Always drink grappa at the end, and then one more for the ditch
Then go for a walk up the Thames — feeling sorry for everyone who hadnt just eaten there

Food was delicious, would have deserved 4.5 stars. I reduced to two stars because our waiter yelled at my 2-​year old twin girls who were looking at a butterfly. If you want to deal with puffed up waiters with attitude who will yell at your children and then have attitude when you complain, this is the place. Won’t be back.

Finally summer came and I went to the River Café. Hello beautiful garden setting.
So here are the outstandings – the setting. Stunning. The chocolate nemesis cake. To die for.
Here are the goods. The food. Liked the squid and the fish – very well-​executed.
Here are the mehs. The service. I was expecting outstanding service. We had to hail down staff at multiple times.
The yucks. Who brings kids to a place like this? And of course they have free range to run around – not pleasant for a place of this caliber.
And the price – I am all for you get what you pay for but the price is a bit ridiculous.

Why is iit expensive? …Because they buy really top produce, best cuts and serve it with imagination in an authentic Italian style. Their wood-​fired oven is something to behold…
We (6) lunched last Sat, started off with their signature char-​grilled Italo bread drizzled with green olive oil. I could eat a plate of this on its own !
But, their char grilled squid with chilli + rocket has to have its place, its a cornerstone
Dover sole on the bone, very good, one of my fellow diners had the Turbot, a fine door stop tranche, beautiful, l and I was lucky she eats small… So we shared. This is premium Turbot, we are lucky to enjoy such produce… it won’t be around indefinitely.
Deserts.were good, pink rhubarb, delicately baked with what looked like a breast implant pannacotta !!! I rotated my plate for a laugh or two and it remind me of Jordan (well known author) but it couldn’t compete with the b + butter pudding
Which was the home run of deserts on this particular day…
Well done River Café — you don’t normally do it but you’ve done it again !!!
My favourite restaurant in London.

Everything I put in my mouth at this restaurant had WOW factor.
I’ve eaten at several michelin star restaurants across Europe and River Café is by far my absolute favourite. Incredible food, fantastic service and a great vibe. The sommelier made excellent wine suggestions, too.
The quality of the ingredients is what makes the food so great. The olive oil, for example, was BRIGHT green — a vintage olive oil — the KING of olive oils, if you ask me.
We started off with the grilled calamari — the only staple on their ever-​changing menu. What is so special about this dish is the freshness of the squid. I’ve never had such tasty squid. The herbs and chill, which I absolutely loved, are the second flavour in your mouth and not there to cover-​up or soften any fishy flavours, because none exist.
We also had a delicious raw beef dish that was prepared perfectly, complimented with parmesan shavings and a touch of lemon.
For primi, we had the ricotta and spinach gnocchi… little wonderful bits of heaven in my mouth. No potato and minimal flour is what enticed me to order this dish. How do you have potato-​less gnocchi? Well, they did it and it was phenomenal!
I could have honestly left the restaurant and gone home happy at this point… but we stuck around for the secondi, since we did order it :)
We ordered the veal and the angus steak. Not only were these pieces of meat cooked perfectly (They didn’t even ask how we want the meat done… that’s such a stupid question. Only one way to do it when it’s a great piece of meat), but they were accompanied by full sides. What really stood out to me was a green salsa with the beef. Very tasty and fresh.
Finally, our dessert was pannacotta served with rhubarb. Very impressive.
I’m just amazed that I loved every single thing that they served us. It is expensive, but absolutely worth it.
I don’t even have one single complaint about River Café… I might have said I wasn’t much a fan of the blue carpet when I first walked in, but this place won me over so hard that I even now love the blue carpet. The design and ambiance work great to create a fun and exciting atmosphere without being pretentious in any way.
I LOVE RIVER CAFE.

Ms. Chocoholic raves about the chocolate nemesis and would describe in detail, its loveliness and the pleasure that she experienced when she had it the first time. She said that we should try it where it originally came from and It didn’t take much convincing after where we found ourselves heading to The River Café.
With the sun shining and kids and people enjoying the al fresco seating outside, you couldn’t help but be in a jolly mood. Exuding an antipodean café vibe, we were relaxed and in a good mood.
Overall, each dish was tasty and the flavours were clean and balanced though it wasn’t brilliant. For the prices charged, I would expect it to be justified by either the ingredients to be of really good quality that simplicity cooking is used to allow the natural flavours to sing through or cooking techniques and flavours were paired for something delicious. It was neither for me.
We now arrived at desserts and the infamous chocolate nemesis was ordered amongst others.
I have to say that Ms. Chocoholic’s description sounded better than it tasted.

One of my favorite restaurants in London which happens to remind me of one of my favorite restaurants in the US; Al Forno in Providence, RI.
Excellent rustic Italian food (think lots of grilled meats, wood-​oven roasted mains, excellent pastas and risottos). The food isn’t fussy or particularly innovative as at other top London restaurants, but sometimes simplicity works better than sous-​videing.
Building purpose built by Richard Rogers whose wife happens to own the restaurant; his office is next door so you can check out all the cool architectural models after dinner.
We shared some great buffalo mozzarella starter, some courgette fries, and some squid — all excellent.
My main was a grilled leg of lamb which was fantastic. My wife had a great ravioli filled with swiss chard and ricotta.
Our deserts were equally good; almond tart, and two different flourless chocolate cakes.
Service is fantastic, as is the wine list and cocktails.

I guess like a lot of folk The River Café, along with The Fat Duck, has been on our «wish list» for what seems like an age. The lovely weather at the end of March, the chance of a cheeky Friday off work and a little cash left in the bank meant that a long awaited pleasure could finally be realised.
The short trek, no more than 15 minutes at an ambling pace, along the Thames Path from the tube station is a nice enough way to arrive at the restaurant although I’m not sure the majority of punters would find this to their taste — we didn’t spot many of the walking classes on our visit.
When we arrived around 2pm we found that the gods were really looking after us when we were offered the choice of a table inside or one on the terrace which had a little shade to protect from the early Spring sun which was out in full force. It was a no brainer. If you are lucky enough to turn up on a sunny day and can bag a table on the terrace this is the place to be — the inside space is fine but I found it a bit uninspiring and lacking in «vibe». It put me in mind of a canteen space — not surprising really as that was its original function for the architectural practise next door.
Once we were seated some very fine bread and the good looking paper menu arrived without much delay. We were eating from the set lunch menu, four courses for £39, which had plenty of mouth watering dishes on offer (much better than the choice of 2 starters and 2 mains which is what you often find on the set menu in «high end» places). After a bit of banter with the young, friendly waiting staff we felt we had enough information to go on and made our orders (when you have been waiting this long to go to a restaurant it can be a bit nerve racking making a choice — the last thing you want is to blow it and find you have a bad case of the dreaded food envy).
Perhaps it was the sunny day and the fine white wine from Sicily that we were drinking but this was a meal to savour from beginning to end. My lovely antipasti of chargrilled squid with chilli and rocket was tasty and perfectly cooked but was put into the shade by B’s choice of prosciutto with smashed broad bean bruschetta which was just wonderful.
Things got even better with the primi plates; my agnoli with rabbit, bay and pieropan soave was a dish to die for and the risotto con asparagi was simple yet delicately cooked and seasoned. The secondi had been recommended by our lovely waitress and did not fail to deliver: the Cornish monkfish with slow cooked fennel and rocket was perfection and the beef sirloin with salsa verde, cannellini beans and roasted medina tomatoes was a meat lovers paradise.
Despite being stuffed by this point we took a bit of a breather to finish our wine and soak up the atmosphere — service had almost finished and most of the staff had decamped from the kitchen to sit outside and devour a well earned late lunch. Their energetic and engaging conversations made a nice contrast to the two very well groomed ladies sitting next to us who had spent a couple of hours discussing central London house prices and their next rental investments.
After this short break we pressed on with some tart: pear and almond for me and lemon for B. Both were very tasty and went down well but if you are on a budget or have a small appetite my advice would be to have the antipasti and skip the dolci.
By the time we had finished our coffee it was gone 5pm, the sun was starting to lose its heat and the journey home beckoned. The bill was not cheap but compared to the a la carte menu it was a bargain. I’m not sure that I would have found this such a delightful meal if I had been dining at full price, inside the restaurant, in the evening but I would recommend this for a lunch date without hesitation to anyone who has a love of good food.

Haven’t eaten here in years but wanted to go back for AGES. Rocked up in the car and the valet beckoned me in and took care of the parking.
Mid-​week, room was bustling. We had a 9PM reservation but were ready to sit us, despite turning up half an hour early. Daily menu was composed of imaginative and well thought out dishes. Cheap River Café is not with starters averaging out at £14 and mains up to £35. But I went for the whole nine yards with an Agretti dish followed by a sort of ravioli in ball format and chocolate nemesis. Oh boy. Tasted as good as I remember it.
Service was in a league of its own. Waitress friendly, attentive and extremely knowledgeable on all the dishes and advising my friend who had prosciutto, blood orange and fennel to start and veal with a lemon infused risotto as her main, washed down with a dessert wine (as recommended by aforementioned waitress). As we got our coats at the front desk, the valet was already drawing our car to the front door.
Five out of five, surely for a great fine dining experience. Rose Gray would have been proud of how the River Café continues to stand the test of time.

A divine anniversary dinner.
His lamb, my salmon— both perfect in every way. He didn’t even think he really liked lamb prior to this and subsequently has sought out an experience to rival River Café.
The sommelier came over and discussed our wine choice. I admitted my love for champagne and sweet whites. She brought us a wonderful Italian Prosecco and a side of Cassis liquer «if it’s not sweet enough». A Kir Royale, on my anniversary, hummina hummina.
By coincidence, we were sat next to a couple. It was his 60^th birthday. We all shared a wonderful conversation and some groppa. He enjoyed racing his vintage Mercedes in Italy (where we were continuing our trip) and they suggested a detour through San Gimignano (a WONDERFUL addition).
We finished off the meal with a lava cake and cassis sorbet.
One of those memorable meals…