The River Cafe - London Review

Absolutely loved the whole experience. Booked it for a Saturday lunch weeks in advance. The service the food the atmosphere were all perfect and we just had a wonderful afternoon.

Delicious Food , lovely restaurant , and friendly staff.

Great atmosphere at this restaurant. A little bit off the beaten track but in a pleasant riverside location. Food a little disappointing though and the wine very expensive. The service was pleasant and helpful.

The food was fine, especially the dessert, but you get food in the same quality probably in other places for a lower price.

Spectacularly simple with divine italian food. Ate there yesterday and probably had the best pasta dish of my life! Lives up to its reputation - not the cheapest but likely the best italian in London. A MUST TRY!

excellent restaurant with very goo & consistent food & service. very good but long wine list bt staff knowledgable and some good value wines within

Very nice food, but noticed that the quality of set menu dishes vary from the rest of the menu. Some of the dishes are very small in size, eg the Scallop and Borlotti beans, served as a main course only had two scallops.

Amazing food. Excellent service. A bit pricey though.

Nice view over the garden to the Thames. Quite a hidden gem for food. Food was delicious if a little pricey. Tables are quite close together and we had a few instances of knocking chairs with other tables. Overall I'd recommend it.

Our meals were very definitely cooked with the freshest and finest ingredients. The portions were generous. The wines are very expensive. The staff were attentive yet discreet. The style is not what I would call Italian; more Mediterranean. Unfortunately the tables are rammed in canteen style so you cannot avoid your neighbours talk. There are much better options at a fraction of the price. May 18.

Ok, for sure fabulous!

After reading all reviews, to be honest, I was doubting: how can everybody be so positive? To good to be true? I can tell you now: It s not!

The food is really amazing! We had the best smoked ale ever, the fish was fantastic, and the pork ... never had it so good! The rest of your life you only want to eat here ...

The staff is super friendly and it looks like they really love there jobs.
Two difficult eaters were joining me. They both were super surprised and stealing food from each other

The costs are a just a bit more then normal.

The reviews lead me to this spot and I was not disappointed. Great restaurant, lovely staff and interesting wine list. I will be returning.

One of my favourite places to go and eat. Very expensive but treat yourself and go.

Best Italian in London by a quarter mile... absolutely love this place...

I love Italian cuisine, so this cafe is pretty good.
Their pasta with parmezan cheese is amazing, highly recommend!

I tend to internally rate restaurants by four categories, And nothing more. Quality of food, service, atmosphere, and being allowed to take your time and enjoy your food without being rushed off. The River Cafe knocked all four out of the park. The veal was the best I've ever had, the service was friendly, attentive, but not overbearing, The open kitchen added to the welcoming and warm atmosphere, and I was able to enjoy all courses with my family over the course of three hours without being hurried at all. Excellent.

Excellent service. Excellent food. Great atmosphere. The vegetarian dishes are delicious as are the non-vegetarian options. The food is well presented. The staff are wonderful. Will definitely visit again and again.

Really wonderful Italian restaurant, in a venue with perfect blend of sense of occasion and relaxed atmosphere with incredible location by river Thames. Expensive but delicious. Perfect place to take your parents if they come to London in summer.

This is a very special place. First of all, you have incredible views, it s a quiet place, cause it s in a residential zone. The food is incredible, you have a menu and you have to choose a first, second and dessert( by the way you also have starters! I truly recommend the chocolate nemesis. The best sweet thing that I have ever try!!!! Amazing

Food was good as expected. Was asked three times within 5mins what drinks we wanted. They could be a little more structured with the approach of they want tables turned over in a certain time. Stop clock background really soured the evening.

Very nice, very expensive for as a chef I
would class as a good bistro

Great atmosphere warm staff and amazing food just loved the place

Overpriced. It s a shame because it s a beautiful space but the food is just good, not great. When you are spending ~100 pounds it should be great. Also the menu was incomplete they had ran out of dishes on their menu we were looking forward to trying. The drinks we ordered never made it. Poor service, we all felt rushed to leave.

High end Italian restaurant. It was very good, however I am not a fan of things like rabbit, pigeon, etc--much prefer chicken, which was not on the menu. Got the ravioli, which were good. Husband's rigatoni with langoustines was better. The wine was very good. The waiiter had great suggestions with that. The prosciutto and melon appetizer was fantastic. The bread for the table was baked beautifully also. Went later at night, so not much of a view. Perhaps lunch is better, as there is outside seating. The panna cotta was unlike any other I've had before, in a good way! Very creamy.

Oh yes that we will always enjoy going to the River Cafe very much with friends, families and everyone. Inshallah

Just excellent. Best italian ive had in a long time. Fresh pastas, seafood, and excellent service. Absolutely loved it.

Super service super tasty more than one michelin of course

Very tasty food, well presented. Great service too, very friendly and welcoming.
Probably in my top three restaurants ever.
I'll come back!

This restaurant has the reputation it deserves because the food is excellent.

Super helpful staff! Some people on our table were blinded by the sun and the waiter put up something on the window! Great choice on the menu. I thought the pasta was 2 minutes away from al dente as the middle was hard and you actually had to put some effort in cutting it. But who cares when the rest was tasty and the pannacotta was yum! Proper jiggly.

Lovely. Great food, considerate staff. I will go again.

Great Italian food and balance quality price!! Super suggested

the finest italian cooking in london, featuring simple preparations that allow stellar, seasonal ingredients to shine. waitstaff so knowledgeable about every dish and ingredient, and passionate about good food, and guiding you in choosing it, you'll swear you were in california. fine dining in london is extortionate; the river cafe is no exception, but is rare in that it is worth the price.

I have been here a few times and have only ever had an excellent meal with excellent service.

Food was delicious but the service was very average for the price. Had it been half the price it would have been excellent. For this price I was distinctly underwhelmed

Excellent, authentic, genuine Italian cuisine. Best, natural ingredients. Exceptional, unique quality.

In search of the best Italian restaurant we ended up in the River Cafe. We were surprised by both the decor, which is not at all the expected romantic Italian surrounding, and the style of cuisine, which is not classic Italian but more mediterranean modern. (Prices are very "modern" too and definitely on the high side.) We enjoyed it very much and recommend the River Cafe for anyone looking for top class Mediterranean cuisine in a modern settin

Disappointingly average service for cost, zero vegetarian option on Secondis

Exceptional food. Friendly helpful staff. Fairly informal but nice that if, for men, you'd like to wear a suit and tie you wouldn't feel out of place.

It was good, but none of the dishes were memorable. Great atmosphere even though they maximize every inch of space. Would have been better if they took just one row out and provided more space where you are not sitting on top of each other. Will still give it a chance for lunch on a sunny day. Location is absolutely gorgeous. Service was sub par and rushed. Not a Michelin experience worthy in my experience.

This Restaurant is amazing, good food, nice wine list and good atmosphere by the Thames river.

This is one of the best Italian restaurants around (against all odds and not indicative of its name). It benefits from a lovely setting by the Thames although it is arguably a bit out of the way. It is worth the detour though! Friendly service with a smile. But pricey.

Took my folks for a birthday celebration. I don't really need to say much more than impeccable service from top to toe, and brilliantly prepared and delicious food. Thanks for a great afternoon.

Disappointing, did not live up to its reputation. Certainly not worth the price, very expensive for mostly mediocre dishes.

Loved it! What more can one say about this wonderful restaurant?!... superb service, elite products, elite cuisine, elegant yet free style colourful decor. I will surely return to try more and more, again and again!

Lovely restaurant, great food and ambiance. Can't wait to go back

Loved it. Fairly simple Italian food but you could taste beautiful fresh ingredients and prepared to perfection. Sat outside which was a treat. It's not often you have a quiet outside space in London.

We were looking forward to a special evening, but ended up being disappointed. Starters were fine, albeit nothing super-special, but priced about 50% higher than expected. Mains: ravioli was delicious; fettuccine with slow cooked pork ragu had intermittently-overly-chewy meat bits. Dessert: panna cotta with pomegranate seeds and grappa was divine. There's an impressive wine list, mostly Italian. We chose to drink wine by the glass, mostly following the somellier's recommendation: a nice Franciacorte (our pick), indifferent other whites (his); a recommended "lighter" red to go with the ravioli (it proved to be an amazingly tannic Mimmo); and our pick of a Nero d'Avola that was better, but not outstanding. GBP171, including service, which was prompt, efficient, and friendly. No great desire to go back.

Seems to have fallen off a bit though from a previously quite high level

Amazing quality produce. One for special occasions.

Famous Italian restaurant overlooking the Thames. This place is not cheap, but as a special treat is worth every penny. The food was so fresh and had really original pairings. The staff were very helpful and advised us what would work well together.

Absolutely amazing food!! We were able to sit right next to the kitchen. Such an amazing treat

Quintessential Italian food experience in London. Food is exquisite; wide choice of wines and the service attentive and friendly.

Great staff....great experience.....a little expensive....although expected.

Absolutely delicious. Even the dessert (and I don't do puddings) was brilliant melt in the mouth. Staff are great atmosphere great nothing to fault. Oh, prices are high but guess the location adds to that.

Another fab meal with my wife and in laws. Lovely sunny Sunday afternoon lunch. Restaurant was bustling but service was on top form, meal was delicious and when we had one small issue with some undercooked food it was resolved perfectly by the boss. Fantastic today as it was 10 and 20 years ago.

My all time favourite restaurant, the food is insane, new menus daily, and the wine list is stunning!

After wanting to go here for years we were eagerly awaiting this meal.

First impressions were ok, nice welcome and we sat outside. Although near to the car park so I unfortunately had a view of about 10 cars and an office building.

We ordered our food and a bottle of wine. The wine never came and we even finished our starters before the wine arrived (which we think was corked so had to swap). Not the greatest start as thy obviously forgot about it.

I had the maltagliati with slow cooked pork for my Primi dish. It was delicious, and the highlight of the meal. My wife had the seafood risotto which was ok, nothing special. The rice was slightly undercooked, and she was underwhelmed a little.

For main I had the veal chop, which was a decent side. The accompaniments were a bit flat, some spinach and a wedge of lemon. But I guess the veal chop is the centrepiece of the meal and it was cooked nicely.

My wife had the pigeon for main, and she really enjoyed it. Especially the Tuscan bread salad, which was fresh and delicious. The tomatoes were really fresh.

We ordered desserts and my wife asked for the Panna cotta but without he grappa poured over it, fine the waiter said. Needless to say it came covered in grappa and there was no one around to ask to swap or return so we had to ask them to take it off the bill at the end.

Overall - the food was good, great in parts, average in others. The service was appalling.