The River Café

Being “Easties”, we rarely travel this far west for a meal. Our previous visit had been about 5yrs before, but we felt that a return visit was needed. A good decision. Our late summer mid week long lunch was possibly our most enjoyable meal of 2011. As others have mentioned, the riverside location and large glass wall make it ideal for lunch. Having read them afterwards, I was very surprised by some of the very negative reviews. A complete contrast to our own experience, which was hard to fault.

Food style: Standard Italian style choices, with a focus on seasonal, fresh and simple. All our dishes had super high quality ingredients, and were wonderfully simple and delicious. No pretension, just high quality dishes in good “man sized” portions. Some may not like the lack of design or style in how the food is presented on the plate, but to me this is all a part of the focus on the food not the fripperies.

Since we liked the sound of so many dishes, we decided to go for the “full Italian”: Starter, pasta, main & dessert + lots of wine. Oddly enough, we didn't feel like eating anything that evening ! We had beautifully fresh grilled squid and sardines, followed by excellent al dente pasta ribbons with new season porcini mushrooms. Couldn't fault. This was followed by a lovely large piece of delicious hake and a good size lean and very tasty / gamey new season grouse. Staff very kindly warned us about the gamey taste – but that was exactly what I wanted. One of the most tender and tasty grouse I've eaten in 2011. All topped off by a wonderfully fresh English fruit summer pudding.

Atmosphere: Bustling and relaxed, no background music, and not too noisy (high ceiling must help). Ideal for lunch. Incredibly busy, and not just politicians on PR expenses – what downturn ?

Service: Informal (sometimes the staff actually seemed to be enjoying themselves !!) but professional. Could be perfunctory rather than friendly. Generally not pretentious or arrogant, which can be a big problem in such successful places. Questions were answered properly, and we weren't rushed at all. Pretty good, but could be better at this price.

Pricing: Certainly a bit toppy, but high quality ingredients are not cheap. The informal service, decor and atmosphere may lead you not to expect Locatelli or Zafferano type pricing ? Anyway, our fantastic 3hr lunch cost us about £300, including a lot of drink. To benchmark, 2 courses for 2 inc service ex all drinks worked out at £115. Great value. More generally, Starters were £15-£20, Pasta circa £20, Mains £30-£40.

We will definitely be back. For me, The River Cafe is now my Italian version of Hix in Clerkenwell. We deliberately went for a mid-week lunch, since I wasn't sure how different our experience would be on a busy weekend, with the locals and their over indulged children ?! I think that it was a good call.

Go for a 7pm booking; watch the theatre come alive. For that is what it is. Pure theatre. Well, between that and a sleek liner. It was our first time, and of course the history is all part of the atmosphere; we were pretty thrilled to be there. Try to get a table near the oven – cooking area – No, it’s not hot. Rebuilt and redesigned after a fire a few years ago, it works as a modern statement.

A glass of Prosecco is a six quid, a good accompaniment to studying the menu. This was a very generous birthday gift voucher [hint, fab present] so we didn’t have to worry too much about the prices but even so, they are steep. Staff and tables fill up fast. Last Friday evening we were ‘blessed’ [?] with the entry of the big boss Richard Rogers and wife, effusively greeting the table of Italians next to us, then slipping out before most diners had realised… You feel you are in a very special place; you try not to stare in case you recognise an A-lister who doesn’t want to be stared at.

Enter the service, stage – well, from every direction. We’d been asked to ‘vacate our table by 9pm’. More their problem than ours, we thought, so we didn’t rush with the choosing. This takes ages anyway, and then there’s the wine list, gulp – Puglia is really the best value. I counted five different smiling young waiting staff pausing by our table with this and that before the first course arrived. It didn’t seem rushed, though the large projected clock in the cooking area – all open view – kind of draws you to its bright face to check how you are doing. Watching the cooking and the ‘service’ is fun – the organisation, for us, worked well.

So to the food. Comparing one Michelin star River Cafe with one Michelin star smart French [Chenonceaux, July this year] is not a good idea. Beauty on a plate is not the scene at River Cafe, or in Italy, and it took me a while to get round that one. It really needed to be the flavours that would win here, and they didn’t disappoint, though I hadn’t realised that both my starter and main had the same beans; I think I would have pointed that out to a punter. You really do have to take time with the eating to separate it all out and savour the flavours. Then you need the menu again to remind yourself of all the bits…

What we had: starters – him: perfectly seared scallops round the edges, me: a bit of a ‘mess on a plate’ of the beans and chargrilled courgettes but the taste was divine. Shared: small plate of rabbit pasta – why do we always overcook pasta at home? Mains: me chargrilled marinated lamb, more beans, him: grouse. We tasted each others of course. I couldn’t single out one particular element that was a taste experience over and above the rest, but the whole effect was comforting, country, generous, unsophisticated.

I’m curious as to why the description of the food has come at the end of this review, perhaps saving the best till last? Difficult to say but, like a good piece of theatre, the River Cafe is the complete collection of scenes, characters, actors, text … all well rehearsed, well directed and doing a great job. You feel you are watching stars of the future rushing around; you probably are.

What recession? It was jam packed by the time we left around 9.30pm. Would we go again? Certainly, I didn’t even try the fish, but would need to save up! Book way ahead, and allow plenty of time to get there.

Having read the rather negative reviews so far, I feel compelled to write a more positive one about my visit yesterday. I ate at River Cafe a good few years ago and remember a simple, but utterly delicious experience. Knowing that restaurants can fade quite dramatically once the accolades start rolling in, there was always the risk that standards had fallen.

Arriving at our outside table on a glorious sunny, warm day, the tone was already set for a fabulous long, lazy lunch. If you are looking for fancy new techniques, ingredients, and fusion combinations, this is not the place for you. If you want excellent ingredients done well, then indulge yourself at the River Cafe. Undeniably the prices are high, but the antipasti are definitely good for 2-3 people sharing. The serving sizes are not stingy. And how many restaurants do you know in London that serve top quality filtered still or sparkling filtered water at £1.50 per pitcher with unlimited refills? And the olive oil for bread dipping was indescribably good. I am no olive oil fan, but this stuff was peppery and full bodied without being cloying and over-powering. But now onto the food…

We started with the Scottish langoustines split and wood-roasted with garlic and parsley. Fresh, juicy and tasty. I found myself sucking every last remnants from it. Then followed with the linguine with Devon crab, fennel herb, lemon and dried chilli. Again, seafood this fresh, does not need much done to it. There was plenty of crab – white and brown – to give it a satisfying kick.

My main was the chargrilled marinated leg of lamb with salsa verde and verdura mita of aubergines, zucchini and peppers. The lamb was tender with distinctive taste of the grill. When meat arrives more cooked than I usually like, it is usually a bad sign. Not here. I could cut through it like a piece of fine fillet.

Our table indulged in share desserts of chocolate nemesis, which a flourless chocolate cake that the Italians do so well, and almond tart with victoria plums. The latter was particularly good. Parts was soft with ripe and oozy plums, parts extra crispy that complemented the creme fraiche beautifully.

Fearing we had not quite hit the peaks, we ordered piece of gorgonzola and was not let down. Strong and creamy, it proved that sometimes one is quite enough if it is good enough.

With regards the service, it was that curious mixture of professional and attentive, yet decidedly informal. The staff had a happy shift feel about it. How many restaurants in this price category do you know would have their staff lunch within view of their customers, and yet pull it off without it seeming weird?

I grant that the two times I have been, I have been blessed with great weather and ate outside in their great outdoor area. This does make it easier for the restaurant to please the customer.

One telling sign…we asked the staff if we could see the dinner menu (we had lunch) and – pointing at the nearby head chef nearby who was writing furiously – she said no because it had not yet been finalised and they had not been briefed. This means that the menu is changeable and reflective with what is in season. This probably does mean that sometimes not everything works out 100%, but I would take the risk.

Would I go again, absolutely yes!

I suppose I had high expectations about River Cafe, but still, I would have thought something would shine through there!

The crowd was a bit boring, noisy, no music, yet not that energetic, a bizarre combination. The location & room are great, but it was not charming in the least.

The food was good, granted, but not the “wow” factor I was hoping for. The best part was honestly the chocolate dessert I had.

Maybe River Cafe has run its course for dinner & now is better as a lunch time destination- terrace is always brimming in the summer time.

The staff were rude and abrupt. We were rushed. And the fish course was cold and overcooked.

The problems started soon after we were shown to our table. We were not given sufficient time to consider the menu. The waiter came to take our order far too soon. And he returned several times before we were ready. The menu was complex and we needed a few minutes to consider it without being constantly pestered.

A waitress poured white wine into my friend’s cocktail. The waitress laughed it off. Mistakes happen. But I was slightly taken aback that the waitress did not offer my friend a replacement cocktail.

The secondi course was brought to the table within a minute of the previous course being cleared (literally). The monkfish we ordered was overcooked and cold.

For desert we ordered chocolate sorbet. We were told that it had turned out wrong so had been removed from the menu. Again, mistakes happen but it was just another thing among many. We ordered something else.

Before we finished eating, the waiter came over to our table and plonked down the bill unprompted. We had the distinct impression that we were unwelcome and that he wanted us to leave immediately.

This restaurant is not cheap and I would expect decent food and service for that price. We received neither.

I wrote to the restaurant about my experience. They did not bother to reply. This is despite the fact that I wrote a second time asking for a reply.

I would not return and would recommend others not to go to the River Cafe. It used to be good but those times have passed.

a little sad by how average the overall experience of the river cafe was, except for the bill which was phenomenal.

the worst thing was the service, slow, unattentive, and they forgot my meal selection for my starter, which arrived 20 minute later than everyone else's food, and then they got my main course wrong (I asked and doublechecked that my meal should not have any dairy in it and it arrived covered in creme fraiche) we sat outside on a saturday lunchtime, and the whole meal took almost 4 hours from start to finish with a 20 minute wait for the bill at the end.

I'm more than happy to pay for good food, but this was pretty massively overpriced. A good trattoria would serve something similar for a fraction of the price. If I want simple, I can do that myself at home, and not be charged £39 for a piece of steak, and have to wait for an hour after my starter.

I won't be going again.

on a positive note, it has a great area for kids to run around in which my son enjoyed immensely but i don't think River Cafe owns this?

Hmmmm, I don't believe River Cafe deserves the accolades once bestowed upon it, I remember eating there for the first time more than 10 years ago and being blown away by how a simple dish could be so supremely tasty. Now, however, the food is bland, tasteless and oily. To start off with though, the menu was less than inspiring. Our starters of fritto misto and the langoustines (at a whopping £26!) were chosen due to a lack of anything better to pick but the porcini, mullet and courgette flower were indistinguishable from each other under the oil and batter. The langoustines were fine but nothing to write home about. We both ordered the salmon for main and it was sitting in a bed of oil alongside some very overcooked soggy vegetables, the whole dish was pretty embarrassing. Not feeling brave enough to touch the desserts, we settled on a cheese plate. What was strange is that they offered no chutneys so we had to ask for some. Minor but still, seems like a nice addition to a cheese plate apart from just having grapes. Overall the bill came to £200 for 2 and I have definitely had far superior meals for the same money and in nicer settings. River Cafe is now so overpriced for what it is and I cant believe how hard it is getting a reservation. Dont waste your time and money.

We keep returning just to check whether lady luck has evaded us on our previous visits. I was led here this time by comments from a regular diner who thinks River Cafe is a place that “always delivers”.
Not having visited since the fire, I never did quite get this place in terms of food standards –v- price/enjoyment, preferring places such as Zafferano and Locanda Locatelli where consistency is pretty much guaranteed.
Together with the riverside setting and buzzy atmosphere, the industrial look to this property has always appealed to me. It reminded me of an aircraft hangar with character and warmth, and still does; little seems to have changed with décor except for the enormous, white, wood burning stove.

Food………
Being wary of previous pasta experiences I concentrated on fish and seafood which was not a difficult choice given the array of offerings for the day. Fabulous huge plate of crabmeat atop seakale, all lifted by finely grated bortaga (price tag justified) – I’d defy anywhere to better this. A shared, delicately gamey ‘primi ‘of papardelle with rabbit, pigeon and pheasant scored high for both of us – it would be so easy to overindulge on such a moreish dish. A superb specimen of dover sole laced with anchovy, served with lentils and greens was very satisfying and ‘king of the sea’ in my opinion. (Meat dishes I was told were good, though uninspiring).

Wine…….
Always good, and should be for the mark-ups.

Service…….
Eager and boastful of the cuisine they are serving.

Nothing fancy here and one can’t object to the rustic style of presentation because all the pleasure is intended to be in the eating, and tonight for me it certainly was. But, one can object to the turnaround times and the unforgivably naff paper table cloths.

Was it worth one more whirl? Most definitely – purity and quality of ingredients almost justify the lofty figures.

What I remember most from my meal (at someone's birthday) was the airy, moussy chocolate cake – it was light in texture, dark in colour and scrumptilicious in taste. I also remember: a beautiful action packed open kitchen, a dining room full of middle aged, pink-sock-wearing Hughes and Charleses, hit and miss service, very decent seasonal mains that are large enough for two, and good but somewhat boring starters. Good wine list but overall a little bit of a disappointing experience.

What a disappointment!

Starters (squid, and a fig salad) were nothing special – yes the ingredients were very good quality but at this price you expect something in addition to that.

Pasta – we chose one option with a walnut sauce which was bland beyond belief. The other was a penne (which appeared to be the dried variety rather than fresh) with a more successful game sauce. Still, I've had much better pasta at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, frankly some of the items on Carluccio's and Piccolino's menus are tastier.

Meat – Partridge was quite unpleasant – to be fair it's the first time either of us had tried it, so perhaps it's just not our thing. Vegetable accompaniments to the partridge had a very strong vinegar flavour which was not enjoyable. Pork loin was well executed and vegetable accompaniments were good – but at a price, I think a half-decent gastropub could produce a similar plate of food in terms of quality but somewhat more cheaply.

Dessert & wine – Wine was fabulous and relatively reasonable in price. Pudding (walnut cake, and I forget the other option) were tasty but not outstanding.

On the plus side, service was excellent, although I've never been to a restaurant with so many staff so it should be good. We enjoyed the atmosphere, although the tables were quite close together.

Overall if you want a special Italian meal I would recommend a visit to Locanda Locatelli or Zafferano instead.

This restaurant is a performance in cooking, style and presentation. The staff are really helpful and friendly and it was just a great night. Everything is so fresh and you just think how do they do this. The chocolate cake! If | had a pound for every time I said ‘so good’ last night I would be a millionaire.
A real restaurant for the people.

Food was nicely cooked but it lacked salt on two different dishes. The service was good to start with and it became really slow as the evening went on.
The above qualify as the good part of the review.
The room is overcrowd and the noise makes conversation a really bad idea to pursue. The menu is massively overpriced and some of the portions are really small. ( my wife can choose better than me )
The river cafe is supposed to be an Italian restaurant and I can guaranty you it misses the target by a long distance.
It is not acceptable that at 75£ per head, with only one glass of wine and and one house drink overall plus tap water, you are served dinner on paper table cloth.
It is not acceptable that your table is attached on one side to a wall, not a this price anyway.
Never again.
For the same money or less Locanda Locatelli, Scalini, Green Olive and many others offer a much better Italian experience