The Cote d’Azur has long occupied a unique place in the West’s cultural imagination. Brigitte Bardot made St-Tropez famous; Picasso and countless other artists helped cement the coast’s creative reputation. Things have moved on since the late 50s; the French Riviera is now crowded with superyachts and conspicuous consumers, but venture up the swish escalator (the oldest in London), and you’ll see: Riviera is chasing the original - one defined by art, leisure, and Mediterranean ease.
It’s a glassy, oddball building, an unlikely interruption among St James’s Street’s grand, Georgian facades – but all the better for it. Up here, the view stretches towards Pall Mall and St James’s Park, neatly framed by carved Portland stone and a bar lined with luminous liqueurs. Dusky pinks, muted yellows, and soft patterned textiles join sculptural ceramics, many of which – all organic forms, and irregular, sun-baked terracotta – take cues from the Vallauris revival. Much like the staff, it’s effortlessly warm.
Riviera’s menus follow suit: familiar Provencal and Mediterranean dishes executed with confidence. A Josper Caesar salad delivers crisp gem lettuce, tender chicken, excellent olive oil and a generous snowfall of parmesan. We'd expected more of the promised Josper smokiness, but quality ingredients carry the dish regardless. Bucatini, tossed tableside inside a Parmesan wheel, brings the theatrics. Thankfully, the spectacle doesn’t sacrifice flavour: perfectly cooked pasta, slick with salty, savoury cheese hits all the right marks.
Our standout, though, is the sea bass, served in a deep ruby-red tomato sauce intensified by black olives and roasted tomatoes. There’s something wonderfully homely about the dish, but don’t read casual; this is skilful, comforting stuff: the sauce is rich, sweet and savoury; the fish is delicate and beautifully handled.
Desserts don’t hold back: an apple tarte tatin arrives capped with a crisp caramel tuile shield. Cocktails reflect the coastal French illusion. A St Tropez-coded Peach Caviar number – a cream-capped amalgam of peach, vanilla and apricot – feels like a playful variant somewhere between Pina Colada and boozy milkshake.
Riviera knows its strengths. The setting creates the mirage, the cooking gives it substance, and the atmosphere captures the Cote d’Azur’s enduring appeal. Decades on from the French Riviera's golden age, the fantasy still works.