The River Cafe

My husband & I had lunch at the River Cafe today & it was absolutely excellent. The food (insalata mista, lamb, chocolate nemesis) was delicious & it rates as one of the nicest meals we've had in quite some time (& we eat out regularly). The service was impeccable (thanks to the lovely waitress serving on the terrace earlier today) and, whilst pricey, it was worth every penny. We'll definitely return!

Susie B
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Susie B
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

I travelled from Bristol to meet a friend at the River Cafe for lunch on Tuesday 6th March - somewhere I have wanted to visit for a long time. We had 3 courses a GLASS of wine and a coffee each and it was a breathtaking £147.00!!!

The food was high quality in a Tuscan peasant sort of way with tons of oil and beans but nothing that you could not prepare at home with one of their cook books. For this sort of money you would expect decent glasses - no scratched duralex ones like we had a school, or nice table linen - no paper covers, or fine cutlery - no again unattractive school standard stuff. Unlike most of the other reviews the waiter was pleasant and no cause for complaint. This is a CAFE charging outrageous and unjustifiable prices, perhaps the rest of the restaurant was full of the Guardian special offers at £20 a head, more like it. Dont waste your money.
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Z Tomison
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

I was protmpted to write by the review below by 'Paul'. I thought we had caught a bad night, but our experience with supercillious service was identical. Asking if there are any tables outside obviously marks you out as a pleb for the entire evening. Having dropped this clanger, we were unwelcome peasants. We too were in an awkward position, because we were repaying a favour to our guests, and The River Cafe was their particular request. Thje staff should dine at the namesake restaurant in Brooklyn, NYC to see how it should be done. I resented paying, but couldn't embarrass

our guests.
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Helen Harbut
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

I nearly didn't go because of all the negative reviews but the Guardian 3 course for £20 seemed a bargain so we kept our 2.15pm table and I can only highly recommend it. The food was fantastic, the service brilliant (we told them we were on a budget and they were super helpful in suggesting an affordable wine) and the atmosphere just right for a special lunch. 3 courses, a bottle of wine and service came to £65 and I would certainly go back.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, February 06, 2007

The food is beautiful – up to its reputation. However, the service is vile. The staff think the diners are an inconvenience. One of our guests is diabetic, and had injected insulin. Only that individual's need to eat soon prvented us from walking out. A horrible evening and a wate of money.
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Paul
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Though the food here is great, I find it hard to see how the restaurant can justify charging these prices. While we all understand that quality costs, oh boy does it cost here! When compared to other one-star locations in London (eg Locatelli, Ledbury, Ramsay at Claridges), I personally feel it doesn't match up, especially in terms of service. I can't help thinking that they charge what they can get away with.
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Edward Wilks
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, January 02, 2007

I was taken to this restaurant for my birthday and was dissapointed.

The food was very good, but £30 for a main course is by far the most expensive main course in London i have experienced.

The waiter we had was obnoxious and sarcastic. We asked him three times to come back to give us a chance to look at the menu and every time he returned within 30 seconds with a sarcastic comment which was not appreciated.

On the whole, the meal was good, but the atitude of our waiter was poor and i felt the food was on the expensive side.
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Lucy
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, December 12, 2006

This is absolutely my favourite restaurant. The food is fantastic, I cannot fault it in any way. Yes, the food is expensive, but the wine is very reasonable - not a restaurant I could afford to visit on a regular basis, but most definitely one which I will go to for a special occasion or as a treat. What I really like about the River Cafe is that it doesn't try too hard - the waiting staff are quite casually dressed (but this, in my opinion is a real positive - at least you feel like you're being served by a human being and not a robot) and there is little pomp and pretentiousness. I would recommend anyone with a large budget to try this restaurant, I love it.
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Oli
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, December 04, 2006

Good food, average service, decent pricing. The person who gave the food 2... well must have no taste buds, crisp italian food. Only thing i disliked was the cramped feeling of the place.
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Tom
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, November 30, 2006

I live on the same street as the River Café and finally convinced my boyfriend to take me there. We are pretty sceptical of overpriced restaurants, but this one was worth every penny. The food was to die for, the service was friendly and flawless and overall, we had a great evening. Yes, the bill was steep – but we didn’t feel as if we had been ripped off. Can’t wait to go back!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, November 29, 2006