Given the reputation and prices, I had much higher expectations and everything about this restaurant is a bit of a let down; the atmosphere is like a cafeteria, it’s very noisy, service was mediocre at best, plating of the food was sloppy and completes the cafeteria experience (there was really no effort or artistry with the plating) and the food was ok, but not memorable and certainly not worth the prices. Terribly underwhelming experience, and certainly would not return given how spoilt for choice we are in London with outstanding restaurants and how much better an experience you’d get elsewhere with £500.

Given the reputation of this place, my expectations were high, and unfortunately everything about our visit was quite disappointing. At a price point of £250 for two for lunch, the whole experience should be excellent, but in reality service was very mediocre (at best!), food was bland and forgettable, and interiors and ambiance were reminiscent of a cheap cafeteria. Huge let down of an experience, would absolutely not recommend this place even if the price point was not so outrageously inflated. There are 1000s of restaurants in London where you’d get a much better experience for literally half the price, so ngl I’m incredibly confused about this one being so well known. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sunday lunch experience. Really disappointed in this restaurant having tried to come for the past 18months I was really looking forward to this meal with the family. Now I come out feeling disappointed as I did not enjoy the food nor really the restaurant. It’s highly overpriced in my opinion (24£ for a mini pizza, 25£ for a soup, up to 50£ for a main) and I struggle to understand how it has a Michelin star. Appetizers were the best part, primos the worst, secondis were ok. You should count at least 80£ per person for a good meal, more if you want to drink. I will not be returning any time soon. Having said this, my Italian girlfriend enjoyed it so perhaps it’s a question of taste but we both agree the prices are ridiculous.

Had an amazing dinner at The River Cafe. Booked a month and a half in advance. The food was absolute perfection. I got the ravioli, sea bass and tiramisu. Relaxing, elegantly understated.

This is still a very good restaurant. A place to see and be seen with great food. From arrival, where charming Kyle valet parked our car and the warm welcome from the reception team, it was clear we would be well looked after, and we were. The menu (is very detailed) and the wine list are comprehensive. If in doubt, the team will advise on both. The split langoustine was divine. I had a whole Dover Sole, which was just a little overcooked but delicious. We had a selection of desserts that were fabulous. We called upon the sommelier who suggested delicious wines. It was a great lunchtime.

Surprised about the hype around this place. Had to wait 20 mins to be seated, service was meh. Paper table cloth when you're spending +£100 a head including alcohol feels odd. Food is good but there are way better Italian restaurants in London.

Nice restaurant with lovely outdoor ambience. We ordered several dishes. Loved the monkfish and the squid. Only major issue was finding a worm in the pasta!! The risotto like someone mentioned earlier looks quite unappetising- a large blob in muted colors. I am surprised the restaurant allows that kind of hideous plating. Still nice place and fresh food!

Expectations vs experience. The experience was very good. We sat outside on the terrace next to the river with the setting being both relaxed and elegant, situated next to the restaurant's garden. It's no mean feat keeping a restaurant relevant and pretty much fully booked for 36 years. It's still a chore finding a table and you have to take your hat off to Ruth Rogers for focusing and not expanding world-wide as many greedy business people do. The food was very well cooked and well thought through. I was not wowed as I am by some top restaurants and given the bill was £200 for two with 4 shared plates and 2 glasses of wine, I wouldn't jump to rebook again. Still with their waiting list, they won't miss me. If someone were to invite me, I would be happy to go back.

I've been lucky enough to eat here couple of times as a guest from wine tastings. The food is exceptional, you can definitely taste that the ingredients are brought from high end Italian companies. I had lunch in the private room and the service was spot on each time. A little on the expensive side for my pocket, but then again I didn't pay this time. If I don't think about the price is definitely a good restaurant.

Good food. Stand outs were the squid starter and ravioli was pretty impressive. All round the food was good, simple flavours and techniques executed well. Service was pretty amateurish. Very little experience with fine dining serving methods. They ask lots of questions on food allergies on booking and then ignore it all when you get there. Our waitress was well intentioned but food delivery waiter would plunk the food down unannounced. Not great when paying these kind of prices. Glad I came and the food was great, but wouldn't rush back or really recommend to friends. A solid 3.

a fabulous spot for lunch, the atmosphere reminds me of a cafeteria that you get in a museum. food was enjoyable but for the price paid, i expected a bit more wow. defiantly would go again but not anytime soon, many families were there as there with an outdoor area for kids to run around in.

Such great standard of dishes! What blew our socks off were the veal shin main and the almond tart dessert. The wood oven lobster was cooked so well and was also amazing! Pasta was a bit average though. All other dishes were very good and all round delicious.

Having read so much about the Chocolate Nemesis over the years, I made it my mission to try it on my birthday this year - and that's exactly what I did. I loved the decor and it felt instantly very singular compared of all the many restaurants I have dined at across the city - clean, fresh, fun but also reminiscent of a cool bar in a late 90s/early 00s rom com. The Turbot was perfection, it absolutely melted in my mouth. I love how generous the portions were compared to other fine dining restaurants. And, just as I hoped, the Chocolate Nemesis was everything I wanted it to be - light, delicate, rich and utterly unique. I washed it down with a fresh mint tea, which was the cherry on top of a fabulous evening.

We visited The River Cafe for my birthday lunch on a Saturday. We booked in advanced and was sat outside. There were heaters and blankets available if needed. We ordered the crab and the squid as starters and they were both really delicious. The pumpkin ravioli was a highlight and the slow roasted pheasant tasted great too. We did find a tiny metal object in the pheasant dish (picture) but we didn’t say anything.. I guess it’s probably due to it being a game meat? The chocolate cake was a great way to finish. We felt the outside seating was nice but the door kept slamming really really loud every time a staff member came outside. Service was ok. One staff member spilt water all over the table and then another staff member just put our starters on top of the water pretty much immediately (they did come back after to clean). Would come back to try other food.

Has been a dream of mine to eat here all my adult life. And it didn't disappoint. Food was exceptional, and the service as perfect was invited to take as many pictures as I liked, too, even though it was packed. Loved every second, big thankyou to the whole team i could have watched you all night it was fascinating

Can comfortably say this was by far the most overpriced meal relative to value I have had in London in the past 20 years (we used a gift voucher). Total bill for lunch came to £266 for two people, without alcohol! No idea how the pricing structure works here but genuinely amazed that they think £14 for an affogato (just espresso and one boule of ice cream) or £58 for lamb and chickpeas (photo attached) is justifiable in any way! Felt a staggering rip off - it’s possible to get a better meal elsewhere for a tiny fraction of the cost

Update Feb 2024 Someone named Charles contacted me and asked me to remove my review. He explained that the rude waitress had left and she was some friend’s daughter coming without training. He just apologized without explanation for the salty food and the empty reception. After the call I sent back an email to follow up that I could not accept the apology without any reasonable explanation for their bad service. Even the rude waitress story is true, that is a very unprofessional arrangement. Unfortunately, like the former email, no one responded any more. What an arrogant and disrespectful restaurant which doesn’t care about its customers. Moreover, to this day, they still only have one contact email address on their website which never receives any replies. Feel sorry for the whole story. ====== Review for Oct 2023 We had a reservation at 9 pm in your restaurant, the food is fine, the service is never match the Michelin standard. I sent them an email immediately after the meal, but no one responded So I will mark the complaints here. Firstly, as we ordered some drinks, the girl who served the drinks split some of them on the table, as well as on my arms. She pretended not to see this, but as I said it out, she responded "Oh, really? I split out?" without saying any sorry. She was about to leave and I asked for a tissue. Then she brought only one piece of tissue without any word. She was so rude. Secondly, the food was nice but salty. Of course, at least we had some water to reduce the salt in our mouths but I have to say, too salty for the starters, the first courses, and the second ones. The dessert was fine, it was sweet anyway. Thirdly, as we were leaving, the reception had no one there to help us get our coat. I stood there with other costumes for maybe ten minutes, smiling and doing nothing just waiting. Not to mention the long wait as we sit at the table for food. The waiter who served us was really nice and helpful, we all loved him very much. But the three things above are annoying. We didn't bring it out immediately because it was my friend's birthday dinner, and we didn't want her upset, but I have to tell you our bad feelings when dining in your restaurant. your food and service are some kinds of disappointing to me.

The food is as incredible as you might expect but the place is absurdly expensive. Lunch for 3 with 4 glasses of wine came in at a cool £320 inc service. If you're loaded, this is a great place for lunch.

Phenomenal place. The menu is a mixture of foods that contrast flavours.

I don’t know how some people get away being a chef ! Apart from the aubergine on the side of the sea bass, there was no taste in any of our meals. The veal was tasteless and uncooked and pizza burnt on the sides ! Extremely high prices for the quality of the food (£300 for 4) .One star given for the location.

Left here disappointed given all the hype and difficulty getting a booking. The food and service was good but nothing special, and for the eye watering prices that they charge it’s not worth it. The inside is very casual, quite badly decorated and feels like a canteen. The outdoor space is nice but is actually next to the car park and set back from the river so there’s not really a view. Despite always being fully booked the restaurant was actually 1/3 empty for a Saturday lunch. There are other restaurants in central London that offer a much better experience for similar or lower prices.

We used to love this place. This review is written in the expectation of having a lunch in a great West London restaurant. It is not great any more. Why 2 stars only? Food is good and affordable. The desert menu hasn’t changed in decades. Good and bad thing at the same time so + 1 star Atmosphere… have a look at the builders working outside. Just shocking considering reputation of this place. 0 stars Booking / seating: coming with children to this place is not great experience. You will be set at the front of the room were all waiters mill around. Not a great experience. Also front desk staff fairly unfriendly. 0 stars Temperature: this place has not got an air con and it seems it doesn’t have extractor fans either. You’ll leave smelling like Italian cheese. We’ve been here many times and this is the first time we noticed. 0 stars Cleanliness: poor. Look at the pictures. Not rated as this is embarrassing Nostalgia value: +1 star as we used to love this place Finally it was great to see Ruth Rodgers, founder, are the venue. But we couldn’t escape thinking that this place needs a new management to shake things up and get it going again. Currently it feels like just some regular place which you don’t want to put an effort in.

It's a superb Italian restaurant to enjoy the dishes and wines. You can sense their quality of food with good services from their staff.

I had a delightful lunch at the River Cafe. My favorite dish was the fried and crispy artichoke; its flavor was exquisite. The presentation of the food was visually stunning, and every bite was equally tasty. The service was exceptional—friendly and prompt. However, the absence of music was a notable absence for me. Overall, a wonderful culinary experience by the river cafe .

Charming place at a terrific location. It's all about the ingredients here. Simplicity in presentation but quality wise very very good. Love this place. Pasta so good, but also the frito misto or quail ... A must go if you love italian food.

Delicious Food , lovely restaurant , and friendly staff.

This restaurant is good but I left confused as to why it is so hard to get a reservation. Some of the food was very tasty (scallops - amazing) however the squid starter was verging on bad and although our main courses were good I do not think they warranted the £40 price tag. Additionally the menu online was much better than the real menu ... there was no crab linguine or ragu which was a disappointment. The service was faultless - our waitress was friendly and the sommelier chose us an excellent an excellent bottle of wine. Lastly, the are tables small and very close to together (and with paper table cloths!). Overall there are much better restaurants for the same price.

Great restaurant and lovely atmosphere but a little overpriced for the food

We had the lunch set menu 3 courses Portion: really good size of dishes in comparison to any fine dining restaurants. Dishes ordered: aubergine mozzarella starter - excellent and probably the best tasting dish out of all the savoury courses. Pappardelle with mushrooms - really delicious again, pasta cooked nicely and you can taste the freshness Monkfish with porcini mushrooms - nice dish but not the best fish, I think this could be better, not expected of Michelin star Steak - good taste but not the best expected in Michelin star Apple and peach tart - absolutely the best, you have to order this the taste is so delicious and just baked to perfection Chocolate nemesis- was amazing and not too heavy as we expected, really yummy Overall - the set menu is reasonable for the portion and the taste. However it did not really meet very high Michelin star expectations, the dessert and the appetiser were excellent and beyond expectations therefore 4 stars.

Enjoy the food, enjoy the view & great service.

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

Excellent atmosphere. Excellent environment. Wonderful food. Brilliant staff. Lived up to the hype and my expectations!

Iconic London restaurant, worth the hype. Menu changes daily so everything is fresh and seasonal. Come ready to splurge for a special occasion with amazing food and wine.

Well.I booked up a lunch online months ago , for last week, for my wife and me. At the time I thought we would go for the set lunch, something we’d had before, and which represented good lunchtime value. When we arrived we were presented with the a la carte menu only, so assumed set lunch menu no longer existed, so ordered off that. Very expensive, which kind of missed the point. £190 for 2 courses and 2 glasses of wine. The food was good, but really unimaginative and a little boring for a restuarant of this reputation and therefore way overpriced. But my main beef was that actually there is a set menu which we found when we got home. Apparently you have to specify when you book. Obviously this option was not showing when I booked, and anyway it seems very tacky that you are not offered the set menu at seating. Obviously it’s about the money, and they don’t want too many people either knowing about or using the set menu.. Hence I’m pretty unhappy, feel duped, and disappointed . Decide for yourself.

We had the PDR for the evening with it came extra special attention to detail. From entering through to having pre-drinks before we sat down. Our starters through to mains and desserts was just absolutely delicious. What a treat. Highly recommend.

My favourite restaurant to visit whenever I'm in London. Enjoyed the vibes on a Saturday Brunch . Great foods and very good dessert. See you soon River Cafe :)

Cute little place to stop for a quick lunch. Staff are absolutely lovely! Very friendly and welcoming. Food was average, whoever made the quiche needs to immediately get retrained as its not a quiche. It’s an omelette with a hard base…. Very dissatisfied and disappointed with this. The sandwich was great though!

Wow - in one word, Wow! You can feel the night is about to get good when you walk into the doors and are greeted by beaming smiles, warmth of a kitchen and the aroma of butter and garlic. We arrived early (45 min before our table was booked) and without hesitation we were ushered to a understated but chic bar where we waited for our dinner companions and enjoyed two excellent cocktails. Please try the whisky sour if that’s your thing, had a lemon rind addition which was very special. We met our dinner companions and got our table where we were very quickly transported to the very best of Italy. The simple fact is everything is great. I understand the menu changes daily. I will need to go again to verify but the idea is brilliant. Smallish menu but everything has been chosen with freshness in mind and executed brilliantly. My only suggestion is go with a few people who don’t mind sharing so you can enjoy as many dishes as possible. My highlight was the turbot with mushrooms and beans. Seasoned well, a generous amount of butter and olive oil and amazing in season mushrooms. Bravo/Brava to the chefs

We enjoyed fabulous dinner at The River Café recently. Fantastic quality food, delicious wine, excellent service and great atmosphere. You could tell it was going to be a good night as soon as you walk in. Excellent staff - Tom Downer and his team were amazing...spot on! We were very well looked after. Thank you. Can't wait to go back again soon

Excellent ambiance and location. A wonderful place to have lunch on the weekend and get totally ripped off with pretty good quality food. Mains at £50+ and appetizers at £30+ really stripped me of my appetite. But the service was excellent and it was a good experience!

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5) I recently dined at River Café in London with a friend, and we were both incredibly impressed by the overall experience. The restaurant's atmosphere was warm and inviting, with tasteful decor and an elegant ambiance that set the stage for a memorable evening. We ordered two entrées: the veal and the longhorn steak. The longhorn steak was a standout dish, cooked to perfection and incredibly tender. The flavors were rich and well-balanced, leaving us thoroughly satisfied. The veal was also delicious, expertly prepared and presented, further showcasing the restaurant's commitment to quality ingredients and culinary skill. The drinks we ordered were equally impressive. The bartenders crafted our beverages with precision and care, resulting in perfectly balanced and refreshing concoctions that complemented our meal beautifully. Throughout the evening, the service was attentive and friendly, making us feel welcome and well taken care of. The staff were knowledgeable about the menu, and their recommendations only enhanced our dining experience. In summary, River Café in London is an exceptional dining destination that I would highly recommend to anyone seeking a refined and delicious meal. With its superb cuisine, expertly crafted drinks, and an atmosphere that exudes elegance, River Café is sure to provide a dining experience you won't forget.

Deserves all the accolades - really lovely food. Overall its 4 and not 5 stars just because of price but to be fair the portions are very generous. So go ahead and treat yourself.....

A superlative meal and experience. I have been a fan of the River Cafe cookbooks for over 20 years and eating here was a bucket-list event. It was just after Thanksgiving, so cold, but we ate lunch outside on the sunny terrace under heat lamps and wearing coats and were perfectly comfortable. The sommelier recommended perfect wine pairings for each delicious course. The service was friendly, casual, and completely professional and competent. The whole experience was well worth the high price tag.

After years of wait and trying most of the dishes in their book we finally made it. Simple yet elegant and great food, it was amazinf

Wonderful restaurant, great atmosphere. The staff were hospitable and made the occasion a great one. Looking foward to coming again!

pricy but a cool place.

This was the highlight of my eating experience in London. The others were excellent but this restaurant was fantastic! Creative, fresh, beautifully presented with professional service, the food was memorable!

One of my fave places! Amazing food and bread and dessert. Saturday lunch menus are the best!

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

Fabulous restaurant currently offering equally fabulous home deliveries. Well done

Some food just tastes wonderful, and every dish I ate here did just that. Highly recommended.

We have had two meals here in two days.  Both were excellent.

Great ambience and amazing service. Friendly staff and pretty good food. Worth a visit.

So disappointing. Service: it felt as if the staff were the important people, not the customers. Polite but not engaging. Food: the quality of ingredients was high. The cooking was very good. I had the scallops with rocket and chilli Only 2 scallops, very mild chilli - all seeds removed, and a pile of rocket. This cost £24. My main course was Dover sole. This was slightly undercooked but good but served with only red peppers. This at over £40 Others in the party had risotto. It was served on a flat plate and was totally unvarnished. It honestly looked like a plate of sick. We had the lemon tart to finish. Very light and tasty but again unfinished. No garnish on the crime fraiche and cold. No blow torch to make it more palatable. No effort made to present food attractively. And very little for the money charged. The wine was excellent. The bill for 6 of us came to over £600 Honestly not worth it. I would never recommend this well known restaurant to anyone and I will never return. I honestly don’t understand what the fuss is about. I would have complained at the time, but when you are eating with friends it isn’t what you want to do. Liz L

Incredible food. Delicious ingredients cooked simply to highlight the freshness. Very good sized portions and the chocolate Nemesis was extremely good.

niceee

Always amazing food

Absolutely amazing!

Horrible service - Horrible staff attitude!

Great food great service

Fantastic food and service. Dealing with covid well with decent mitigation. A tad pricey, but you get what you pay for.

Definitely not passing on the VAT discount. prices have gone higher if anything. really disappointing. the wine I bought had 150% mark up from what I could buy it at online. small mozzarella and tomato salad £25, pesto pasta £26, veal for £45, rump steak for £48, £14 for a 1/16th of a lemon tart......... that's £224/tart ?....just feel like I'm getting my trousers pulled down and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. ?⬇️ ?

Today Saturday 18th July 2020 I was meeting my friend who lives just along the river less than five minutes walk from the cafe. It was 3.30. I asked at reception for a table outside as there were some free..There were three people at reception, two chatting. The one I asked said to me that the kitchen was closing soon and opening back up at 6pm. No problem. It was hot and I would have liked a coffee and try it out for the first time while waiting for my friend. We sat on the bench facing the river catching up for over an hour. It was my birthday yesterday and we hadn't seen each other since before lockdown so we were celebrating. He had been to the cafe twice before some years ago and was not intending to go there, but he would have joined me. We said to each other if it were our business we would never have staff that would treat customers that way. You see when we left, the cafe was still open with people still at their tables inside and out. By the way I was smartly dressed, my family dynasty own more than all the wealthy customers put together and one family member was not with me today has a big social media following.

nice

Unique place to hang out and dine

Awesome place to hang out with buddies. food quality is good.

Great crowd on the weekends, Food is good in both quality and quantity.

What a wonderful place! Food, decor, service and wone list - everything is how I like it.

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

Nice

Five star, cannot fault.

The food is beautiful and the views are lovely. Great and efficient service

Just great!

Always a pleasure

Very nice family experience but it’s always crowded.

Superb food and service.

Bad bad service

Outstanding service and food.

(Translated by Google) I lived for a long time in London and had never been in a place there. The food is impressive and the space surprises with a wood oven in the living room. It is picturesque especially on a cold day facing the river. Of course, it is not easy to find. The only thing the restaurant has is the price of the menu, it is quite expensive. (Original) Viví durante bastante tiempo en Londres y nunca había estado en un lugar aí. La comida es impresionante y el espacio sorprende con un horno de leña en plena sala. Es pintoresco sobre todo en un día de frío frente al río. Eso sí, no es fàcil de encontrar. Lo único que tiene el restaurante es el precio del menú, es bastante caro.

Best valentine's with my husband serving up a delicious pre-prepared and beautifully packaged 4 course meal from river cafe. Easy to replace the gnocchi with my gluten free option. The best part was how easy and well timed each course was. It felt like a private dining experience but with my sexy husband as the chef!

This café has a huge amount of reviews of google, first observance. A very, very busy place at peak times. Difficult to get a table and to hear each other talk. They do personalised birthday cake slices - write your name on a plate. The food is great - no arguments. It is a very exclusive place. Negative point is that you cannot eat leisurely - you are quite literally timed.

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.

Super delicious food, great ambience and it was lovely to see the Iconic Ruth Rogers being in the restaurant too. Food is a bit pricier compared to other 1 Michelin star places, but I would still highly recommended it.

Incredible food, wine and views. Great service and can't wait to go back. We went for an anniversary and got taken care of.

The place is lovely, the space outside let kids play around and having fun. The food quality is good but not really high for the price they put on. The taste is good but I was expecting a wonderful taste. The Sole was fine, the pasta with lobster was alright (you couldn't taste the lobster tho), the steak was well done cooked (we asked to cook well done, but that was dry and hard). The pizza was nice and taste good, if you want a thick pizza you have to explicitly say it ( I don't mind the thin one, taste better). 5 adult £390.

Super delicious food, great ambience and it was lovely to see the Iconic Ruth Rogers being in the restaurant too. Food is a bit pricier compared to other 1 Michelin star places, but I would still highly recommended it.

had a wonderful meal outside under the heaters. Ordered lobster pasta and scallops as starters - divine, then grouse and monkfish as secondi - excellent. Came with complimentary focaccia and sparkling water (much appreciated). Love this place - perfect spot to come for a special meal when in London.

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

Love it...

Came here for a quick hot chocolate and was surprised at the speed which they served me at. Also, the coffee there is excellent.

Meals were cooked well and the ingredients were fresh

Didn't eat here just did a delivery to them and it looked fantastic loverly spot on the river

Good food, nice atmosphere, and the grilled seafood is my favourite.

Fantastic. The Al Fresco dining works very well. I look forward to returning

My favourite all time restaurant!

Always brilliant

Tradition...professionalism...taste..and guest experience. ...simply the best....never disappointed....masterclass in all that they do.

Entrance inside Thames wharf

A veritable institution, always worth a visit at lunchtime. The food doesn't always hit the mark, but it is the experience which satisfies. I come back with great pleasure.

I'd like to firstly say that my husband and I are used to fine dining and regularly eat at high end restaurants, therefore this review is not because we are unfamiliar with the environment, price or food that comes along with fine dining. Quite frankly, you are paying for the heritage and the name and this restaurant feels achingly stuck in the 1990s. Things have moved on so much in the London food scene and The River Cafe falls well short of the mark. The food was distinctly average and eye wateringly priced for what it was. I have no issue paying £75+ a head where due but my basic average mozzarella and tomato starter, followed by pasta I could have hashed together at home was not worth the £25 and £38 respectively! If you want authentic, incredible tasting pasta check out somewhere like Barcone in Soho where you'll get something incredibly delicious for £10 - £15 a plate. Going back to The River Cafe, the service was noticeably average and the tables were not 2m apart by any stretch of the imagination! The food is average to good at best, the atmosphere and the setting are very nice but I honestly find it insane that people rave about this place. I would not recommend it at all, there are so many far far superior places in London so I would spend your £75+ a head somewhere else! Check out places like Palomar, The Water House Project, Cornerstone, Pizarrio, Bocca di Lupo....the list goes on.

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.

Oh god, where do I even begin! The food, service, venue, multi-coloured employee outfits to match the neon-fuschia pizza oven, turquoise outdoor chairs and indigo carpet floor....can go on and on...loved it. TLDR: Its posh yet funky, preppy yet casual. Food is excellent. Yes its pricey but then again you dont need me to tell you that just look at the 4 pound sign next to the name - and yes it's worth every penny. 5/5

Awesome, best food ever.

fresh ingredients! appetizing meal

I visited The River Café the other day and the food tasted so fresh! The best quality ingredients and it definitely justifies the price. It's not an every day experience, but still a great experience.

Excellent, very testy food yummy;0

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.

Super delicious food.

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

Love this place! Personable staff!

It is sgir

Doorman was very friendly and welcomed us back, entering the hostess was occupied but politely seated us. Food although pleasant, fresh, clean and well cooked was very hhm basic and if I wanted this I would have gone to a pub or garden centre - we did expect a little more effort. On numerous occasions I had staff bumping the back of my chair to which I actually had to change seats, the restaurant was very busy but surely in these times it is not necessary to place tables that obstruct staff and if you are going to present cutlery best to be brought on a tray. It just felt a bit chaotic which I would normally be patient with especially now, but thought this blasè approach was most certainly noticed. Wine list is good.

Spectacular food

Excellent food and service

Excellent food...great for a weekend lunch

Great service but very dissatisfied with the food. Perhaps it was their first day of opening of the year after COVID-19. We had the send the wine back, not the type the server recommend. The beef was inedible in places. We have enjoyed this place several times last year. Hopefully it's just a blip in restarting the new year. However they did not seem short of staff at all.

Probably one of my favorite restaurants in London. Amazing food across the menu, great space and vibes.

Came to River Cafe for dinner with friends and had an ok experience in general. Had pizzetta and squid for starters, the lamb as a main and the raspberry tart as a dessert. Even though the food was tasteful, I still think the prices were a bit too high. Biggest let down was service. Expected a very differentiate service, however had waiters coming to our table 3 times with other’s people food asking if those orders were ours… However, food was simple but really great!

The River Cafe was suggested to us by a colleague and we were absolutely blown away by our experience. Our server, Louie, was so delightful, helpful, and attentive. He assisted us in choosing creative drinks and entree choices. Having visited Italy numerous times, I was truly impressed by the menu and how memorable each dish was - I could argue it is better or on par with some of the best restaurants I’ve visited in Italy. We will most certainly be back!!!

£300 for lunch for 2 people. 2 starters, 2 mains, shared a pudding and a cheese board with 3 tiny pieces of cheese which cost £18! Charcoaled grilled squid is coated in approx 2/3 chopped raw red chillies which was also really odd, wife had to scrape them off! Sea bass overcooked, artichoke was deeply unpleasant. Crab spaghetti was ok but have had better. In comparison, Myrtle restaurant run by Anna Haugh absolutely blows this place out of the water and is far better value. River cafe used to be good 5/6 years ago, sadly it's now just full of pretentious people who seem to enjoy being massively ripped off. Won't be returning, not that this place could care less as they seem to be packed to the rafters with people who don't understand what a good dining experience is. All in all, quite a disappointing experience.

One goes to the River Café, for extraordinary cooking and usually have to book months in advance for the privilege. But today (a beautiful September lunchtime) we just walked off the street and were able to experience all those rare authentic Ruth Rogers treats without the long wait. Remarkable as always.