The River Cafe - London

I had a really nice lunch here. I was with a friend and we managed to get a nice table and had a pleasant conversation over a couple of excellent lattes. Our waitress was very friendly and calm I loved the service. Thanks

This is my favourite place in london for dinner. The food is great. Truly elegant ambience. The service is sublime. Highly recommend it

I've now calculated that if I use all my annual leave in the form of Friday half days I could come and eat here times next year....which would be nice. Might cost me a few quid or the same as a trip to the Bahamas if I decided to spend those days differently. Because on this form you'll need the whole afternoon off just to prolong this delightful experience as long as possible.We arrived to sit down at and didn't leave until close to o'clock. Which was the perfect way to see what a joyful operation this is. It was a my first visit so i'm not sure if the refit, with open kitchen and long bar, is responsible for all the frivolity. As we were having our dessert, the whole restaurant crew was sitting down to their lunch, which was a selection of what we'd just eaten. After that they took up their positions at the long bar and everyone starting veg prep for dinner. Waiters, porters, front of house, whoever! They all got stuck into cavalo nero stalks and a good chat. Great to watch.Anyway back to the food. As guests of a Richard Rogers employee thanks again Jen! we were able to get access to a shortened set menu which made the whole thing distinctly affordable. courses for or for We started with mixed antipasti of delicious cured ham and chickpea pancakes, hot, garlicky and straight from the pan.On my pasta dish sat plump ravioli with spinach and cheese and a delicious, subtly buttery sauce. The delicacy of the ingredients really allowed the quality of the pasta to come through. Risotto with cabbage pancetta and Fontina was legendary and spaghetti with mullet sauce was also excellent.By this time we'd moved from a Planeta Cerasuolo stupid fruit on the nose exclaimed Gareth which I learnt is just an expression for really fresh starburstlike flavours, on to a Dolcetto from Vajra. Perfect with braised veal shin with chard. In fact just braise me and we'll call it quits. Braise the Lord. Braise be. Should I braise of should I go? Braiseaways. Braise Anatomy. Etc. Etc. Let's just braise everything basically brilliant. Calves liver on another plate was tender and juicy and the wild mushroom and gooey cheese frittata that the young lady had was also good...but probably not quite as exciting as the other mains.Cheese, vanilla ice cream and espresso, and lemon tart did the trick and hastened us into a Chianti from Sepulviana which turned out to be the most serious red so far. Lots of chewy tannins and structure after the lighter bottles before. As the hoover zipped round other parts of the restaurant, we checked all the breadcrumbs under our table and realised they were probably going to need to work on it for a while so we got the bill which after Prosecco cocktails and bottles of wine was predictable mostly of the liquid variety. In fact the food seemed verry good value in a place where the a la carte option is undeniably expensive. As we got up I wanted to say goodbye to all the vegpreppers but i was reminded that they weren't actually my friends yet. But they will be one day.So main piece of advice here go to the Richard Rogers building and make a friend in the office there so you can get the set menu too. Well worth the loitering..

I have to admit i was drawn into the hype and took the plunge of going to the River Cafe. Unfortunately as with most things, the real thing never lives up to the hype. This is the case with this restaurant as well. There is a not too bad selection of meals and specials, but clearly the emphasis is on quality and not quantity. And thats to say the least. I think the staff have also got caught up in the hype as i found them a little obnoxious and snooty. It must be such a shame for them to have to deal with the customers! Thats how i was made to feel anyway. The food is very expensive and i won't be going back

I had a really nice lunch here. I was with a friend and we managed to get a nice table and had a pleasant conversation over a couple of excellent lattes. Our waitress was very friendly and calm I loved the service. Thanks.