It is always a treat to eat here. Yes the menu is small and it is expensive but you always feel that a meal here is a special occasion

Riva has been around for more than twenty years. It is a genuine and well thought out Italian restaurant whose dishes are based on the North Italian traditions of its distinguished owner Andrea Riva. Specials of the day are always worth having and the wine list is exceptional ( Andrea Riva is a real connoisseur of wine.) The pasta dishes... More

We had heard so much about Riva and visited with some friends from Barnes on Saturday night. The place looked as if it hadn't seen a lick of paint in years and was so tired. The front windows from the inside had a very dated 80's looking paint effect and the walls were covered in what looked like the sort... More

A slightly better visit this time. Less of a feeling of interrupting a private dinner party on arrival. A delightful and helpful waitress, but the owner didn't bother to acknowledge us, and that VIP clique still seems to exist. The main problem with this place is that the tables are so close together it's impossible to have a private converstaion,... More

I have been dropping into Riva with wife/family/friends/colleagues now and again for the past decade or more and have never been disappointed - in fact, the standard has been consistently brilliant. So I was surprised to see that my favourite Italian restaurant in the UK has received a relatively miserly 8 reviews and that one reviewer rated it as 'Poor'!... More

My wife and I walked into this restaurant, and all conversation stopped and we were stared at as if we were gate crashing a private dinner party! It seems to be a very cliquey clientele who don't accept newcomers, or nor for that matter do the staff who seemed very aloof. The food wasn't bad, but not particularly remarkable.

Riva is perfectly suited to Barnes, a pocket of London that you have no cause to visit unless you are looking for an expensive piece of real estate in which to live in rich anonymous bliss with your children going to one of the many high achieving mainly fee paying local schools. Or you are swedish and have to go... More

Riva is my reference restaurant. I think we all need one - 'would I rather have had a meal at Riva than this?' I use it as such because although you can pay more and get better food elsewhere you'd be paying big money. Somewhere cheaper and as good is a real find. Riva isn't cheap of course but I... More

it is wonderful, really it is.. the food can be sublime, the room grandly casual and the staff get it just right.. Andrea Riva wouldn't hurt himself if he wandered around all his guests a little more.. but hell, he's hardly begging for customers