Tipped

Nice Italian, great outdoor

September 25, 2007

River Cafe is a Michelin star Italian situated on the river (hence the name, ha!). The food is seasonal and simple, but delicious. The staff is excellent and the sommelier is very helpful and knowlegable.

Definitely book ahead. Prices are as to be expected with any Michelin star restaurant. Great place to go on a nice sunny day if you can get a seat outside.

Tags: italian

Perfect Simple Italian

September 24, 2007

Lovely setting and great for architect spotting if you like that kind of thing... Richard Rogers was sat next to us having his daily lunch, much to the delight of my husband.
I don't know what it's like in the evening, however lunchtime does have an air of "working lunch" about it - behind us the table was full of American TV executives droning on about extremely dull network statistics. However, one large glass of champagne later and they had become muted background noise.
I actually really liked the River Cafe despite the fact that some of the food is a bit overpriced. The setting by the river is beautiful, though it's a bit of a trek from the tube to get there. In the summer you can sit outside on the patio which surely must be one of the loveliest suntraps in London.
The River Cafe serves very simple Italian food. It's all about the best ingredients, simply cooked without fuss. From the rich peppery olive oil with the bread, via the lightest pasta, to my juicy grilled sea bass, the meal was a delight. The wine list is of course heavily Italian, but the sommelier was very good in helping us find the right bottle for our budget and food.
We finished off the meal with Chocolate nemesis cake and vanilla ice cream doused in espresso.
A perfect lazy lunch.

Tags: italian