The River Cafe
📍 Thames Wharf, Rainville Rd, London W6 9HA, UK
Weighted rating from:
Google: 4.3 • TripAdvisor: 4
JetlyGo Score
Score calculated from online mentions, review sentiment, and dining indicators across London. Trust this score to find where to eat, drink, and dine in London.
Available amenities(10)
Based on verified guest experiences
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The River Cafe in London is a distinguished Italian fine dining establishment that offers a unique blend of high-quality cuisine and a relaxed, casual atmosphere. Located by the river, this restaurant has garnered attention for its exquisite dishes and attentive service. Customers rave about the beautifully prepared food, with highlights including squid, pork ragu, and various pasta options. While the ambiance is lively, it can get quite busy, making reservations highly recommended. The restaurant caters to diverse diners, from families to couples and friends, ensuring a welcoming experience for all. With a solid Google rating of 4.3 and a TripAdvisor rating of 4.0, The River Cafe stands out as a noteworthy dining destination.
Signature Dishes
- •Crab
- •Pizzetta
- •Prosciutto with Cantaloupe melon
- •Dover Sole wood-roasted with salted anchovy
- •Summer Risotto
- •Chargrilled Longhorn Beef Rib-Eye
- •Tagliarini with Dorset Blue Lobster
Overall rating 4.1 / 5 (3,552 reviews)
Google: 4.3 (1765 reviews)
TripAdvisor: 4 (1787 reviews)
Customer Reviews
We visited River Cafe for dinner with our family, and our impressions were mixed. The food was outstanding: every dish was exquisite and delicious, with no doubt that the kitchen here is top-notch. However, the prices seemed too high, especially considering the restaurant is quite far from central London. If you're willing to spend a significant amount on dinner and don’t mind the trip to the outskirts of the city, River Cafe won’t disappoint. But if you value a balance between price and convenience, it might be worth considering other options.
A fantastic Italian that combines both high quality cooking with a laid back casual atmosphere. Food is well prepared and cooked. The squid had the perfect texture, the pork ragu was so flavourful and the mushroom ravioli in sage butter was lovely. All the dishes are well thought out and have both a classic side to it with a modern execution. It gets very busy here so booking is recommended. Tables can be quite close together but this adds to the cosy and relaxed atmosphere. Service and staff are brilliant. Very knowledgable and very attentive.
I’m a London Taxi driver and have picked up and dropped off numerous punters at this venue over the years. So being a special birthday took the plunge and booked the two of us in for lunch. The location by the river is great. We had a table next to the windows. The service was good. The dining area is as a very upmarket cafe and ambience to match with a continuous hub hub. So if you want a romantic peaceful meal this is not the place for you. The food was full of flavour. I had the lamb dish and my friend had the partridge. The leg of lamb dish was delicious but two thick slices of meat was far too much and just a few small vegetables instead would have been ample. My friend had the partridge. Whilst tasty struggled to get the meat off the bone. Deserts tasted beautiful. For all the dishes there was a complete lack of effort in presentation and not what I expect from a Michelin Star restaurant and from that aspect alone very disappointing. The price was unjustified at £224 for just two main courses, desserts and a karaff of wine. I wish I had had read the reviews before I made the booking. Once bitten twice shy!
I fail to understand how people justify spending so much money on a very ordinary experience. Difficult to access on public transport ( I don't drive to London ) , poor acoustics and small quantities of mediocre food. The bill for the six of us was well over £1000 - which gave me unpleasant indigestion. Surely there are better ways to spend your money ?