Riva in Richmond upon Thames

Oh dear. Booked (with a real human being, not through a booking app) for a family birthday lunch for Sunday 5 Feb. Arrived to find the place closed with a note in the door saying they aren’t opening until several days later. Not the birthday surprise we expected! Won’t be going back. Have only given this one star because you can’t give no stars.

My husband and I went for dinner on Saturday night to belatedly celebrate our anniversary having recently moved to Barnes. We loved our evening at Riva and thought the food was delicious, wine lovely and the service was faultless. Our principal waiter was very friendly and we enjoyed chatting to him. We shared the antipasto to start and both had the tagliata di manzo followed by an affogato for dessert. We would definitely recommend and can't wait to go back!

Lovely food and cosy atmosphere. Very friendly staff too

Food was delicious but the service made the whole experience outstanding.

Wine was great but cost was high then others.

This is a unique little place. There is zero design element to it (think bare walls, white paper tablecloths) - no bells and whistles whatsoever. But the service is super friendly, the menu is very good with just the right amount of options and the quality of the food is high. We will continue to return.

As someone who has been a resident of Barnes for just over 16 year, other inhabitants will know this, we have seen a lot of boutique restaurants pop up and fade away (in some cases begrudgingly so.) So when the staff member of one of our pubs recommended RIVA as a new Italian place in Castlenaught, I was keen to experience it for myself. Perhaps the first red flag should have been the Domino's pizza the admirer was having delivered simultaneously.To be honest the staff were just average, a little rude laughing at certain questions, no check back at all to inquire how the evening was going (one of the first rules of service btw) and when we tried to cancel our mains assuming they would be on par with the starters, no one thought to ask why. We were told they were already being prepared...At the end of our meal we were met with an erratic attitude and a flurry of excuses.... this is not how you talk to guests, ever! She also said, "well when you asked if there is a pizza on the specials, I think maybe you don't know what kind of a place this is" and my personal favorite "I'm guessing you have a long way to walk home"... I have to assume that's because of our attire... I'm not even going to comment on that kind of profound ignorance.Now the food: Octopus - completely under cooked and served on old rocket and pretty much raw beans - I still have a stomach ache. Followed by lamb which had no flavor and was somewhat cold and old potatoes which were completely dry on the inside. My partner's food was little more to write home about, her starter would have been better coming from the pub across the road.All of that and a stomach ache to take home for an intended £102.The worst restaurant I've ever been to in this area for almost 2 decades.

This is the kind of place you don't want to write a review about, because it's a rare treasure and somehow uou want to keep it secret. But that wouldn't do them a favor. So.... the food is simple bit the flavors Unbelievable. It s pure genius. From starters to dessert you don't stop to be amazes by the deliciousness of the dishes. The staff is hard working, passionate and makes the stay very pleasant. I wish you well and will see you soon.

The food was amazing. The setting is intimate and feels like a theatre set! My only gripe is the wine list. Nothing interesting, nothing aged and quite honestly very boring. If they put as much attention into the wine list as they do with their ingredients it would have everything. This is a place people with money go ... You would have thought that there is a place for a great wine list.

Really like this Italian restaurant, very friendly and fun staff as well as beautiful food.