london

The River Cafe

• Italian• Hammersmith

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About the restaurant

The River Café has stood the test of time since its opening by friends Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray more than 30 years ago. While Gray tragically died in 2010, Rogers still operates the restaurant and has a huge hand in its day-to-day operations alongside the kitchen team, and the venue has held a Michelin star since 1997. It's also known as a proving ground for chefs, many of whom – like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Theo Randall and, of course, Jamie Oliver – have gone on to great things after working there.

With its chic interior, long counter with bar seating and a bright pink wood-fired oven taking pride of place in the middle of the restaurant, the River Café is nothing if not a memorable location. Given its location bang on the Thames, lunch or an early dinner in spring or summer are always great times to visit.

Food here is all about British ingredients and Italian recipes, with a strict adherence to seasonality. Plates of pasta are always fresh, vibrant and delicious, while meat and fish cooked on the grill are usually served simply but with beautiful balance. With some mains costing in excess of £40, a meal here is rarely cheap, but it's usually worth it to experience a restaurant whose place in London dining history is assured.

Reviews from the Web

Critic reviews

The Infatuation

If you talk about game changing Italian food and drink in London then you should really be talking about three things: 3am espressos at Bar Italia, garlic butter dough balls at Pizza Express, and the River Café.

Time Out

The River Café is a sleb in its own right. Opened in 1987, it was famously intended as the canteen for Richard Rogers' architectural practice.

Standard

It gives you what you want on its own reassuringly expensive terms

The Telegraph

The results, however, speak for themselves. The sweetest Devon crab I have ever tasted is plated up with rainbow chard and aioli, each ingredient so absolutely the best of its kind that it demands to be eaten by itself in slow appreciation.

The Independent

It looks gorgeous: on an unseasonally sunny November afternoon, the long room is full of light, autumn sunshine flooding through the big windows and splashing on the aquamarine carpet.