Riva — Restaurant in Ontario

Got there at our reservation time. 15 minutes till server took our order. 30 minutes later, we get the Oyster appetizer. It's a cold dish, so I'm not sure why it took so long. 30 minutes later, we ask the waitress if she can at least get our 5 year old's meal done quicker. 10 minutes later, we get his plate. It's spaghetti with meat sauce and it took an hour to get to him. 20 minutes later I ask where our meals are. She says 10 minutes and brings us some bread. 20 minutes later our meals get there. So it's been around 2 hours before we actually got our meal. The meals... The noodles were all undercooked. More than al Dente. The one with a truffle sauce, looked like it could have taken 10 minutes to prepare max. The seafood stew looked to be the most complex. Fettucine, when finished, there was a pool of olive oil on the dish. Like at least a tablespoon or oil left. The Gnocchi is what I ordered... The sauce was great. The Gnocchi though. I've never had them that consistency before. They were basically still mashed potatoes. There was likely next to no flour in them. Store bought gnocchi is closer to proper gnocchi than this was. Also, I had the same pool of olive oil left over on my plate.

My advice to the owner. You spent the whole night running around serving wine, clearing tables, etc. How much time do you spend in the kitchen? I feel like you're letting your kitchen staff slack off a ton. Because everything in our meal, should have taken 30-40 minutes tops to get to our table, even with a full house like it was. Every single customer in there was waiting for 1-2 hours for any food to reach their tables. I implore you to go to any other fancy italian restaurant and time the service. Your wait staff are all going to quit because they aren't getting any tips. We saw them complaining openly about customers lack of tips multiple times at the bar.

Advice to wait staff. Don't talk about your tips three feet from the customers. Also, maybe go ask them how their meals are after they've been served. Our waitress never came to our table unless we waved her over. The owner is running past us a hundred times, not once asked us how we were doing. We would have told him that we were about to walk. We were literally 30 seconds from standing up and going to mcdonalds or something before the food arrived.

This place needs to sit their kitchen staff down and give them hell. The owner needs to stay in the kitchen and move plates. Go watch Kitchen Nightmares on youtube. You'll see what Ramsey gets ever owner to do, and how to run things smoother.

There's potential to fix this. But the only reason people are still coming is because most people coming in are tourists and only come the one time. They see the 4.5 star review on here, not realizing that the last year+ is overloaded with...

Overpriced, Overrated and a Fly in the Salad

We’ve been to this restaurant a number of times, but this visit will most definitely be our last.

We arrived on time and were seated in the bar area. Nice table and the restaurant not too busy. And that’s where the success of this dining experience ends.

Server#1 was not familiar with the menu and was unable to answer any questions we had about the entrees. She even returned to our table asking which salad size we wanted but there wasn’t a size option on the lunch menu. The menu identified a beet salad, priced at $16.00.

The service was extremely slow and when the appetizers finally arrived, there was a living fly sitting on top of the beet salad. When we brought it to the attention of surly Server#2, she was not overly concerned by this and said they’d bring another beet salad to the table. More waiting. I’ve never had a bug in any plated food at a restaurant and certainly wasn’t expecting that from this place. And more surprising to me was the apathetic attitude from the server.

The broccoli soup was another appetizer that we ordered. The soup was delicious but the soup arrived without a spoon. Hmm....

The entrees were subpar. My Diablo pizza was not hot, toppings sparse and the tomato sauce on the pizza was cold. I guess that’s why the under cooked pizza was soggy. The fusilli pasta dish with artichokes was overcooked; the portion was small and not many artichokes included in this pasta dish. And salt seems to be this restaurant’s favourite seasoning. Thankfully the steak and frites was a pass.

Foolishly we ordered dessert. We waited about 15 minutes for the dessert and basically we had ordered ice cream in a bowl. The service couldn’t have been worse.

Another table of three had arrived at the exact same time as we had. These customers had a different server, ordered a bottle of wine with their lunch and were heading out the door as our main entrees were arriving at the table.

I’m not sure what’s happened to this restaurant. Past visits have been so much better. The staff way more friendly and knowledgeable, food was served hot and in a timely fashion. Not anymore.

Our bill arrived, nothing was said about the fly in the salad and we were charged for it - not very classy in my mind. At the very least, I had expected that complimentary desserts would have been offered. Didn’t happen.

At one time this restaurant could demand its high price point but no longer. In future, I’ll save my money and...

Bloody hell, if you’re in Gananoque and you don’t stop at Riva, what on earth are you doing with your life?

The patio is a masterpiece – warm orange umbrellas, a classic fountain trickling in the background, and you can actually hear yourself think while enjoying your drink, which, by the way, is crafted to perfection. The whiskey sour arrived with a cherry and orange slice that screamed fresh, vibrant, no shortcuts.

Now, let’s talk about the food. The beef carpaccio? Paper thin, melt-on-your-tongue perfection with a touch of arugula and shaved Parm that actually tastes like Parm, not the bagged rubbish you find elsewhere. The house bread, with whipped butter that is kissed with spice, is exactly what you want to mop up every drop of sauce from your plate.

Then came the garganelli with hanger steak in black garlic cream sauce – absolutely stunning. The pasta was perfectly cooked, hugging that rich, umami-forward sauce with big flavour in every bite, while the sliced hanger steak was tender, beefy, and properly seasoned. This is what pasta is supposed to taste like when a kitchen gives a damn.

The tomato salad? Ridiculously fresh, sweet, and bright, drizzled with quality olive oil, reminding you what real tomatoes taste like. The risotto was comforting, creamy, and subtle, the kind of dish that tells you the chef cares about technique.

And the desserts. Oh, the desserts. Whether it’s the affogato, the strawberry cheesecake, or the cannoli with pistachios and shaved chocolate, each one is crafted with care, not just a lazy end to a meal. The cannoli shell was crisp, the filling was light, and the flavours popped.

Service? Friendly, attentive, and not hovering like a lost puppy. Drinks topped up, plates cleared on time, and staff who actually know the menu.

Riva is the kind of place that makes you remember why dining out can be a pleasure, not a chore. Flavour, atmosphere, and service, all spot on.

Get in there, book a table, and remind your tastebuds what real food...