Ristorante Riviera — Restaurant in Venice

Looking at my time visiting Riviera leaves me feeling torn. On one hand, the food and wine was excellent, the view really is spectacular, and the restaurant itself really is a wonderful experience. On the other hand, though, we ended up having to wait somewhere between 30 to 45 minutes to be seated (we had a reservation) because the restaurant let people from earlier reservations arrive late and still be seated - this left a backlog where my wife and I (and most other people who arrived at the same time we did) were left standing there while people who arrived late were able to overlap into our reservation time. The restaurant was nice enough to provide us with free wine while we waited (and it was very good wine, I should note!), but it was still a little frustrating to be seated at 8:45 when we had a reservation at 8!

Given the above, I would normally put our review as a 4/5 rather than a 3, but the service was a little sluggish (and seemed to put a lot more effort into one of the larger tables, enough for us to notice and impact our experience). The combination of being seated late and the sluggish service meant that we didn't really get to leave the restaurant until close to 11:30-Midnight when we'd really intended to leave closer to 10:00-10:30. The review scale requires me to put a 3, but I would honestly give this restaurant a 3.5/5 if I could.

Even given the above, though, the food was excellent. Really quite good! Our antipasti was delicious and was served with a really high quality bread. The wine was incredible, and our main dishes were really good as well! My wife is still talking about the sea-bass ravioli she had here, and their Linguine Alla Busara (a traditional pasta dish in Venice) is honestly the best introduction to Venetian cuisine if this is your first night in Venice. The dessert was also memorable, with my wife getting one of the fanciest plates of tiramisu she had in Italy and my molten lava cake being served with some of the most flavorful gelato (adorned with caramel and crumbled up cookies) I'd had up to this point.

The view really is incredible as well, probably one of the best views in all of Venice if you're looking for a place to have dinner.

So overall, do I still recommend this restaurant? Yes, but I recommend it with a caveat. I had read reviews and knew that there could be issues with the service when I came - and I'd say that if you're alright with that, then I definitely think you should still come here. The food was good, the view was romantic, and it was overall a positive experience.

If I could provide any recommendation for the restaurant, however, it would be to be a little more strict with the reservation times. In the U.S. we typically have a 15-20 minute cut-off for most reservations, which means that people who rudely show up to the restaurant nearly an hour late lose their reservation and have to wait in line. Failing that, maybe it would be possible to put standing tables near the restaurant entrance where guests can be served free or discounted antipasti while they waited? That would definitely make the bitter pill that is a long wait to be seated a little...

Thoroughly appalling! We were visiting Venice for 4 days - my husband, our 4 children and myself. My husband made reservations at this restaurant from Toronto, Canada, many weeks in advance. The maximum number that the system allowed was for 5 people, but being that we have 4 children, my husband called AND emailed the restaurant to let them know that we'd be a total of 6, not 5. They confirmed the reservation and took a 50€ per person deposit to hold it. When we arrived, we were greeted by the owner, who said that it was absolutely impossible that they would allow 6 people and the maximum number allowed is 5 per reservation. Just to be clear, we were THERE, in front of the owner, with our 4 kids... hungry, WITH confirmed reservations AND deposits taken for 6 people... we explained that we spoke to someone and that we can't choose 3 out of 4 kids to have dinner with. He accused us of blackmail. Blackmail! Literally, pulled out his phone and looked up the word in English and showed us on his phone. I suggested he look up the word "discrimination" and he proceeded to threaten to call the police. No word of a lie, you can't make this stuff up! Absolutely revolting and completely discriminatory. Really? How hard would it have been to add ONE MORE CHAIR???? He said "If I do it for you, I have to do it for everyone else". No voices were raised, the conversation was completely civil and appropriate. I calmly suggested that I'd be ok to walk around and shop while my family ate dinner - I wasn't that hungry anyway and that group size would meet his requirement of 5 people per reservation. He proceeded to respond with: "No. I refuse the reservation". He literally, turned us away and refused to let us eat there. Absolutely disgusting attitude and deplorable treatment of clients. DO...

Ristorante Riviera, Dorsoduro 1473, Zattere al Ponte Longo, 30123 Venezia, Italy Today, I decided to have risotto at Riviera, and my experience was less than satisfactory. First, a little background: I am a world traveler with a deep passion for food, often learning from Michelin-star chefs. I have embraced Thomas Keller's cooking techniques and have honed my skills working in Napa Valley restaurants. During my stay in Venezia, I enjoyed dining at Cipriani on Calle Vallaresso 1323, where I experienced a risotto so exceptional it would make you slap your mama! However, my experience at Riviera was disappointing. The risotto I had tonight featured over-boiled seafood with no discernible flavor. It felt as if crucial steps were missed – perhaps the butter wasn't added, or the dish wasn't appropriately reduced with wine. It seemed like premade rice was mixed with the seafood, lacking the time and love an authentic risotto requires. Constructive criticism is essential for growth, and I must say that while my family's meals were decent and the young waiter was very nice and authentically Italian, the owner/manager was adamant that no other Italians had complained. I urge fellow Venetians to try the risotto at Riviera and send it back if it doesn't meet the standards of an authentic Venetian risotto. As a learner and someone who challenges taste, I extend a challenge to the chef at Riviera to create a risotto using fresh seafood from the Venetian markets and time and love in making rissoto. Let's uphold the culinary excellence that Venice is known for. I will be in the area for a few days if you would like to go over what went wrong. #Venezia #RistoranteRiviera #Risotto #FoodCritique #VenetianCuisine #Foodie #TravelEats #ConstructiveCriticism...