Riva Fish Restaurant — Restaurant in Western Cape

My partner and I recently dined at Riva with hopes of enjoying a great evening, but we left feeling disappointed by the service and overall experience.

To start, when we arrived, we were met by a waitress who greeted us with a slight attitude, asking if we had a reservation. Although we didn’t, there seemed to be hesitance in seating us despite numerous open tables. The waitress then served us throughout the evening, but unfortunately, there was no introduction or attempt to create a welcoming atmosphere, and her demeanor remained distant and unfriendly.

As a guest with specific dietary restrictions, my partner made a point to inform the waitress of my allergies multiple times, explaining that I would not be eating. However, she repeatedly asked if we would be sharing plates, which made us feel our needs weren’t being taken seriously. Despite my allergy, I still wanted to support the establishment by ordering a gin and tonic.

Another discomforting aspect was that the waitress seemed to fixate on my partner, staring in a way that made us feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. It left us questioning if our presence was somehow problematic for her, given the stark contrast in how she attended to other guests.

When it came time to settle the bill, we requested the check but waited an unusually long time for it to arrive, and even longer for the card reader. We observed her attending to smaller requests for other tables while we waited. Finally, when she did bring the card reader, she asked pointedly about the tip, which we found surprising since we hadn’t seen her ask other patrons the same. When we politely explained that we were considering leaving cash, she continued to watch us closely, and even as we got up to leave, she pressed us about the tip. Her approach felt disrespectful and unprofessional.

We decided to speak with the manager, hoping for some acknowledgment of our experience. However, instead of listening empathetically or offering an apology, he simply asked if the food was good. This lack of accountability was disappointing and felt dismissive.

Our experience at Riva was, unfortunately, not what we had hoped for. We support and respect service industry workers and understand that off days can happen. However, a lack of warmth, respect, and attention to customer needs creates a barrier to a positive dining experience. We hope Riva can reflect on this feedback and foster a more welcoming atmosphere for all its guests in the future especially...

I was disappointed. I went there as it is advertised as a fish restaurant, and also because I wanted oysters and had seen a picture of it among the reviews. Well to start with, they had no oysters, but fair enough, they didnt claim to have some. My bad. But then, the menu is very limited. Only 2 proper fish platters, which is not much for a fish restaurant. I ordered the prawns as a starter, and they were ok but obviously from a frozen pack. Not exactly what you expect from a fish restaurant in Cape Town. I wanted some wine by the glass, but they had only one white, one rosé, and one red by the glass. Asked for the white one and they came back saying they didnt have it. So I ordered a Stella Artois, which is one of the 3 beers they have (along with Corona and a local beer. All bottles, no beer on tap). Upon asking for a second Stella, they told me they were out, as there was a power black out at this moment, and they had moved all their beers from their fridge to their other restaurant “la cucina”. So I asked for the bill, and because they had no power they did it manually, which obviously will be a challenge when I submit my expense report. They offered to send me the proper receipt by email, and I hope they will deliver. Overall a disappointing experience, and next time I’ll probably go straight down the road to Beluga.

Edit: I did receive the...

Honestly I was less than impressed. Outside practically not being acknowledged. The waitress pretty much ignored us most of the night (didn’t take drink orders for the first 15 minutes, didn’t take food orders for another 20 minutes, ignored me when I said my partner would only have drinks and would not be eating because she’s vegan and literally can’t eat anything on the menu). The thing is that there were only 2 other tables with people outside of us… the waitress actively stared me down from across the room majority of the night looking hostile (while again, not actually attending to our table). THEN she had the gall to be appalled that we didn’t tip. Actually said it’s required to tip (which it does not say anywhere in the bill that it was required for a 10% tip for a table of two). She was literally scamming us and was not going to let us leave. I had to actually talk to the manager because she kept demanding a tip (mind you for service that was worst than terrible). Before the manager (instead of acknowledging the scam, just asked if the food was good). Honestly there is so much great seafood in Cape Town, I would give this a 0 out of 10, would never recommend (unless you want to have a bad experience). Enter at...