Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar, Birmingham — Restaurant in Birmingham

Our booking was made in person in the daytime for 9pm 11/09/21 the same day whilst visiting Birmingham and walking around, the restaurant looked nice from the outside from what could be see through the windows and yes, the décor is certainly appealing. Upon arrival at 850pm there was a worrying amount of people stood outside in a cluster appearing as though they wished to be let in. The worrying feeling was heightened given there appeared to be next to no lights on inside and very loud club style musing playing which could be heard outside. Had we come to a nightclub; no, this is the place. During what seemed to be the panic to get people seated and allocated a table we were eventually seen and directed to be escorted to a table by a waiter. We walk through the bar and halfway into the restaurant to be told the table is not quite ready. So, we stand for several minutes whilst the table is cleared. Upon being told the table is now ready we are taken to a bare table; the table accoutrements had been sat on a window ledge behind us during wipe down and left there. So, we moved these ourselves. The ambience could be described at this point as panicked and unready simultaneously, along with being unreasonably loud, there are a multitude of speakers pointing down directly toward the tables across the entire restaurant and you can tell. I don't mean by this that you can tell because you can hear relaxing or Italian themed music, more a 90's nightclub style and volume of music. Music that is loud enough to interfere with conversations that you do not wish others hearing should there be a slight break in the sound, which there wasn't. Along with the loud music there was a large television screen playing clips of Gino on a boat, Gino making pasta etc, yes, I am aware who he is, I don't feel this is an entirely necessary distraction, but it is there, nevertheless. Whilst struggling to read the menu for several minutes given the lack of lighting the lighting returned making the menus much easier to read. As it appeared the lack of lighting was not a design choice, we considered maybe the restaurant would normalise and the nightclub music would be confined to the bar area, which would make sense if you wanted to cater for those just wanting a drink at the bar, but alas, there was no abatement to the noise. Eventually we ordered food and two whole bottles of wine at the same time given that we considered we had not ordered drinks on the way in and wanted to choose wine that would pair with the food, which I believe is entirely reasonable for a dining establishment. During our wait for anything we were approached twice to ask if we were ok, yes, we have committed now. Though this did not mean that at around 920pm I was still happy about not having a drink, so I stopped another waiter to ask for our wine so that we can have a drink whilst waiting for our food. He left with this request never to be seen again. Later I stopped another waitress to enquire as to the wine’s location who to my utmost disbelief informed me that she does not deal with the drinks, only the food. At 930pm we decided that it would be quicker and easier to eat elsewhere and left. Our wine was making it's way to us through the bar on the way out. It was clear that there was a struggle to get things done, the table, the drinks, the lighting; maybe the music; so we left. I can’t comment on the quality of the food but what I did see on the television screen directly in my eyeline which was on repeat looked nice. At 934pm whilst heading elsewhere my elderly friend who had made the booking received what I would describe as a confrontational telephone call handled by myself from the restaurant telling us our food was ready (whether the food was ready or not will never be known), and no we wouldn’t like to walk back to cold...

Where to begin oh yes........ DO NOT BOTHER to waste your hard earned money here customer service was bad and the food even worse.

Location - located in the heart of the city which has changed dramatically with lack of parking and permanent road closers.

Décor - This place is beautifully decorated and cosy.

Customer service - 2 out 10

Food - rated as 1 as that is the lowest I could give but truly below par.

We attended a birthday dinner with the family. On arriving I was greeted well and shown to me seat where my family were already seated. It was my first time dining here and it was off to a good start.

In looking over the menu nothing quite grabbed me. May I add the price mark up is high but being a being foodie if the food and service is good it does not matter what you charge I surely would return. I opted to share a pizza with my son as he too could not find anything interested. You cannot go wrong with a pizza right.......WRONG !!!!!!!! We were served a tasteless covered in some kind of sauce circle breaded toughness. The crust could not be chewed which had to be torn off and placed on a side plate. My niece was served a pasta dish that looked like a ready meal . My sister ordered a starter of bread and cheese twist which should of come with butter, oil and balsamic vinegar. They served her a plate of cold bread with no butter and when she asked for the oil and balsamic vinegar the first server did not recognise what was required and never came back to the table with anything the second server has to be asked twice to bring what was required for the dish first she returned with just a bowl and when asked for the oil and vinegar became frustrated that she was being asked eventually she returned and slammed the oil and balsamic bottles on the table and walked off. This same member of staff when asked where the ladies facilities were told us to go to a door next to the kitchen. Which we did bit this did not look right so I asked her again and pointed to the door which we told her it was locked. A male member of staff then came and unlocked the door for us to find it was a baby changing room and the ladies were actually downstairs was her ponytail too tight that day I am not sure as her attitude, competency and common sense is surely in question. Working in a restaurant how would you not know what should accompany a meal and then become irritable when given the information of what was needed. My sisters meal was overcooked and dry that she asked for it be taken away as she could not eat it. They did offer to bring her something else but everything they brought to the table to the rest of the family just looked below par and was either under cooked like the prawn starters, had a soggy bottom like the other pizza ordered to the table or overcooked and dry there was not even an offering of parmesan to be grated over the pasta meals.

The female supervisor or manager was just as bad. I feel she got frustrated with the number of complaints she had to deal with as she proceeded to mumble under her breath

Far too much money has been pumped into making the place look nice than into training staff in customer service and understanding...

I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction with the service and experience my party and I had during our recent visit to your restaurant, Riva Blu, on 28/12/24.

We were seated at a collapsible table, which, during our meal, collapsed on one side. This caused drinks to spill all over two members of our party, leaving them drenched in wine. We were forced to hold the table up ourselves while waiting for assistance. When staff approached, one of the waitresses asked, "What have you been doing, girls?" as if the situation was somehow our fault. It was clear that the table had not been set up properly, leading to the collapse.

As a result of the spill, my dress and coat were covered in wine, and my pasta and garlic bread were also ruined. I immediately requested a replacement meal, including new pasta, garlic bread, and a glass of wine, as the original meal was inedible. I also asked for the tablecloth to be changed, as it was dripping wine, but the waitress responded by saying, "No, we can just cover it," which was clearly ineffective. Thankfully, I was able to move to a spare seat on the table.

The replacement pasta arrived promptly, but the garlic bread and wine were not provided. When I inquired about the missing wine, the waitress dismissively stated, "Well, it wasn't me who spilled your wine." I politely explained that it was not her fault, but that the table had collapsed, causing the wine to spill and ruin my meal. She then said she would speak to the manager. Eventually, a new glass of wine was brought to me, but the overall attitude and service were disappointing.

To make matters worse, we overheard staff talking about us throughout the remainder of our meal, which made us feel extremely uncomfortable and unwelcome. When we raised our concerns with the manager, they did apologise and removed the wine and one cocktail from the bill. However, we were surprised and frustrated to find that the pasta was not removed from the bill for the meal that was ruined due to the collapsed table. We were charged not only for the original pasta but also for the replacement pasta, which was a direct result of the faulty table. After further discussion with management, the charge for the extra pasta was refunded, but the experience left us feeling appalled by the lack of customer care.

Given the high prices of your restaurant, we expected a far higher level of service and attention to detail. This experience fell far short of the standards one would anticipate at an establishment of this caliber, and we are deeply disappointed by the lack of professionalism and empathy demonstrated by the staff.

Overall, the service we received was unacceptable, and our meal was completely ruined by the combination of a faulty table, poor staff attitude, and inadequate handling of the situation. I will not be returning to your restraunt again and will not be recommending it to family or friends based on this experience.

I trust that you will take this complaint seriously and ensure that such an incident does not...