Dolce Riviera — Restaurant in Dallas

Dolce Riviera for our anniversary, with her having been excited to try it. Unfortunately, we were left frustrated and more than a little disappointed. In fairness, the food itself was excellent - I read a few reviews prior to mine that called it bland or overly salty, and have to respectfully disagree based on our experience. The restaurant is also beautiful, or at least the portion we sat in with faux lemon tree and fountains.

The problems all stemmed from the way with which our order was handled. After a kind word of congratulations on our anniversary and a brief rundown of the menu from our waiter, we ordered drinks and then attempted to order a recommended appetizer (Fritto Misto). At which point we were politely informed that the kitchen likes to key everything in at once, so we needed to put in the entrees as well. No worries, we’re happy to abide, especially after being reassured multiple times that it was just a system thing and that they’ll be sure to stagger all items.

After a long (but not unreasonable for a Saturday night in Dallas) wait, we were greeted by our pasta entrees, followed immediately by the appetizer we were reassured would be sent well in advance of the aforementioned entrees. That meant we now had 3 dishes out simultaneously, all comprised of food that gets exponentially worse when it cools.

Our waiter came by to offer a brief apology that everything came out simultaneously, and I’m sure could sense our disappointment - because his previously jovial demeanor and attentive pre-order service both stopped. I’m sure he’s been chastised by rude patrons in the past and wanted to avoid a conflict like that, but all we wanted was some sort of resolution. Instead, we were left to eat the appetizer and then box up the majority of our respective entrees because they had gotten cold.

Disappointed, but still optimistic that maybe something would be done to help the situation, we were presented with the bill. No remedy, just a full priced bill well north of $100 for an anniversary dinner that was anything but special. I’ve had “lesser” restaurants proactively handle smaller issues in a better way.

If there’s anything I could tell restaurant management, it would be this: don’t force your patron’s hand into ordering all items together if you’re going to then punish them for doing so. If you’re going to ask if there is a special occasion being celebrated, make the smallest effort to make it feel special. If there’s an issue, literally any effort would be appreciated. You have a beautiful restaurant aesthetic, I’m just so bummed that the dinner didn’t match.

It takes a lot for me to write a review - and even moreso to write a negative one. In fact, I think this may be my first. I’d never encourage someone to make a dining decision based on the content of a single review, but just know that we likely won’t be back, which is a shame. There’s just too many quality Italian restaurants in Dallas where the beauty of the experience matches the beauty of...

The only word that comes to mind when I think of Dolce Riviera is disappointment! I don't know how this restaurant remains in business.

Where do I start... Misleading... Mediocre food... Slow/ horrible service

You might want to inform your patrons on where to park, or how to navigate to the complimentary valet. (thank you for the free parking)

If you are going to charge a $35 dessert fee for bringing a birthday cake you should let your customers know this before they arrive. This wasn't a walk-in. We made a reservation for 10 people and clearly stated this is a birthday celebration. Thanks for the heads up!

When you offer "still" or "sparkling" water it might be a good idea to tell your table what they are getting. With that said, my table was offered "still" or "sparkling" water. Only one person ordered sparkling water yet the waiter took it upon himself to charge us for multiple bottles of still water at $7 a bottle. This is not a 1-2 star Michelin restaurant where you would expect to only drink the finest bottles of water. Even then, most fine dinning restaurants will have a sophisticated water filtration system and serve their guests great water at no cost. This was clearly an attempt to raise the overall cost of the bill.

When our food finally arrived it was either overcooked, under cooked, or lacking in flavor. I realize taste is a matter of opinion, but when 5 out 9 people have an issue with their meal, there is a larger problem at hand. The manager happened to walk by our table to check on us and most people said everything is okay. We could have been more vocal but it's hard to tell the quality of your food less than one bite in. Needless to say, the food does not live up to the price or quality of an "award winning restaurant" as boasted on the Dolce Riviera website.

The fun part... Time to pay the bill. A large table can be a pain when it comes to separate checks but this shouldn't take 45 minutes to sort out. Better yet, ask your table at the beginning of the evening to make sure everyone is aware of what they are paying for. Surprise! all of that water you had at dinner is going to cost you. In the end, the bottled water was removed from our bill and the $35 dessert fee waived for our troubles.

The evening wasn't a complete loss... Great friends and laughs! The only thing missing was great food. I guess you can't have it all but I do know we will NOT give Dolce Riviera another chance! There are too many...

Disappointed and shocked by our first meal there. My experience was funny in a tragic way. My wife and I went to Dolce Riviera because we read a review that said the meal would be as close to a meal in the Almalfi coast. We went to Amalfi this summer so we were very excited to have a repeat experience here in Dallas. Let me tell this was NOT even remotely close to a meal in Amalfi. We started with a Aperol Spritz as we did in Amalfi. It was good but the glass was tiny. The food was tasteless and grossly over priced. We ordered Polipo as an appetizer and it was too salty. We ordered the Parpadella which was bland. The worst part of this meal was me accidentally ordering a $195 pasta dish. Yes, accidentally because I didn’t realize it was $195. Who ever puts a dish costing $195 on a menu unless you are a 3 Michelin Star restaurant. And $195 for a pasta dish. It was the Caviar Carbonara. The print was small and I’m getting old, so I thought it was $19.50. Haha! My wife didn’t notice the absurd price either. This was the last pasta dish in a column of dishes that all averaged about $24 so me seeing a price of $19.50 was consistent. I don’t have a problem paying $195 for an extraordinary dish, but this also was bland and no better than a mediocre restaurant. The dish tasted more like a $19.50 item. I didn’t realize the price until I got the bill and thought it was a typo. I asked to see the menu again to double check and to my surprise it truly was $195 and not $19.50. I nearly fell out of my chair because it was such an underwhelming dish at such an absurd price. I sat speechless after realizing my ridiculous mistake. An earlier review criticized the restaurant as not being any better than Olive Garden and although I’ve never eaten at Olive Garden I would say it’s likely true. Our meal for two was over $400 and it was not worth $400. On the positive side the restaurant was beautiful, nice ambiance and fantastic service. I will not be coming back. Please be careful and look at the prices. Seriously on a menu of moderately priced dishes do not put a $195 item unless you put a highlight on it like the Market Priced items or highlight it as a House Special...