Riviera Ristorante — Restaurant in New York

This place should be on 'Kitchen Nightmares'. Ask yourself, how can a small humble restaurant in the middle of nowhere be saturated with "incredible" reviews? Heck even top places in the city have a bad review or two. Because they are mostly fake! Or more likely, inside jobs. I never write reviews, but my experience here demanded otherwise. Lets start with the service. Rushed from start to finish. We had a small birthday get-together, and while we were waiting for guests to arrive I decided to order two appetizers for the people already there. To which the waiter responded with "it's hard for us to get everyone individual appetizers, so let's just wait for all your guests to arrive." I have never been denied an appetizer because it would be an inconvenience to the staff. Pus, you would think they would prefer we order as much as possible. We had to fill up on plain bread in the meantime. While the appetizers weren't bad, we weren't even half-way done before the waiters were asking us for our entree choice. Many of us haven't even looked through the menu yet. The wait time for the entrees was way longer than expected for simple pasta dishes. And as expected by now the pasta (all of the dishes) was completely overcooked. I regrettably ordered the "jumbo shrimp scampi". These "jumbo" shrimps were no bigger than a child's thumb. 5 in total, and each bite tougher than the next. They were clearly the frozen type, and apparently cooked twice. My wife thought I was exaggerating, until she realized they were hard to penetrate with a knife! I made it my responsibility to cut all of them so they may not be re-used in other dishes - a thought I wouldn't hold beneath them. By now I wanted the experience to end. All I could do was stare at the visible stacks of pasta boxes in the kitchen, while asking myself "why did we come here?" A better time would have been spent eating 'Instant Ramen Cups' at home, and it wouldn't have cost us $708 for 12 dishes. I have eaten in plenty of places, either 5-star or hole-in-the-wall's (my favorites). So the reviews for this place baffle me. I can only conclude they come from people that grew up in the neighborhood, or enjoy the lunch specials. But it is not a place you go out of your way to experience. There are plenty of other places in this city where the shrimp is fresh, and the waiters are happy to...

CUSTOMERS BEWARE OF HAIRY FOOD OFFERINGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have eaten at this restaurant befpre with no complaints. After yesterday's experience, we will NEVER even think of going thee, recommending this place to anyone, much less eat there again.We were seated immediately upon arrival with perhaps only 4 other tables occupied. We were given dinner vs lunch menus after having to ask for them. Perhaps that was a sign of things to come. We ordered our meals immediately as everyone knew what each wanted. Soups, salad and bread arrived in a reasonable time, along with the shreddd cheese. There was a long black hair in the small container of the cheese. We summoned the waited who changed the contained, took the "contaminated" container and left without a word. As I started my salad, more long black hair. The waiter offered to replace the salad, but at this point my appeitite was gone. Upon leaving, I mention the two episodes to the owner/Manage who said he was sory, but went on to repeat three times "I don't know how this could happen. No one who works here has long hair". I promptly left with no further conversation after paying my bill. This was the FINAL time I'll ever go through those doors again. i had taken my uneaten meal in a to-go bag, but immediately threw it in the closest trash container. NEVER, NEVER AGAIN...

On behalf of The Center for the Women of New York, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Riviera for their incredibly generous and delicious donation to our Taste of the World at Fort Totten gala.

They provided pasta primavera and chicken francese, both of which were absolute highlights of the evening. The pasta primavera was fresh and vibrant, loaded with crisp seasonal vegetables and tossed in a light, flavorful sauce. The chicken francese was tender and expertly prepared—delicately golden, lemony, and rich without being heavy. Together, these dishes offered a taste of classic Italian-American hospitality that our guests truly cherished.

It is because of dedicated local businesses like Riviera that we are able to raise vital funds for our mission of supporting women in the New York community. Their commitment to giving back—and doing so with such quality and care—shows a deep investment in the well-being of our neighborhood, and it’s exactly why I’m proud to support establishments like theirs.

We highly recommend Riviera for their refined yet comforting cuisine and their tremendous generosity. Thank you for your kindness and for helping make our event an...