What They Say
‘Riviera was born out of our deep passion for the South of France, its relaxed yet luxurious landscape is what cultivated us to bring it to London.
‘Combining artistic designs with authentic and Mediterranean flavours, Riviera is the perfect place to gather with friends and family around a cosy table.’
The Style
Riviera’s main dining room, Amelia, leans confidently into its southern French inspiration. The interiors are an elegant fusion of organic textures and luxury mid-century design, bathed in a palette that balances soft pastel tones with warm sandy hues and accented by geometric motifs. Its Provençal influence – notably from artists like Picasso and Le Corbusier – is brought out in the form of sculpture and carefully curated artworks, while earthenware pots, greenery and textured ceramics anchor the space firmly in the Mediterranean.
The Food
Our set menu put expectations immediately on the right track, with a bread basket accompanied by whipped, house-made butter.
Those expectations wobbled, however, with the arrival of the Caesar salad. Presented as two towering stacks of long, unchopped leaves, with all the dressing pooled on top, tossing it wasn’t made easy. Once wrestled apart, the sauce revealed itself to be thick and gloopy rather than evenly coating the leaves. Between us, my dining companion and I located two small slices of chicken amidst this dish, while the rock-hard croutons shot off our plates whenever a knife or fork came close.
We welcomed the idea of a sea bass carpaccio to bring something light and refreshing to this part of the meal. Zesty and bright, if ultimately underwhelming – it proved more promising in theory than in its execution, with my dining companion losing interest in it after the first few bites.
Our pasta dish, though, brought the kitchen back onto steadier ground. The trofie pesto was hearty, generously portioned and coated in a sauce that tasted reassuringly homemade. Similarly, the steak was cooked precisely as ordered (rare), carrying the richness of the seasoned butter it had been seared in.
The sides accompanying our main dishes were less convincing: the skin-on fries failed to leave much of an impression, and the baby gem salad was exactly that – little more than dressed leaves. At this point, I couldn’t help feeling as though our inability to venture beyond the confines of the set menu to the more ambitious à la carte dishes left us longing for Riviera’s true creativity, which we never quite had the chance to explore.
Dessert, however, redeemed much of what came before. The apple tarte Tatin we shared was the undeniable highlight of the evening: well caramelised, properly balanced, and full of flavour. It showcased all the potential which, up until this point, had felt frustratingly out of reach.
The Drinks
Cocktails proved similarly uneven. The French Spritz (elderflower liquor, crème de menthe, champagne, simple syrup, lemonade) leaned far too heavily on the crème de menthe, drowning out everything else. Meanwhile, my dining companion’s Cognac Espresso Martini (cognac infused with coffee, Tosolini liquor, simple syrup, coffee and cinnamon), more than lived up to expectations.
In a Nutshell
At its best, Riviera has all the elements that hint at it becoming a firm local favourite, but its inconsistency holds it back. Moments of genuine finesse are offset by missteps in even the simplest of dishes, resulting in a dining experience that never quite settles into its stride. Nevertheless, there’s undeniable promise here, and when Riviera gets it right, it really does. The challenge lies in making those moments the rule, rather than the exception.
The Details
23 St James’s St, SW1A 1HA
