Riva

food — the antipasti plate we had was quite tasty. The proscuitto, the salmon, seafood and other items were nice and fresh. The rest of the menu however is so uninventive and uninspired that we decided to leave after splitting the appetizer.
drinks — we had the $ 5 Mojito special that was advertised that evening. Tasted like water, not sure whether half price = half pour
atmosphere — nice trendy place with music, some room between the tables and the front window opens in the summer so you can watch the crowd walk by
price — prices are what you would expect from a trendy looking place, ie. a bit too expensive for what is in your plate … you are paying for the décor & to watch other dinners

The lamb medium is very delicious. It’s the best lamb I’ve probably had. Cooked perfectly and the presentation is well done.
My girlfriend had the Chicken Apollo Vodka which was really good as well.
Ambiance is very nice and well done with comfortable seating. This restaurant was as busy as the other ones so it wasn’t too loud. A good place for a date or to chat with friends.
While the entrée portions was fine for me bigger eaters might want to order sides and appetizers.
If you are going for dinner don’t look at the average ratings which are reviews for it’s night time party. I was there for a party several years back and it was pretty nice but the layout was difficult to mingle.

The only thing that made this night better was being able to sit down with a close group of friends.
The menu looked really tasty, which was what caught our eyes to give this place a try and great thing was the restaurant transforms into a club like atmosphere with a live DJ after 10:00pm
Due to the size of our party, we were only allowed to choose from the Set Menu which I’m still trying to grasp that concept. If we weren’t there, they would only be cooking for two other tables.
The food was blah, lamb chops were over cooked and lacked flavour. I was too hungry to send it back. The appetizers did their job. Dessert was meh.
Is it because I’ve grown accustomed to high end dining and I’ve set the bar too high for anyone else? No, it’s because I’m asked to pay a certain amount for food, it better be worth the money!
Would I go back, probably not.
Move on to the next

I’d walked past this place a hundred times before finally going there the other night … mind you, not to eat. I was pleasantly surprised at the funky room with DJ table and bar in the far back of the restaurant … only 4 booths and long cushy benches with nicely designed low tables on the other side. Probably only hold 50 people to jam it … that being said, our group of 8 was about ½ the crowd on that particular (rainy) friday night at midnight. I give it hope, and it would be a great spot (great location) to rent out for a private party. Maybe another night.
Free pour :) a big plus.

PSYCHO CHEF. We came late (around 9:45PM) on a Friday and asked the host if the kitchen was open for a bit. He said «no problem» and sat us in a booth directly across from the kitchen station. We were excited, as the menu looked great– risotto, polenta, etc and our nook was cute and private. But as we sat, the cook started glaring at me with total hatred: the death look. There was no question, and my fiancée confirmed it. I am a pretty normal looking, friendly gal, and was lookin sharp for the weekend. I don’t know what was wrong with him. I gave him a questioning look and he shook his head and turned as if disgusted. I was feeling really bad and hailed the host, explaining the situation and saying I felt intimidated. The host was very rude and unapologetic. I guess they wanted to go home early and wanted to close the kitchen. If so, they got what they wanted but should not have seated us in the first place. After all, I did ask.
We ended up heading to Café Diplomatico, where the food is a solid but satisfying so-​so, but the service is always friendly.