River Café is one of London’s most famous restaurants, partly due to the stable of chefs it has trained over the years, who have included Theo Randall, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Stevie Parle. Set up by Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray, this Italian restaurant helped to popularise fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, now the accepted standard for any eatery.
There are great views of the Thames thanks to its fantastic riverside location; otherwise you can spy on the chefs while they work in the exposed kitchen.
The River Cafe
9 / 10 from 4 reviews
Thames Wharf
Rainville Road
Hammersmith
London
W6 9HA
020 7386 4200
Italian
Hammersmith
Website
http://www.rivercafe.co.uk
Lunch
Monday - Friday: 12:30 - 14:15, Saturday: 12:30 - 14:30, Sunday: 12:00 - 15:00
Dinner
Monday - Thursday: 19:00 - 21:00, Friday - Saturday: 19:00 - 21:15
Disabled Facilities
Children Welcome
Credit Cards Accepted
Outdoor Area
Booking Advisable
The River Cafe Picture Gallery
Useful Tips from AIL Users
Sit outside on a nice day if you have kids. There's a great big grassed area on which your children can play, as well as a vegetable garden for them to explore!
Best For
Our favourite alfresco dining restaurants
It's nice to eat out... when it's not piddling down
Ruth Rodgers and the now sadly deceased Rose Gray opened this Italian restaurant in 1987. Their use of seasonal, good quality ingredients to produce simple rustic dishes has been a huge influence on British chefs, and the restaurant has kept its Michelin star ever since 1997. Outdoors seating is provided in a leafy garden.
London's most indulgent desserts
We'd sell our granny for a good pud
The term death by chocolate seems fair when describing the signature dessert at River Cafe. The flourless Chocolate Nemesis has a fluffy texture that’s part mousse part soufflé. Made with dark chocolate, the flavour is intensely rich.
User Reviews
from Abbey Road
Jul 15, 2014
Jun 25, 2014
The food is simple and perfectly cocked - a real masterclass in getting the basics right.
Even though it's beautiful inside it's well worth getting a table outside if the weather is good.
from London
Sep 2, 2013
The River Cafe effortlessly creates the kind of atmosphere to which nearly every other restaurant aspires: a buzzy, friendly informal affair but all underpinned by professionalism and faultless cooking.
We ate crab, courgette tagliatelle (drowned in butter!), turbot, sea bass, summer pudding and plum and almond tart. All perfectly balanced and masterfully seasoned and cooked. Fantastic, simple, fresh, seasonal food.
May 20, 2013
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