Riviera

Amazing food, amazing cocktails and amazing atmosphere. Will be back.

Mostly a young thirty-something crowd, and very loud, so not so good for an old guy like me... but as I was by myself, that didn't matter. The seafood chowder was excellent, and a pasta made with blood sausage was also very good. Top marks for espresso. Friendly helpful staff and clearly someone quite knowledgeable in the kitchen. I think the food was more sophisticated than the audience. They serve late, and in Ottawa that is a rarity. Handsome old bank space, the bank manager's glassed-in office has been left as a private dining room.

Extremely attentive service. Phenomenal flavors - the mushroom on toast appetizer was sublime.

Went to Riviera for the Riv Burger at lunch with a friend. We arrived earlier than my reservation, and the staff was very accommodating. Prompt and friendly service, and the burgers were really outstanding. Not cheap, but very enjoyable.

Love Riviera and food is always great. I recently had two servers for some reason, and although they are always super nice, our business lunch party was constantly interrupted.

We love this spot and always give it an excellent review. This time the lamb dish was just too spicy for me
and we will opted to sit at a table next time. Although sitting at the kitchen bar could be exciting watching the chefs, I found it too warm as the ovens were close.
Many excellent dishes to choose from. The building is nostalgic. The service is exceptional!!!
Favourite dishes are the mushroom toast and the sea Bass!!!
ENJOY!

The food is different and unique! My mushrooms on toast was delicious. The high ceilings add to the ambiance and allows for easy communication.

Riviera was amazing. It was my second time going there, first for a birthday dinner & second time as an early Mother’s Day dinner I got taken out on. The waitress was amazing. She was a gem. Everyone there is friendly & the foods amazing! I’ll definitely be back.

Great food, if not slightly over-seasoned. good service but not great, crowed was a bit stale, decor was beautiful but void of art, heard the same song 3 times. Would not be so harsh if the restaurant reflected its crazy prices.

All-in-all: the place is impressive, but misses the mark, though not by much

Service was excellent - friendly but not overbearing. I had 2 appetizers - tuna crudo and the mushroom on toast. Sooo yummy. Very filling. Full of flavor. My favorite though was the white negroni. New favorite drink. Thank you!

Great overall experience: incredible food, exceptional service and a great bar menu. Oh, and they have an “old school” photo booth :)

My wife and I have eaten at Riviera several times and always find the experience wonderful. We are widely travelled ‘foodies’ having eaten at several Michelin and top rated restaurants all around the world. Riviera combines all of the ingredients that a restaurant must possess to be considered to be outstanding. The building has been tastefully renovated and the ambiance is very pleasant and appealing. More importantly, the menu is intersting and has many unique selections -all are delicious and professionally presented. The servers are well trained and attentive without being overbearing. Alex, the manager always has a special ecommendation about what wine to order and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of wines in general. His recommendations have always been spot on. My wife and I both agree that Riviera is undoubtedly the premier restaurant in Ottawa. Patrick

Beautiful, elegant, superb food and service - definitely the place to visit

Lovely building and the staff are very attentive. Food was great although the chef disguises some excellent cooking with too spicy sauces. Hold back on the peppers and let your food shine through. Wonderful custard tart with rhubarb!

We were visiting Ottawa and Riviera had been recommended to us by a chef friend.
It’s was a modern minimalistic decor but very charming, great for a romantic supper.
The services was fantastic, friendly and attentive staff.
The food was amazing, everything we ordered from the tuna crudo, lobster spaghetti, mushrooms on toast and all three desserts did not disappoint.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys a flavourful, fresh and wonderfully prepared meal.
We will definitely return to see what the chef will do next.

It was great. The food was delicious as always and the service was excellent. Highly recommend Riviera

I had a great experience at Riviera and the food was delicious!

Food fabulous. Background music annoying - loud enough to make conversation difficult, not loud enough to hear/enjoy. Service attentive. Wonderful place to people watch.

Food was great as usual but the server was not as good as the others we had in the past. Normally, service is exceptional and staff are excited about sharing information. Not this guy. When we go to Riviera for a special occasion, there is some discreet attention placed on it. This guy couldn’t care less.

Love love this restaurant! Great ambience and excellent food!

Excellent seafood, lovely design, and innovative cocktails!

Everything is amazing at all time ther

Beautiful spot for our anniversary. The restaurant is so unique, service was impeccable, and the food was great!

Me and my friends had such a great time at Riviera! The restaurant’s vibe was bumpin’ and our food and drinks were delicious. I made the reso 6 weeks in advance (it’s hard to coordinate our schedules) and the anticipation was totally worth it! Looking forward to coming back, thanks guys!

This was our 45th wedding anniversary and our first time here. We were very impressed with the staff , they were very friendly and informative. The food was amazing and the presentation spectacular ! The only issue was the background noise level which made it hard for us to hear each other talk.

I ate here two nights in a row because the food was fantastic and the service even better. I felt like royalty. Thank you for two wonderful evenings.

Very nice food and staff
The big empty square on the walls should have mirrors in them
It would complète atmosphère

Will be back

The food and presentation were impeccable. Duck is very easy to get wrong and rarely done to perfection but this was as close as I’ve gotten...

Great food and top notch service

The food was spectacular! Not a misstep. And the wine list is amazing. I'm definitely going back.

Good food, very loud. Still, I would recommend it for a dinner overall.

Great food, great ambiance for a business meeting :)

Creative menu; top notch service staff; great wine list

Truly enjoyed the experience. The service was on point and the food once again was out of this world.

We were there for lunch at 11:30am, before the rush and on a bad weather day, so the place was fairly empty and quiet. The food was great, the old building and architecture was lovely, and the service was fast.

The space is beautiful, the servers are all highly professional, mature and friendly, the food is exquisite. Try the seafood platter, beef tartare, signature drinks and divine desserts!

In my world, this is a "special occasion" place unless you really have a nice big fat wallet... The ambiance, the vibe and the food all come together to create a very successful evening out and our party of four truly enjoyed its visit at Riviera. My only comment is that some dishes were not flawless, and at this price point, flawless is expected. There was a bit of a discrepancy between our various plates: some were wildly interesting and created a party in the mouth while others were good but maybe not elevated as they could have been. Sadly, my main arrived at room temperature which was a bit of a downer. It was replaced swiftly but I still dragged a fair bit behind my dining companions. Another dish was also served lukewarm but my friend didn't feel comfortable mentioning it. It was very busy last Saturday evening, which probably explained the 45 minute wait between our appetizers and main courses and probably explains why two out of four mains were served nearly at room temperature. Bottom line is if you like really hip places, food that is fun and well executed and don't mind spending a little more than usual, then you will thoroughly enjoy your time at Riviera.

Overall great experience at Riviera. Found the prices to be a bit steep for the product offering. The food was great but not exceptional. When you're paying $50 for a steak frites, you would want it to blow your hair back.

Wonderful experience. Ordered an appetizer that was unfortunately too spicy for me. Our waiter suggested another one and replaced the first one (and did not charge for the spicy dish). Very nice gesture.

We went for my girlfriends birthday. Atmosphere was amazing. Drinks and food were out of this world!