Riviera

A great experience with a nice atmosphere and with great food.

They make the BEST whiskey sours in town! Everything the 4 of us tried was lovely. Special kudos to the raw oysters (we watched the shucker behind the bar sniff every single one for freshness), the wedge salad (shrimp and delightful dressing), and the chicken liver pate (almost a mousse and so full of flavour). The service is impeccable too!

This restaurant is at the top of my favourites in Ottawa. We have been a few times, for lunch and for dinner, and it has never disappointed. The service is friendly and professional, always pleasant, and the food is just simply outstanding. I love this place!

My first visit and thoroughly enjoyed the food and service. The wait staff were, friendly, informative and professional. The decor and ambience was terrific. Can't wait to return.

The service is top notch and the food is excellent. Our server chatted to us about wine and gave us a couple of tastes to make sure we ordered the right ones to pair with our food. The seafood was perfectly prepared, both crudo and cooked. We were afraid the restaurant wouldn’t live up to the hype but were not disappointed. We will definitely come back!

Great service and food as always. A bit pricey as always!!!!

The food, service and ambiance of Riviera is wonderful. The noise level was very high, however, especially during lunch. We had a small, private gathering and it was very difficult to hear the person across the table from me, even though they were very close.

food was very good and the service excellent. Music just a bit too loud. Have other friends who won’t join me there because of it. I like the place a lot but would be ok with it being a bit quieter.

Best ricotta gnudi ever tasted. Impeccable service.

The atmosphere is very comfortable yet trendy. The menu is amazing and hard to pick just a couple items. All looks good.
My dirty martini was made perfectly. The service was perfectly timed and our Server was very helpful in describing the menu items and we never felt rushed or ignored.

As always, it was a great experience and we will be back.

Thank you

Impeccable service, sublime cocktails, delectable (and beautiful) food. Riviera is my favourite Ottawa restaurant because it creates a really really memorable dining experience. Never disappointed.

Food was absolutely fabulous, but the service wasn't as impeccable as my first visit in March. There was a nonchalance inthe waiter's delivery of drinks, wine, food items from beginning to end, starting with the delivery of a wrong martini order. He blamed the barstaff for the mixup. Personally, if you pick the drink from the bar, travel to my table, and deliver it to me without verifying the order - that's on you, NOT the barstaff.

Steak quality was average, starters very imaginative and taste was good, overall salty but that could because I'm old, bathrooms were an embarrassment...

Amazing service! Delicious food and drink

Great staff. Outstanding food!

Amazing food, very attentive service, and just the right music/social volume to hear your dinner partner! It would be nice to have some artwork on the walls, but the old bank architecture and details go a long way with the ambiance!

First time! Great place! Loved the food and the ambiance! I do recommend!

Nice ambiance and good service but the food was rather mediocre, especially for the price.

Great price for excellent quality of food. The beef tartare was divine

One of Ottawa’s best restaurants. The food was outstanding, service was attentive but not over bearing, very cool decor. Will be back soon.

Friendly service with a great atmosphere. The food was great and we would definitely go back to 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.