Riva

3 ½ if I could give. The wild mushroom pizza was great. nice crust but def need more cheese.
Mom had roasted peppers, arugula and marscapone salad. one bite then it was gone but very fresh and flavourful.
hmm, I would go back to try more dishes. Maybe for lunch or happy hour!

Pretty solid Happy Hour and bonus points that they have late night Happy Hour hours too (10pm-12am)…There are 2 refreshing cocktails on the HH menu for $ 5 as well as some wines and apps. Try the squash blossoms! We also ordered the mussels but I think they served us the tiniest sized mussels that exist in the world… the dish tasted great but there just wasn’t a whole lot of mussel «meat» there.
Minus half a star for the bartender wayyyy overcharging us (and for us drunkards not noticing until the next day). Oh and what’s up with no AC? Minus another half a star. I left my apartment in search of a nice cool respite from the sweltering heat of the end of summer but no such oasis could be found at Riva. Sweating + drinking/​eating + a crowded bar = no bueno for Lil’ Miss Crowd-​Claustrophic over here.
Turns out that starting this Wednesday Riva will be no more but will now be replaced by a 2^nd outpost of Fraiche… I’m mostly ambivalent about the switch but I DO hope they keep the late night happy hour — there aren’t enough of those in my neck of the woods!

Love, love, love the Pepperoni Pizza!!!
The location is perfect in Santa Monica, just steps from the Third Street Promenade. The décor is modern yet comfortable with gorgeous high ceilings and friendly, efficient staff.
Riva is highly recommended.

Looked great from the street, so we walked in without reservations on a packed Saturday night, not really expecting to be seated; however, they sat us in the bar-​adjacent lounge area, which was both comfortable and intimate. The regular dining area is casual, but sexy. Like me! ha. From the get go, the staff was extremely attentive and friendly; the service didn’t decline as the restaurant continued to bustle throughout the night.
Yet, even if my waitress had been a total biatch or even an incompetent vegetable, the food would have redeemed any sort of negatives that Riva may have had. Which it didn’t.
The menu descriptions are spare and not especially enticing, but every single bite I had was richly flavorful and full of complexity; these were creative tapas with an Italian perspective; classic ingredients that were prepared perfectly… all packed into little plates of deliciousness! Tapas are ideal for satisfying my food ADD. or just my greediness.
Between 3 of us, we had the asparagus salad (fresh & lemony), the octopus crostini (excellente!), the spahetti with tuna meatballs (how does tomato sauce get THAT good?), Monkfish (melt. in. my. mouth.), and the garlic shrimp (big and spicy. oh yeah). Every dish was superb and an exciting reinterpetation to some classics.
Don’t save room for it, because the food is too good, but make sure you get dessert. Just shove it all in there. The chocolate coulant with beer ice cream, beer foam (!), banana purée, and almonds= all things that are good. And the torta with fuji apples marscapone ice cream was straight up perfect; crispy crust, crunchy topping, and gooey center.
And now I can go back and try a whole new rotation of delicious plates…

**THEY NO LONGER HAVE THE CHOCOLATE PURSE ON THE MENU**
So, I saw this place on «The best thing i ever ate» on the food network. Giada raved about their chocolate purse which sounded like hazelnut chocolate heaven.
so the boyfriend and i went to try this heavenly dish. We got there and the place looks nice. They serve tapas style Mediterranean food, but i wasn’t there for the food. i wanted dessert!!!
i asked for the chocolate purse and THEY DON’T HAVE IT ANYMORE!!! they took it off the menu! for what reason, i don’t know. i figured lots of people were coming in looking for it and with this economy, i figured you’d take the business and run. but i guess they’re too cool for school and took off the most delicious sounding thing in the menu. i asked the guy why, and he gave no answer.
i left utterly disappointed. and i’m not going back.
since we had already went for dessert, we ordered the beignets, which were only okay. came with 3 dipping sauces, but i’ve definitely had better.

Meal: Lunch + 3
Appetizers:
*Crudo (perfectly seasoned «ceviche» of cured meat with a sprinkling of mini capers) + toasted slices of baguette
*Yellow Corn Soup w/​spicy oil — served hot — not bad, but skip it to save room for a double helping of…
*Caprese (wedges of heirloom tomatoes topped with a smothering of gooey butterlicious burratta)
Pizzas (thin crust, but still hearty!):
*Mushroom — not much to look at, but easiest to eat & most flavorful
*Traditionale (long slices of pecorino romano cheese, delicate prosciutto, arugula, red onion)
*Molto Maiale (big hunks of sausage, meatballs, pancetta, bacon — we called it the «Manly» pizza)
Dessert:
No room! Definitely sampling several on my next visit.
Parking:
Try the public parking lot on the North side of Wilshire (at 4^th). 2 hours free!
Tip:
They won’t rush you out, so ask for the check early if you’re short on time.

Riva lacks what I like to call «Attention to detail» since the food and the service is kind of a mess. The pizzas which could quite possibly be the best thing on the menu are nothing like pizzas in Italy although they claim to be authentic. This restaurant should be a well oiled machine for the prices that they charge but instead it’s inconsistant and serves a pretty unmemorable Italian meal. Tourists are going to love this place because they won’t know any better.
Great space, it’s really a shame.

pricier than it needed to be, in my opinion. granted, i only tasted the Tradizionale Patate Semplice potato, rosemary, fontina, sea salt (Proscuitto, arugula, pecorino romano) and the Molto Maiale (sausage, meatballs, pancetta, bacon, tomato) and the Patate Semplice (potato, rosemary, fontina, sea salt). Of the three pizzas, I preferred the Patate Semplice because it had a unique taste. The other two were apparently the most popular dishes according to the waiter but they tasted unoriginal and salty.
the crudo looked beautiful but it was around the same price as the pizza and a lot smaller in portion so i’d recommend getting the pizza if you’re starving.
the wine was delish and we split the pinot negro (around $ 44 a bottle).

If you want to know how my Pizza Margherita tasted, just print out the photo of the pizza that I attached here, then use your scissors to cut the edges off the pizza photo image. Enjoy!
My pizza was thin crust and it reportedly had tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella, but I couldn’t tell because the sauce and mozzarella were almost sprayed onto the dough. It was comical because I couldn’t actually pick up any of the cheese because it was so thin. So, it all came down to some red colored dough with a salty flavor. I laughed as I ate my slices because I was thinking of ‘thin’ jokes for this pizza.
It’s all a shame, really, because the folks at Riva were so nice, the place looks great, and I’ll probably go back for other items on their menu; but, this pizza was so thin that it could’ve been a newspaper ad. I’m still laughing. I’m also hungry.

I used to live in Santa Monica many years ago, when good restaurants were scarce, and the Promenade was but a string of shabby shops. Lots of things have changed. Buildings have sprouted, and with them, the arrival of Riva.
Sister to the hip and delicious Fraiche in Culver City, this place continues with Fraiche’s fanfare, with the Italian cuisine on the cusp of truly eclectic dining.
Go for the tasting menu, where you can sample from such things like their Crudo of Tuna, with tomato confit, fava beans and avocado. Beautifully presented, the tuna tests the palate with its soft, slippery offerings.
On this night, there was also lamb and quail to distract us, but the fish dishes were by far our favorites. Make sure to include one of their pizzas. We went for the Funghi, a medley of mushrooms dancing on top of the succulent crust.
But the wine expertise and knowledge of Max Seaman (yes, that is is last name… more on that another time…) blew me away. I need to go back just to delve deeper into these vintages, and see what Italy is really all about.

Yesterday I found myself back at Riva for a second time. I had a pleasant but unremarkable lunch here about a month ago. Recently, a friend tried the happy hour menu, and raved about the drinks and food specials. So I decided to give Riva another chance.
Before I left the house, I checked their website and confirmed that the happy hour menu is offered from five to six, Monday through Sunday. We got there two or three minutes shy of five, and the hostess asked us to come back in a couple of minutes. I find the Promenade to be a soul-​crushing experience, so we just walked around the block a few times.
Back at Riva, the hostess informed us, rather curtly, that they no longer offer the happy hour menu on weekends. Despite what the website says. So we decided to grab a mediocre cocktail at the bar to take the edge of this news and formulate a game plan for the night. We did ask the bartender about the untimely fate of happy hour, and her response was that they’re «phasing it out on weekends.» Huh? They cut it altogether. No phasing.
An interesting side note — the only other guests in the restaurant were a couple who also came in for the happy hour, recommended to them by friends, and seemed as disappointed and confused as we were.
The Readers Digest version of Riva: the wine list is impressive, pizzas are good, not great, and the décor is bland with upholstered chairs, over-​sized candles, and wall sconces that create the impression that Pottery Barn staged the space. A couple of large, distracting televisions and a blackboard wall are blights on the bar area.
This story does have a happy ending. After deciding not to eat dinner here, we headed to Gjelina where we had a fantastic meal. Better pizza, nicer staff, superior location, and a far more attractive and interesting space.

After a lackluster first performance, I read the LA Eater reviews that Riva had changed… Riva had made their portions bigger for the price… their pizza ovens were now hitting their stride. Sorry, but epic fail.
Let’s start off with the pizza. Riva is supposed to be known for its artesanal pizzas like Mozza. The look and the ingredients certainly play the part, but this is simply not good pizza. Soggy crust, way too much tomato paste, and bland flavors in my 2 experiences.
As for the seadood Crudos, which is what I was most excited about… so-​so fish freshness, average flavors, and small portions for the price. Much better luck at a Musha, Terried Sake House, or Hungry Cat.
Riva looks great, is full of life, and fills a much needed restuarant gap in Santa Monica, but the food falls flatter than their pizzas.

Ambiance — 5 [romantic. quiet.]
Food — 3 [stupid crudo]
Pricing — eh. 3 [not too pricey but say no to crudo]
Tips: Know your wines or stick with drinks you know. I wouldn’t get a ‘mai tai’ or ‘sex on the beach’ tho. Not that kinda establishment. Know how I know? She looked at me distastefully when I mis pronounced prosciutto. and I really tried to put a Euro twist on it too :-/​
I’m really lazy. too lazy to cut and paste. read more here —

I loved the «Patate Semplice Pizza» (potato, rosemary, fontina, sea salt). The topping was almost custard-​like underneath the potato. It was velvety rich and so cheesy that I had to eat it with a fork.
Lots of photos at

Tonight was my first visit. We got there a bit early, and they told us they don’t seat until 5.30. so they showed us to the bar and said they would come get us at 5.30. We ordered our drinks and were enjoying our conversation. Since we were having so much fun talking, we didn’t even notice the time. i looked at my watch, and it was 5.40!!! and nobody got us!!! So T goes to the hostess to ask about our table and the bar waitress asks us if we would like to close out. So we say no and we can do that later. But then she says that we need to close out, since the bar is separate from the resto… uh, why did she ask us then?! confusing. They need to get their policy figured out.
Anyway, after that hiccup, the rest of the meal was good. I had the potato pizza. It was good but was a bit too rich for me. I only ate 2 slices. T had the meatball pizza and k had the cod. They said their entrees were tasty.
For dessert, we shared the carrot cake and the torta della nonna. The carrot cake had the most delicious pineapple sorbet ever. And the torta della nonna compared to Angelini Osteria’s. Although this one had a custard inside. we know how much I love custard.
I liked this place a lot better than Fraiche. I was worried, since my one meal at Fraiche was a bit on the mediocre side. I am happy to be surprised and am looking forward to my pizza leftovers tomorrow.

Happy is as happy does. Riva’s happy hour is a great deal but if you are looking to taste a reflection of their talent and full menu, you won’t get the opportunities. So don’t be cheap like I did with friends last night and just get plain pizza’s.
The pizza’s we did get were excellent though albeit very lacking in the cheese department. The Eggplant Ptarmigan Pizza was delish. Eggplant was fried and heavy so it was more like a mush of goodness rather than slice of pie.
We also had the trio of crudo but at $ 10 it was small and lacking flavor — you get what you pay for. I would have splurged for the persimmon prosciutto salad I have heard so much about but they are
The bar/​lounge area was packed and we really felt like a fish out of water standing around this small space akwardly. Staff was pretty frustrated but they could have been worse to us cause we were really in the way. The best part though was the $ 4 Italian style Chardonnay/​blend I had. 4 wines to choose from all $ 4 each in happy hour.

On the eve of New Year’s Eve, the restaurant was buzzing but not packed and thankfully there were ample available seats at the bar.
I looked over the cocktail list but didn’t see any bourbon-​based cocktails even though the prominently displayed whiskey bottles on the bar’s shelf would lead you to believe otherwise. The one cocktail that could have bourbon was the BC but that was with berries, club soda and your choice of liquor and even the bartender didn’t recommend it. With vodka, yes. Bourbon? Not so much. So instead she offered to make me her own off-​the-​list cocktail. Being a self-​professed bourbon lover herself, I trusted her.
And what she made was damn tasty. I don’t know what she called it but it was made with bourbon, dry Vermouth, apricot liqueur, St. Germain elderflower and some lemon juice. It took the edge off the bourbon and made it dangerously easy to suck down.
During our stay, while I guzzled this drink, I was impressed how it got me buzzed so fast. Off one cocktail! But what I didn’t know was that the bartender topped off my drink when I wasn’t looking. So awesome.
For food, I just ordered the Margherita pizza ($ 11) — the cheapest pizza on the menu. Riva, like Fraiche, is a bit hard on my wallet. I mean, their appetizers range in price from the $ 3 wood-​fired pizza bread to the $ 16 roasted quail. I was tempted by the Hachiya Persimmon appetizer with its speck ham, wild arugula and aged balsamic but couldn’t get past that $ 12 price. Eesh.
But the pizza filled me up just fine what with its thin crust covered with tomatoes, pieces of basil and bufala mozzarella. I’d like to think it was personal sized because… well, I managed to finish the whole thing myself. Hey, Shelley didn’t want any so I had at it, just leaving the ends of the crusts. The tomato sauce wasn’t acidic and mmm, cheese!
But it is feasible to split an app and a pizza while enjoying cocktails at the bar. You could conceivably spend about $ 30 a person if you choose cheaply.
Since we skipped on appetizers, we decided to split a dessert. The Tronchetto di Natale ($ 10), perfect for the holidays, caught our eyes. Comprised of milk chocolate mousse, chiffon cake and candy cane ice cream, it sounded divine.
It showed up plated like abstract art with its chocolate smear, oval-​shaped ice cream scoop and meringue mushroom. The raspberries seemed a weird choice to pair with the candy cane ice cream but it still worked. Ahh, the ice cream. So refreshing and tasted like Christmas in my mouth. We couldn’t get enough of that. I wish the portion was bigger. The cake itself was moist and even with the chocolate mousse it wasn’t overly sweet.
It’s a fun dessert to share but you may find yourself fighting over the last bites of everything.
So yeah, I liked this restaurant, well at least the bar area. I wish they actually had whiskey cocktails on their menu but I’m not going to hold that against them.
They do have a daily happy hour, albeit a short one from 5 to 6pm. But you can get $ 3 draft beers like Moretti and Ommegang Abbey or $ 4 specialty cocktails. Food specials range from the $ 6 crispy squash blossoms of bufala mozzarella, mint and oven-​dried tomatoes to the $ 10 trio of crudo. Oh, and the Margherita pizza becomes $ 8.
AND they even have a late-​night menu from 10:30pm to 12am! Pretty awesome considering everything seems to close so early around the Promenade.

Let me start by saying that Fraiche is one of my absolute favorite restaurants right now. And I have been waiting for Riva to open for MONTHS becuase I live within walking distance!
Unfortunately, Riva is more like Fraiche’s «special» little brother than a special place. Not sure if my expectations were too high or if they are still trying to figure themselves out, but I am not planning to return for awhile.
Don’t get me wrong, the food was good. Just not great. And while the service was fantastic, between the high standards that Fraiche sets and prices they charge, the food should be excellent. And except for the pizza, the portions were surprisingly small. $ 37 for a shellfish bouillabaisse that hardly had any seafood in it (1 small chuck of lobster, 2 small clams, 2 small mussels, and 2 pieces of octapus), was lacking flavor and didn’t have enough broth… really??? Come on! That’s almost insulting.
For now, keep going to Fraiche for your mouthgasms and hope RIva finds its way.

Truly a great thin-​crust pizza. They don’t bog down your slice with cheese, and the flavors are fresh. I opted for the pine nut one… i’m such a sucker for pine nuts! The sauce was quite tasty and that crust was just thick and chewy enough to satisfy me.
Funny thing was the menu I was holding. I exclaimed «oohh chocolate pound cake with chocolate whipped cream!» to which my girls replied «what! where??» …turns out I had yesterday’s menu, which the waiter quickly snatched out of my hands. Too bad… I would have loved to add some chocolate to my lunch!
Also must comment on the space, Scarboni’s totally wasted it! Now that those booths are gone and there are just open tables, a bar and a HUGE wine rack in the back, it’s much airier and lighter in there! I’m not sure about that chalkboard though… it looks really messy and doesn’t go with the ‘modern’ atmosphere.
I will be back… to try other things (aka dessert!!) and because the bf is a big thin-​crust fan.

Oh what a wonderful time we had at Riva! The ambiance is fresh and airy, the servers were attentive, the wine was delicious and plentiful, and the food, the food was unforgettable! We walked in on Friday night w/​o reservations and were greeted by lovely hostesses. Just a short wait we were seated at their pizza bar. It was so cool to watch the chef’s make fresh pizza right in front of our eyes! I definately will go back and have a go at their pizza, I opted for the crispy grilled fish and my hubby the porkchops. We skipped dessert b/​c we were so full but Jason one of the owners gave us this delicious cube shaped chocolate bars that melted in your mouth. I only gave 4 stars because I have yet to try the pizza but I am sure I will love it. So check it out, its a great new place to hang out in Santa Monica.