This restaurant might serve good food however they turned a party of 14 people the other way and the lady at the door suggested we seek another place for food! The restaurant wasn't that crowded. It might be because obviously we're a group of Muslims, it certainly felt this way. read more

First off, let me say that this place is really nice to look at. Beautifully constructed and laid out. The atmosphere is homey, slightly modern and a bit like a Restoration Hardware catalog. Second, the service is excellent. The manager (who we chatted with about wine) and the waiter were warm and professional. Zero complaints there. Why only three stars? Anchovies, eggs, mustard, bacon, arugula and peppers. Let me explain. The Caesar Salad. Google "Caesar Salad." You'll find that virtually all the recipes all require anchovies, mustard, Worcester sauce and egg yolks. This is what makes a Caesar a Caesar. What did I get at Riva? What came was a small bowl of dry romaine leaves, cut too large, with some shaved parmesan, bacon and piece of lemon. Did I say it was dry? Except of course for the lemon I was supposed to squeeze on it. There was, it appeared, no dressing and not a single hint of anchovies or any of the aforementioned ingredients. To call this a Caesar would be to call marinara sauce with no tomatoes, marinara sauce. And bacon? That's a cobb salad, not a Caesar. The Arugula Salad. Should have arugula no? It didn't. We had to ask and were told it was a typo on the menu. Why not fix the menu or at least tell diners? After complaining, a small amount of arugula was added. Bucatini Amatriciana. When I read that the recipe included peppers, I should have paused. I recently made it myself and knew that peppers weren't one of the ingredients commonly used. Check the recipes yourself. But I ordered it anyway. It was ok. But, more importantly, crunchy peppers don't really work. I think that's why they aren't in the recipes. So, in sum, this is really nice restaurant where, in my humble opinion, the chef takes some liberties that he/she shouldn't. Sometimes the classic recipes are classic for a reason. read more

Went here last night (8/20) for a dinner. The place looked nice but when we entered, were greeted by a host who appeared to be annoyed that we walked in without a reservation. He curtly told us it would be about 25-30 minutes, so we decided to grab a few drinks at the bar while we waited. As we waited and waited and waited, we were never updated as to when we'd have a chance to be seated. After 45 minutes, we got up and left. Sorry, but that host was a snippy little turd. Such a bad impression for us common folk without a reservation. read more

The BEST dinner I have had in a long time. On a rainy Monday nite we rushed over from the hotel next door for a bite to eat. We did not have reservations, so the hostess notified us that the wait would be 30 minutes, we were seated within 8 minutes, small drawback we were seated in the bar dining room, no big deal, ambiance throughout the restaurant was nice and I got to watch a little Rogers tennis open action. Varied menu but we settled on the 12 ounce rib eye and the yellowfin tuna. At the suggestion of our waiter we had the house white. The fish was great as well as the kale and lentil salad. Top 3 best fish dish I have ever had, if not the best and I have lived most of my life in Honolulu! Separate dish was offered as our server knew we wanted to share. Only problem, we ordered the blueberry cheesecake too late ( knew I should have ordered it early to reserve a piece). Got a chocolate dessert with peanut butter ice cream, very good. Dan our server was the best! Let him know our wishes and he directed us in the right direction, never trying to oversell us. Great service, great food, very good dessert and liquor, what else can you ask for, reasonable price and great value! Thanks again Dan. Mahalo and Aloha! read more

You get the feeling there is a gentrification hurricane coming to Gananoque. First the hipsters at the Socialist Pig and the Hudson-esque (hideously overpriced) chintz home furnishing shop next door....now comes the sushi bar and Riva. Whoever owns Riva took apart the Golden Apple from a mediocre afternoon Tea joint to an Italian osteria. They obviously invested quite a sum and the food is a very bold move in this town. Sort of the boldness that Stev's Bella had... The wild halibut I had is certainly not a classic Italian dish, but the bigger idea is that they know what they are doing. I hope they set the seed to the rebirth of this river town.Unlike most of the area..this placed isn't half-assed...for some of the genuine cooks out there, you'll appreciate Riva. read more

Omg !! Best place on the road , you don't even get this kinda experience in cities like Toronto where I am from. Best little town , best restaurant on the road , best service !! Great job in creating a memorable customer experience !! Ps : our server Dan was amazing !! read more

Setting is nice, food comes quickly and food could be superb but they don't care to make it great. Made reservations but when came they attempted to squeeze us into some bench seating. Opted to sit out on patio which was a bit cool for that time in evening but they had some blankets and pillows so that worked. My wife ordered the special and I ordered off the menu. My wife's (lamb) came stone cold "cold". Even the plate was cold. My order was warm, but not close to hot. Sent the cold food back to get warmed and staff reacted well to this. Food when served warm was superb, unfortunately have to you thru sending back part to get hot food. Ordered teramisu for desert, found it to be nothing special. End result, they tried to squeeze us in even with reservations, food comes cold and desert is nothing you would want twice. Rate as a 3. read more

Ate here after the theater last night with another couple and enjoyed it. The antipasto was a special treat. You select from a list of meats and cheeses and it was all good. Some Entrée portions were out of wack in size. Scallops plate looked good but was too small while the Halibut was almost too much. Decor was lovely and cheerful and the service was top notch. read more

Wanted to go out to a nice dinner with my parents as they were celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary and I was moving out of the country. I went online and checked out their website, was able to make a reservation easily on their website. It even asked if we were celebrating anything special so I listed - Parents are celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary -. Upon arrival to the location there is across street parking or you can go down the 1-way side street and park on the nice stone parking (don't park in the pavement parking that is for the hotel and you could be towed.) Well the walk from the stone parking lot to the restaurant is NOT covered so with our luck it was raining outside and we were pretty wet by the time we got to the front door. There was another couple that had arrived before us and they were not sure who made the reservations and the snippy, arrogant man was guarding the front door, seemed to be quiet angry that they didn't know who made the reservation and whether or not it was actually made or not. Finally he gave up on them and asked for our information. Well I provided the host my name as I had placed it under my name, spelled my last name out, as its a difficult french name and what it sounds like does not = the way it is spelt, he was very upset for he couldn't find our reservation, even after stating to him that I had called and adjusted the reservation and got an updated email with the corrected time, and re-confirming that it was indeed our reservation. Once seated the fireplace was turned on - nice touch - and Sarah assisted us with our dinner choices and helping with the menu / meal. This being an Italian restaurant I would have thought that they would have brought out some bread for us to nibble on prior to the meal, but that is not that case, that is something extra that you must pay 4.00$ for. Mind you the bread was excellent (garlic) bread but it was 4 bucks. The antipasti that we shared, meats, cheeses, etc was ordered and it is perfect for sharing for 3 people, 4 might be pushing it. Their was a blue cheese, and white cheese, bread, some different meats, olives, some sort of mayo sauce, however, nothing was explained as to what each item was, it had to be guessed. Entree's were a bit small for their price point, very tasty, I had the Marsala and while I am so use to having it with chicken the veal was very tasty. The over all experience from my food to my parents food was well liked. The only complaint was that the wine listed on their website did not match the wine that they actually had in the restaurant available. Their prices in the restaurant also did not match the prices online. Finally the desert came out in shifts everything else was brought out all at one time, but the desert was brought out in shifts, my mother and I were served our desert, and my father who had Italian ice cream had to wait almost 5 minutes for his. The desert was the only thing that was lacking in the restaurant, the whole experience was very elegant, classy, and very nice. I would like to see how this place holds up for the test of time. Final bit of thought - Only the females were the servers, the males worked in the kitchens and were runners... Just felt a little odd. read more

Thank god for this place! We were visiting Ganonoque with my boyfriend's Belgian family after finishing a road trip around Canada. It was Mother's Day so we were looking for a nice restaurant to eat dinner at, but hadn't thought ahead to make a reservation until the day of. Riva was the only upper-scale restaurant in town and we got a reservation for 8:30. We started with a bottle of Prosecco, had a bottle of wine, and everyone other than myself got a small portion of pasta. I had: Soup of the Day (Beet and Carrot Puree) Insalata alla Riva Tiramisu The salad was amazing, such great flavor. I was looking for something light and fresh and it was perfect!! I was really happy with my choice. The Tiramisu was not that special, it tasted more like cream/whipped cream than coffee/anything. I was a little disappointed by that considering this was an Italian restaurant. Our waitress was professional and friendly. Overall everyone was very happy read more

This is by far the best italian restaurant bistro ever. We ordered pasta Orcchiette and chicken pizza, absolutely delicious of its kind. We will definately go back once we are in the area. read more

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Went there with a coworker. The ambient atmosphere is divine, and so is the staff. We had The anti pasti; which showcased meats and cheese from local farms. I had the mushroom ravioli while my coworker had the chicken under a brick. Needless to say, the food, servers, and atmosphere deserves more than five stars. read more

While the ambiance is very agreeable and upmarket, the food portions are very small. They don't serve free bread to dip in the sauce, but then the sauces were limited. The veal, three very thin slices, was overcooked and the potato dish, while attractive in appearance, was flavourless. The seafood fettuccine lacked sufficient sauce. It is Italian, 25 cents worth of pasta, 50 cents of sauce and $10 for ambiance. read more

Called and was told it is first come first serve at the bar area. We got there and there was an open table for four. The snotty hostess had us wait, and instead sat a family that walked in after us at the open table. We are visiting from out of the country and it ruined our night. Terrible customer service! read more

Beautiful, comfortable restaurant. It is within walking distance to the docks and a great spot for lunch along the St. Lawrence. We enjoyed a couple different pizza's and they were very good. The charcuterie boards were delicious and my favorite part. read more

We love Riva! The atmosphere is fresh and cozy coastal. The food is very good, I highly recommend the charcuterie board. We've had many of their pizzas, pastas and mains. Their prices are fair and the value is excellent - we have yet to be let down. read more

Had dinner there last night to celebrate my wife's birthday. Food and service was top notch and a real surprise. We ate Italian stye ordering small portions and numerous courses covering the antipasti and calabrese, salad, primi (veal scallopini), pasta course (ravioli) and all was excellent. Combined with the Chianti it brought us back to our recent trip to Italy. Anyone looking for a relaxed setting, with a quality meal this is your place.. read more

I ordered the special of the week, which was simply delicious! I had the choice between two appetizers and two entrees, followed by a dessert of chocolate pie with fruits. The design and decoration of the restaurant is classy and elegant. The service was very good. Definitely a place to go to when you pass by or stay in Gananoque. Most probably the best restaurant in the area. read more

We had a great dinner there on a midweek evening in early June. The surroundings are beautiful, beer and wine selections were good, and the food was very good. Three of us shared the Calabrese pizza as a starter. It was fantastic! With lemon zest and a drizzle of honey, it exploded on the taste buds! We all ordered entres from the daily specials and shared them around. Lamb, beef, seafood: all three were very well prepared, very tasty, and came with good sides. I would take issue with Yelp's $$ price rating. That translates to $11-30 per person. You can eat for $30 here, but only if you pass on starter, dessert and drinks, because entrees are $19-35. That said, this place is worth the money. Count on $50 per head, more if you want top drawer wine. read more

I will say the decor is nice. Very pleasant room however it can get a bit loud with the stone walls etc. The waitress we had was obviously new. It was clear she had not been in the business long. Happy to overlook that. Steak was ordered rare, it came quite well done. Pasta dishes were small for the price although the large portion option was ordered. Pasta was over cooked and doughy. No bread was provided, no Parmesan cheese, no ground pepper. Given the relatively few choices in town I might return. If I do it will be for a pizza and beer read more

Best Italian restaurant in that area.Lovely service and nice foods.Warm atmosphere in there.I will go definitely again there.

Made a special trip, as we had heard good things, but overall was disappointed. The decor is trendy greys, the tables a good size, and the chairs comfortable. The bathrooms spotlessly clean, however the very modern touch taps didn't work properly, so only a small trickle of cold water was available. The soup of the day was a Potato & Panchetta, nice and thick, but no potato flavour and far too salty and flavourless bacon. The veal in the Scaloppini di Vitetto was over cooked and chewy, the multiple layered potato dish, Patate Mille Strati, was under cooked and over broiled which gave it an impossible to cut top. The rapini was supposed to have a white wine & butter sauce, but just an oily very salty sesame sauce covered everything. The only tasty part of the main course was the slivers of dried tomatoes. My dinner companion had a simple salad that was fine, slightly small portion even for a small, but was good. Her main was the Raviloi e Ragu, and sadly wasn't anything special. The braised lamb was over cooked. I don't think we'll be going back. read more

Solid Italian food. Need reservations at prime time. We had the fettuccine bolognese and it was great!! I would give 5 stars for the food, but while we were waiting for a table they wouldn't let us sit in the bar. "Occupancy" reasons? Not sure what that was about. The bar wasn't even filled up. And the AC was out and it was hot as heck inside the restaurant. So they get 4 stars. I would definitely come back. read more

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Went for a lunch date with a friend and we were both impressed. We drove from NY just to visit Riva based on reviews. The atmosphere was lovely, attention to details when decorating were interesting to gaze at. We both ordered the soup du jour, which was a tomato based vegetable soup with parmesan and oil topping. It was delish. We picked sandwiches for lunch, one panini and one braised short rib. We were both satisfied with our selections. Our server, Logan, was very friendly and knowledgable. She is a great asset to this restaurant. Overall experience a plus and can not wait to return to Riva read more

Avoid this tourist trap. They charge for everything. Every good restaurant gives you bread and free refills of drinks. We got charged $5 just for bread and $16 for ice tea for 2 people. They think that just because they are a fancy restaurant they can take advantage of you. My advice - go elsewhere. Then the food was terrible. My seafood fettuccini was suppose to come with a butter sauce. It came with NO sauce. What I got was fishy wet noodles. Yuck! I doubt this restaurant is even owned by Italians. Italians would be ashamed! read more

Lovely night out with excellent dinner and drinks. Super and seasonal drink list makes you want to try every one. Food is on the pricey side but choice ingredients and delicious concoctions explain it. I've loved everything I've tried - soup, salads, pastas, desserts - I've been 4 times. read more

Never again. Such a disappointment. Pub food around the corner tastes better not to mention the service. Don't waste you time and money and don't get fooled by fake reviews. read more

The space itself is absolutely stunning and the history makes it a compelling visit. The food was good but not great. Had the antipasti platter which was nice. Mixed artisanal meats, cheeses, olives and delicious marinated eggplant was a nice starter. Good selection of Italian wines red, white and rose. Tried the home made gnocchi with short rib ragu which was excellent. The salmon was good flavor wise, but slightly overlooked. Ordered a side order of the bolognese for my daughter but was not impressed. Seemed like a sauced aimed specifically at a child, and not the slow-cooked, rich sauce I'm used to. Overall, this restaurant is good, but normally expect a lot more at this price point. read more

Took my wife here for Valentine's day dinner. The place is amazing. The decor and ambiance is wonderful. When you arrive you are met by the hostess and they are happy to take your coat and seat you. The food was delicious. I have a bacon linguine carbonara and my wife had prosciutto wrapped stuffed chicken. Wait time for food was normal and portion size was normal for fine dining. This was a great experience was also convenient to where we were staying for the night so it couldn't have worked out better . read more

Excellent restaurant. Quality people with an incredible menu. Food portions are perfect. The flavours that were in each of ours dishes were awesome. Wonderfully decorated restaurant to have the best meal of the day!! read more

What a disappointment. Beautifully appointed, looked like a very special time awaited us. Excellent reviews but not from me! Waited over an hour after being told table would be 30 minutes. A/C not working at all. Decided to wait in bar, have a drink. Hotter than hell in bar. Inquired why and advised it was because it's directly across from kitchen. Okay, at least the rest of the place was cooler. After an hour, we are offered a high top table in the bar! Multiple tables open in other restaurant seating areas but manager said they were all reserved. Promised to seat us if one opened. Ordered after an overly long wait where we needed to seek out the waitress. If you want bread, it's extra. What a joke with their pricing. One of us ordered a salad with added chicken, no Artichoke hearts. Of course it came with Artichoke hearts, no chicken. Waitress was quick to deny responsibility but replaced it with the correct order with the chicken $8.00 extra lol. Fettuccine with bolognese sauce had a squashed meatball and less than 4 ounces of pasta. My order of orrichiete was actually pretty good. The icing on the cake was that when we left there were at least ten to twelve open tables in the area we asked to be seated. I looked for the douchebag manager and thanked him for not reseating us as he promised. All he had to say was something about the number of servers and table assignments. Idiot. Won't be back. Good thing it's in Canada because in NY, they'd never make it. read more

We had lunch here on a Saturday afternoon. The service was outstanding. We had a hungry cranky child on our hands and they got a pizza order out for her in 5 Minutes flat. The lunch menu is short but quite deceiving in a good way. It's divided into salads and pizza however the salads can be more like an entree with salad so best to ask the server to describe the dish. We had the short rib pizza with stewed tomatoes, Gorgonzola and lots of other great toppings. I highly recommend. We also had the pork salad and as mentioned was a good serving of grilled pork with some salad. It was very tasty. The chicken salad was also excellent. We dined on the patio to enjoy the weather but the dining rooms looked beautiful. Will try dinner here another time. read more

Nice atmosphere and good food. The beer selection is great. But the pasta could be a bit more "al dente". Portion is good. Service was amazing read more

My wife and I came back here for the second evening in a row, and were not disappointed. I had the soup both nights. Last night was a pineapple based soup. Tonight was a potato soup. Both had favors that melded together well. My main course was pasta both nights. I got the half portion which was plenty and allowed room for dessert. My wife got the salads as first course and mushroom ravioli last night. She had the salmon pizza tonight. We has tiramisu. Tonight is the lemon tart. read more

Great spot.... Food was absolutely great and Stephanie was just wonderful with our crew. Highly recommend.

Best restaurant in the area that we have visited. Beautiful ambience, delicious food served promptly, excellent service and reasonable prices. What a treat. We spend a lot of time in Kingston and have been to every upscale restaurant in Kingston. There is no restaurant in Kingston that comes even close to Riva. It's worth a drive to Gananoque! read more

Great Italian food and a nice ambience. Had the reva salad and pollo pizza and both were delicious! The service was quick and prices are reasonable. read more

Decided to have a night out so went for a drink and a bite at Riva. Sat a the bar, and shared the Antipasto platter and a pizza with my partner. Food was amazing and the service was top notch. A great way to spend Saturday night. read more

Food was good but the server sent us the wrong bottle of wine which was $100 more than we expected . We confronted them on the issue when the Bill came and they said it was our mistake ...... Not impressed they were not willing to accept any responsibility read more

Just ordered take out. Food was ready in 15 min. I brought back a pollo Pizza (chicken) was cold because of issues getting into my hotel room. Pizza was good but the cesars salad was WAY TO SALTY. I feel like i ate a salt shaker and had to toss the salad no pun intended. Would go back to eat inside with my wife when we come together to gan. I hear the diner is very good along with the atmosphere inside. I will not have anymore salads lol read more