River Café

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A London Italian Institution on the Thames

River Café sits at Thames Wharf on Rainville Road in Hammersmith, its riverside terrace looking out over the water. The restaurant has appeared multiple times in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list — including a peak ranking of 31st — a distinction that speaks to the sustained quality of its Italian cooking over decades.

The Menu: Seasonal, Daily, Uncompromising

The menu changes every day, which is perhaps the clearest statement of the kitchen's philosophy. Ingredients are sourced with precision — Devon crab, Cornish monkfish, Scottish langoustines, Longhorn beef sirloin — and prepared through techniques rooted in Italian regional tradition: wood-roasting, chargrilling, slow-braising.

A winter dinner might open with Carciofi alla Giudia (deep-fried whole Roman artichokes with Amalfi lemon) or Mazzancolle al forno — Scottish langoustines split and wood-roasted with parsley and garlic. Pasta courses are made fresh: Tagliatelle al Ragù slow-cooked with veal, rabbit, pancetta and radicchio in Fontodi Chianti Classico; Panzotti con Salsa di Noce filled with Swiss chard and buffalo ricotta, dressed with fresh walnut sauce. Main courses lean on the wood oven — turbot with wild oregano, whole Anjou pigeon roasted in Isole e Olena Chardonnay, veal shin slow-cooked in Aldo Vajra Nebbiolo.

Desserts are signatures in their own right. The Chocolate Nemesis appears across seasons. The Lemon Tart, Pear and Almond Tart, and River Café Gelati — roasted almond, stracciatella, hazelnut — complete the picture of Italian cooking done with care and consistency.

The Café and Private Spaces

Adjacent to the main restaurant, the River Café Café opens daily from breakfast through to dinner, with its own terrace directly beside the Thames. It serves cornetti, bruschetta, frittata, and the same pastry and gelati standards as the main kitchen — available for dining in or takeaway.

For private events, the restaurant offers two dedicated spaces: Sylvia's, accommodating up to 48 guests with an optional pianist, and a Private Dining Room for up to 18 guests with full audio-visual facilities. Both operate for lunch and dinner throughout the week.

Set Lunch

A Winter Set Lunch — two courses plus dolci at £65, three courses plus dolci at £80 — runs Monday to Friday and changes daily, offering the same Italian kitchen at a more accessible format for weekday lunches.