Riviera

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The Real Italian on Lake Thun

Sitting directly on the waterfront in the Spiez bay, Riviera by Elio occupies a beautifully positioned building where the view across Lake Thun to the Bernese Oberland Alps is as much a part of the experience as what arrives at the table. The interior was designed by the Milanese architecture studio Volontè, and that Italian sensibility runs through every detail — from the elegant proportions of the dining room to the warmth of the welcome.

Italian Cooking Done Honestly

The kitchen, led by the head chef and his crew, takes a straightforward approach: seasonal dishes, creative starters, fish preparations, pasta, and grilled specialities — all rooted in a genuine Italian tradition rather than an approximation of it. The restaurant describes it plainly as ehrliche, echte italienische Küche — honest, authentic Italian cooking. That commitment earned Riviera a Gambero Rosso 2 Forks recognition, an award reserved exclusively for top Italian restaurants outside Italy, a distinction the restaurant first received in 2018 and has continued to hold.

An extensive menu covers all hours: a full lunch and dinner offering, an afternoon card, and a dedicated pizza selection, alongside a wine list and aperitif menu that reflect the Italian character of the house.

The Terrace and Beyond

On warm evenings, the lakeside terrace — the Seeterrasse «Riviera» — comes into its own. Lunch, dinner, or a pre-dinner aperitif taken here, with the lake in front and the Alps behind, is genuinely hard to match in this part of Switzerland. Guests arriving by boat will find a private jetty with two mooring spaces, and the restaurant sits immediately beside the BLS ferry landing at Spiez.

For private events, the space scales up naturally. The dining rooms, the large terrace, a small garden, and an amphitheatre can all be reserved for banquets, corporate dinners, weddings, and celebrations — each with the same panoramic backdrop.