La Riva Restaurant & Bar

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Tasty, generous Italian fare served in friendly surroundings in the centre of town

While there are a few Italian eateries on Park Street already – including the redoubtable Jamie’s – Flamur Doku is confident that La Riva will find its place comfortably among them. Unusually for a newly opening diner, La Riva comes with a well-grounded team both out front and in the kitchen, the whole operation (name included) having effectively relocated from Doku’s previous restaurant in Clacton-on-Sea.

The restaurant occupies the deceptively spacious site where Beijing Bistro used to be, now swathed in red with contemporary lighting throughout. Given the location, they wisely offer a wide range of possibilities for lunch and early evening bargains, while the extensive a la carte menu has plenty of dishes available in small or large portions. Our shared starter of antipasto misto – a well-stocked platter of meat, veg and fish tidbits served on a small stand – with bread and a glass of wine each would have made an excellent light meal in itself for around £25 the lot.

But me and The Ever-Lovely She are nothing if not greedy, so we then shared a plate of spinach and ricotta tortelloni, proper al dente pasta pillows smothered in rich cream and mascarpone sauce. When the mains followed, we realised our mistake in ordering so much: my slab of crisp roasted salmon was sitting on a heap of green beans and lentils, her roast duck breast snuggled up to a mound of celeriac mash liberally doused with pancetta, prunes, spring onions and cherry tomatoes.

Naturally things slowed down at this point, amiably assisted by glasses of velvety Moltepulciano. I found the yielding fish and crisp bean combination flavoursome and satisfying, but She was less sure about the textures in her combination of prunes, spring onions and duck – an Italian take on the Chinese classic, perhaps? Whatever, she was too full for dessert, taking just a sip from my espresso-drenched affogato.

By this point our boat was more than pushed out – in fact, it was disappearing over the horizon, yet our four-course feast, with a couple of large glasses of wine each, had rolled out for £70. That seems like excellent value for a well-prepared meal with friendly service at an independent family restaurant in the heart of the city, and could well suggest Flamur Doku’s confidence is well-founded. (Tony Benjamin)

CONTACT

LA RIVA RESTAURANT AND BAR 72 PARK ST, BRISTOL BS1 5JX. FFI: 0117 929 3866, HTTP://WWW.LARIVARESTAURANT.COM/

THE VERDICT Bright and friendly, a new independent face on Bristol’s Italian scene