Riva Restaurant

From The Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 4 November 2011:
Matt Reville visits the Riva Restaurant, by Peterborough Key Theatre, in Embankment Road:
I CAUSED a bit of a ripple with my debut restaurant review of Nando’s, when I afforded the cheap and cheerful new diner a damp and dismal five out of ten.
It was therefore with some trepidation that ET features overlords handed me my second stint. Would I cement my reputation as a moaner?
However, they had nothing to fear my trip to Riva Restaurant on the picturesque Embankment with my housemate Brian was outstanding.
I feel dirty writing such superlatives. I prefer critical reviews but in this case it would be unfair to say Riva was anything less than excellent.
I chose the restaurant because panto season is approaching and Riva is in the same building as The Key Theatre, on the Embankment, where Aladdin starts up on December 8.
Cynics may think this is just an excuse to pad the article with bad panto puns? Oh no it isn’t. Oh yes it is. Oh no it isn’t
But I can recommend anyone going to the panto to ‘drag’ the family down with an empty stomach to Riva before the show.
The days of eating a pre-​performance McDonalds are ‘behind you’, because in the restaurant next to the panto there is ‘fairy’ good food on offer.
I had Anti Pasto Italiano (£6.95), while Brian went for a Gamberoni al Aglio e Olio (£7.95). Try saying that after four pints.
My Anti Pasto was a delightful combination of finely slathered salami, perfectly marinated vegetables and goat’s cheese always a crowd pleaser.
Brian’s Gamberoni was met with similar joy, and it was obvious from the early stages that my dreams of writing a cynical review were shattered.
The service was perfect right on time and the waiter had the right level of friendly chat, that didn’t border on the intrusive.
Most importantly, he made sure our glasses of Peroni (£2.95) never got dry.
For main, I ordered the Riva Salsiccia Piccante (£7.95), and Brian plumped for the pollo al Parolaccia (£11.95).
My pasta was peppered with tomato, garlic and basil, and the Italian spicy sausage lived up to its billing. The sausage’s spiciness was a welcome boost to the rest of the plate, which was a little bit bland. I must take my share of the blame for that though.
I made a rookie error by not accepting the waiter’s offer of pepper or grated cheese, which would have added a bit of zest. I never know quite what to say in those situations, and instead of answering firmly one way or the other I turn into Hugh Grant.
Well, Hugh Grant as a blabbering middle Englander, not the 21^st century ‘risqué’ version.
Brian’s pollo a Parolaccia looked fantastic, and he didn’t swear once while eating it. A fine achievement for an Irish person, so it was.
To end, I gorged on torta-​dela-​nonna (£5.95), while Brian feasted on profiteroles (£5.95).
One of my few complaints lay in the gap between finishing the main meal and the dessert menu coming out.
It took about 15 minutes after cutlery was put down two empty plates before they were taken away.
The dessert menu was somewhat threadbare; three options and one (tiramisu) was out of stock.
But you can’t really complain when the actual desserts were so good.
My crusty pastry was topped off with pine nuts and sugar. Combined with a bowl of pistachio ice cream, it left the meal on a high (while simultaneously widening my belt buckle).
Brian’s disappointment and being rejected tiramisu was instantly forgotten when the generous serving of three crusty profiteroles and accompanying vanilla ice cream were dished out.
All in all, it was a disappointingly excellent meal.
It’s a strange world where you go to a restaurant as a wannabe cynical critic and leave disappointed at how good the meal was.
I couldn’t possibly give it a 10/​10, but I dare say it is better than many restaurants that have been given that score in this fine publication.
It was pricy (£64.40), the dessert menu was small and the service dipped a little as the night wore on and the restaurant got busier.
But these are minor foibles. It was truly a meal fit for a king (or at least a pantomime dame).
9 out of 10
More Guide reviews:

Arrived at 5 40pm having booked for a party of 15. The show (it’s part of the key theatre) was starting at 7 30pm so we thought there was plenty of time but were a little surprised to be told there wasn’t time for a starter so we ordered a main only and garlic bread. The main arrived over an hour later and garlic bread 10 minutes after we had finished! The food was good but the service was appalling considering it’s part of the theatre