The River Cafe

The River Cafe has had a massive influence on British food culture. it helped re-invent Italian food, the cook books were incredibly popular, there were the tv programmes and of course it 'discovered' Jamie Oliver. We had dinner there for the first time in over 10 years and it was a real treat.

We started with the house cocktail: prosecco, campari and pomegranite. The menu was very fishy and we had turbot, scallops and dover sole. The desserts were laid out on the long bar and looked just like the photographs you see in the cookbooks. Everything was perfect.

It was exactly the same as I remembered. The layout and decor, with the long bar and the big clock projected on the wall was unchanged. The staff were young and friendly. It had the same hand written menu and they still had the all-Italian wine list.

It was great to see that it was still so successful and that they hadn't in any way changed their winning formula and their standards. And of course it was packed. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it.

Roast and the River Cafe in one week. Aren't I the lucky one. And I'm off to the Oxo Tower on Monday! Can't wait.