Italian fare at Riva

Frankly, I had no idea what to expect when I stepped into Riva, the restaurant-bar-club on the Jumeirah shoreline. But the four hours I spent with a friend at this Italian eatery by the beach, was the most fun time I have had in a long time. Promoted as Dubai’s first standalone beach concept, RIVA has a chilled-out, stylish vibe with its canopies, all-white décor and very friendly staff. And as a beach club, you can’t ask for more – 200 sun loungers available on day hire (no need for membership or access fee), a pool, an al fresco restaurant, a gazebo bar, music and some fine bites. For a fee of Dhs100 on weekdays and Dhs150 on weekends, it couldn’t get better!

Relaxing on a couch, we first sipped on a mocktail, namely pina colada, served rather interestingly in a coconut shell and another coconut-pineapple flavoured cocktail served inside a pineapple! The drinks weren’t bad but we chose to go the bubbly for the next round.

The menu had fairly basic choices for starters – bruschetta, prawn cocktail, baked aubergine parmigiana, fried calamari and beef carpaccio etc. The prawn cocktail I ordered was very fresh though my spice-loving Indian palette would have preferred some more flavours! By comparison my veggie companion’s crunchy bruschetta with tomatoes and olives was better.

There was an interesting choice of pastas, pizzas and burgers and sandwiches available for the main course, but we were recommended the pizza. And I was glad with the choice for the melt-in-the-mouth pizzas (a margherita with chicken and another with mushroom and rocket) were light and delicious complementing the white wine perfectly.

A tiramisu later, we were ready for a relaxing stroll by the beach capping what had been a super relaxing afternoon.

Info:
Where: Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
Opening Hours: Beach-7am till sunset; RIVA bar- 10am to 12 am; pool- 7am to7pm (7pm to 9pm adults only); gym- 6pm to 10pm
Contact: 04 430 9466 or email info@riva-beach.com