The Zandi brothers’ founders of Emerald hospitality group have an impressive array of London restaurants under their belt, the outstanding Zuaya, Como Garden and El Norte restaurants have caught the attention of many Londoners and visitors. With incredible Latin American, Italian and Spanish dishes expertly brought to eager diners, they have turned their attention to southern French cuisine in their latest restaurant Riviera. With their track record to date, our expectations are high.

The restaurant is located in a beautiful building, just a short walk from Green Park station. An escalator transports you upwards into a beautiful space with windows running from the floor to the high ceilings, flooding the space with beautiful natural light. Earth-ware vases and pots, cosy wicker and upholstered bucket chairs, and organic colour schemes are inspired by the likes of St Tropez, Cannes, Nice and Antibes. The Cote D’azur glamour of the elegant dining area and the chic marble-topped, bar will take your breath away.

Guests can expect authentic Mediterranean flavours at Riviera such as Black Truffle Slow-cooked Baby Chicken and Sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Sea Bass Carpaccio, Burrata and Blood Orange, and Veal Ragu Rigatoni.

We started with the King Scallop, two generous-sized scallops bathed in a delicious citrus butter, it was cooked beautifully, a perfect start to the meal, but gone in few mouthfuls… It’s so good you may contemplate ordering another.

Next up was the Riviera Sea Bass, an absolute standout dish! The fish was soft and flakey, perched on a juicy bed of flavousome roasted mixed tomatoes, an absolute delight! Beautifully presented and exactly what I would expect from this high-end restaurant.

It’s become almost a ritual for me to go halves on two desserts with my dining partner. This avoids the inevitable food envy and, well, who doesn’t want to try two desserts? The quintessentially French tarte tatin, was an obvious choice for me, and my dining partner chose the Vegan Chocolate Tart with Homemade Coconut Milk, it was the latter which really took us by surprise. The lightest chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted, yet deeply chocolatey and impossible to put your spoon down for a second. We crossed spoons over this delicious dessert almost like fencing partners duelling to the death. It was the perfect end to such a decadent meal.

If the French Riviera feels like a little too far to travel for dinner, at least you can relish in a taste of southern France a little closer to home. The food is exquisite and the decor is just stunning. I didn’t expect anything less from the Zandi brothers! Hats off to them, I will excitedly watch this space to see what they embark on next.

Address: 23 St James’s St, Mayfair, London, SW1A 1HA
Website: www.riviera-london.co.uk

Words and photos by Nyla Sammons