The River Café (London)
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The River Café is a restaurant in the
Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The bor ...
, London, specialising in
Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...
. It was owned and run by chefs Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray until Gray's death in 2010; since then, Rogers has been the sole owner and has run the restaurant.


Location

The restaurant is located on the north bank of the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
in
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...
, in the former Duckhams oil storage facility; the nearest railway station being Hammersmith tube station. The facility was modified to alternative use by architect Lord Rogers, the husband of Ruth Rogers (Lady Rogers). The restaurant originally opened in 1987 as the employee café of the architectural partnership. The restaurant has a garden area with views of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
.


Culinary direction

Signature dishes include: wild mushroom risotto; Dover sole and John Dory smoked in the restaurant's own wood stove; and rich Italian desserts including lemon almond cake and the chocolate "Nemesis" cake. The restaurant earned a
Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
in 1997 and is critically acclaimed. The River Café is also notable for the number of successful chefs that have trained in its kitchens. These include Theo Randall,
Ed Baines Edward "Ed" Baines is an English chef best known for being a judge on ''Britain's Best Dish'' and for being an alternate chef on ''Sunday Feast'' with Paul Merrett. He trained in The River Café in London and his flagship restaurant is Randal ...
of Randall & Aubin,
April Bloomfield April Bloomfield (born 1974) is a British chef who has opened two New York restaurants: The Spotted Pig (closed January 26, 2020) and The Breslin Bar & Dining Room. Bloomfield had previously worked at several restaurants in the United Kingdom, ...
of
The Spotted Pig The Spotted Pig was a gastropub located at 314 West 11th Street (at Greenwich Street) in the West Village in Manhattan in New York City. The 100-seat gastropub was owned by Ken Friedman. Mario Batali was a primary investor. The chef was April ...
in New York, and
celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...
s
Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reach ...
,
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall (born 14 January 1965) is an English celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, and campaigner on food and environmental issues. Fearnley-Whittingstall hosted the ''River C ...
,
Ben O'Donoghue Benjamin O'Donoghue (born 22 May 1970) is an Australian chef. Early years O'Donoghue was five years old when his family moved from England to Port Hedland. At the age of ten, his family moved to Perth. On finishing school O'Donoghue was employe ...
and
Tobie Puttock Tobie Puttock (born 1974) is an Australian celebrity chef, best known for his association with British chef Jamie Oliver. Cooking career Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Puttock trained at Box Hill Institute of TAFE, and first worked at Caffe e C ...
.


Cookery books and recognition

Gray and Rogers have written six cookbooks, including ''Italian Easy'' and ''The London River Café Cook Book''. Their first book, ''Italian Country Cookbook'' won the
Glenfiddich Award The Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards were intended to recognize achievements in writing, publishing and broadcasting on the subjects of food and drink. The awards had been sponsored since 1972 by William Grant & Sons, a family-owned Scottish disti ...
for Food Book of the Year and the BCA Illustrated Book of the Year award. Rogers and Gray have since presented a 12-part series for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, ''The Italian Kitchen''. Rogers and Gray each were named in the 2010
New Year's Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
as Members of the British Empire ( MBE) with the citation "for services to the Hospitality Industry". On 28 February 2010, Gray died of cancer, aged 71.


See also

*
List of Italian restaurants This is a list of notable Italian restaurants, which specialize in the preparation and purveyance of Italian cuisine: * Amato's * Bella Italia * Beppi's Restaurant * Buca di Beppo * Carrabba's Italian Grill * Cibo Espresso * Drago re ...


References


Further reading

* Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers - ''The River Café Cook Book'' (Ebury Press, 1996)


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:River Cafe (London), The Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom European restaurants in London Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Restaurants established in 1987