The River Café (London)
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The River Café is a restaurant in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, specialising in
Italian cuisine Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Ancient Roman cuisine, Roman times, and later spread ...
. It was owned and run by chefs
Ruth Rogers Ruth Rogers, Baroness Rogers of Riverside, (; born 2 July 1948) is an American and British chef who owns and runs the Michelin starred Italian restaurant The River Café in Hammersmith, London.Adam LusheRecord 10 women chefs win Michelin star ...
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 th ...
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. It ...
, 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 Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British-Italian architect noted for his Modern architecture, modernist and Constructivist architecture, constructivist designs in high-tech architectur ...
, 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, s ...
.


History

The restaurants signature dishes include wild mushroom risotto, Dover sole, and John Dory smoked in the restaurant's own wood stove; as well as 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 restaurants in certain geographic ...
in 1997. 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 Rand ...
of Randall & Aubin,
April Bloomfield April Bloomfield (born 1974) is a British-American 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 K ...
of
The Spotted Pig The Spotted Pig was a gastropub at 314 West 11th Street (at Greenwich Street) in the West Village in Manhattan in New York City. It was owned by Ken Friedman. Mario Batali was a primary investor. The chef was April Bloomfield, a British expatria ...
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 Books, printed publications. While telev ...
s
Jamie Oliver Jamie Trevor Oliver Order of the Star of Italy, OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and o ...
,
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 ...
,
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, Western Australia. At the age of ten, his family moved to Perth. On finishing school O'D ...
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

Rogers and Gray have written six cookbooks, including ''Italian Easy'' and ''The London River Café Cook Book''. Their first book, ''Italian Country Cookbook'' won the Glenfiddich Award for Food Book of the Year and the BCA Illustrated Book of the Year award. They have since presented a 12-part series for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, ''The Italian Kitchen''. ''The River Cafe Cookbook'', originally published in 1995, has been described as "iconic" for its photography. Rogers and Gray each were named in the 2010 New Year's Honours List 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 that specialize in the preparation and purveyance of Italian cuisine: * Amato's * Armani Ristorante * ASK Italian * Bella Italia * Beppi's Restaurant * Buca di Beppo * Carrabba's Italian ...


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-starred restaurants in London European restaurants in London Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Restaurants established in 1987