Rivoli Restaurant

Rivoli Restaurant
Restaurant Cuisine: Mediterranean, Californian
1539 Solano Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94707
#2
of 430 restaurants in Berkeley
TripZen Score
8.0 / 10 Overall
251% Recommend
8.5Overall8Food
8.5Food
Activities: Health club, Hot tub, Pool (outdoors)
Check-in / Check-out time: 11am / 3pm
Description:Wendy Brucker's blend of homey and complex is as winning today as when the restaurant opened in 1994. Try her signature portobello fritters and lusty main courses such as slow-roasted lamb shoulder and cassoulet. Service strikes just the right professional attitude. -- Michael Bauer
A breakfast nook.
Rivoli Restaurant Map

Traveler Reviews

TripZen Score
8.0 / 10 Overall
251% Recommend
8.5Overall8Food
8.5Food
Overall
  • I like to go out to fun lively places.
  • Nice restaurant.
  • You won't find a better restaurant in the East Bay without paying big bucks.
  • We loved this restaurant
  • Very nice restaurant for couples and small parties.
  • For the money, one of the best restaurants in the East Bay.
  • This is truly a lovely dining experience -
  • After all the great comments and high ratings we were expecting a wonderful experience, it was underwhelming.
  • We really loved our experience at Rivoli.
  • This may well become our new favorite restaurant.
  • Our favorite restaurant in the East Bay, and has been for all the years we've been going to Berkeley Rep. Tempting
  • I love this restaurant.
  • This remains a terrific, but unpretentious, restaurant that is right in our neighborhood.
  • Wonderful vegetarian option and service was delightful.
  • Our favorite restaurant in the East Bay.
  • Experience was good in general, table was very good.
  • Our service experience was very good
Food
  • The food is memorable, the kind you tell your friends about
  • on the days when I want really good food in a spa like setting, with good companionship in a quiet setting, Rivoli is the place.
  • Lamb was great....Dessert very nice....Good wine selection as well.
  • Amazing desserts!...Their appetizers are very tasty, too.
  • great food for a special occasion;
  • Food is divine.
  • My wife said it was "melt-in-your-mouth," I thought it was the best leg of lamb I' ever eaten!
  • We never felt rushed, the service was wonderful, the food was so good
  • It's a wonderful dining room with a nice bank of windows overlooking a garden (that is lit up at night), making a wonderful atmosphere....we tried the lamb and it was great along with some really good salads and the complimentary bread was wonderful!
  • The food is amazing!
  • It was an exceptional dinner.
  • It was easy to get to (from Marin), good food, great service.
  • My wife had the wild salmon and enjoyed it;
  • We finished with a chocolaty hot fudge sundae.
  • Food and service was excellent.
  • As usual, well cooked, seasonal food with service and ambiance to match.
  • And the food was delicious, quantity perfect, and timing great.
  • Our meals were fine, well-prepared and edible, but not memorable....Overall, we would not return, and felt the meals were somewhat overpriced for the quality.
  • The food was delicious, and the local wine was mostly organic or sustainable.
  • A wonderfully reliable dining experience, close to the level of Chez Panise for half the price.
  • This is truly a lovely dining experience -...food and service are excellent!
  • Great menu combines some trusted and well executed regular items, and a nice variety of creative and seasonal items.
  • the chocolate fudge cake dessert matched the ratings the remainder of the meal was well below expectations....seemed to have a bottled dressing, the vegetable Risotto dish seemed like Rice-A-Roni (a mushy casserole of rice and finely chopped green stuff overcooked in a single fry pan), the multiple fish/shellfish appetizer was just OK.
  • My husband and I were amazed by how delicious all the food was.
  • Apparently it was a very bad night for the chef....the chocolate fudge cake dessert matched the ratings and other diner's comments...the veggie risotto was so bad the restaurant refunded our money.
  • a fabulous meal!
  • continued throughout with good service, excellent food, ambiance and mood.
  • It always pleases me with the quality of the food
  • Beautiful setting, perfectly orchestrated meal, lovely wait staff.
  • The lobster scallop ravioli was terrific, the portabello fritters perfect....My husband raved about his permesan pudding thing, and we both loved our respective desserts.
  • Wonderful vegetarian option and service was delightful.
  • Great food.
  • Great, if not terribly inventive, food.
  • The food is innovative and unique without going too far....The garden provides a marvelous environment to elegant but casual dining.
  • Food itself was very good as u
  • the entrees were fine but not excellent.
  • Not only did the rest of us enjoy one of the best meals of my family's visit
  • Overall, the food is good
  • Starters still satisfy, but signature dishes like the pot roast can be disappointingly dull.
  • The wine list is diverse.
  • While the appetizers were memorable
Service
  • a bit on the calorie hi fat side, but the waitstaff is smooth
  • We never felt rushed, the service was wonderful, the food was so good
  • It was easy to get to (from Marin), good food, great service.
  • The service was a bit slow, but not too noticeable
  • The server was friendly but clearly worn down by the fast pace and the narrow quarters.
  • the service was very relaxed and friendly.
  • Food and service was excellent.
  • The service was friendly and efficient
  • the hostess was very delightful.
  • food and service are excellent!
  • The service was professional and warm.
  • Hostess-Jennifer intervened with the aggressive waitress, refunded the cost of the veg-risotto dish.
  • continued throughout with good service, excellent food, ambiance and mood.
  • the relaxed but attentive service.
  • Beautiful setting, perfectly orchestrated meal, lovely wait staff.
  • The service was impeccable and the room really quite lovely, with a fine outlook over lush gardens.
  • Wonderful vegetarian option and service was delightful.
  • Service was not great.
  • my brothers with downs syndrome are very particular about their food and the patience of the server amazing (they got a big tip, that's for sure.
  • Our service experience was very good
  • the service friendly and professional, the main courses were uninspired, poorly plated, and forgettable.
Ambience
  • on the days when I want really good food in a spa like setting, with good companionship in a quiet setting, Rivoli is the place.
  • My only complaint is the excessive noise.
  • And the garden view is so lovely, it's a shame there isn't more room for patio dining.
  • It's a wonderful dining room with a nice bank of windows overlooking a garden (that is lit up at night), making a wonderful atmosphere.
  • Dining at 6pm, the view of the outdoor garden was pretty nice with the natural sunlight.
  • the service was very relaxed and friendly.
  • elegant setting, exquisite fare
  • Rivoli offered me the perfect cozy and upscale environment
  • Nice atmosphere, pleasantly noisy, customers mostly over 50.
  • Their garden makes the small dining area seem spacious.
  • The diners' view to the back garden makes it a special place even in winter!
  • the relaxed but attentive service.
  • The service was impeccable and the room really quite lovely, with a fine outlook over lush gardens.
  • Wonderful relaxing atmosphere, nice view of the gardens.
  • Experience was good in general, table was very good.
  • The garden provides a marvelous environment to elegant but casual dining.
  • we enjoyed the view intot he garden.
Value
  • Madeira afterwards but the Scotch I had was pretty mediocre for the price.
  • I'll continue to return so long as the quality remains high and the prices reasonable.
  • Overall, we would not return, and felt the meals were somewhat overpriced for the quality.
  • The wine prices were a little too high, there should be more quality wines under 30 dollars just as it's usual in Italy.

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