Riva Navy Pier

Had dinner Sunday night here.  This place is a solid 3.5 in my book.  You're at Navy Pier, so you're gonna pay a lot of money for food.  Having said that, I felt like it was definitely a better dinner than anything you can get at the front of Navy Pier (like Bubba Gump or Capi's) - though I haven't tried Harry Caray's Tavern yet.

Lobster bisque - 4 stars.  Creamy, flavorful.  It's a bit on the salty side, but I like that.

Jumbo crab cakes - 3 stars.  Super expensive.  Lot's of crab in those two cakes.  The crab cakes themselves were kinda dry, so it definitely needed that sauce (which I had to get more of).  5 stars for that mini-salad/slaw on one side of the plate.  The freshness and the cilantro in there paired perfectly with the crab and heavy sauce.

Service - 3.5 stars.  It was good when there weren't that many people.  As soon as the place fills up, service is noticeably slower.

Scallop Fettucine - 4 stars.  My (three) scallops were cooked perfectly and tasted awesome with the pasta.  I just wished there were a fourth scallop to be better proportioned with the amount of pasta.

I'm the type that usually only writes a review on a place if it's really good or really bad.  And  RIVA was really neither. I have to be inspired in either a good or bad way to waste my time to actually sit down and put some words together about a place, so what would make a lazy procrastinator like myself  waste my time on such a mediocre prentitous place?
Because I am pretentious too and I want every one to know that I was here.  LOL

But seriously the place is way to over priced for the quality of food that you get.  Plus I am just getting too old to be dealing with the hassle of finding parking and then walking forever to get to your destination and in this case a pretty mediocre one. Especially in the cold of winter, no thank you. Parking that you have to pay for of course too, let's not forget that.  

We had the Filet Mignon Skewers....OMG!  Disgusting!!  I don't eat that much meat but the day I did..... I wasted it on this garbage.  Way too salty and the meat was like chewing on rubber gum.  We were here 2 days ago, and I sware I'm still chewing on the same piece of meat.   We then had the grilled white shrimp.....Disturbing!!  I think the only spice that the Chef has in his kitchen here is salt because that is all you can taste in this entree... had some sort of red garnish and sauce that came with it that was just pure salt.  The Filet Mignon was tooooo salty too.  We also had the Florida stone crab claws, ok this was a little better but then I almost chocked to death on the tiny fragile shell that seemed to be present in every bite of actual crab meat that I would take.
We also had the coconut shrimp which wasn't bad, however, they totally lost me with the sauce that they brought out with it.  It just didn't match. The Coconut shrimp and sauce at Red Lobster is better.    And lastly we had the Crab Cake which was actually pretty good.

They mislead you with their online advertisements that you need reservations and that there is a dress code. Give me a break.  That is just said to trick you into believing that you are going some where nicer than what it actually is.  There were plenty of open tables and several people dressed in jeans and not even nice jeans.So if there is a dress code it isn't a very strict one.  Wish I would had known ahead of time because the walk from the car to the resturant would had been easier in flats than heels.

You get a somewhat nice view of the city, but let's face it, This is Chicago, there are places with better views.  Other than just going for the sake of saying that you were here, I really don't see any reason for going. Too expensive and the entrees are just too hit or miss.  May be the place for you however if you like meat gum.  I wish there were half stars because this place is 2 and a half stars and not 3,

Above and Beyond!  Thank you Riva Navy Pier!  We have been to this restaurant a number of times through the years and have always loved the food, the atmosphere, the view, and the excellent service.  On Monday evening, February 19th, Frank the manager at Riva, responded to a special request we had for a group of 11 to dine there before going to a formal dance at the Navy Pier Ballroom.  We were very last minute in making our request, and Frank offered a number of fantastic options to make it work for our group.  He provided personal service and made sure that the staff was informed of what he had worked out with the chef for the evening.  Our group arrived, was seated at a beautiful table by the window, was offered great service, delicious food, and respected the time constraint we had to make it to the Ballroom on time.  Truly the night was magical and it began at Riva!  We now live in the Washington, DC area and have the opportunity to enjoy many fantastic restaurants.  We will continue recommending Riva, singing its praises, and will return each time we are in the Chicago area!  Again, thank you Frank and the rest of the staff at Riva!