The River Café serves the best Italian food in London. At its helm is its co-founder, Ruthie Rogers.
Serving A-grade Italian since 1987, the eatery – designed by Richard Rogers (Ruthie’s husband) – is a landmark among restaurants. With its riverside garden terrace and welcoming open kitchen, the stripped-down, minimalist canteen is best known for its simple, seasonal fare. Meals are cooked in the pink wood-fired oven – the restaurant’s central focal point.
We caught up with Ruthie, to discuss her healthy obsession with olive oil, how surrounds greatly impact the dining experience, and the people who have influenced her cooking the most. Plus, we take a peep at The River Café’s latest collaboration with Summerill & Bishop, filling our eTrolleys to the brim with geometric linens and pantry staples.
How did you first get into cooking?
Loving to eat. And marrying a man whose mother was an extraordinary cook.
What are your childhood food memories?
My grandmother coming to stay with her rolling pin to make the delicate apple strudel from her native Hungary.
Who most influenced your cooking?
Richard Rogers.
What inspired you to start The River Café?
Living and cooking and eating in Italy.
You’ve been a champion of eating seasonally and sourcing locally since you opened The River Café – why is it so important to you to cook and eat this way?
It is more sustainable, less expensive and emotional on arrival and on departure.
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Where are the best places to shop for produce in London?
There are so many great choices. Best to look close to home as travelling to the shop is exhausting.
What’s the one ingredient you can’t live without?
Olive oil.
How do your surrounds influence the dining experience?
Enormously. At home and in the River Café we have light, a view and open kitchens.
What are your thoughts on ambience and eating?
Lighting is so important but more important is the ambience of the people you are eating with.
Where are your favourite places to dine in London?
Hard to say, too many of my friends have restaurants.
What do you always avoid ordering on a menu?
Anything with truffle oil.
By contrast, must-order items on the menu at The River Café include…
Farinata; Risotto Amarone; Wood-Roasted Turbot; and Chocolate Nemesis.
Talk to us about the merits of an open-plan kitchen…
You see them, they see you. And contact is crucial in eating and cooking.
Why do you think it’s important to gather round the table to eat?
It is a sign of civilisation.
What is your go-to meal at home when you’re low on time?
Prosciutto, mozzarella and braised spinach.
The easiest Italian meal to whip up when you want to impress someone is…
Tagliorini with slow-cooked tomato sauce.
Italy’s cuisine varies greatly across its regions – is there a particular region you’re drawn towards?
It began with Tuscany, but now includes Puglia, Sicily, Piedmont.
Does travel influence your cooking?
Yes, enormously.
Must-visit food cities include…
Rome, Paris, Marrakech, Florence and Manhattan.
Do you find cooking therapeutic?
The most therapeutic of therapies.
Advice for women thinking about starting up a business in the food or restaurant industry?
Start small in size, big in ambition.
Any Questions or Tips to add?