{"id":1016487,"date":"2026-06-10T01:12:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1016487\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T01:12:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:12:47","slug":"liverpools-riva-blu-is-leaning-into-its-italian-roots-and-scrapping-the-90-minute-table-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1016487\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool&#8217;s Riva Blu is leaning into its Italian roots and scrapping the 90 minute table rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Castle Street favourite Riva Blu is pushing back against one of modern dining\u2019s biggest frustrations by promising guests they will never be asked to give up their table at any of their restaurants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The restaurant group has launched\u00a0La Dolce Tavola,\u00a0Italian for \u201cenjoy the moment\u201d, a new summer booking option that allows diners to stay at their table for as long as they like, without additional charges or time restrictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Available from the 8th\u00a0June Sunday to Friday between 12pm and 5pm across all Riva Blu restaurants including Liverpool, Leeds and Hull, the initiative has been designed to encourage guests to embrace a more authentic long Italian lunch, where meals are social occasions to be savoured rather than squeezed into a set timeslot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move comes as many restaurant reservations across the UK are routinely capped at 90 minutes, leaving diners watching the clock rather than enjoying the moment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, guests selecting \u2018La Dolce Tavola\u2019\u00a0when booking can settle in for an extended lunch, enjoy multiple courses, linger over a bottle of wine or simply spend uninterrupted time with friends and family without worrying about being rushed out of the door.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/B_40465-scaled-e1781017670882.jpg\" alt=\"Credit: Riva Blu \/ Brazen PR\" class=\"wp-image-241618\"\/>Credit: Riva Blu \/ Brazen PR<br \/>\nToni Dennan, Group Marketing &amp; Sales Director at Individual Restaurant said:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn Italy, meals are about much more than food. They\u2019re about connection, conversation and spending quality time with the people around you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve become very good at fitting everything into a schedule in the UK, including our restaurant bookings.\u00a0La Dolce Tavola\u00a0is our way of bringing back the joy of the long lunch and encouraging people to slow down for a few hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t believe guests should be watching the clock. If you\u2019re having a great time, enjoying another glass of wine and making memories with friends and family, that\u2019s exactly what hospitality should be about.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a small change to how we take bookings, but we think it makes a big statement about the kind of experience we want to create.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/B_40495-scaled-e1781017689530.jpg\" alt=\"Credit: Riva Blu \/ Brazen PR\" class=\"wp-image-241617\"\/>Credit: Riva Blu \/ Brazen PR<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The launch reflects a growing desire among consumers for experience-led hospitality and meaningful social occasions, with diners increasingly seeking opportunities to disconnect from busy schedules and spend uninterrupted time together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In true Italian style, Riva Blu\u2019s menu keeps things classic. Focusing on quality Italian ingredients and traditional cooking techniques, Riva Blu delivers on elevating the nation\u2019s favourite Italian classics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For starters, guests can savour\u00a0Calamari with a Southern Italian twist, accompanied by courgette, red pepper, and confit garlic aioli, or\u00a0Bruschetta Pomodoro, crafted with sun-ripened tomatoes and aromatic herbs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For\u00a0secondi, traditional Italian favourites take centre stage. Indulge in a\u00a0classic lasagne\u00a0made with slow-cooked beef ragu, the spicy kick of\u00a0Penne Arrabbiata\u00a0with a rich tomato and chilli sauce, or\u00a0authentic Spaghetti Carbonaraprepared with free-range eggs, guanciale, Pecorino Romano, and finished with flat-leaf parsley.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Showstoppers include Tonno Grigliato, grilled yellow fin tuna served with Neapolitan peperonata, olives, capers and pine nuts. Catches from the sea also include whole filleted sea bass served with an indulgent pistachio butter, lemon and chives. Meaty mains include a variety of succulent steaks including a 350G grain-fed ribeye served with fries and peppercorn sauce.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Desserts include Italian classics such as tiramisu, panna cotta and affogato.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With large al fresco terraces at each location, Riva Blu\u2019s new\u00a0La Dolce Tavola\u00a0bookings are perfect for slow sunny days enjoyed with family and friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">La Dolce Tavola\u00a0is available on pre-booked tables only from 12pm \u2013 5pm Sunday \u2013 Friday, excluding bank holidays and Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n<p>Book your table via the Riva Blu <a href=\"https:\/\/rivablu.co.uk\/our-restaurants\/liverpool\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/rivablu.co.uk\/our-restaurants\/liverpool\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>.<br \/>\nFind more food &amp; drink news around Liverpool <a href=\"https:\/\/theguideliverpool.com\/category\/going-out\/food-drink\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/theguideliverpool.com\/category\/going-out\/food-drink\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Find out what\u2019s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide.\u00a0<br \/>\nFrom the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North \u2013 visit<a href=\"https:\/\/thenorthernguide.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u00a0thenorthernguide.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thenorthernguideuk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Castle Street favourite Riva Blu is pushing back against one of modern dining\u2019s biggest frustrations by promising guests&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1016488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,113485,2766,7807,393,1203,786,4884,179,281330,16,15],"class_list":["post-1016487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-liverpool","tag-britain","tag-castle-street","tag-culture","tag-dining","tag-england","tag-food","tag-food-and-drink","tag-great-britain","tag-liverpool","tag-riva-blu","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116723159585253941","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1016487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1016488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1016487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1016487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1016487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}