Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar, Manchester is a italian restaurant in Ancoats, Manchester. Rated 4.6 stars from 3123 Google reviews. Known for welcoming staff and lasagne and arancini. Best for celebration dinners and casual returns.
Rankings updated
Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar, Manchester
| Rating | 4.6★ |
| Reviews | 3,123 |
| Best for | Celebration dinners |
Quick Verdict
Riva Blu delivers homemade-yet-refined Italian cooking and the kind of staff attention that transforms an ordinary meal into something you'll return for.
You want Italian classics cooked with precision and staff who remember what you ordered last time.
About Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar, Manchester
Ancoats has no shortage of Italian restaurants, but few earn the kind of repeat loyalty Riva Blu does. The cooking tastes genuinely homemade — the lasagne leads the menu by some distance, with the arancini and seafood linguine close behind, and the pistachio tiramisu the reason many people order dessert when they had no intention of doing so. What keeps people coming back, though, is the service: Frank and Aniello are mentioned by name across review after review, and Simona has her own following. Staff here adapt to the table — when one group asked for an alfredo and were told it isn't Italian, the kitchen made it anyway, cooked to their preference.
What Stands Out
Welcoming staff
Frank, Aniello and Simona are named repeatedly for attentiveness, warmth and knowledge; one guest noted the kitchen adapted a non-Italian dish to perfection when asked.
Lasagne and arancini
These two dishes appear most frequently in Google's review topics (30 and 18 mentions respectively) and are consistently praised as homemade yet refined.
Atmosphere for any occasion
Recent reviews describe it as equally suited to graduation celebrations and casual returns, with a balance between classy and welcoming.
Practical Information
Contact
The Corn Exchange, 11 Corn Exchange, Manchester M4 3TR, United Kingdom
+44 161 827 4200Visit WebsiteView MenuFrequently Asked Questions about Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar, Manchester
Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar in Ancoats has hosted graduation celebrations where the tiramisu alone made the meal unforgettable, and Bellinis anchored the bar. Staff including Frank and Aniello are consistently praised for the kind of attentiveness that makes milestone dinners feel special.
Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar serves lasagne, arancini, seafood linguine, and sea bass that reviewers describe as homemade yet refined. The tiramisu has made first Italian meals unforgettable, and the kitchen will adapt classics—one recent guest requested alfredo and it arrived cooked to perfection.
Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar's staff, including Frank, Aniello and Simona, are named repeatedly for warmth and attentiveness. One recent guest noted the kitchen adapted a dish to their preference without hesitation, and staff catch what you need before you ask.
Riva Blu Italian Restaurant & Bar in Ancoats strikes a balance between classy and welcoming, making it equally suited to solo returns and celebration dinners. Recent reviews describe the atmosphere as one where a solo Tuesday feels like a first-class occasion.
Also in Ancoats
View allSee the full Ancoats ranking
How We Rank Venues
Rankings are recalculated monthly from live Google Business Profile data. Our Hot Score weighs review velocity (new text reviews), baseline rating, and Google Business Profile completeness. No editorial picks, no paid placements — just what the data says this month.
Hot Score: 62/100 · ranked October 2026
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