Stellar food! Ellie makes a mean a divine paper plane and Ed makes a mean margarita pizza! Always delicioussss as per

We're on LBI this week for vacation and wanted to eat at the hotel one night so we ordered a sausage pie with extra sausage and a side of meatballs. When I went to pick it up I asked for paper plates, utensils and napkins only to be informed that they don't have paper plates or to go utensils, I was handed a fistful of napkins. I asked if I was expected to pick up a meatball in my hand and eat it like an apple? Online on their website they have a designated app for takeout, if you're going to position yourselves as a takeout business you really need to invest in some paper plates and plastic utensils. What about the food? I didn't like it. We've eaten at the restaurant a couple of times, I knew I didn't like their pizza but knew I could eat it since that was what my wife wanted. in the past she has liked their pizza but not that night, she only ate one slice, I had two. And if that was extra sausage I don't want to see how sparse your usual pie is. A personal size pie $25. The meatballs to me weren't good at all, one bite and I tossed them. Two meatballs were $20...$10 a meatball, I tossed out some expensive fare! read more

There was a little bit too much cheese on the pizza but good a little less and perfect the service was great the and the ambiance was great

The pizza was too cheesy. It would be better with less cheese. The service was great. The ambiance was chill. The cheese was the only problem. read more

This employee is rude, so don't bother with the hassle. He will tell you no modification, even if you have an allergy. Fine you order something else, and he'll play games and then get his panties in a bunch and create a ridiculous environment and then tell you are the problem and leave. The owner is nice, but he should hire someone else. The food is mediocre anyway! Inedible dry tuna. read more

La Riva - This employee is extremely rude! If you don't want a hassle don't bother! The food is mediocre anyway! - Pizza Near Me - Barnegat Light, New Jersey

Our second home is in Harvey Cedars and this was our first time trying this restaurant. During the summer, we dine out several times a week and we certainly don't mind paying for a great meal on the island. This food was overpriced and inedible . The entrees that you would expect to be a solid choice are AWFUL! We ordered tomato salad, veal piccata, roasted chicken, and chicken marsala. The chicken marsala had a very overwhelming thyme flavor and tasted nothing like chicken marsala on top of the fact that the chicken was very tough. The entrées were very overpriced and did not come with any sides and had an awful overcooked stem filled veggie underneath, which did not resemble broccoli Rabe or spinach. The veal piccata tasted like a watered down beef broth and for this price I would expect to get a little pasta or potatoes on the dish. We paid 30+ dollars for roasted chicken, which was served with nothing and would have tasted better if we had bought a rotisserie chicken from a local grocery store. The one thing we actually liked was the tomato in the tomato salad, although there were only four small tomato slices in a good pesto sauce and we could bought 10 summer tomatoes for the same price. I have not tried the pizza, but I can get that anywhere. Zero out of Five, please do better! read more

Amazing service fantastic food great prices This restaurant offers menu options for old Young dietary restrictions. It's just it's the total package on the north end of the island. read more

Great setting serving Neapolitan pizza. Decent bar serving wine and crafty cocktails. Attentive service. read more

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"I'm stuffed from bad pizza" The ambiance was great- low light, good tunes, these folks really know how to set the mood. Waitstaff was friendly and professionals. Bartenders were great! Very generous with their pours. Ahh, but the pizza tho.. so thick and doughy. it felt like a battle with each bite. Almost as if I was eating raw bread dough rather than a pizza crust. We ordered a house salad and 3 pizzas to-go: A margarita, sweet sausage, and white. The margarita was a glorified cheese pizza but with less cheese for $2 more. The first bite was delicious, but the rest tasted like cardboard. The sweet sausage was a bit better, but still not great. Upon sinking my teeth into it, I was disappointed then greeted with a very sweet aftertaste. The white pizza was much better- lots of flavor between the balsamic and prosciutto. Overall, these pizzas may not have tasted great but their presentation was stellar! Can't forget to mention that the house salad was delightful, by far the best part of our meal! read more

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Our server was attentive and caring. However our pizzas lacked flavor and were not a good value. The restaurant was very noisy

Always have a nice time here. Bartenders are friendly and the food tastes great and is reasonably priced. The place has a nice vibe when the doors are open! read more

Food is great here. Service is a bit slow, and the ambiance is loud during the busy hours, due to all of the garage doors being closed.

Our experience with La Riva was average at best, but it was the first week it was open, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and will update my review at a later point once I've tried them again. POSITIVE: great location, great vibe inside, waite staff super friendly & attentive NEGATIVE: food/ pizzas were somewhat bland. No flavors that you would crave again. Prices for a personal wood-fired pizza are SUPER expensive - average $20+ per pizza The family that owns & runs La Rive also owns & runs Daymark right next door (which is very successful), so I'm sure that once they get up and fully running La Riva will only get better with time. read more

First Impressions: Hadn't tried La Riva yet so we visited with a Resy reservation in mid-September 2024. Same owner-operators as The Arlington in Ship Bottom and Daymark right next door. When we arrived, our table wasn't quite ready so we ordered cocktails at the bar while we waited (less than 10 minutes). There were plenty of seats at the bar. Once we were seated we continued reviewing the menu and ordered two Caesar salads and two pizzas (Sweet Sausage and Jersey Peach) to share between the 3 of us. Atmosphere: This place is -LOUD-. God help you if there are a lot of kids. If you want to have a substantive conversation with your dining companions, go elsewhere. It was just so loud - they need to invest in sound deadening panels in the ceiling. The tile floors probably don't help either. Otherwise, the place is sleek, clean, and modern, with a big statement pizza oven in the back and large garage doors it looks like they open up when the weather is just right. Menu: While the focus of this place is clearly pizza, they could do with adding a couple more salad options (currently only Arugula and Caesar), appetizers, entrees, and desserts. They did have a couple of specials when we visited, including a steak option. They offer what appeared to be a full bar, with cocktails, a Spritz menu, and a variety of wines....all on tap except for the bottled sparkling (read: likely coming from a box/sack). I had their still rose and it was good, though. Nice and dry. The ice cream/sorbet/gelato they had on offer for dessert was $10 a portion - kind of a rip off (even for LBI) - we hit Rita's afterward instead. Food we Ordered: The salads were super basic for $14 a piece. I could make the same or better with ingredients from Aldi. To be fair, Caesar isn't super complex but at least make your own dressing in house and upgrade to a higher quality Parmesan. Come on now. But, the pizzas were quite good. Sweet sausage pizza was well-topped and cooked pretty much just right. The Jersey Peach had a very nice flavor profile but, due to the peach slices and balsamic glaze, came out soggy in the center. Would order well done next time. Verdict: Not scrambling to come back, but it's nice to have another dine out option on the north end of the island that isn't near-fine dining a la Black Eyes Susans. read more

Delicious food! We had The tomato's and ramps appetizer, the house salad, and the Sweet sausage pizza and the clams & garlic white pizza and we shared the Ricotta Gundi. All great! Yum! Service was awesome and the Ambiance on point, I will definitely go back. read more

La Riva - House salad - Pizza Near Me - Barnegat Light, New Jersey

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Third visit and still mixed reviews This time our service was fantastic by the staff. Much improved from last year I was surprised at the cocktail list and it's super heavy focus on bitter flavored ingredients. There was almost no cocktail I could have that wasn't bitter forward. I was surprised they didn't have more variety for those with different taste profiles Our salads were delicious and besides the gelato was the best thing we ate. My chicken was good. Good portion and well cooked but I was surprised there were no sides or options to buy sides Al la cart. My moms fish was also good. There was a pasta dish last year that was amazing but it's not there this year which was disappointing. We will be back I'm sure at some point because there are only a few options on the north end but there's definitely room for improvement read more

We have been in Barnegat Light all summer and have enjoyed La Riva 4 or 5 times. The food is good (not excellent) but the service and ambience has been great for what we have been looking for. We'll be back again soon! read more

Do not waste your time or money here. The service and food are awful! We ordered the heirloom tomato salad and got a sliced beefsteak tomato. The pizza, meatball and pasta were mediocre at best. The waitress never came over to check on us or to refill our water or ask if we needed another drink. It's as bad as the reviews or worse. read more

La Riva - Heirloom tomato salad - Pizza Near Me - Barnegat Light, New Jersey

Guys this is aplace to come kick back and relax while eating the best pizza in town. They have open window fresh air close to the Ocean. Full bar for your favorite drinks. Bring the family and enjoy. read more

A friend recommended La Riva. We were really excited to try it, but were a bit disappointed, as the service left a lot to be desired and the ambience could be best described as chaotic. Not surprisingly, the staff was quite young and inexperienced. (My husband said, "Everyone who works here looks like they're 12." He was not wrong.) When we walked in, there were multiple incidents of staff dropping and breaking plates and glasses, which was a bit unnerving. We'd called the restaurant to ask if there were any tables before 7:45 (per RESY), and were promised a table. It seems as if the hostess misspoke, so we were seated at the bar, which was fine. The bartender was slammed--there should have been two bartenders for that shift--and it took a long time to greet us, give us menus, take our drink orders, and even wipe down the counter. She did not offer us water. When we paid the check, she muttered under her breath, "Doing the best I can." (She was.) Having once worked in the service industry myself, I know this was not the bartender's fault. It's a management issue. They need to do a better job of staffing and training. That being said, it's a very cute spot, next to Daymark, with a serious pizza oven. We shared two of the 12" Neapolitan-style pizzas, the Margherita ($20) and the Sweet Sausage ($21), and they were tasty. So much promise, but a very disappointing experience. I am rooting for La Riva to up its game! read more

So, so disappointing! I watched as this restaurant was built and was excited that LBI would have a good Neapolitan, wood fired pizza joint. I wanted this to be great. So, I finally went and now know I will probably never return. I am also a lot less likely to visit their other restaurants on the island, Daymark and the Arlington because my experience was that bad. My wife and I ordered a cocktail - both excellent - and waited for the first of 2 pizzas we ordered. We asked that they hold putting the second one in until we had the first. The first was a butternut squash pie. When it came, it was burnt, and badly. I know exactly what a properly cooked Neapolitan pie should look like including some blisters and black spots on the bottom. I like that. I crave that. I know the standard. This pie was cooked by an amateur that put it into a 900 degree oven and did not tend it. These Pies cook in 90 seconds. They need to be watched and turned. When the bottom is done, if the top isn't, you 'dome' the pie and raise it on the peel up in the oven where it is 1100 degrees and the cheese and toppings immediately finish. Take it out and serve. A competent pizzaiola knows this. Our pizza was entirely black on the bottom and virtually the whole crust was blistered too much and too black. We told the waiter, Brandon, who could not have been nicer, that the pie was burnt and he apologized and said they would remake it. This is when everything goes south. The hostess, Courtney, returns with the pizza to tell me various excuses about why I am wrong and how this pizza is perfect. "That's how we do it", "It's the type of pizza, you don't understand", "It's our dough", blah blah blah. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of the pizza but I did not expect this to be an issue. Courtney was rude, unapologetic, combative and generally an ass. What started as polite, constructive criticism ended with me probably too loudly asserting "It's F***ing Burnt!" We decided to pass on the butternut squash remake and asked that the second pie, Sausage, and broccoli rabe, be cooked better and gave them a second chance. Well, it was slightly less burnt but still burnt. The broccoli rabe was under cooked. I wish I could comment on the flavors of the toppings but everything was overwhelmed by the burnt crust. The owners invested in everything to do this perfectly and are forgetting 2 simple things. You need a competent cook and you need to understand customer service. Without changes, this restaurant is doomed. Finally, I noticed that Courtney also works at Daymark where I have never had a problem with service but her attitude at La Riva was appalling and is impacting my impression of them now as well. The cocktail and Brandon are the reason for any star. Courtney and the pizza explain the lack of any others. Go to Brazzi on 72 instead. read more

I thought the pizza was awesome. The white pie with prosciutto and arugula was the best followed by the pepperoni and hot honey. We made a reservation for 5 pm and got served quickly. We got meatballs for our young kid right away. The place filled up quickly after we were seated. The staff was really nice. I don't know why there were bad reviews before, but I guess the place improved. I'm going back for sure. read more

We had takeout pizza for out group. Last year when we ordered here we thought the pizza was great. This year the group of 6 were all disappointed. We ordered Margherita, Pepperoni, Sweet Sausage and White pizzas. Margherita had almost no basil, same with the sweet sausage. The Pepperoni was good and I didn't try the White. Last time we ordered, the crust was crisp, this time it was not. For the price they charge, they should do WAY better. read more

My wife and I gave La Riva a try tonight. The atmosphere was very loud. To the point that my Apple Watch gave me a loud decibel warning. Some sound baffling would help. It was packed. We had been traveling all day and weren't particularly hungry. We decided to share the rigatoni and their basic 12" pizza. The rigatoni arrived quickly and looked delicious with bubbling cheese. Looks can be deceiving. It had almost no flavor. We would have added salt and pepper to liven it up, but there was none on any of the tables. It needed oregano, basil, fennel, something to give it some flavor. We then waited for the pizza. And waited. We ordered the basic one and it appeared that they brought the next model up. It had fresh basil on it. We saw basic pizzas going out so we knew this must've been a mistake. No, we didn't send it back, but should have. We didn't want to wait again for the correct pizza. Again, it looked great. But the pizza was poorly cut. We had to pretty much tear it apart. It coulda been cooked a few more minutes, the crust was a little undercooked which may have also been the reason the cut didn't succeed. Again it, like the rigatoni, it was pretty bland. Most of the flavor came from the basil. We think the issue with both dishes is the sauce. It tastes like sauce straight out of can. We did not have drinks but they looked good, coming from the full bar. Other diners seemed to be enjoying their meals, so it's possible we just hit two off dishes. It happens in a restaurant. I doubt we will be back. read more

The pizza just isn't good. It's that simple. I was there with a few friends and everyone thought their pizza lacked flavor. If I can say something positive the space is cool and the bathrooms were clean which I appreciated. read more

Being from North Jersey, I believe I know pizza. This was one of the more disappointing pizza experiences I've had...especially considering I spent $40 on 2 pies. First, the pizza was very doughy...like my jaw is tired after eating it. Second, more than 50% of the slice was "crust." And I'm not even criticizing the amount of toppings from a value perspective...just that much crust, especially when it's overly doughy, makes for a bad pie. I should have known better getting a pizza in South Jersey and expecting it to be good...but I wanted to support a local business. Sadly, I won't be going back because the restaurant inside has great ambiance. read more

Service was fine, the food was abysmal. Caesar salad was tasteless. Poor quality cheese, Caesar dressing tasteless. No anchovies available- in NJ - in a pizza place in NJ. Clam pizza with canned clams. Again in Barnegat Light where Fred clams are practically jumping out of the water. Meager toppings on small 12" dough. Noise level is deafening especially since the place was nearly empty. Incredibly disappointing all around. read more

We've been in Barnegat light for 30 years and we're so excited that there was another option for dining especially a Pizzeria! I cannot tell you how utterly disappointed we were. Ambiance is wonderful and our waitress was extremely sweet but my goodness...the pizza was unbelievable tasteless and expensive!. We ordered two small pies, $21 each, one happy hour red wine, $6, that was cold and came from a keg and two happy hour beers $5 each. For almost $75 (20% tip), we walked out and said to each other "should have went to Daymark". The pizza sauce and toppings were bland and the crust was wimpy. They only cook the pizza for 90 seconds. We only ate half of our pies. Felt like I ate a dough ball. I am really hoping that the owners step up their game and improve the quality of their pizzas and other menu options. I'm sorry but we will not be back. read more

I ordered the white pie for dinner tonight. It arrived at the table burnt to black on the bottom and edges. I should have sent it back, but I thought I could eat around the incinerated pieces. Bottom line, the whole pie tasted burnt. When I showed it to the server, who was delightful, she said she was going to show all the burnt crust to the pizza chef. No response. Very disappointing. We will not be going back. read more

Quick service. Reasonably priced. They gave us an extra kids pizza when our initial order fell off the pizza pedestal.

We walked over from the White Whale Motel on 7th street last night; there were 4 of us. We ordered a few appetizers: the baked rigaton, fusilli bolognese, mozzarella, two orders of nanna's meatballs and a margherita pizza. The check was $104 with soft drinks. We each had some of each dish and everything was excellent. This is not your standard corner pizzeria where you would go to buy a few pies to feed an army of kids. It is a quality restaurant for people who appreciate good Italian food. I already have a craving to go back; maybe lunch today. read more

La Riva has great ambiance, with a great cocktail selection and mostly pizza menu. Food is pricy and just ok taste. I'll probably go back, but I'm not running. read more

I hope this place improves. Here are a number of kinks they have to work out. We arrived with wine a few days after they received their liquor license so no more BYOB. The heirloom tomato salad was great. The calamari sauce was great but the calamari was not. The baked ziti lacked flavor. The clam pizza also was bland. I ordered an extra sauce for the Margarita pizza and after asking for again when the pizza arrived they brought out a bowl of cold sauce! It tasted like it came out if a jar. read more

Had high hopes, but fell short of my expectations. I was looking for a good Italian restaurant in regards to takeout and I drove past La Riva last week before I decided to order from here. I saw the reviews and hoped they were wrong, but sure enough they are about spot on. I'll start with the good, the half chicken was amazing and very juicy moist and charred, they did an excellent job with that. Unfortunately, the one thing they needed to get rig, pizza, they failed completely. It looks like I was making pizza in my backyard pizza oven and I'm clearly not the best at it, pizza was underdone, not crispy, very dougy and covered in extra flour, my son wouldn't even eat his kids pie. Very disappointing for $18 and we are walking around barnegat light in search of other dinner options since the pizza was a no go. I got one of the specialty pies and my feedback is exactly the same. Not sure how they wen through all the trouble to acquire a fancy pizza oven but no idea how to use it. Won't be ordering from here again, especially the inflated prices. Can get better pizza from a place in Harvey Cedars that will remain unnamed. read more

They've come a long way since opening up! Definitely found their groove now. Appetizers (tuna, scallops, fresh mutz), dinners (bronzino, steaks, pasta) are personal favorites. Pizza is also a hit with our crew. Negroni is stellar. Bar is fantastic. Just around the block from the lighthouse. read more

Four of us went to La Riva at Barnegat Light tonight and loved it. We were so excited to find this restaurant. We use to go to an Italian place like this when we lived in DC. We had great service, everything we ordered was delicious, and left saying we will definitely return. Great addition to dining out since moving here. read more

The pizzas are good here. Smaller pizza only 12 inches just fyi if ur super hungry. We tried the clam pizza, wasnt anything I would order again, but in glad I tried it. Basically a white pizza with clams on it. Ive heard complaints about a burnt bottom. Didn't have that issue. Friendly staff. Food came out timely. The kids loved the regular cheese pie. We also ordered the mozzarella appetizer, the prosciutto and the pork ragu. Only complaint is that they don't have any bread. I like a side of buttery carb with my carb lol. It would have been nice to put the mozzarella on a crostini or something. Also, it can get super loud! The acoustics are bad. Otherwise a good kid friendly place to go. Very cute inside. Nice ambiance. read more

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The drink selection was 2 beers ( only one in stock ) and boxed wine. The sausage pizza (12" for $20) was good. The clam pizza (same ) was a soggy crust. Should have been cooked first, then added the topping. The appetizer (calamari) was delicious on the 'shared plate' section. The service and ambiance was wonderful. Our server was very knowledgeable and very friendly, and very professional. read more

The pizza was delicious! I loved the adorable ambiance with wines on tap. The service was wonderful, especially for being on an island. I recommend this place to anyone. read more

Pizza has improved since last year but still not what it should be. Service at bar was good. Ambiance would be great - interior architecture is great - if quality of food improved. read more