Elio, Desireè, Michelle and Fabienne Marsiglia curate the cooking of their Riviera restaurant as if it was the kitchen in their own home. “Every day we have lunch and dinner in our restaurant to test our cucina. The secret to offering good food is to be critical of yourself,” observed Elio. He has thirty years of successful experiences in the world of restaurants. The experience of being a guest at Riviera, which also offers clients its small boutique hotel, begins with the extra-virgin Ligurian olive oil made from fruit harvested by hand in the family groves on the Ligurian coast. You can sample it on raw vegetables such as fennel and radishes, or tasted it on bruschetta. Traditional Mediterranean first courses are well made and perfectly presented, including excellent seafood and flavorful fish that would seem impossible to find elsewhere in this unglamorous corner of German-speaking Switzerland.
The experience is framed by the atmosphere of the restaurant - elegant by not luxurious, with modern lines enlivened by nostalgic touches such as authentic Lambrettas and Vespas. The view is over the isthmus of of Lake Thun framed by the romantic mountains of the Berne Oberland. Even the piazza is well-made, thanks, above all, to the use of top-quality ingredients.
Among the dishes, Gragnano spaghetti from Gerardo di Nola stands out, served with clams and rapini puree. The delicate cream of the greens has been blended with the broth from the open clams, which entirely maintain their incredible sapidity. The wine list reveals great competence with unusual choices demonstrating scrupulous research, something rare in a restaurant that seats large numbers, especially in the summer. This is an eating experience that is particularly unusual in a small town with a population of little over 10,000 people. The wines list includes bottles from France, Switzerland and Germany as well as many Italian labels that are shown with their Gambero Rosso ratings.
Seestrasse 67 | Spiez | Switzerland | tel. +41 33 650 91 91 | www.riviera-spiez.ch
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