Greg L.
Yelp
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.