River Deli

Super cute pasta place near the water ! Very cute vibes and oh it's cash only!Calamari - 10/10Loved it! The sauce was amazing and fried well! Pappardelle ai Funghi - 8/10The pasta was soooo fresh and delicious. The texture was amazing. The mushrooms were also amazing ! The sauce was on the lighter side so there was not too much / heavy. I would've liked a bit more flavor or cheese but the pasta itself was just so good! Not pictured: Tiramisu ! - 9/10It was delicious!!! very filling and can be shared with two! Not too heavy and has more coffee flavor than cream !!

River Deli is restaurant located in a very nice, quiet neighborhood in Brooklyn Heights. Like most restaurants in that area, they serve Italian food.The food is not cheap, but is quite good.The ambiance is nice, casual, with indoor and outdoor seating. We ate outside one evening and had a wonderful time.The staff was friendly, accommodating and provided good service.I really don't have anything bad to say about this place except that they only accept cash. I generally try to avoid frequenting business that only accept cash. I realize there may be legitimate reasons for a business to do this but I find it is inconvenient. Otherwise, they are a good restaurant. if it were not for the cash only policy, I would give them four stars.

Spaghetti with a Side of Disappointment: A Lunch to ForgetI visited for lunch with my daughter, and overall, the experience was disappointing. The server was just okay at best. Upon noticing that the restaurant was cash-only, I was told they would accept Venmo or Zelle, which was fine.We ordered the spaghetti, asking for it without pancetta since I'm a vegetarian. The server said he'd check, and when he came back, he mentioned, "I guess they can do it, but only this one time." I replied, "That's fine, we're only here this one time."When the dish arrived, the food was good, but there were pieces of pancetta in the pasta despite my request. I politely placed them in the center of my plate once I finished.When the bill came, the server quickly moved on to the next table without much interaction. I asked if the number on the bill was the Venmo number, and he loudly announced to the other staff, "SHE'S PAYING IN VENMO," after which another staff member brought over a poorly laminated sheet for me to copy the payment details. After I paid, the server asked for confirmation of the payment and then asked where we were from. When I said "Seattle," he said nothing in response.I can't help but feel that because we were the only Black family (my daughter is 3 years old) in the restaurant, we received such poor service. The area is diverse, so I'm unsure of the reason, but it didn't feel welcoming.We were only in the area to check out the donut shop on the same block and thought we'd grab a quick lunch. We definitely won't be coming back, and I doubt we'll be missed. To any travelers who may relate to my experience, I advise spending your money elsewhere.

I'm willing to admit that maybe I just don't like Sardinian food (though that feels like a forgiving stretch) but the food here is just so....not good :( by that I don't mean it's bad, but just that it is never that great. Borders on so so. Is simply fine. And that's okay but it's made especially disappointing by how great of a space and vibe they have going on!! A great place to grab a drink & maybe (?) an appetizer, and the service is nice. Just disappointing food. But no one (neither my friends nor, by the looks of it, fellow Yelp reviewers) agrees with me, thus my original concession - maybe it's just not my taste. And jokes on me because I keep coming back. But had to get it off my chestPS the ragu is very strong on the cinnamon/orange and it's disorienting. Just FYI. Those flavor notes are not to be overlooked when ordering (this is something my friends do agree with me on, after learning the hard way not listening to me..)

River Deli is the cutest little Italian restaurant tucked away on a quiet street in Brooklyn Heights. They specialize in Sardinian cuisine. Everything was quite delicious.Sadly, our experience was tainted at the end of the meal after a rude encounter with one of the staff there. He yelled at me when I took my camera out and kicked me out of the restaurant.

food was delicious (in the moment, we'll get to that later) and service was great... I did however get food poisoning from the branzino, which I should've realized in the moment was very undercooked :(

This is the sweetest little Italian restaurant in Brooklyn heights. The ambiance is old school and homey. They dishes are my favorite part, it's dishes my grandmother would have served meals on. I got the branzino special and it was DELIGHTFUL. The fish was cooked perfectly. The capers added this salty goodness to the dish, I would've licked the plate had I been at home. My husband had the lasagna and my son had the mushroom pasta. Both of these dishes were delicious and well executed. I got the strawberry cocktail and that was beautifully done. I definitely recommend this place. A little hidden gem in the middle of the heights. Don't forget to bring cash as it is a cash only establishment.

Such a cute spot within an old deli right by the water! My friend lives in the area and had talked about how much she loves River Deli, so we came here together for dinner and I was not disappointed! All of the dishes we ordered were so tasty! They are on the smaller side when compared to general American restaurant portion sizes, but they are also not as expensive. We ordered the burrata, trofie with pesto, and spinach ravioli followed by the chocolate mousse. It was all so fresh and delicious! We ordered a bottle of wine as well. The service was a good balance of checking up on you without being overbearing, which was nice. It is cash only and they don't take reservations for tables of less than four people I believe. It's a super small establishment, so account for getting there early or waiting a bit. Overall, beautiful location, good food, and good bang for your buck!

Great neighborhood spot. Cozy ambiance, but the food has never blown me away. Service is solid.

We listened to plates crashing in the kitchen through the whole dinner. My parents came into town for my bday and we could hardly hear each other and had to yell the whole meal. Super unpleasant. And we were squished into a table up against a wall and could hardly move. Truly unpleasant experience. We live over in dumbo and I wish we had chosen one of the many nice restaurants over here. For me the food was greasy and mediocre but I suppose this depends on your taste. The staff was not super friendly. Overall very disappointing experience.