Riverlife in Edinburgh, City of

Food was good value for the price but let down by lack of decor and lack of drinks available. Wouldn’t go back.

Great food. Attentive service. Wonderful atmosphere. Highly recommended!

What a great find! Lovely and welcoming and the Caribbean food was delicious. My husband and I both had the mutton curry with plantain. The meat was so tender and the spices were blended really well to make this a really tasty meal. We had cocktails too which were very nice. Dominic who served was very attentive and Mario the Chef came out to see us later on in the evening. After our meal Dominic played guitar and we all joined in the singing. Great atmosphere. I hope we manage to go back again soon in the not too distant future.

Amazing food, with plenty of options to suit all dietary requirements. Allergens were listed on the menu, not a little sheet kept behind the counter like many other places, which was brilliant. Lovely staff, and a great atmosphere.

Great little restaurant with everything Caribbean - tasty food, delicious cocktails and a really great host. Tuesday 18 July 2023

Great food, very reasonable price especially for the 2-course set menu deal, very friendly service

Always a pleasure to dine here, with the most beautiful mutton dishes and good selection of wines.

Blew my expectations, authentic flavours, very tasty and great prices! Really enjoyed my takeaway especially the Mac and cheese and oxtail! It’s been two years and the food and service has gotten worse. The second and third time we ordered the potions were small and food was burnt.

Authentic 5 star French Carribbean cuisine in an atmosphere that is true to the Islands of the Carribbean. One in our group had the best jerk pork ribs of his life. Other dinners were equally amazing. By the time we left we felt we were lifetime friends with the truly talented chef and the manager. This is a deceptively unpretentious place with 5 star service in all respects. Great drinks too. Definitely a hidden treasure.

First time here and what a find. Menu was superb and the Coconut and Almond White Fish was excellent. Liked the different menu options, giving 2 of 3 course options. Was there on a Thursday evening ant it was quiet, WHY, this place is absolutely superb

A complete chance find due to missing a bus, but I have never been happier to miss a bus with hindsight! I can't stress enough how good this place was. The food was absolutely incredible at such good value, and the staff were incredibly friendly!

Everything we had was well cooked and tasted good. I wish they did a tapas style menu so I could try a few of the dishes at once. Lots of things I'd never heard of so was hard to choose which one to sample! Lunch menu looks great value for money (we were there for dinner)

My partner had booked us a table for the evening at Riverlife because he knew that I was missing having readily available Caribbean food and I am so glad that he did. I had the Lentil Broth and the Fried Plantain and my food was delicious. The music that was playing was impossible not to move to a little in your seat (at a volume that was quiet enough to allow you to actually carry on a conversation!) and the server was delightful. Friendly conversation and service, good music, and tasty food. What more could you want? Thank you, Riverlife!

Great staff and food - don’t miss this restaurant!!

Beautiful meal, nice ambience, and the staff are amazzzzing. Recommend to all. Thanks for a lovely experience, Craig and Ania

Sparkling clean glasses and attentive service. Authentic jerk chicken was delicious and not too spicy. Tender meat which was fall-off-the-bone. King prawn started is not to be missed!

The food was so so nice. The best goat curry I've ever had.. This is definitely a restaurant to go to. Enjoy the food and a ginger monkey cocktail., 😋

Had a lovely dinner for the start of the new year and the spice on the jerk chicken was spot on!

WOW! Some of the very best food I've had in Edinburgh- beautifully prepared. Excellent service, lovely ambiance, good music. This is a gourmet delight. Every one of our three courses was such a treat. Unusual dishes and flavours all perfectly combined. Loved it! Ten stars!

RiveRLife has some of the tastiest food in Edinburgh and it is very reasonably priced. Staff are always super friendly too.

First time visited Riverlife and had a lovely meal, it was amazing to finally eat something unique and aunthentic! Staff were friendly and polite, good service overall! Highly recommended and will definitely return for more delicious food!

Interesting and fantastic food. Great service.

Really enjoyed our visit. Very nice food and the guys working here / cooking were really friendly. Would defo return if back in Edinburgh!

Always very pleasant experience. Unique cuisine.

Super friendly staff, fast service, the best mutton curry I’ve had in a long time, but the highlight for me were the jerk chicken wings. Superb! Will definitely be back again soon 🤩

Went for the evening set menu on a Friday - service was great and food was amazing!

I really wanted this to be better than it was. The prices are too high for what it is and the food is lacking in flavour. I was looking forward to a good goat curry (for £20) and was disappointed by the flavour and the portion size.

After years of walking past this place an being intrigued I made thr decision to finally try it and I was not disappointed. The food was fantastic, I've not had anything like it before in Edinburgh in terms of the Caribbean flavours. The chef and waitress were both really pleasant as well. The set menu was fantastic value as well do I will for sure be going back!

Gorgeous, authentic French-Caribbean cuisine which packs a punch! Between us we sampled four main dishes and really enjoyed them - we finished all of them. Our favourites were the duck and the ox tail ragu - the latter truly blew us away. Must try! Overall it was a very pleasant dining experience, the vibes were cosy and took you somewhere remote and warm from Scotland- you could almost hear the sound of waves splashing on a sandy Caribbean beach if you are imaginative like me!

4 of us were visiting Edinburgh, from across Scotland, we wer staying in Haymarket area and had tried this place based on reviews. We were not disappointed. Laid back, chilled out atmosphere with excellent, friendly service. Food was excellent.

Been eating Caribbean food all my life and this is not authentic. Anyone who put five stars must be tripping, the rice and peas is not rice and peas plus the jerk chicken is watery and the curry tastes like a bland Chinese microwave meal i could smell and taste that it wasn’t fresh… waste of money

Lovely place, friendly staff, delicious and wholesome food, tasty cocktails, good tunes. Would go again and will recommend to friends.

Maybe we were spoilt with the amount of Caribbean restaurants in London/down south but this one is OK Their cocktails were lovely. The rice and peas were OK and jerk chicken was good so would recommend to go for that. The plantain sadly was a total fail, It had completely soaked up the oil so the oil must not have been hot enough or it was just deep fried in one. I prefer to cut and press when I make it and that's usually the norm in restaurants too. The chicken wings were nice but not really Caribbean just nicely seasoned.

Great French-Caribbean cuisine - everything we tried was good. I had the rabbit, and others in my group tried the jackfruit plate, the jerk chicken, and the ox cheeks, plus appetizers of the ribs, wings, and okra. It was all incredibly good - I think the rabbit was the least dazzling of the dishes I tasted, but that's more in the way of a compliment to the overall high quality of the food. If you're wondering if you should eat here, the answer is yes.

Lovely food at reasonable prices, what it lacks in decor makes up for good food.

Ordered a takeaway for 2 people and I have to say I was some what disappointed you say the least… food wasn’t really packed well (especially the ribs which were supposed to be chicken wings but they got the order wrong!). The ribs were covered in a sauce which wasn’t good and they smelt of cardboard wrapping from the bags they came in (they were all stuck to the sides!). Chicken Colombo hardly tasted of coconut at all… tasted and looked pretty below average. However the Caribbean coconut chicken was nice with good flavour along with the rice which was good too. However it was very overpriced in my opinion £45. Maybe the restaurant would be better to visit to experience it properly but after this takeaway someone else would need to invite me and pay..

Muy buena comida y excelente servicio. Manejan un menú del día y otro a la carta, con bastante rotación de platillos. La cocina en general tiene más elementos franceses que caribeños pero igual es bastante alejada de los clichés.

The food was amazing, and the prices were reasonable enough in my opinion. The atmosphere was relaxed and staff was friendly, although they felt a little unfocused (which I think added to the laid back atmosphere, but I thought it to be of note in a review). I would absolutely revisit this restaurant!

Would HIGHLY recommend this wonderful place! Atmosphere and staff are amazing! It was my husbands birthday and I had a cake delivered and the staff were so helpful and accommodating! They were so busy but all came together to sing happy birthday! You guys are awesome! And the food is amazing! Felt I was back in jamaica! Everyone I highly recommend this place! Dont listen to any other review! What else do you need? Good food and amazing people! This place has it!

Visited them on a whim. So glad I did. I normally struggle with spicy food, but their Chicken Colombo was perfect. Hope to visit again soon.

Gorgeous food and friendly staff, relaxed and genuine vibe. The spiced ribs and columbo chicken I had were delicious. Beautifully spiced. Will definitely be back. A real gem, there's nowhere else in Edinburgh that does Caribbean/French influenced food this well.

Evening visit, friendly lad serving and tasty food. The Ribs were excellent with lots of flavour and the Jerk chicken main was also very good. Finished of with a refreshing Ice cream and caramelised pineapple.

Great food. I have missed food like this and it hit the spot!

Stopped in for dinner while in Edinburg. Great food and prices

Gorgeous, flavourful food and friendly staff, we really enjoyed the entire experience!! Would totally recommend it.

We have it on our list of favourites never disappoints good service and pipping hot food a pleasure as always

Had a wonderful meal at River Life. Love the French/Carribean influence. Soup was just lovely. My fish and sauce were delicious and the vegetables were cooked perfectly. The cocktails were most enjoyable and the service was excellent. Highly recommend.

This used to be my favourite restaurant. It seems that the chef has lost his passion. The vegetables on the side used to be well presented and tasted great, now they are just steamed and bland. The chips were terrible, the meat was lacking flavour. The service although friendly was very poor. Unfortunately we won't be back.

Great food and amazing cocktails

Piping hot food served on piping hot plates meant that for once I could slow down and savour each bite of the beautifully prepared food. Had the fish with almonds and creamy coconut sauce. Cooked to perfection. As were the vegetables, cooked French style in their own juices with butter. My family enjoyed the chicken dishes and desserts. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The restaurant now serves alcohol so no longer need to bring your own. Thank you again for an excellent experience 😘

Absolutely fabulous food, arrived hot and delicious. Can’t recommend highly enough. Great flavour balance

Interesting Caribbean orientated menu, some lovely flavours going on, friendly staff too

Not the best unfortunately. The service was polite but slow and inattentive. The food was a mixed bag, delicious spicing but rather tough meat

A real find with a nice choice on the Menu. Everyone enjoyed their meals, just mains and sweets, we cleared every plate. Service was charming and first class.

Had a delicious meal at riveRLife at the weekend. Excellent menu with French Caribbean influence and prices very good with a £24.95 for 3 Courses menu as well as a la carte. The Oxtail Ragout and Mutton Curry was delicious! Note that the oxtail ragout is served on the bone and you need to flake the meat out. I saw one table a bit put off by this chunk of...Oxtail! It's delicious and worth the effort! Service was a bit flaky and there were a couple small mistakes made with our order but this appeared down to staffing issues and staff that were there tried to keep on top of it. The owner came around and did her best too so I'll be happy to go back and try to get this moved up to a 5 Star review.

Tasty food, kind staff and well spaced tables. Highly recommend.

Nice relaxed place with a good varied menu. The Mutton Curry was well worth the supplement my wife loved the Chickpea Colombo and the cheesecake.

Lovely food, big portions, real Caribbean flavours. We visited for lunch on the day of the England-Scotland rugby match just up the road at Murrayfield and the restaurant was packed. This meant service was a bit slow but the food was delicious. Recommend the chicken colombo: pieces of chicken on the bone in a mild spicy sauce. Fantastic cocktails, too.

Riverlife is just a bit different to other restaurants in Edinburgh - the food is outstanding and the cocktails are extremely drinkable, but overall it has its own unique vibe. Sure, it's maybe a little rough around the edges, but that's part of its charm. On a cold Edinburgh winter night, it felt like a short break in the Caribbean. We loved it.

My wife and I had a wonderful meal and loved the relaxed atmosphere. Considering what a tough time restaurants have had it was nice to be served by smiling and happy staff once more

The food here was distinctly average and completely overpriced for what it was. Canteen like atmosphere with some home cooked food using the cheapest cuts of meat and poultry. We got 5 wings for £8.75, 4 prawns for £10.95, my main was the chicken Colombo, advertised as a coconut curry with pineapple but was more like Chinese curry, made with chicken drumsticks, no pineapple, no coconut for £18.95. The service was amateur but quick and friendly. Overall due to the highly inflated prices unfortunately I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, for these price I would expect a lot more..

Excellent authentic food, friendly service, nothing too much trouble, not rushed, all round a very relaxed ambiance. Definitely a must when in Edinburgh.

A class French Caribbean Restuarant. Food is divine and homely....and portion size is worth every penny... amazing food evrytime...!

Very tasty food and friendly staff. Will be back.

Really fun place. Cracking service and absolutely wonderful food. Different and interesting in the right ways.

This was genuinely the nicest food we’ve ever eaten. The staff were so pure. Would definitely recommend❤️

Lovely food. Nice relaxed atmosphere, very pleasant staff. Recommended.

Tasty food and great service. Will be back.

Very friendly staff, amazing food!

We went last night, the food and service was amazing. Would recommend.

Great food and service, we will be back.

Amazing service, food was delicious! Our server was really nice and welcoming, this restaurant should be packed because it had a cool vibe and great music. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for something different from the standard food you get in the UK.

Great food. service brilliant. Cocktails very good.

Lovely food, wonderful service and friendly staff. Will, who served us today is an absolute gem! Atmosphere and the vibe are just perfect! Highly recommend!

Food was absolutely amazing 👏 Service was spot on as well

Had a great meal here, service was excellent and food was very nice, good sized portions and flavourful. They have BYOB but they also have a large selection of drinks with good looking cocktails. Overall great value and lovely experience.

Overgrown untidy pond was green overall a terrible image

Great food, good size portions, friendly staff and good value, can't really ask for more!

Amazing visit! Cannot compliment the food enough, we went for a two course deal and absolutely loved all of our dishes. Veggie options that are delicious and massive portions! Staff were fab, loved our waiter and the cook, super attentive and friendly. Definitely coming back again for more :) HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Fantastic food and great service. Well worth a visit to try a taste of the Caribbean.

Great food and great service, definitely would recommend

Delicious food and great service

Excellent food, spiced to the perfection with amazing flavours and top service ☺️

Great food. Only issue was that website offered BYOB but wasn't available when we turned up

Fabulous food fresh cooked and full of flavour - a definite must !!!

Just had an amazing meal, service and food great. Had jerk chicken and a oate starter and chicken columbo and braised beef mains. Not be put off by basic decor the food is a Maz ing

This is an excellent creole restaurant. The food is perfectly spiced and cooked. Highly recommended

My first restaurant experience since Covid lockdown, and it was a good choice, the food was delicious. I have been here before, the food is always good quality and authentic Caribbean, and the service friendly. It was a pleasure coming here and I thoroughly recommend.

Best Caribenian restaurant in Britain. Delicious food, staff helpful and good recommendations. I'll be back soon

Very nice food. Friendly staff and nice main course. Cheese cake awesome

Food is just outstanding and portion are generous. Ordering from Riverlife regularly, highly recommend their Oxtail and Colombo. My kids love their chicken and fries.

Beautiful flavours, excellent portions.

We had a take-away once before during lockdown from the same restaurant. On that occasion, we enjoyed their Nigerian sharing platter, but since it's not currently on the menu, we took the opportunity to sample the Caribbean cuisine. It was terrific! We tried a curried beef dish, fish colombo, and jerk chicken. All very tasty and the spice level was palpable. With side orders of seasoned fries, rice and peas, and plantain, all together this was a feast with enough left over to make another meal! In other words, good value too.Personally, I am not a chile pepper fanatic and I like my spicy food to be savoury, not just hot. We each added salt to our own taste and it was just perfect. We really enjoyed the differences in flavour between the varying sauces, and the ingredients were clearly all fresh.We look forward to ordering again from RiveRLife, and hopefully post-lockdown we can enjoy a meal there in person someday too.

Simply amazing food, great portion size and great service. My only issue is that I can't give it more stars.

Un lugar por el que podrías pasar fácilmente sin tener que mirarlo dos veces. Entra y encontrarás excelente comida con mucho sabor. El menú es interesante y ofrece algo diferente al normal. Nuestra primera visita a Edimburgo y la primera, pero no la última, a Riverlife. ¡Una verdadera joya! !

Encontramos este restaurante hace varios años en una visita anterior a Edimburgo (Fringe / Rugby). La comida y el servicio siempre han sido increíbles y estuvimos encantados de volver esta noche y no nos decepcionó ningún aspecto de la comida o el servicio. Estos, sin embargo, son tiempos tristes y extraños que pasan factura a las grandes pequeñas empresas. Espero que podamos visitarlo nuevamente. Para ello, los restaurantes independientes de gran calidad como este necesitan nuestro apoyo. No se sentirá decepcionado, aproveche la oportunidad de visitar y experimentar un gran restaurante caribeño francés comunitario independiente aproximadamente a 15 minutos del centro de la ciudad y a menos de 5 minutos de la estación de Haymarket. Gracias de antemano.

Acabo de regresar al restaurante después de una larga ausencia. Es bueno ver que la calidad de la comida no se ha visto comprometida a diferencia de algunos lugares más caros y exclusivos. El servicio y la atención son de primera clase y todos deberían probar esta joya de lugar. Será una tragedia perder un lugar tan sabroso.

Visited Riverlife tonight with my husband and baby son. Service was excellent. Food was excellent, something a bit different from usual meals out. Portions were very generous. Would definitely recommend.

Amazing food friendly staff!! Really good cocktails.

ALWAYS ENJOY COMING HERE LOVELY FOOD AND STAFF