Rivista

Cozy brunch spot! My husband and I ended up here after a Sunday morning run. I had to try the iced chicory coffee because I had read great reviews about it and it sure was yum! My husband got a double espresso and though it was good. I do think that the price point for the coffee and main dishes is a little on the high side.
We both got the BEATT and it was delicious. The brioche is so delicious! The wait time was a tad long but I’ll wait for quality any day. The seating is so cute, there’s table with chairs on one side and a long bench on the other along with a high bar. I wouldn’t recommend this place for a very large group just because I think seating could get tricky. My chief complaint is that I don’t think the pastries are displayed very well. The bagels and egg in a hole were displayed by the register but only after placing my order did I notice a buffet table with pastry trays enclosed inside of it. Maybe I was just being aloof or maybe they put the pastries trays there after a certain time but honestly, I probably would’ve bought a few pastry items had I seen them.
Staff was really sweet and was checking on everyone individually after they got their food.
I saw people drinking mimosas so I’ll come back again with girlfriends!

You guys I don’t usually leave Unilocal reviews but I felt compelled to tell you that rivista healed my sore throat I’ve had for weeks with their flu shot. It js composed of satsuma, Meyer lemon, honey, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, ginger n cayenne. It burnt the shit out of my throat (in a good way) and I feel like a new man today. Thank you rivista. You are always so kind and sweet and affordable too. I love you.

Great cozy place! Delicious breakfast food! Their «2 Eggs» breakfast so simple yet delicious and a great price!

This is such a cute small place. Not only do they have awesome coffee they have awesome breakfast. On weekends they have brunch and it is amazing! I want to go back every weekend for brunch! Try it! I love getting the combo special of breakfast burrito and iced coffee for 5 dollars on the weekdays.

Great spot after my morning stroll thru Audubon Park… NOLA version of a Croque Messier but with a biscuit ! Hot damn, add a café mocha and a swig of sodie water — Shazam ready for Vieux Carrie!

Excellent food great staff and the best coffee and drinks around. The weekend brunch is unbelievable especially if you are just looking for a quick meal to get your day going.

Pretty small in the inside. The Iced Chicory Coffee definitely smack the hell out of me. It was really good. Very potent and worked with the coffee in this amazing strong relationship. LIKE THEY REALLY BONDED TIGHT! I also asked them to make me a bacon, and cheese biscuit on a fly and Guess what? 6 minutes later I had my hot breakfast biscuit. Everyone was so oooooo friendly and I just felt the happiness in the environment. I arrived around 8:40 ish and so I was really worried about time. I was able to eat, drink my coffee run out Rivista with this super hero wonder woman strength. I also love the fact that they took out time to decorate their café according to Halloween (which reminded me I have to find my son a costume) and there were children books to read along with other books for adults. I had a peaceful moment to think. It wasn’t all stuffy. There was so much fresh air (ok, before I go any further, THIS IS NEW ORLEANS SO THE SO THE AIR NOT ALL ALL THAT FRESH IN INA WAY BUT IT IMITATED FRESH AIR IN A BEAUTIFUL WAY!!!) HONESTLY I KNOW I WILL BE BACK and return early for that Chicory coffee and biscuit! #

Decent little spot to grab a quick bite. A bit overpriced, but their cookies are amazing! The juices aren’t that great, I’ve tried several and they are all a bit «off». No need to try and be overly inventive with flavors. KISS — Keep It Simple Stupid. All in, a good place if you have no time for lunch and don’t want fast food.

Very cute place, vintage, with the whole drinks-​in-​mason-​jars vibe. However, customer service needs to be worked on a little. I’m one to never, ever complain, I work in the restaurant industry as well so I know exactly how it feels like to be on the other side. I ordered an iced chai tea latte and it tasted like a cup full of half and half milk. So I told the cashier nicely at the front that it tasted like half and half and I didn’t like it and if I cold just get an iced coffee instead. And she said yes and proceeded to ask me to pay the extra $ 2.75 after I just paid $ 4.00 for the iced chai… I know it’s only $ 2.75 and that’s not the point, it’s the fact that any place with good customer would have just been like yeah okay we’ll replace that for you, easy as that, and I would’ve done the same thing working at a restaurant. So I just told her no thank you and left the drink cup full at my table. I don’t know if that’s just their policy or what but it needs a bit revising to please the customer. Other than that, the Polenta was good, the mushrooms add a nice little kick, but nothing special I would come back for. All in all it was a decent place, but not a place I would come back to.

Continuing my quest to eat at every restaurant in NOLA, my boyfriend and I ate here for a quick Sunday morning brunch. It’s a small place! I bet they have serious seating issues at their high traffic hours, but we were able to sit immediately luckily. I ordered a lavender latte to start and my boyfriend ordered an iced peppermint mocha latte. It had to be the best espresso drinks I’ve ever had and he agreed! He ordered an everything bagel which came out quickly and had a great flavor and texture. I ordered the BEAAT which also tasted great, but took quite a while to come out for cooking bacon and eggs. Overall this is a definite new regular spot for GREAT espresso drinks and an interesting brunch cuisine.

Stopped in for a gluten free brunch on a Sunday. Cute café space with plenty of gluten free offerings — which can be hard to find in New Orleans.
I ordered the chilaquiles and got a little greedy and ordered the chunky monkey gluten free muffin too — although disappointed this was the only gluten free pastry option they had available. Muffin was most and chewy — probably due to the coconut — really good & probably my fave thing I ordered.
Had an iced latte with almond milk that was solid and served in a cute mason jar. Husband ordered a french press coffee and was disappointed that it was served in a paper cup with plastic plunger despite us dining in. Chilaquiles were OK — sauce was pretty bland but edible.
One annoying thing was the amount of pesky flies in the place that seemed to hover around the dining area! We would have stayed a bit longer had we not had to swat flies off our heads the entire time.
Overall: good gluten free pastry, OK coffee/​food, a bit pricey and ambiance left a lot to be desired.

Pleeeease make more cinnamon rolls. Like, at least a hundred more, every weekend day. I will eat them all.
The coffee is good too.

3.5÷5 seems like a good value
wandered in for breakfast, and it was a nice quick meal. i opted for the 2 egg plate and found it to be a pretty good value. it’s served on a smaller plate, but you soon realize it’s a substantial amount of food. i opted for scrambled eggs and they came flecked with black pepper; more bacon than typically offered at other spots, and crunchy!; a nice split biscuit that was nicely toasted; and the surprise: cheese in my grits! what was in my head a standard order became a treat (i love cheese) for a fair price.
now some challenges: as others noted, the front step can be dangerous (they should really improve signage), and the bench seating is an awkward height — one person ends up higher than the other and table is too low. at least this morning, it seems they didn’t really have ventilation going so i now smells like smoke/​griddle, which is unfortunate.

Delicious brunch on a Saturday morning. Ordered a burrito– make sure you get the pico on top.
Also drank a King cake latte.
They have a variety of Italian sodas– try the green apple

I have visited several coffee shops in the Uptown area, and Rivista is by far my favorite. I am a little biased, though, because I cannot eat gluten; therefore, part of the reason I love Rivista is because they have GF muffins! Rivista is kind enough to even give us gluten-​free folks OPTIONS! It’s incredible. The gluten free muffins that they have are a chunky monkey muffin, pumpkin and cranberry muffin, and chai muffin. I’ve only ever tried the chunky monkey one and it is so delicious. Even my friend who can eat gluten loves it! It tastes like homemade banana bread.
Rivista also has good iced coffee. Probably one of the best iced coffees I’ve had since moving to New Orleans. The cup that the coffee comes in is a small mason jar. Not a huge bang for your buck, but still worth it in my opinion.
Another thing to note is that Rivista is open on Monday for coffee and pastries ONLY. They do not serve lunch on Mondays. If you want a quiet place to do work, come to Rivista on Monday. When I went, it was mostly just me in there from about 11:30 to 1:00. A few people trickled in as it got closer to 1:00, but the shop was still very quiet compared to other coffee shops I’ve tried working in.

STERILE, LIMITED OFFERINGS, NO FREE REFILLS!
I just moved back uptown 2 months ago and have been searching for «my coffee shop.» Unfortunately, Rivista seems to do everything wrong. I suspect they won’t be around much longer.
1. To begin with there’s a killer step when you initially enter and I’ve fallen twice. Great first impression.
2. The bench seating is uncomfortable and the chair to table clearance is unnervingly off.
3. There are limited pastry options.
4. There’s no envigorating bustle because so few go here.
5. No free refills or rewards program.
NEW ORLEANS COFFEE & BEIGNETS!
Just 5 blocks away is where I ended up. The space is ultra clean, comfy, eclectically hopping, they know your name and remember your preferences, the beignets are made fresh to order, they have a rewards program, a sweel neighborhood clientele, and FREE REFILLS!

As cute as this place is, I’m not completely sold on this place. Its nice to go in for a snack, but their pastries and coffee isn’t outstanding. For me, its just meh.
Pto-​tip: watch out for the first two steps in and out of the store. You can easily trip and fall here.

They take credit card
They have wi go
Plugs are sparse
Weekly brunch specials
The croissants were good but small, not as good as la boulangerie but still good and will be back.
My chile relleno was good but wish it had a little more cheese and unfortunately my grits were cold. That being said it’s still pretty tasty. Only $ 9. The sandwich special looked really good.
Love the illy coffee.
I will be back to try their different brunches and brioches.

Im seriously in trouble, because Rivista is a block from my house and the more I eat there, the more I crave it!
Theres so much to love about Rivista, where do I even begin? It’s obvious how much love and attention are put into their ever-​changing menu. Every week, there are new dishes to tempt me, and its hard to decide which one to try!
The pastries are amazing. My boy and I stopped in for brunch this weekend and got a poached pear thyme tart and a pumpkin brioche cinnamon roll with a cream cheese frosting, both of which were fabulous.
I also love the fact that Rivista looks pretty unassuming — kind of your standard little coffee shop — but in the back they’re preparing shrimp and calamari and homemade soups and fresh baked bread. Their kitchen must be magic!
One thing to keep in mind — currently, they serve lunch only until 2pm. After that, I believe you can only order baked goods and drinks.
Theres also free wi-​fi, fantastic coffee and a super pleasant staff, all of whom are really devoted to the food that they’re serving. Rivista is a winner! I might have to walk over there right now…

Since I was just chatting about this new bakery over on twitter, I guess I’ll finish my review…
The space is small and they do have dine in tables (but no liquor license if you’re here for brunch… but they do have mixers I’m told if you bring your own). The staff was courteous and prompt.
But on to the important stuff. The $ 1 croissant bites are genius. They melt in your mouth with buttery deliciousness but still have a bit of a crunch on the edges. I hate a mushy croissant. I also tried the mixed berry and apple turnovers. They were perfectly sized and the mixed berry was clearly the winner being tart and not too sweet. The apple was good to but the berry was amazing. As I’m not a coffee person I got a perfectly tasty iced tea and was out the door.
The one thing that is lacking is their signage. Maybe it’s building rules or maybe they just haven’t gotten there yet. But blink and you’l miss them. They are riverside on Magazine between General Pershing and Milan… so dangerously close to home.
I’ll be back soon…