Riva Blu is taking a stand against the time-pressured dining culture by introducing a new booking option at its Yorkshire restaurants that lets guests keep their table for as long as they like. Available at its Leeds and Hull locations, the southern Italian restaurant group has launched La Dolce Tavola, meaning “enjoy the moment”, offering a more relaxed way to dine without the typical 90-minute restriction.
The offer is currently available Sunday to Friday between 12pm and 5pm, giving Yorkshire diners the chance to settle in for an unhurried lunch. Instead of watching the clock, guests who select La Dolce Tavola when booking can take their time over multiple courses, enjoy a second bottle of wine, or simply linger a little longer with friends and family at no extra cost.
The move aims to bring a more authentic Italian approach to Yorkshire’s dining scene, where meals are seen as social occasions rather than timed sittings. With many restaurants across the UK still operating strict time limits, Riva Blu is positioning itself as a place where guests can properly switch off and enjoy the experience.
Toni Dennan, Group Marketing & Sales Director at Individual Restaurant,said: “In Italy, meals are about much more than food. They’re about connection, conversation and spending quality time with the people around you.
“We’ve become very good at fitting everything into a schedule in the UK, including our restaurant bookings. LaDolce Tavola is our way of bringing back the joy of the long lunch and encouraging people to slow down for a few hours.
“We don’t believe guests should be watching the clock. If you’re having a great time, enjoying another glass of wine and making memories with friends and family, that’s exactly what hospitality should be about.
“This is a small change to how we take bookings, but we think it makes a big statement about the kind of experience we want to create.”
Across its Yorkshire sites, Riva Blu continues to focus on classic Italian cooking using quality ingredients and traditional techniques. Diners can begin with dishes such as Southern Italian-style calamari served with courgette, red pepper and confit garlic aioli, or bruschetta topped with sun-ripened tomatoes and herbs. For mains, favourites include slow-cooked beef lasagne, penne arrabbiata and spaghetti carbonara made with free-range eggs, guanciale and Pecorino Romano.
Signature dishes include grilled yellow fin tuna with Neapolitan peperonata, olives, capers and pine nuts, alongside whole filleted sea bass finished with pistachio butter, lemon and chives. Meat lovers can opt for a 350g grain-fed ribeye steak served with fries and peppercorn sauce, while desserts round things off with Italian staples such as tiramisu, panna cotta and affogato.
With spacious al fresco terraces in both Leeds and Hull, the new booking option is tailored for long, relaxed afternoons, particularly during the summer months. La Dolce Tavola is available on pre-booked tables only and excludes bank holidays and Father’s Day, with standard terms and conditions applying.