Great "Dinner with Friends" at Riva, Avalon

Our monthly "Dinner with Friends" demonstrated its popularity on 26th Feb when Newport Probus Club booked out Riva Bar and Kitchen in Avalon. About 50 members attended. The venue was excellent although noisy. I will leave it to all of you to guess which members were most responsible. There was no background music, so the noise was all our own doing. The food was delicious and cooked and presented very well. We had a choice of 3 mains and 2 desserts. people chose on the night. Along with many others, I chose the crispy skin barramundi. With a large group being served almost simultaneously, a dish like this can be overcooked. It was not. It was done perfectly with very crispy skin and beautifully moist flesh. People who chose the sirloin steak reported it was also excellent. There was a vegetarian pasta dish but I had no reports on this.

Riva's serving staff, just two people, were amazing. They tooks orders and delivered meals efficiently, so much so that almost all of our very large group were enjoying each course at much the same time. (So, Riva Management, they earned a bonus!! Truly, they did.) Of course, the purpose of "Dining with Friends" is to allow our members to socialise over lovely food. Riva was a great success, with immense bonhomie throughout the room.

We all owe thanks to Judy Arruzza and Catherine Willsdon for their ongoing organisation of one of the highlights of our club's month.