Rialto Social has just opened up in Dorking at 45 Dene Street, offering the finest authentic Italian cuisine, delicious cocktails, a karaoke party room, interactive darts, a PS5 kids/lounge and a fully stocked bar whilst also catering for private events and parties.
With a career spanning 25 years in hospitality, owner Kiri is proud to present his latest restaurant offering. As well as providing a lively, fun venue with enticing 2-4-1 drink and cocktail offers, Rialto Social can be hired for events – seating up to 75 with 125 for standing – be it a birthday, anniversary or special celebration.
With a large main bar, rustic Italian kitchen and beautiful outdoor terrace, there are also 3 individual rooms upstairs for entertaining at the new Rialto Social – your day/night out is well and truly catered for!
Be sure to check out Surrey Rocks calendar pages for their full line up of events including a not-to-be-missed Valentine’s Day Menu running from 9th – 16th February as well as the latest deals on cocktails, Sunday Roasts and new 20 inch pizzas for families and groups.
OUR EXPERIENCE
We arrived at Rialto Social on a crisp Winter’s day and were warmly welcomed by the owner Kiri, and his ever-friendly staff including their talented head chef George and bar manager Daset.
We were offered a welcome cocktail on arrival and went for the most delicious ‘Old Fashioned’ cocktail made with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee honey-based whisky and an ‘Espresso Martini’ served beautifully with a cocoa powder swirl and decorative coffee beans.
TO START
For starter we went for the ‘Traditionale Bruschetta’ which consisted of rustic Italian bread with vine ripened tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil. With delicious crusty bread and lashings of hearty toppings this was a perfect and plentiful starter dish – suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians.
Next up we went for the ‘Polpo alla Griglia’ which was a very impressive dish of grilled octopus with olive oil, herbs and lemon. The octopus was seasoned and cooked perfectly – we would wholeheartedly recommend this starter dish, a great addition to Rialto’s superb menu as not many local Italian Restaurants in Surrey offer this rare dish. And those that do – do not do it as well as Rialto!
FOR MAINS
We got to chat to head chef George Lixandru about his vision for Rialto Social’s hearty Italian menu.
“The idea behind this new menu is to take things slowly and savour the time you have to enjoy good food. All too often people are in a rush, life is crazy, they have to work, collect kids from school and are busy with their day-to-day life. In Italian they say ‘La Dolce Vita’ which means ‘Easy Life’ or ‘The art of doing nothing’ which is how we want people to be when they visit us, slow down, relax and enjoy our good food!”
As George put it so eloquently the ‘slow-cooked’ Rialto ‘Osso Buco alla Milanese’ which is also his favourite on the menu – was well worth the ‘slow cooked’ wait! It was our standout main dish of the day.
The Osso Buco/Shank special (seasonally it will be either beef, lamb or veal – depending on what month you visit) is served in a rich Nonna’s tomato sauce with a white wine reduction, accompanied with a saffron risotto. The meat was so tender having been slow cooked for 13 hours – with its bone marrow adding to the flavours – following it being sealed with olive oil on a hot plate with carrot, onion and celery to begin with for 2 hours. It fell off the bone and went perfectly with the fragrant saffron rice.
Next up on George’s recommendation we went for the ‘Linguini/Riso Pescatore’ dish which consisted of seafood with garlic, chilli, white wine and tomato sauce on a bed of fresh linguini pasta. It was sublime – the fresh fish, herbs and egg linguini made for a perfect main – spicy with the chilli but not overbearing.
There are 12 Neopolitan-style Pizzas to choose from at Rialto Social including classics like ‘Quattro Formaggi’, ‘ Suprema Picante’, ‘Fiorentina’ and ‘Piazza Rialto’.
All their Artisan pizzas are made fresh to order and you can customise your pizza with extra toppings including: Chilli, garlic, olives, sweetcorn, mushroom, egg, onion, pineapple, peppers, artichokes, capers, anchovy, rocket, spinach, tuna, ham, chicken, pepperoni, beef, nduja, Parma ham, mozzarella, ricotta, goat cheese, gorgonzola for just £1.75 a topping.
And go for Crust Dippers: Parmesan, ketchup, mayo, BBQ, mustard, tartar, garlic butter, garlic mayo, sweet chilli, chilli flakes.
Plus, from February 2026 – all pizzas can be made into 20 inches for families and larger groups.
FOR DESSERT
First up we went for the classic coffee-based dessert the Rialto Social favourite of ‘Tiramisù Classico’ – a delicate blend of espresso-kissed ladyfingers, velvet mascarpone, finished with a decorative spread of cocoa powder. It was delicious – soft, sweet with a coffee kick to boot. Well done George!
Next up was the superbly presented ‘Vanilla Panna Cotta’ – a silken cream infused panna cotta with a hint of vanilla, gently set and crowned with a kiss of red berry coulis. It looked and tasted devine.
Our little taster of the day – 4-year-old Zeek was the chief taster of Rialto’s famous homemade gelato/ice-cream. He opted for 3 scoops – chocolate, choco-mint and pistachio and chocolate! He adored the ice-cream and finished them all within minutes of being presented his dessert. Rialto have been producing their own gelato for 25 years with over 60 flavours in total there is indeed a wide-range for you to test when you visit! The flavours are brought in seasonally with 15 ice-creams on offer at any one time. You are definitely spoiled for choice. Good luck getting through them all – we are trying too!
IN SUMMARY
Rialto Social… where authentic Italian cuisine meets modern social dining.
Experience the warmth of Italian hospitality in the heart of Dorking.
You will not be disappointed.
CONTACT
Rialto Social
45 Dene Street
Dorking, Surrey
RH4 2DW
Tel: 01306 742885
Email:
dorking@rialtolounge.co.uk
Web: www.rialtosocial.co.uk
