Ristorante Il Rivale al Lago — Restaurant in Padenghe sul Garda

We spent a lovely evening at Il Rivale al Lago. We booked on short notice and luckily got a table for two and could bring our dogs. Plus for dog friendliness - got some water for our dog immediately.

The location is lovely with a nice vibe benefitting of some laid back music playing in the background. Food was amazing and even topped some michelin star restaurants in the region - I personally preferred the food and the play of consistencies as well as flavours better than at e.g. Capriccio.

Wine selection is nicely curated. However, for a restaurant that has Coravin I found the selection by the class very disappointing. Only two wines on the Coravin list. Definitely room for improvement.

Biggest downside was the service. No refills whatsoever. No explanation of any food we have gotten (possibly due to a language barrier?). No dedicated service coverage - instead there were 4 service personel covering 7 tables and we faced off with everyone of them. Not the kind of service I would've expected in this establishment. Generally service felt a bit distant. Some drinks we ordered - incl a second bottle of water - never arrived. Despite the evening being slow. To top it off, we where charged for 7 desserts (note that we were a party of 2). We were lucky enough to catch this and the bill was adjusted. Nevertheless it left a bitter taste if the service doesn't really care about guests.

All in all this place has a lot of potential and outstanding food but deserves much better service...

Really not nice experience. Apart from the sea view there is nothing good in this place. First of all , our waitress was a the limit of rudeness . We order two plates , first one was veal chops who appeared to be a thin veal « schnitzel » , eatable but not a good meal at all. The second plate was fish with polenta, I won’t even talk about it, because I couldn’t eat more that two bites because he was sooooo salted , uneatable . It happens ! But what shouldn’t happened is that everyone ignore us , we ask few time to change the salty plate but anyone would care. We just ended asking for the bill , with the full plates on the tables. In the bill we have also surprises : 4 euros coperto per persons ?!?! And 6 euros for potatoes that we asked instead of vegetables , why not saying the client that changes side dishes costs money ? And The prices are so much expensive what you get. We left the restaurant , hungry desapointed with the feeling of being fooled. There is plenty of great restaurant in the this area and this definitely not...

The restaurant is located in a lovely spot, and the food — especially the steak — was truly delicious. The ingredients were fresh, the preparation was excellent, and overall, the kitchen delivered a fantastic dining experience.

Unfortunately, the service didn’t match the quality of the food. When I asked the waiter to recommend a white wine to pair with meat, he looked at me as if I’d committed some kind of culinary crime and dismissed the idea outright, insisting on a red without further discussion. Later, when I asked for a wine pairing with dessert, I was once again met with a condescending attitude and told I should have grappa or a gin and tonic instead.

To top it off, we were served two glasses of wine with no clear explanation or choices offered — just handed to us — and only later discovered they totaled €60.

In short: excellent food and location, but the attitude of the service staff really detracted from the experience. Hospitality should never come with a side...