Rival — Restaurant in Collier Township

This place replaced a Walnut Grill that occupied the space for many years. The menu looks liked elevated bar food, and we were in the area, so decided to give it a try for lunch. Our overall impressions were not all that great.

The layout is the same as it was as far as the structure goes, but all the rooms were changed. Gone are the banquette tables. Now you have mostly tall bar tables and lots of large TVs tuned to many different sports stations. The wall décor is many different sports quotes, all painted on a very dark background, which is Ok for what is clearly aiming for a Sports bar atmosphere.

There was not a large crown when we showed up so we were immediately taken to a table in the middle room and left with menus and the bar/beer lists. Our waitress came over quickly for our drink order and was back with them quite quickly as well.

However, from this point on things started going South. While our waitress was very nice and professional, it seemed that they are probably very understaffed. It took more than half an hour from when we gave our order until the good arrived. Considering that we ordered a chicken sandwich and a salad, and that there were only two other parties in our room, none in the back room, and only two parties at the bar!

Once the food finally arrived, it was kind of ordinary. The Spicy Korean Chicken sandwich tasted of Gochujang – which was good and what I expected – but any spice in it was almost totally obliterated by the sweet pickles and pickled red onions that were in this sandwich as well. I upgraded to the onion rings as I am not a big fan of shoestring fries. The ones that came were decent. Not greasy, but surprisingly tepidly warm, as if they had been taken out of the fryer some minutes before the other things were done and left to cool down. The Jerk Shrimp salad was pretty ordinary. There was only the faintest hint of jerk flavor on the shrimp and the shrimp clumped together, which surprised us.

Once we were done eating we sat and waited for our bill. And sat. And waited. And waited. Fifteen minutes later the waitress showed up so we can finish the transaction – which she handled promptly. This is when the last bit hit us. For this chicken sandwich, salad, and one soft drink lunch ended up costing us $50. That is way, way, way too expensive for what we...

Our daughter invited my husband and me here for dinner this evening, which I believe was day two of their grand opening. I must say, everything about our experience was great! The three of us all ordered something different; and we were all impressed with our choices. Our server was Rocco, and he did a great job. He was personable, made a clean appearance, and did a thorough job from appetizers and drinks, all the way to dessert.

The atmosphere of Rival is awesome. It is definitely geared towards being a sports bar, with many TVs that could be seen from every angle, inside and out; but it’s also a good place for families. There are outdoor games available for anyone, including children, who seemed to be having a blast tonight. They have a decent sized grassy area at the edge of the dining patio area. Kids were playing while being in full view of the parents.

The menu has a good variety of foods for both adults and kids. In addition, I loved that there were non-alcoholic mock tails available, thank you!

We chose the outdoors seating since it was a beautiful evening. But I’m pretty sure there could be outdoor seating almost all year long, since I noticed there were overhead heaters, and the area was completely undercover.

Thanks for a Friday evening, not...

From the moment we were seated, Dominic was a complete gem — truly a bright light with a personality that instantly made us feel welcomed and taken care of. You could tell from the start that she not only loved her job but also genuinely cared about her guests. Her energy was warm, kind, and attentive in the best way.

No matter how many “extras” we asked for (and we had quite a few!), she never hesitated or made us feel like a burden. Instead, she responded with a smile, joyfully taking care of everything we needed. Dominic made our experience feel personal, like we weren’t just another table — and that level of service is rare and unforgettable.

As for the food? Absolutely fantastic. We started with the cheese sticks, which were hot, perfectly crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside — exactly how you want them. For the main course, we had the Smashburger, which Dominic recommended since we were out-of-towners. And let me tell you, it was spot on. Juicy, flavorful, and stacked just right — it might be one of the best burgers we’ve ever had.

We left full, happy, and feeling like we had made a new friend in Dominic. If you’re ever in the area, do yourself a favor and ask for her — she’s the kind of person who makes your...