Strive Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Providence

Strive Kitchen + Bar in Providence offers a multi-level dining experience, including a Speakeasy, with a lot of promise!

On the positive side, the atmosphere is pleasant, with good music and aesthetically pleasing decor. The staff are incredibly friendly, and the restaurant maintains a clean and spacious environment. It’s also a plus that they offer brunch on both Saturday and Sunday, adding to their appeal. Their menu is varied with lots to choose from.

Parking can be confusing, as there isn’t much signage on the main street to direct patrons to the back parking lot. We had to turn around after pulling into the business next door’s parking lot and seeing theirs through the fence. While the website explains this, clearer signage would be beneficial in the front. It was also confusing from the parking lot which door to use to get into the restaurant as there was lack of signage on which door to use. When we got in, we sat upstairs for Brunch. There was a draft upstairs so it was a little cold.

As for the food, it was visually very appealing, but was average tasting. The coffee-rubbed chicken and waffles were cooked well, but lacked the advertised flavors of the coffee rub and the hot honey glaze. The poached egg in the eggs Benedict was overcooked. However, portion sizes were satisfactory. The house side winders were delicious. We were surprised to find out that condiments came with an extra charge, especially since we weren’t informed beforehand. For example, we asked for some hot sauce when our dishes came out and were charged extra for this, which was odd. This left us feeling a bit disappointed.

On the drink side, the “Strive for Pear-fection” cocktail was enjoyable, but the “Lemon Cheesecake Martini” missed the mark with too much lemon juice that overpowered the whole cocktail and made it difficult to enjoy.

Overall, Strive Kitchen + Bar has potential. Inconsistencies in food and cocktail flavors and unexpected charges detract from the overall experience. Maybe it was just the Brunch service? With some improvements, it could become a standout dining destination...

I came here with a party of 12 for my friend’s birthday on 6/13/25 @around 8pm. They started off by saying how they will try to accommodate our party. We made this reservation a week ago, so it felt off how they said this when they knew in advance we were coming. No big deal but the manager on shift it seemed like she just did not want us there at all.

We got to the table and waited for the rest of our party to get there. Server came over and ask to grab our drinks, but the manager came over and interrupted her saying that she can’t grab our drinks until the rest of the party comes. Pretty strange and off putting, majority of the people in our party are servers and have never heard of this.

Eventually the server came back and grabbed our drinks when we were still waiting for the rest of the party. If it was an issue with some of our party being late we would have been able to put everyone’s food order in but nothing was communicated. Unfortunately it took an EXTREMELY long time to get our drinks and the restaurant was not that busy based on what we can see. We all understand that there are nights where there may be understaffing and just being busy in general. But nothing was communicated at all. One of the girls in our party ordered a margarita and it took 30 minutes to get it.

Food came out and one person in our party had to wait 10 minutes before they brought her sushi over, the server forgot what she got while everyone else was eating. We were all just over it and wanted to leave.

Like what was stated before, majority of us in our party are servers working in high volume restaurants. If things were simply communicated this whole thing would of been a different and better experience. The manager there looked miserable and should definitely treat their customers better. Unfortunately we didn’t even get to order desert and sing happy birthday for my friend. We all are extremely...

Some friends and I we're looking for a new place to go and decided to try out Strive. Not only is it beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but the food is absolutely delicious! We tried the tuna bites, mozzarella sticks, focaccia bread, pizza, rigatoni, and chicken cutlet. Everyone was very pleased with our dishes. Their take on mozzarella sticks and the rigatoni were our favorites!

The drinks are higher end, however they are absolutely delicious. I ordered a traditional margarita and it was perfectly balanced, not too sweet, not too sour, not too strong. A friend ordered an espresso martini, and not only wasn't delicious but our server was so patient and kind, finding out all the different tequilas they had that she could choose for her martini.

Besides the beautiful atmosphere and delicious food I definitely want to make no of the SUPERB customer service. Our server, which his name escapes me now and I'm so sad about it, was so helpful, friendly, and went above and beyond. He answered all of our questions, joked with us, gave us recommendations, checked in on us to make sure we were really enjoying ourselves, and even offered to show us the downstairs speak easy after our meals so we could check it out. I think it's rare to find someone who seems so passionate about their job and really believes in the restaurant they are serving for. It definitely stuck out to me and it was more than appreciated.

Bonus - Even the valet is so nice! They asked about our experience and wanted to make sure we had a great time.

We will for sure be returning, 10/10 experience all around and would definitely recommend to all...