Trivs Restaurant and Lounge — Restaurant in Strongsville

Update: I was pleased to have the owner reach out although I sent an email and never got any follow up.

Trivs is one of my absolute must go backs, well I made a reservation and went back and have never felt so under class... my group arrived at 7:20 for our 7:30 reservation. (If your early you're on time and if you're on time you're late mentality, we also were at a show in lakewood and the whole time i kept saying how much time we had left so we were not late for pur dinner reservation because I KNOW ITS A BUSY POPULAR RESTAURANT) we were told it would be 10 min for our table, okay wonderful, were ten min early and were going to be deated in 19 min. At 7:36 after at least 4 other tables were seated ahead of us, when we arrived first, I asked the hostesses about the table and was told well they were only 2 tops when 2 groups of 6 were also seated along with 3 groups of 2. Whatever... a manager came over and offered my group of 4 the first round of drinks, 2 apps, and 4 desserts. Then quickly retracted to a $100 gift card (which is hands down more than any restaurant in northeast Ohio would do, although it felt like a retreat on the previous offer of 10 free menu items...) at 7:55 we were finally seated because they kicked out the people that were at "our" table ....I made a reservation for a time not a table. So now you have 2 unhappy tables. Me not seated and them being moved after spending probably $300-$400. (Assumption based on my table of four being $304 before tax) overall the food and drinks were absolutely delightful the wait staff 10/10 as expected (you can tell they actually train their staff) take this review with a grain of salt as they do not need my business, at 7:30 they were saying the soonest available would be 9. Good for them, I just am always hopeful for a new regular spot and if I can't even have a reliable reservation this isnt it. Best of luck with the table situation, it will be a demise. No matter how good your food is if you make people wait for a reservation it will always end in a bad review. Unfortunately people don't review good service and that's why I tried to emphasize the food and service were good. The process it took to get there was not. I probably would only return with a giftcard. But my loss on good...

We have been to Trivs several times over the years and tonight was our first disappointment. Normally I would have looked passed it but the lack of concern from staff and management is what led me here. We stopped in this evening for a belated anniversary dinner. Service was as expected. My wife and I both ordered salads. I ordered the bone in ribeye and my wife ordered the bocci ball pasta. Dishes we have both had in the past. The salads were fine, as were the sides with my ribeye. My wife's pasta lacked flavor and the meatball was uncharacteristically bland, but the real problem was my ribeye. The steak served tonight was cooked perfectly, however it was one of the worst cuts of beef I have ever experienced. It was so tough and chewy it was almost inedible and quite difficult to even cut. There is not a chance it was C.A.B quality as described in the menu. As I mentioned, previous experiences have been positive so I waited until after paying the bill to mention to the server the problem. Im sure restaurants deal with people regularly trying to get something for free by complaining and that was not my intention. When I mentioned to the server the issue, his response was, yeah we changed suppliers a while ago and we've had issues. Its disheartening to know that this has been ongoing and not addressed for a place like Triv's. I also expected management to come over and apologize for out experience, so Im not sure if the server shared the experience with management or nobody cared about my attempt to discreetly offer constructive criticism. Either way, I hope internal changes are made and quality does not decline which seems to be more and more...

WAY TOO MUCH GARLIC !!! We have tried to Trivs many times for their great live music, which is always at a comfortable level, and their fine upscale atmosphere. The venue is beautiful, and the staff try very hard to be accommodating.

Other reviewers have complained about the food without being specific. We too, have usually been disappointed with the food, despite returning to try different items on the menu. For us it is very clear that the problem with the otherwise high quality food is WAY TOO MUCH GARLIC!!! ( Even for me, and I am Italian.). NEARLY EVERYTHING ON THE MENU IS SATURATED WITH HEAVY GARLIC, including appetizers and sides, as well as entrees (even the steaks and fish). Furthermore, the garlic is usually not mentioned at all in the item descriptions on the menu, and is used very heavy handed even in items where you would not expect to find it.

We have tried asking for our entrees and sides to be prepared without garlic, or with as little as garlic as possible, but staff often come back and tell us the Garlic is already in the marinade, sauces, etc. At other times they have told us that it could be prepared without garlic, when it arrives it is still saturated with Garlic. If the Heavy Garlic problem were ever resolved, we would...