Ristorante Il Rivale al Lago

This is an amazing restaurant, awesome food, unique location on Garda lake, professional staff, has everything for a Michelin star. Congratulations

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 of arrogance.

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 personel to thrive.

One of the finest Italian restaurant i have been !!! Great experience! I want to come and visit this beautiful place in summer too ! Outstanding food and outstanding service! Grande Bravo !

Beautiful location staff and food. Particularly the t bone. Would highly reccomend and will be back the next time I'm in the area.

Very good kitchen, we enjoyed it so much 🤩

Wonderful food in a very pleasant road side restaurant. Service was excellent. Best bread we had in several months!

Oustanding food and excellent service from a professional but warm and attentive team. Especially good head chef Manu. A cannot miss stop in Lake Garda!