Rivals on Five
| Address: | 1227 Rockbridge Rd SW, Stone Mountain, GA 30087, USA |
| Phone: | +1 770-921-5555 |
| Site: | rivalsonfive.com |
| Rating: | 3.4 |
| Working: | 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 12PM–1AM 12PM–1AM 12–11PM |
Location
Photos 89
Reviews 6
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Shahzaib Jiwani
Looking at this places Google reviews, I almost didnt come here. Quite frankly, there is nothing more irritating for me than going to a restaurant with great food but poor service (which is what the other reviewers all seem to have experienced). Being that the Lilburn-Stone Mountain tends to lack options for a decent burger, however, I decided to go ahead and "risk" it.. And Im glad I did! The first thing you notice at this place is the ambiance. The furniture is a tasteful blend of traditional wood tones matched with Buckhead-style plush, orange benches and accents. The waits for a table and a server werent too bad either, although I suppose it should be noted that I also came shortly after prime lunch time. My meal made it to the table within about 10-15 minutes. Speaking of the food, I ordered a beef burger (at the recommendation of my server) with 50/50 fries. The burger was pretty decent, but if you come here, be sure to check out the sweet potato fries. They were great! Finally, I feel that I should address the service here. After all, it was the reviews about poor service that almost led me not to come here, right? Like most things, I imagine it all depends on who you get when you come, but in my case, the service was quite excellent! Not only was I seated promptly, but my server (Hannah?) did an excellent job of making sure my drink was always topped up and my food came out exactly as ordered. A very pleasant surprise that leads me to wonder if management may have made some positive changes since the last review from a month ago? Kudos either way! Looking back, I suppose the only thing worth criticizing is the way they give you the credit card receipt to sign.. Instead of the conventional paper receipt with a pen, the server brings you an iPad that you then use to select the tip amount and sign for your meal. The server watches you do all of this as he/she holds the tablet in front of you. I guess I can understand why they have it setup this way (it appears high tech, all the while also giving the server an opportunity to be alerted to any negative feedback); however, in my case, it honestly just felt awkward. I could almost feel my server cease breathing for a moment after I selected a "Custom" tip amount. I suppose that its just my personality to want to tip with some level of anonymity. In the grand scheme of things, however, that was a very minor critique and to sum up a very long review (for anyone who may still be reading at this point), Rivals at 5 is definitely worth checking out if you havent already. And, if you have but left with a bad experience, it may be worth giving another try.. The service may surprise you too!
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Shirley Kennedy
I have now tried Rivals a few times. I WANT to like it because there are so few nice places in the neighborhood. I had the fish a chips, which was two very small pieces of fish with fries. Cant you throw a tablespoon full of coleslaw on the dish to round it off and make it worth the 11.00 you charge? It tasted okay but not great. The worst, however, happened to my friend with whom I dined. She ordered a Cobb salad and wanted fried chicken (tenders) instead of the roasted chicken that comes on it. The waitress told her it would be no problem whatsoever. The problem came later--when she got her check and discovered they charged her $3.00 for the substitution. Sorry but that should have been made clear to her when she ordered so she could have made the choice to leave the dish as is. This failure is customer service at its worst. Nothing worse than getting a surprise like this at the end of the evening and I told the waitress as much. All she could do is was say "sorry." I would have told her that Im sorry but thats your tip; youd better get it from management. Finally, Rivals seems like more of a "family" restaurant. For those of us who dont have kids, its a bit distracting. They sat a dad with two decent-sized kids (10-12) right behind us. They werent there five minutes before the girl turned a glass of water over, literally all over everything in sight. Later, we heard a loud bang and turned to see that the boy had somehow flipped over his chair. Fortunately, he wasnt injured but geez. It seems that every time I come here there is some kind of issue with kids. Dont know that Ill try it again....
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Lance Clark
Went on late afternoon of Saturday, September 10th. Place was not that busy. It was me and my two young sons. We were seated soon after walking in but taken to the side where no one else was. After being seated, we were left to ourselves not being offered water or drinks or being told who was our server. 10 mins later , a young man approached us and asked if had been helped. I told him we were seated but didnt know who our server was and asked for some drinks. The employee then said, "well, I dont know if Im working your table or not, but sure I guess I can get you some drinks to start." Another 10 mins passed and NO ONE, including this dopy looking child of an employee even came over to our seated area or even gave eye contact. We just ended up getting up and leaving with no one serving us at all after 20 mins of sitting. Very frustrating and ridiculous! Never going back. Pathetic lack of organization and accountability. The place wasnt even that busy!
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Richard W. Marsden
Food Isnt checked before going out. Their fries are often cold in the center and burnt outside. Meats undercooked. Breads are the cheapest imaginable puffy floury stuff that disintegrates. Salads wilted and brown around the edges. Staff Dont check food before it goes out, otherwise passable. Live music Cant hear the person next to me yelling in my ear for it. Volume so loud its clipping and distorted, something youd expect a musician to know. The hard room acoustics reflect much of the sound such that its a sea of noise. And the singer sings in a key so low that his voice cannot punch through the noise of the music. This experience was consistent over a number of visits.
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Amy Dudley
My first visit right after Rivals opened a few years ago was very good. The food was unique and the service was great. Sadly, none of the other half a dozen visits have been as positive. Tonight the service was pleasant but slow. Only the bar area was open since it was almost 9 pm when we arrived, but even then it took awhile before anyone came to our table. The food was fine but the sweet potato fries were cold. It took more than 5 minutes to get the servers attention and at least another 10 before fresh fries made it to the table. We really want to like Rivals and would like to see them succeed, but if things dont change we honestly have no reason to come back.
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Neil Duggan
We waited 2 hours for food, had to get my own beer from the bar 20 minutes after I ordered it. Yes, they were short 3 servers on a busy night they knew was planned....whos responsible for that? After 2 hours waitress brought me the check for the beer and said, sorry, the kitchen lost your food order. They wont be making it. We should have left after 60 minutes, but were being polite. BTW, the same owner has Bumps BBQ across the street. Same problems there. Seeing a trend? Not ever going back to either. Customer service is not a service offered at either location. 28 year resident of Lilburn. Had to give 1 star to post... generous.
