Rival House

Fun bar, not the best service

This is honestly one of the worst bars I have ever been to. We came at the end of a wedding where we were staying at the double tree hotel that is connected to the bar. We had to beg the bar to stay open at 11pm because they had decided to close for the night despite signs saying it was open till 2amt. Multiple groups had to do the same and we actually had to ask those groups to ask the bar to stay open because our own request was not enough. Eventually they stayed open but it was a very awkward situation for our party. The current management of the hotel and bar must not read any reviews of their bar. Avoid at all costs!!!

Went to Rival House after a St. Paul Saints game on a Saturday night. The karaōke was so loud I had to yell to be heard. Could not visit with our friends. My margarita was too strong to drink. We waited a long time for our pizza. Our friends got theirs about 10 minutes before us. shouldn’t the table all be served at the same time??? My friend ordered a second drink and never got it but was billed for it. Of course, it was taken off the bill once it was bought to our servers attention. Pizza was just ok. I would not go there again. Very disappointed.

Very good salad, pizza, steak!!’ All around very good. Price right for down town!!! A nice surprise we are staying the hotel and decide to check it out! Very nice surprise!!! CHECK IT OUT!!!

I came here with a group of colleagues. I have dietary restrictions that include not eating onions and garlic. I asked the waitress if they could make me a salad without onions and garlic (my go to meal at most restaurants). She told me «almost everything has garlic in it, so we can’t.» Noted. I will never return here. If a restaurant can make a simple salad, then that’s a sign of a bad chef and bad food.
It would have been if she had offered a suggestion or other options. But instead she completely shut me down. I was embarrassed and hungry as my colleagues ate. Not cool.

We went there with a group of people for work on a Saturday night. We had a group of about 15 people and we had 1 waiter who seemed like our group was more of an annoyance as opposed to an Opportunity to make money. The food was okay at best, I got s cheese curd app and pizza, my wife got a burger, all just ok. It was very expensive for what you got and the service was not good and it was pretty dead in there for a Saturday night. They did have some games which were different and fun to play but all in all I don’t think we will be returning.

Not a lot of options in entrées here. I had their specialty wood fired pizza and it was good but not great! The wine collection is good. Service was really slow.

Fun bar atmosphere. The service is awful though. I came here three times and every time I am searching for my server and my food sits in the window for extended periods of time. I won’t be returning.

The cheese curds are almost as good as the state fair. Light crispy batter on curds is also used with fish and chips but the fish turned out a little mushy. Hamburger was OK. Fries are crispy.

We ended up at Rival House due to it being attached to our hotel.
They had about 24 taps, wine, bottled beer and a full bar, as well as food, which we did not try. There were several TVs and they were doing karaōke at 9:00 on a Saturday night.
For the rivals, the location has a lot of games including ping pong, bags, darts, skee ball, bubble hockey, and I even saw one table of people playing a wooden Connect Four. The skee ball was a modern version with a digital score screen, which was a bit of a disappointment to me, but in good working order.
The tables near the bar had a nice rustic look and feel, and the lighting in the restaurant was not too bright.
The kitchen was exposed in the restaurant so you could watch food preparation.
As a hotel bar/​restaurant, Rival House had a better feel than a lot of hotel restaurants pull off, and the addition of the games made it a fun place to hang out.

We went here for a holiday party for my job and it was decent. The food was okay and the location was convenient. I really liked the concept of board games and ski ball with fine dining. I feel like their customer service could be a bit better, otherwise it was a pretty fun experience.
I also like that it’s connected to a hotel. It would be convenient for when people come to stay when they visit.

Went here with co-​workers on a Friday after we left the office. Never again. I thought I’d give them another try after my first sub-​par visit and they made me regret my decision. The food is B-​team version of all the names they tout and the service is horrible.
We waited 20 minutes while various people reassured us that someone would be with us shortly. Once service did come, it was sporadic. Regardless, we stayed and enjoyed each others’ company. When we were ready to leave it took 45 minutes between asking for our check and finally getting it.
With all the new places and familiar stand-​bys for Happy Hours in downtown St. Paul, I see no reason to give Rival House any business.

Convenient spot for Doubletree guests. Feel free to charge to the room.
Lots of hockey fans here on the weekends, but I won’t hold that against them. Pizza looked good, but I only had a drink at the bar. I like Crispin apple cider!

The service was lacking. The food was edible. I can’t really think of a reason why anyone would seek out this place. Is it really that hard to get a sports bar right?

Where do I start? Thought they might be crowded for the Vikings game so made a reservation. Requested a table where all 3 of us could see the game. Got a table where 2 of us could see the game and the other person had to crane their neck or turn their chair backwards.
Music was playing as the game was about to start. Asked waitstaff if the game sound would be on. She said «Oh yes, the manager will take care of it, all the has to do is flip a switch». Waited a few minutes, still music. Said out loud to my companions «The game already started, are we ever going to be able to hear it»? The manager happened to be at the next table and she turned to me and said «I’m busy, I’ll get to it when I can». Not in a nice way but very rude. We watched as she walked towards the kitchen, chatted with the waitress, got a to-​go container and walk it to the table next to us. Did I mention the restaurant was over half empty?
The music finally stopped and we watched a silent Vikings game for over 5 minutes. During that time we apologized to our waitress and moved to the bar in order to see better. We had drinks already so asked for a food menu.
AND THAT FOLKS, WAS THE END OF GETTING SERVICE.
We were never offered refills, never asked for a food order, nothing. A gentleman came in and sat at the bar near us. He didn’t get offered a drink for 30 minutes. Two more people were sitting with empty glasses. We have no idea what the bartender was doing. Working was a waitress, bartender, host and manager. There were 5 people at the bar and 3 tables. I understand if a place is getting slammed but this was ridiculous.
At 1pm (an hour after the game started) we paid our bill and left. There are plenty of sports bars within walking distance with much better service. Oh, the gentleman next to us? When we got our bill he corralled the bartender and order 2 beers. When asked if he wanted both of them at the same time he said «Of course I do because I don’t know when the f*ck I’ll get offered another».

I came here with a coworker for dinner on a Monday night. It was that crowded but man the service was lacking… The owner, i think it was or the gm, was better than our actual server. It took us 30 minutes to be able to order our food even though we were ready to order within the first 10 mins. We did order some beers and when we got those the owner brought over complimentary deviled eggs. Those were absolutely delicious! Once we ordered our food, it did take a while to get our food but it was worth the wait. I ordered the Jamaican Jerk Pork Pizza. It was so unique, delicious, and got spicier with every bite! My coworker ordered the Pesto Chicken Pizza. We switched a slice and I am glad we did. His was just as good. Mine was more refreshing and his was heavy but filling. Great food, great owner, bad service…

My wife and I were hungry in St Paul and I had heard good things about The Rival House.
We sat at the bar and the bartender was super cool and refilled her soda often. Lots of TVs lined the walls and they had pinball machines and skee ball in there if that is your deal.
I ordered a Surly and the Cuban Reuben. Soooooo good. Really lucious pork and ham with a 1000 island dressing that was PERFECT.
If I had a complaint, it would be that the bread was too buttery. #Edinaproblems.
An awesome place that was fun to eat at.

I was excited to see Graves running a place In downtown saint Paul. St Paul desperately needs a good bar. Unfortunately this does not even come close to a Graves place. Every time we come for happy hour the host is very upset that we don’t know our exact head count. Sorry guys that’s how happy hours work get used to it.
The wait service also does not shine. The service is slow despite them being over staffed on a light night. The pizzas are actually really good but that doesn’t really change my complaints. It needs to live up to the Graves name.
The manager did stop by our table and it seemed like he had some real personality. Maybe that guy can turn things around.

Ping pong, table tennis, whatever you call it, I’ll keep coming back for it. Everything else about Rival House, well, I’ve got no complaints nor nothing I’ll be singing from the rooftops about.
First of all, Rival House is a welcome addition to this part of downtown St. Paul. The surrounding area, which is a no man’s land between Lowertown and West 7^th, is the epitome of downtown St. Paul’s reputation for being a ghost town after the nine-​to-​fivers roll out. That said, Rival House has a pretty good tap list and the food isn’t bad, but it’s nothing remarkable (which is somewhat disappointing after touting their ties to the temporarily shuttered Bradstreet Crafthouse and requiring beer training for all their staff during their opening days). Come hungry and/​or thirsty and you’ll likely leave satisfied — it’s sports bar grub taken up a bit with the help of a wood-​fired oven.
All things considered, any place I can play life size Jenga, catch the game, grab a good local pint and play some pong is doing just fine in my book.

They will get there, I’m sure. I suspect that I’ll be updating my review after going there a few more times.
I was there with my partner on one of the very first nights it was open and enjoyed a Saint Paul Flight. I don’t normally like fights since I don’t think I get a fair taste of beer before confusing my pallet with something different. I quite liked the map of Saint Paul that it comes on, though. Next time I’m there I may order the Minneapolis flight just so I can see the other map. The gimmick totally worked on me.
The pizza was cold and I wish there were more vegetarian options. My vegan companion ordered the Greek pizza with no cheese which seemed good and would have been better if it was served hot.
I ordered the Bahn Mi pizza and can’t recommend it. Not yummy. Perhaps that was due to ordering it with no meat. It could be that missing element skewed it in a negative place, but if there were more veggie options on the menu I wouldn’t have needed to go modifying the order. It was also cold.
We also ordered the barrel of pickles which does not come in a barrel shaped container. It is a smallish bowl of the exact same pickled items that I had on my Bahn Mi pizza. Disappointing.
They have a great space with a lot to do. Ping-​Pong, skee-​ball, loads of board games, and a full bar. Once they work out the kinks in the kitchen and I learn what to order and what not to order (never again will I be temped by the non-​barrel shaped barrel of pickles), I’m sure they will get another star from me.