The Rialto - Fort Smith

I was disappointed that I couldn't try the locally brewed beer at this restaurant as two out of the five taps were not working. After waiting at the bar for 15 minutes without being served, we eventually left without being noticed. The bartender gave us a disapproving look when we finally got their attention. Despite the fact that the restaurant was less than half full, we didn't receive good service. It was a Sunday night, so maybe that's why the service was lacking. I hope to give this place another chance when I'm in Ft. Smith next time, and hopefully, they will have a more attentive bartender who communicates with customers better.

Our Christmas party consisted of about 25 people, so to be fair, it started off a bit slow but the server adapted well and provided good service. The food was tasty and the atmosphere was enjoyable. Despite staying past closing time, we did not feel rushed out. Overall, it was a positive experience.

We had an 8pm reservation but arrived a little early. There was one table seated in the dining room and a large birthday party happening when we arrived. We waited for at least 15 minutes before being greeted, meanwhile a couple who arrived after us was greeted quickly. The couple who arrived after us also received bread, salad, and drinks before us. It took almost an hour for our food to arrive, and we had to wait for bread which wasn't even mentioned until we asked. Our waitress was not attentive and disappeared for long periods of time. When our food finally arrived, our waitress disappeared again and didn't check on us. A manager came by as we finished our meal and offered dessert on the house after we expressed our complaints. Our waitress finally brought our dessert after a long wait and then took an incredibly long time to run our check. The complimentary brownies we received were cold. To add to the poor service, our waitress handed my card to the wrong person and didn't seem to care about the mistake. This was our first and last visit to this restaurant. The service was terrible and the food was just okay. For $75 for two dinners, we expected better service and an overall better dining experience. Save your money and go somewhere else where you can get great food and service.

My review is based only on the one visit that I recently had to Rialto, but I felt that I needed to review it because this was such an enjoyable experience. My friend and her husband treated us to Rialto. First off, the atmosphere was gorgeous! We sat in like a little sunroom nook. Very nice! My friend had the spinach stuffed Ravioli. Our husbands had the spaghetti and meatballs. And I had the blackened chicken Alfredo. There were no complaints across the table! EVERYTHING was excellent! Even the Caesar salad was fresh and crisp. A real perk was when I ordered Pinot Grigio and they didn't carry the one I normally drink. So I went with the Eco Domain that they do carry. That was the first time I'd tried Eco Domain and now that is my go-to Pinot Grigio. So the introduction to that at Rialto was a great idea! If you want some really good, even great, Italian food, Rialto Restaurant is a good, even great, choice! We will eat there again.

The Rialto had advertised for Wednesday night Ladies Nights. So, a couple of girlfriends and I decided to go for a fun night of drinks and food.We were shocked to find that Ladies Night was kind of dull and not a lot of ladies had decided to come out. We were not spoken to for the first 10 minutes after being seated at our table.Once we finally were tended to, we ordered drinks that took another 15-20 minutes to get to our table. We were also informed that the regular bartender was not there and the one filling in was unable to make a drink we ordered from the menu because he didn't know how.I won't even mention how long it took for the appetizer to reach our table. But moving on...After being seated at the restaurant for well over and hour, the waitress decided it was time to ask us if we'd like to order our food. We ordered.I personally ordered the fillet, medium rare.The food came out quicker than the appetizer.The presentation was adequate. However, upon cutting my steak. It was overcooked. Medium.All flavors were fine and good. But I do not think I will be returning unless it is for an event I am invited to and have no say as to the restaurant choice.All in all, very slow service, average and inconsistent drinks, fine food, but overpriced for what you get.Vegetarian options: They have vegetarian and vegan optionDietary restrictions: They have many gluten free options