Revolution

Had a reservation for 6:45 PM, they did not honor it. We waited 45 minutes. Had to rush to see a show, bartender did not acknowledge us, had seven minutes to eat our food. Couldn’t tell you if it was good or not as we are in such a hurry. Manager compensated our drinks. Horrible service!

Really cool décor, except for the live feed screens of the kitchen. So stupid. We did the 3 course tasting with the wine pairings and it was all mediocre. Had the tuna poke and it was too acidic. Too much lemon juice, that’s all you could taste. The lobster deviled eggs were good. The veal short rib was poorly planned. There is NO excuse for putting cheese on top of braised short rib. Ever! Scraped it off and it was pretty good. Dessert was nothing but an almost stale croissant filled with a mascarpone filling. Disappointing. Won’t retutn.

I took my hubby here for a birthday dinner after a baseball game. The place is very nice and trendy but the day we went the AC wasn’t working (in the summer… ugh). The service was excellent and so was the food! We had a shrimp appetizer and both had steaks as entrée and WOW were they both delicious. The place is a little pricey so I’d say it’s nice for a celebration of some sort or a date night.

I went to the Revolution for a business dinner with a colleague and a couple of overseas guests. This restaurant is spacious and has a clean-​cut and relaxed vibe to it that I really liked. We were seated at a corner table with high stools which worked very well for everyone.
My guests started with the Byron Chardonnay, Stonestreet Cabernet and a Highland Oatmeal Porter, I opted for the Cuban Dark and Stormy cocktail. This was fine, but did not blow me away. For my appetizer I tried the octopus salad — which was served cold in a small bowl — the few morsels of octopus within were deliciously chewy and fresh but otherwise the salad was nothing to write home about.
My entrée was the pappardelle bolognese — perhaps one of the better ones I’ve had, with the pasta cooked al dente and lots of flavor and meat in the sauce. The others ordered the salmon special (looked awesome, I had to resist pulling my iPhone out for a picture!) and the seafood stew.
Finally, the dessert — lemon tart, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate martini for my dinner companions, a glass of Quinto Do Infantado port for me — which I enjoyed sipping as we wrapped up our business conversation.
Overall a nice evening — quiet atmosphere, good food that’s not too pricey, discreet yet attentive service — which all made for a productive business dinner.

In an effort to be fair, I should disclose that we ate at Revolution before seeing Jerry Seinfeld at DPAC — as did a lot of others.
We arrived at 8pm for our reservation, intent on having small plates for dinner. The place was packed, so we were shown to the basement dining room. I appreciate that we were seated immediately, but after seeing the gorgeous main dining room, being shuffled off to the dungeon was a bit of a let down.
On our way downstairs, the hostess asked if we were seeing Seinfeld. I said yes, and she promptly told us to not order anything «fancy or a big steak» because the kitchen was slammed and there was no way we’d get our food in time to make the show. My girlfriend was annoyed by this, but I appreciated the advice and we took it to heart.
And glad we did. It took us over 45 minutes from the time we ordered to getting our first small plates. Our server and her assistant did a wonderful magic act — the server would disappear, and her assistant somehow managed to find a way to refill our water glasses repeatedly — despite neither of us drinking water. We watched as the room grew progressively more anxious. Four of the other five tables were also going to the show and had been seated longer than we had. It was clear that our server was overwhelmed and should have had more help.
When we received our food first, despite being the last to arrive, the grumbling started. My girlfriend filled me in on all the drama unfolding at each table as people started complaining more loudly, as I was too busy scarfing my way through romaine salad, spring rolls, steak tartare, tuna poke, and beer braised mussels. The food was excellent, but I wasn’t able to enjoy it as we were engaged in a high stakes game of «beat the clock».
Three of the other tables closed out their tickets without receiving food. The final insult was that a group of six had their meals delivered at 9:20, more than an hour and a half after they ordered, and right as we were all leaving to make the 9:30 show across the street.
I can’t imagine that Revolution wouldn’t know they would be this busy and should have prepared much better for the evening. All in all a highly disappointing experience.

Have taken the cooking class here before, which was great, but man — the chefs here are obviously the professionals! Everything was truly, truly incredible.
Many places in the area like to upcharge for ambiance and high-​class dishes, but the actual food itself isn’t worth the price… Revolution is worth every penny.
Truly outstanding in every way — food is perfectly cooked, wine is curated (and recommended) with great taste, even the music was a great dining playlist. Strongly recommend as the best upscale restaurant (and cooking class) in the Triangle.

Finishing our meal at Revolution last night, Steve A. leaned over and said, «I’d like to come here on my birthday and do a cocktail and small plates extravaganza. Try all the small plates and ALL the cocktails.» With a comment like that, you know our experience was quality. We put in a reservation for a Tuesday night and while it looked like the table section of the restaurant was fairly crowded, the bar was empty. We ended up asking to sit at the bar, I personally enjoy the «bar» feel at most restaurants, and I’d say it’s definitely a more casual experience at Revolution (although it is still NOT casual, just more so then at the tables). NOTE: they also have a small bar in front of a closed circuit tv, allowing you to watch the action in the kitchen! What a great idea! So technically, Revolution qualifies as an «open kitchen» restaurant – if you consider a video screen of the kitchen «open.»
First of all, Revolution has a beautiful atmosphere, white walls with light colored accents, including a lovely tiled wall facing the bar. Everything has a place, is polished and clean. Large windows facing the street allow lots of naturing lighting and the setting is quiet: romantic yet also professional business dinners could be conducted here. The bartender (and our server) was absolutely wonderful, we started with an Agave in Bloom (tequila, elderflower liqueur, citrus, cranberry) and Blueberry — Lavender Fiz (vodka, lavender syrup, muddled blueberries, soda). Agava in Bloom definitely reminded me of a fancied up margarita while the blueberry — lavender fiz and very unique: the lavender clearly shown and the drink was well rounded, sweetness was very balanced. The only thing I’d note are the muddled blueberries do leave a lot of texture to the drink, so if you don’t like sucking up bits of blueberry, this drink might not be for you. I personally LOVED it.
It was very hard to decide what to eat, they have specials every night in addition to the amazing set menu. We went with two small plates: (evening special) tuna resting on a bed of bok choy with a reduced miso sauce and the pork and shrimp rolls (fried spring rolls with blackberry sweet and sour dipping sauce). Both were truly lovely, and cleaned the plates! We also ordered the special entrée of the evening: an incredibly tender piece of roasted pork shoulder on a bed of delicious, creamy risotto served with two large pieces of a rich, parmesan cheese and arugula. It was incredibly, although very heavy. We tried our hardest, but couldn’t finish it all! It was a huge serving, easily split between two people. They also serve the most delicious fresh french bread with meals, you won’t leave hungry! The price tag for a meal at Revolution is high, but for the quantity in a serving in addition to freshness, technique and aptitude in the kitchen, it is well worth a trip (you won’t be able to prepare these meals at home!) Come hungry, leave happy!

Came in on a Saturday to enjoy the Chef’s three course tasting menu. We dined at the bar and were greeted by and introduced to the staff. Service here is always top notch but I feel you get even better service at the bar along with a great view of the restaurant and Main Street, which can be quite entertaining. I started with the Spanish Mojito which was delicious and refreshing for a late summer evening. Ordering the tasting menu can be fun experience and one must come in with an open mind. With that said I was a little disappointed with our meal. I was hoping for more of a seasonally inspired menu since it was still summer and fresh ingredients still plentiful. Though our meal was delicious, it was very heavy, almost winter like and just wasn’t what I was hoping for. Our appetizer was sausage served on a shrimp cake with mushrooms and rich gravy. Main course was a roasted pork shoulder with black beans and peaches. Both were substantial portions and we boxed up most of the pork to save room for dessert. Tiramisu and a Panna cotta, that was heavenly, ended the meal nicely. I love their tasting menu and wish more restaurants offered them. I enjoy the creativity of a chef and hope to be wowed, try something new and learn different ingredient pairings but sadly this wasn’t the case this time around. They offer a 3, 5 or 7 course chef tasting and you can add a 3 or 5 wine flight pairing to your meal if you so chose. Overall we enjoyed ourselves and will continue to dine here.

My husband & I moved to Durham in October and have found such a gem in this establishment! He is a meat eater + I myself am vegetarian and often we find ourself struggling in either direction when we are out, but this menu is constantly evolving and always has something that leaves us both completely satisfied. Even having had things I wasn’t completely sold on, the service is amazing, they recognize us every time we have come back (even after our first visit). The only down side is their hostess is typically very short winded and generally uninterested in her surroundings/​customers, but still I give 5 stars to the superb cuisine variation, and the amazing consideration and outstanding service from the wait/​bar staff.

Our waiter was a gem and the service was awesome. The food was very mediocre, at best. We got the mussels which I enjoyed. The tuna poke had a heavy horseradish sauce which overpowered the dish. First tuna dish I could not eat. My husband and I shared the fish soup — I thought it was bland and greasy. Desert was very good.
I wanted to like it because the service bent over backwards, but the food overtook this rating. Sadly, I would not come back. The restaurant also had a musty smell.

Ate here on a business trip. Simply awesome! Live on the edge and do the chefs choice. I got filet, calomari and marscapone stuffed crossont! Omg! Soo good. The wine pairing option was great!
Service is good. Pricing is amazing coming from someone in Chicago! A must for the trendy urbanite!

Beautiful place in downtown Durham. Clean, white, simple décor, with a large and modern bar.
Menu has many tempting options, with ample seafood. I believe most if not all of their food is local, «farm to table». Great wine list (2014 Cercius was excellent; we had two bottles).Their bread is shipped from New York on a daily basis, a small detail that makes a huge difference.
We tried several starters, including incredible chilled oysters (my mother said they were the best she’s ever had), angus beef tartare, grilled octopus (too chewy), and a fresh pasta appetizer. Entrees-​wise, we shared local lobster with fresh spinach ravioli, seafood stew, and eggplant «lasagna». All were well-​sized and delicious. We were so collectively satisfied, we skipped the enticing dessert menu.
This was a dynamite dining experience with very attentive service. If I didn’t live over 500 miles away, I’d definitely be a «Revolution regular».

Went there for a company event. We had drinks at the bar which were good then went down to the basement for dinner. The basement literally smelled like a cat litter box. It wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful but it was distinct, so that was a surprise.
The food was very average. I had the haystack shrimp and Carolina flounder, both of which were plated well but lacked any real flavor. I conferred with others in our group with different dishes and they all said similar things about their food. It was not bad, it was just rather plain.
The service was actually great, I don’t think my wine glass ever got empty. They were attentive and helpful which was excellent.
Overall it was fine, just plain food with good drinks and good service. It served like nothing special hence the three stars. I wouldn’t go back if I was paying a it.

We came for restaurant week, $ 30 for a three course meal.
My appetizer was a huge serving of mussels (see picture). I had to share it with my three dinner companions, but they all loved it and cleaned off the plate. The mussels were good but a little too salty for my taste. The soup of the dish was great with the free bread.
My entrée was a seafood curry with monkfish and rice. Again a little too salty for me, but still delicious.
I had to take my warm apple crisp dessert to go, but it was great even after I reheated it in the microwave.
Service was wonderful. Our server was attentive and informative and checked up on us often.
The experience was fine, but I probably wouldn’t come again unless there was a super promotion.

When it’s Friday night and you get a babysitter, that means it’s date night! Best of all, it’s time to go get a cocktail!
My husband and I decided to grab a quick drink at Revolution. While we did not dine there, we did enjoy a pair of drinks before continuing on with our evening. The bartender actually made us his own delicious concoction that was not on the menu. Super yummy!
I really liked the interior of the lounge area. It has a modern and posh look that makes you feel like a VIP. And that’s hard to come by in Downtown Durham. There is also the downstairs area that I did not get a chance to see, but it sounded like a lot of fun. Especially when a bunch of drunk high heeled women came out of there laughing, I assumed something cool was happening down there LOL. Anyways, I would definitely go back, and would be interested in trying out their dinner options next time.

I have to say that I was disappointed with the food here, after having wanted to go for quite a while. We got the venison dish, the spinach pasta with beef, and the seared tuna with kimchi. The version dish was very flavorful – and it made me want to try venison again. The kimchi was good, but I have to say that the seared tuna lacked flavor – which is odd because I think of tuna as so inherently flavorful in general. I don’t know if maybe they don’t marinate it? Either way, a little disappointing. But the beef pasta was really a letdown. The flavors just didn’t complement each other that well – and it was so bland we didn’t finish it, which doesn’t happen that often. I think it would’ve been better as a pot roast.
Outside of the food, the place is really nice. I’ve been here before for a drink, and it’s a really fancy, nice place to go (but when you’re an acclaimed restaurant, I consider the food to be pretty important). The service was great and prompt – our waitress was happy to replace the food we weren’t as happy with, but we decided not to do this. The ambiance is very metropolitan – the interior has a snowy, white look.
I’d come again, but it wouldn’t be my first choice. I definitely would order something else.

I can’t believe how many times we walked past Revolution without noticing it! Tucked into the heart of Durham’s Main Street, Revolution is a real culinary adventure and one well worth taking.
My wife and i both did the five course tasting menu, and while the details of each dish have sadly escaped my memory, I can confirm that they were both unique and delicious. The chef isn’t afraid to take on strange and unique ingredients, and he did it with plenty of flair the night that we were there.
Service was stellar, and the décor was chic modern.
We’ll be back.

Dim lights, sleek walls, modern art, candlelit food, valet parking, Revolution is one of Durham’s classiest and coolest restaurants. I find its name very apt. Revolution’s contemporary, sophisticated look is very revolutionary compared to the more rustic, homely décor of other Durham dining spaces. Its NYC, metropolitan feel gives off an ambiance that seems almost incompatible with the rest of the small town, but it works! And many customers are attracted to this venue for these very reasons.
What impresses me most about this restaurant is the bar lounge area. It is spacious, clean, and can be pretty packed, especially at 8 pm on a Saturday night. It seems like the perfect place for a large group of friends to hang out. The dining side of the restaurant, on the other hand, is more intimate and more suited for a romantic encounter, a girls’ night out, or any type of special occasion.
In my experience, restaurant service was fine — nothing spectacular but nothing disappointing either. We made a reservation, and we were seated promptly. Food was tasty, but not the best I have ever had in Durham. Bread was soft, but butter was hard. I was delighted with the pumpkin ravioli small dish, but their roasted red snapper large dish was just satisfactory. I thought the fish was a little dry, and they gave too little avacado purée to go along with the lemon-​dill potato salad. Prices were high ($ 26 for the Red Snapper), but the dishes were well portioned.
I had the warm apple crisp for dessert, and it was good. But the ratio of crust to apple was too high, and their scoop of ice cream was also very small. I recommend sharing this with at least two people, as the overall size of the crisp is pretty large. Revolution also offers an original, exotic array of cocktails. Chocolate martini, toasted almond, orange sombrero were some that caught my eye. I tried the chocolate martini, which had a prominent Godiva liquor taste. These creative spins on classic, traditional drinks make me want to try something different every time!

Over the past 3 years of living in Durham, I have tried dozens of restaurants here and Revolution remains as one of my absolute favorites in the area. There’s something simply magical about this place. The interior décor is gorgeous, the food is delicious, and the service is top-​notch. From my 20^th birthday (where they had to accommodate a very big party) to dates and parents weekend, I have come to Revolution for several occasions and have never been disappointed. I’ve sat different parts of the restaurant for dining (at the bar, 1^st floor, as well as downstairs) and have had an enjoyable experience every time.
Some of my favorites on the menu include the duck confit, ahi poke tuna and the 3-​course tasting. They give a generous amount of food — I have never left this restaurant unsatisfied! I do have some comments on a few of the dishes I’ve tried, however — their food is a little heavy on the salt (tuna salad, and tasting menu tonight with fried calamari and pork loin) and their pork belly small dish is too heavy and rich, paired with a side that’s delicious yet too heavy on its own to complement well with the pork. Oh, and service! The waiters here are so wonderfully accommodating with big smiles on their face. Two weeks ago my date and I were here quietly celebrating my birthday. Our waiter, whom we did not let know in advance, somehow picked up the clue and gave us a complementary dessert with candles as well as a happy birthday note written on the check. So sweet!
They have quite an extensive wine list as well as a great cocktail selection worth checking out… the very attractive bartenders are worth checking out as well ;)

Wow. I just had the dining experience of a lifetime. Because it was so great, I have a really hard time believing that it only has 3.5 stars on Unilocal.
The décor is so modern and chic. Lots of space, bar area, and even a cute lounge area with couches. They also have these GORGEOUS lights which the waiter actually told us were made by the owner himself. The tables are set up beautifully and everything about this place just seems very modern.
Let’s talk about service. This being my first visit to Revolution, I couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more knowledgeable waiter. He was so kind about helping us pick food according to our interests and even told us that if we took a bite of whatever and we didnt like it, they would work to find another item we would like. He was attentive without being intrusive. Another great thing about the service here was that 5 – 6 different people came to ask how we were doing, fill our waters, clear plates, etc. Every single one of them were so polite and respectful without being too intrusive.
Then the food. The menu has a pretty wide variety of things. It says the restaurant is «american/​new european» but it definitely seems very global. It seems that the menu changes quite often, so maybe it can be a hit or miss. Instead of getting the entrees, or «bigs» the waiter suggested we get a couple of «smalls» (which are half portions) to share and taste more variety. I am so glad we did this because we got to taste a little bit of multiple dishes. We ordered the beer braised mussels, the duck confit leg, and the tamales. Without going into much details, because i would be here for days describing it, they all tasted SO GOOD. Each plate had a really complex flavor that were layered to make a really nice combination in your mouth. Nothing was overly or not seasoned, it was perfect. The mussels were definitely my favorite.
For dessert we also tried the chocolate mousse cake with toasted almond and hazelnut crust. Wow. It was just perfect. The mousse was extremely fluffy and the crust gave the mousse a nice and crunchy texture.
Overall, I cant rave more about this place. I am looking forward to going again and trying more things!