Revival

I have to agree with another Unilocaler. I wish I had not read all the rave reviews, because I think I set my expectations really too high.
Made sure to arrive pretty close to the opening at 4 pm. We were probably the fourth party in the door. Great that there was no wait. I wouldn’t want to wait if there was one because the place is a tight squeeze and I dislike when people are waiting on top of me and vice versa when people are trying to enjoy their meal.
Food:
Hush puppies. Good and the sauce was good, but a lot of batter.
Biscuits –meh
Chicken– my husband liked his a lot more than I did. He had the stain on his face to prove it. Mine was okay, but it was a really small breast and nothing really stood out for me or made me want to yell out, ummm… this shit is good. Sorry, the wow factor just wasn’t there for me.
Rice was good, but I think the butter can be thanked for that.
Close quarters, like NYC close. And what is it with everyone playing Bob Marley lately? Mix it up. So tired of listening to that same jammmin’mmm drone on. To each their own.
Our server was okay. Pretty non existent despite most of the staff just hanging out at the bar. I used to over tip even when the service was mediocre, but why? There are so many restaurants with great servers who truly deserve that overage. The gal running out our food had a bit of an attitude, too. So sorry, I’ll save my over tipping for servers who really deserve it. No check ins other than running the tab. I don’t need to be fawned over, but a simple quick,” do you need anything“would be nice.
My try out their St. Paul location because it’s a lot closer, but wont be rushing back to Mpls for this chicken. Not bad, but not overwhelmed.

Be prepared to be underwhelmed and nickle and dimed…
Summary: water with no ice, no refill sodas, avoid the pork rinds, soggy green tomatoes, white slaw that looks like it has gone bad and a 1 ½ portion of chicken… very disappointing.
Review:
I assume anyone raving about this place has never actually traveled to the South. I have, and my friend who I took here on Sat 6 – 11 has too, so we both had an idea of what we were expecting. We walked thru the door to be greeted by a very small space, which was pleasantly cool enough on a hot humid day like Sat was in the cities.
We were told that there were no tables available for a party of 2 even though there were a pair of four tops available and that the wait would be short. Feeling the heat I asked for a glass of water to cool my throat. What I got was a glass of tepid water, with NO ICE. It is 90 degrees outside and they are serving room temperature water with NO ICE. That was the first warning sign.
Eventually we were seated at a little table tucked way in the back of the restaurant, almost as if we were misbehaving school children. My friend and I both ordered the Tennessee Hot 2 piece, myself specifying a leg and a thigh, both with White Slaw. He also ordered the Pork Rinds as a starter while I went for the Fried Green Tomatoes.
Hoping to find a cool drink, we both ordered a diet coke, and when we were greeted with 8oz bottles, the second warning light went off… Revival is a nickle and dime joint. Any decent restaurant offers fountain soda with refills, especially if their specialty is spicy food.
Then suddenly the couple who were sitting down next us in exile were offered one of the four tops in the main room that we had been told were only for foursomes, leaving us alone in our exile… yet another strike against Revival.
Out came our apps… the pork rinds were a joke. Straight from a bag you can buy at any gas station for a $ 1.49 sat a pile for rinds, dusted with what looked like cayenne pepper, and some cheese sauce. it was maybe $.35 worth of food that we were just charged $ 5 for. The green tomatoes looked better, and were not bad, but compared to the ones I had last eaten in Vicksburg MS, they were a sad comparison. By setting the tomatoes in the sauce VS drizzling the sauce over the tops, the bottom side of the breading becomes a bit of a gooey mess and you loose the crunch you are looking for when you eat them. The side salad that came with the tomatoes was delightful.
Then came the chicken and slaw. All I can say about their «White Slaw» is that it was Grey and tasted like it had gone slightly bad. The chicken was pretty good, but again the nickle and dime nature of Revival appeared… my friends 2 piece order was made up of a leg and a ball of meat that we eventually decided must have been a breast cut in half. Half of a Breast! hence he had a 1 ½ piece meal.
So, $ 48 later, and that is before the tip, I agreed with my friend as we walked out the door when he turned to me and said, «We should have gone to Popeye’s.»
Anyone raving about Revival has probably never eaten the real thing so I would suggest a quick trip to Popeye’s and playing the Allman Brothers song, «Revival.»

This place was amazing! Food was excellent.
I had the regular southern fried Chicken one white one dark. Mac & Cheese was good, I have had better. That being said I have ate in the south many a time. the collard greens were amazing! The atmosphere is to be desired, small and cramped but are expanding they say. Worth a trip I still. Get the fried green tomato salad it was very good best I have had.

Pretty awesome place! Super packed! Have to wait a little to get a seat but when you do you are in for a fun menu with some great twists on traditional dishes. Great beer and wine selection. I had the fried chicken which was awesome! Def. a place you need to check out in Minneapolis!

This place is delicious! You must have the fried chicken. A truly yummy southern eating experience right in Minneapolis. The place isn’t very large and is becoming quite popular so plan ahead. Everyone in my party agreed that we must return!

This was my last day in Minneapolis, which happened to be Memorial Day. I wanted some good food before I hit the road for 5 plus hours. I suggested this place to a friend that was in town as well. He said he was coming to join me with 4 other people that were with him. I just so happened to be the first one that arrived and the place was packed. I got there about 1130 – 1145 and they opened at 11 for the holiday .
I ended up just grabbing a seat at the bar and glanced over the menu. I decided to go with the Fried Green Tomatoes and Pickle Sauce appetizer, Southern Fried chicken with Mac n cheese and collard greens. In all honesty I have to say the Fried Green Tomatoes are the absolute best I’ve ever tasted. Breaded, seasoned, and fried to absolute perfection. The bed of greens and pickle sauce were a great compliment. For my main entrée I ordered the southern fried chicken. I opted for the southern fried and passed on the Tennessee hot or the poultrygeist. I wasn’t in an adventurous mood and the server did warn me of the levels of spicy heat for each one. The Tennessee hot is like a level 8 out of 10 and the poultrygeist is like level 11. The southern fried was delish, especially when you add some Revival BBQ sauce to it. Once again the Revival sauce was the absolute best combo of sweet and spicy sauce I’ve tasted in a long time. The Mac n cheese was a gooey organized mess but mouth watering especially when you add some pepper vinegar to it. Their are bottles of it on each table. All the sauces and vinegars are made in house. The collards were pretty decent as well.
At this point I was super stuffed but my friends had to wait a little longer because they arrived later than I did and they had a bigger party of people. I decided to wait with them until they got a table and I had dessert by this time. I went with the banana cream pie. The pie was something to call home about. The pie was smooth, creamy, not overly sweet and the graham cracker crust was perfect. Definitely fulfilling for two people to share. All in all great food experience, everything was excellent. Food had lots of flavor, without being overly sweet or salty, not to spicy. Will definitely be back when I’m in town again. Word of advice is call ahead of time and ask how long is your wait time because they don’t except over the phone reservations. I honestly give them 4.5 stars. The only knock is the wait time but if you have a good product then your place will stay crowded

I kept saying to my wife: «I’m suspicious of „southern“ restaurants anywhere outside, you know, the south.» But I was wrong. So wrong.
Yeah, there’s a wait most days. But I honestly can’t think of a better place in the Twin Cities. Amazing food, great service, and — for the area — pretty affordable.
Biscuits. Mac and cheese. Fried chicken. Butterscotch pie. It was like returning to the North Carolina of my youth – but without all the crazy nutter politics.

Ever since startribune voted them as the best new restaurent of 2015, we wanted to try this place. Went there 3 times and every time there was minimum of an hour of wait time and maximum of 2 hours. So on a chilly day in spring we decided to go and wait it out. We went around 7.30 on a saturday and it was 2 hour wait time. We sat it out in the car parking. We got our table at around 9.35 PM. Staff were very courteous through the wait (They are using waitlist me app)
Place is very small with space to accomodate about 40 people. Nothing fancy about the interior or set up. We ordered fried green tomato, biscuits and butter, hush puppies for appetizer. Fried green tomatoes were ok, biscuit was very crisp on the outside but very moist inside. The butter with biscuit was little different and little sweeter, but complimented the biscuit very well. Hush puppies was little sweeter for me but was real good along with the sauce.
For the entrée we ordered half southern fired chicken and 2 tennesse hot chicken. Chicken hands down was their best dish. I dont know what they do to their chicken but it was so moist and juicy, not greasy at all. It literally melted and had to chew just once or twice. Was not a great fan of tennesse hot chicken, it was not that hot. so go with southern fried only. We also ordered shrip and grits. i have not had that many shrimp and grits but they were the best i ever had. They should have gone little easy on the bacon. Grits were moist and shrimp were cooked perfectly.
They had lot of can beers and 3 draft options only. They did carry few wines as well. No cocktails. Service was good.
Hands down the best fried chicken i had ever had. Definitely a must try place. If not for the wait would have given 5 stars. I heard they are expanding late this summer in the same location to increase the capacity, so hopefully when i return i dont have to wait for 2 hours.
SEATING TIP: If you are a party of 2, try stoping by around 9.40 to 9.50 (They close at 10) there is a good chance you will get a seat with out a wait. Couple of them stopped by on saturday and they got seats. Go with a back up plan and its worth a try. Or go there and order the chicken for take out. I dont think they take take out orders over the phone

I can’t iterate this enough: you haven’t eaten good fried chicken until you’ve had Revival’s! There is just so much to love about this restaurant — the décor, the service, the food, everything is AMAZING!
I came here for the second time this afternoon with my mom and my best friend. We got there around 11:30 am and were seated immediately (unlike the last time which was during dinner rush — avoid if possible!).
Like I said, I love the décor of the restaurant! The space is small but they make use of it. I am all for the wooden décor and floral wallpaper on the back wall. My favorite part of the restaurant are the big windows that allow so much light into the restaurant, it just makes me so happy dining there!
And then there’s the food. We ordered:
APPETIZERS
— pork rinds (hot cheetos style with cheese sauce) — so crispy! The rinds were good on their own but the cheese sauce was a great complement
CHICKEN — (for both) the skin is so crispy and the meat is so juicy and tender! HEAVEN
— tennessee hot (two piece) — there’s just so much flavor to it! The right amount of spice and spiciness
— southern fried (half bird) — just as good as the Tennessee Hot, especially with the sauces that they provide you
SIDES
— mac & cheese — better than I remembered! The perfect amount of cheesiness
— hush puppies — so golden and crispy. The batter is so light yet flavorful
— collard greens — ordered this side for my mom and she loved them
DESSERT
— rhubarb pie — it was a mixture of sweet and tart, it was a great way to finish off our meal
Lastly, the service. Our waiter was very nice! He checked on us frequently, offered us suggestions, and gave us feedback on the menu items when we struggled to decide what we wanted to order.

Revival has been on my list for awhile and I just haven’t made the excuse to get down there. My husband went for lunch with some co-​workers awhile back and enjoyed it, so recommended it for our next date night. I will note also that I am not really familiar at all with southern food.
As I’ve come to expect from the reviews it was busy. We waited about 20 minutes and sipped a beer while we did so.
Once seated, our fabulous waitress (I want to say Stevee?) came over and introduced herself. She mentioned some of the favorites — I asked what her recommended app was and she suggested the Johnnycakes, so we ordered those. They also had a cherry infused beer on tap (from Ommegang IIRC) that I wanted to try, so she brought us both generous tasters, which was much appreciated.
So the Johnnycakes. Pancakes stuffed with cheese and other wonderful things with some greens and a buttery mapley sauce. I don’t know what I was expecting really but holy sheeet they were good. Highly recommend…
For dinner we got half a chicken with the regular fried style (no spice or anything like that). I got hush puppies as a side because I’ve never tried them before and the hubs got some golden rice side. I didn’t know how awesome hush puppies are. Basically mini corn dogs without the hot dog in the middle, just the delicious batter. Oh, kick them up by putting some of the sweet potato sauce that they provide for the chicken, daaamn. Oh, and you get a giant ass plate of them.
The chicken was great. Crunchy on the outside, nice and moist and flavorful inside. I don’t eat much fried chicken but I really enjoyed this!
We finished up, there was one piece of chicken left and about half my hush puppies. Stevee asked if we wanted dessert, we declined and I mentioned how the hush puppies with the sweet potato sauce was nearly a dessert in itself. She took our plates to box our remnants, we paid and went on our way. I belatedly realized I should have poured some of that sauce in my hush puppy box before we left.
Then the next morning I opened the box and found that our server had put a cup of the sweet potato sauce in there :)
Would like to go back, so many other things on the menu I want to try! ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would recommend!

Can’t believe I was here months ago and haven’t reviewed this yet!
As we are all aware southern food and fried chicken in particular is sorely lacking in the good old TC. Not anymore. Revival solves that problem. The fried chicken is incredible. The breading is perfectly light and crispy without being overly greasy and heavy. The seasoning in it is wonderful. The hot sauces they put on your tables to compliment the chicken are incredible. Though if you don’t like hot stay away. These aren’t MN hot. They are south US hot. I had the Tennessee hot chicken… it was no joke. Amazing but no joke. Hot enough to where I had to take mini breaks in between bites to give my mouth a little respite.
The sides are equally as delish. I LOVE black eyed peas (the food definitely not the group) Mr. Broemer (the head chef) knows WTF he is doing. This is an easy dish but easy to overlook and mess up. Not this man. One bite and I was back in my grandma’s Houston kitchen like I was 12 again. Thank you sir for giving black eyed peas the respect they deserve. The mac and cheese is also killer. Definitely one of the best in the city. In fact, sir can you open and mac and cheese place next? Thanks!
Oh and do not leave this place without having a slice of the banana cream pie. It’s huge but it’s one of the best I’ve ever had.
The fried chicken problem is now solved!

Revival really was everything I had hoped for and more.
We were lucky enough to have a free morning/​lunch to stop in on a weekday. As I have heard the line can get disturbingly long on weekends, I was really glad we could make this happen. We showed up at 11:20AM on a Thursday, and found that the restaurant was already 80% full. By11:30AM, it was full and people were starting to wait for tables. The shop itself is quite small, and they really pack in a lot of tables. The décor isn’t anything special but it is clean, new, and a bit chic. I don’t have any complaints.
The food, oh my the food. We had to order the ½ southern fried chicken, revival burger, mac + cheese, and hush puppies and split it all between my wife and me. The burger was unreal. So juicy yet charred perfectly on a flat top. The cheese was oozing out. I didn’t receive nor need any condiments, the meat and cheese spoke to me and I devoured my provided half in no time at all. The fried chicken was amazeballs a well. Perfectly crisp, with some bits I could pull off and enjoy. The meat was juicy and savory. The portion for $ 18 was great (yes this could buy a few chickens at the grocery store; so what?).
The sides were in strong competition from the mains. The mac + cheese was cavatappi pasta bathed in a creamy and complex sauce, topped with a nice hard crunchy outer shell. I am going to have dreams about this mac and likely try to replicate it at home. The hush puppies made me wonder what I had even eaten before that others call «hush puppies» as these are the only ones to ever be so light, fluffy, and sweet that I couldn’t stop eating them.
The service was great, even from our self proclaimed waiter of only 3 days. Bill was under $ 50 for two with non-​alcoholic beverages and we even brought some leftovers home. Overall, it was a magical culinary experience with flavors I will dream about for weeks or more. I would love to go back but will do so during off hours as I can’t stand hours in a line!

Good food, good service. Horrible wait time and start of my second visit here.
My family knew there was going to be a wait right at opening 11am. So we got to Revival at 10:35 and waited in line on a Saturday. Being second in line once the doors opened they hadn’t seated anyone else so we went ahead a grabbed a table pulling a chair to fit 5. After ordering drinks and having plates set out by our server 15min seated, one of the employees rudely came up and told us that we shouldn’t have sat ourselves being a safety hazard. If we had known earlier we would have gladly followed the «rules». Throughout our meal the same employee then continuously points at my family’s table making it uncomfortable for us.
Our actual server was kind, again food was good but I felt the start was rude when not necessary, the employee could have handled it differently or even said something before the place filled up.
I won’t be coming back because of the experience at the beginning, I will also make sure to let others know.

Excellent food!
A friend invited us for lunch. We got there before noon and found a table right away, no wait.
I’m not a big fan of most southern food, in general. But I really liked everything we tried out… fried green tomatoes, Tennessee hot fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, and lemon meringue pie. The mac & cheese and the pie particularly kicked ass.
My ONLY BITCH about this place is that our server was snobby and super slow. She also seemed irritated by our many questions about the food. And she seemed bothered every time I wanted a fresh coffee. She just seemed bothered, in general! It wasn’t very busy so there was no excuse for the slow, slacker service. And there was definitely no excuse for the «holier-​than-​thou» routine.
Other than the server… thumbs up!
–Daddy Maxx Retro

KFC who?
my only critique is that I had to wait in the tiny restaurant while I watched others eat the delicious food (which is obviously not a real problem when the food is so damn good)
I went with a group of girlfriends and we tried almost everything.
the mac and cheese will make people who dont like mac n cheese, love it.
the tenessee hot is no joke. being asian, sometimes I scoff at menus that claim «hot» is actually hot; especially since I like the kind of hot that burns a hole in my stomach lining. but this was pretty hot! not just spicy but also spiced. from the inside out.
the original chicken is just as good, if not better! they have a whole rack of sauces, its fun to order the original and try them all.
and last but not least, the hushpuppies. its like a corn dog without the dog and then some heavenly sauce on the side. we ordered 2 orders…

Worth the Wait.
Let me get this out of the way. You will wait for your table here. Like, for a long time. I don’t care if you eat dinner at 4:00 like my grandmother or at 9:30 like some goddamn hooligan — you will wait. The good news, though, is that you won’t be mad about it once that food hits your tongue.
Came here with two girlfriends for dinner on a Monday around 5:45 PM. The restaurant was full, the waiting area was full. We edged our way in and gave our information to a nice gentleman with an iPad glued to his hand. Guys — they text you when your table is ready. You can go take a nap in your car, run some errands or do like we did, and hop over to The Lowbrow and grab a couple drinks while you wait.
We were texted just over an hour later that our table was ready. We settled up our bar tab and ran across the street, ready to dive into some southern comfort.
I ordered the winter squash and roasted chicken salad … AH-​mazing! Seriously, hit the spot. Fresh, tasty, delicious (insert additional adjectives here) … but I digress. My table mates ordered the Johnnycakes and the Buttermilk Fried Chicken (neither of which I tried because I STUFFED MY FACE WITH THE SALAD) and then we ordered grits and biscuits for the table because. the south. First time having grits. My interest is piqued but I can’t say I quite understand the fascination. I think I need to explore this dish more. The biscuits were perfectly flaky and warm.
Our server was perfection — she lovingly described any dish we asked about and was quick with recommendations. Our waters were always topped off, our conversations never interrupted. Our food was delicious and the atmosphere just divine.
I only give this 4 (or really 4.5) stars because I want to have a more comprehensive taste of their menu before giving them that oh-​so-​perfect score of 5.0
I’ll finish with the declaration that, while I’m a proud Minnesotan, dammit, I have to hand it to our Southern brethren — y’all do cuisine reeeeaaal nice.

You know who downs half a bottle of tart wine, eats a ramekin full of rich Mac and Cheese, and then sweats her way through a few giant pieces of spicy red chicken?
Pretty much any classy chick that dines here, I bet that’s who.
I’m one of those classy chicks and in classy chick manner I ate so much that I literally thought I was going to barf on the way to my car.
But don’t let my uncontrollable desire to overstuff my gullet get in your way of eating the best damn southern food that MN has to offer. I could shed tears thinking about how awesome my meal was here. Let me explain.
The first time I came here I was starving, crabby, and we waited for eternity to be seated. Mind you, this was about two weeks after they opened their doors. We ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes, that no one liked. Pork Rinds, that were 50/​50, and a slew of other things that any asshole could have complained about, and some of us did. But, I held out judgement because I didn’t feel that my first experience was what this place was really about.
Fast forward (too damn far into the future because driving to MPLS is like getting your ass waxed. You feel accomplished and clean and then shortly realize it’s still just ass)
Where was I going with that?
Oh, yeah.
The Tennessee Hot chicken is succulent, The Mac and Cheese was rich and creamy; the noodles had bite, the crumbs were crispy. At $ 6 a pop for Mac and Cheese, we each ordered our own serving because when it’s THAT good you just don’t share, even with loved ones. The Butter Beans were smooth, buttery and delicious. The collard greens were a little on the sweet side but oddly enough made them even more delicious. There were biscuits but I honestly couldn’t give a crap less about biscuits. Our Waitress (es) were amazing; polite, friendly, accommodating. Nothing could have made this dinner better.
Be forewarned: The restaurant is small, popular, and noisy. You will wait and possibly for a very long time. That’s the restaurant by nature — if you can’t handle that then maybe skip this joint or at least avoid complaining about those particular things. Pretty sure the owner isn’t going to pick up and move just for you.

I wish I knew what happened.
Where all these amazing reviews are coming from? Let me preface this by explaining that it is really and I mean REALLY hard to mess up fried chicken. Revival does not mess up the chicken. It is actually pretty good but that being said… That is not hard to be good at it. Where you stand out at a chicken joint is on your sides.
We had biscuits. You get 2 for $ 5. They are what you call a basic biscuit. Whats special about it is the butter that comes with it. Wow– yum!
The hush puppies are well… Basic. Would be better with hot dogs in them.
The mac and cheese was runny and not that great on the flavor spectrum.
The rice/​beans… Omg. Apparently they know what salt is and decided to have that be the only flavor. Watery beans and rice for $ 5.50 … Never again… Please take it away.
The sides are small for the price. The flavor profiles are at least attempted to be sophisticated but lacking on execution.
Where they do win is the two homemade sauces they bring to the table! One is a pepper and vinegar and the other is a sweet habanero… Surprisingly delicious — though seem like they are just short of a bbq sauce.
I wont be back anytime soon…
Needed to say… The burger with pork belly bacon is DELICIOUS and the only reason for the 2 stars. Super greasy and not worthy of a repeat but definitely delicious!

I’m probably going to get my ass kicked for this review. I know tons of Unilocaler friends leaving positive reviews, hyping up this chicken joint. Not sure if it was an off night but I was let down by the food. The service was top notch despite the hectic, loud and even overbearing noise in this small restaurant. It was packed. My girlfriend and I checked in at 5pm on a Friday night. Didn’t get a table until 630. I was thinking to myself this fried chicken better be worth my 1.5 hour wait.
So onto the actual food. Fried chicken livers were pretty tasty. Not dry and the sweet potato sauce really helped elevate the flavor. Without it, it was just plain old fried chicken livers. Now onto the main course of the evening… The Tennessee Hot chicken. There was a good heat to the chicken but the heat kept on building and building. The first few bites were good but nothing amazing. I got bored of the spicy flavor and again, used a lot of the sweet potato sauce to help with flavoring the chicken. And again, good fried chicken should not need additional sauce to enhance the flavor. The sides were also lackluster. Ordered the white cheddar grits and the mac & cheese. The mac & cheese pales in comparison to the one found at Smack Shack while more creamier white cheddar grits can be found at The Kenwood.
I noticed that the bigger groups got their seats when we finished eating. Wow! Uhm! The chicken was not the best I’ve had and certainly not worth the wait. Seeing how this might be the only legit fried chicken place in MSP, it’s no where near my expectations of succulent fried chicken. There literally is no waiting area. I went there on a Friday night and people are all bunched up in the bar/​door area which is really too small for comfort.
I had such high hopes for this fried chicken but it fell flat. Looks like I’m going to have to revisit this restaurant and try the regular fried chicken. This review might seem like all over the place but I assure you this restaurant is also all over the place.
I’m sorry if I offended anyone but I really wanted to like (love) this place and my dreams of finding the perfect piece of fried chicken was crushed into bits and pieces like a bag of M&Ms being run over by a 18 wheeler.

This place makes you want to go to a tent revival and pray to the food gods! Let it be known that I grew up in the rural South and have lived in Memphis for about seven years now. I also have spent a good amount of time eating all over the southeast. Needless to say, I have had my fair share of outstanding and bad southern cooking.
This was some of the best fried chicken I have had ever and it was «TN Hot». The spice was perfect, not overwhelming and the heat complimented the juicy chicken. The fried green tomatoes were flavorful and crispy, not soggy and sad like many places. The biscuits were amazing for soaking up the flavored butter. The only thing I didn’t go crazy over were the greens. I felt they were a little one-​note – mainly just sweet. They could have used a bit more vinegar or red pepper to give them a bit of a bite, but they were still delicious. I was told this is one of a few if not the only southern cooking joint in the Twin Cities. I will visit this place every time in in Minneapolis! If this place was in Memphis, it would be packed at all times.
As a side note, this is a place for a great lunch or dinner, but it is a bit loud and close quartered, so it isn’t that intimate or romantic to be honest, but do not let that keep you from taking the one you love; you will score major points on the food alone!