The Revival

Some of the best food in Tempe!

Hope it isn’t closed forever. I love the food. Good ambiance. Not too loud. Great for date out or a Night with friends.

I met a friend here for dinner one night back in March and we had an amazing and memorable experience. First, the patio is fantastic — large, shaded and totally relaxing. Our server absolutely, hands down made the night even better — he was funny, engaging and completely directed our culinary adventure. We started with some craft cocktails that were expertly mixed and a great way to kick off our experience. We shared the braised duck taquitos to start and we shared the chile relleno and the chimichanga for our appetizers. The food was incredible and our server convinced us to order some things we normally would not have. This place is definitely worth checking out next time you are in Tempe!

We arrived at 11am to an empty restaurant, not a good sign. We ordered tacos, 4 different kinds to get a good feel for the food here. While deliciously seasoned, the two tiny tacos were hardly worth $ 9 a plate.
As a side note, the carne asana meat was very fatty, not trimmed well at all. I can’t stand big chunks of meat fat in my food so I left most of the meat on my plate.
Meanwhile the waiter brought me the wrong beer. I didn’t notice until he left, so I sipped on it for a while. By the time I was offered a replacement beer, I was ¾ of the way through the beer and finished with the tacos. I’m not a 2 beer at lunch sort of girl so I declined a second one. I wasn’t comped for the mistake at all, just got a ‘sorry’ from the waiter.
Overall, once is enough. Won’t be back to this restaurant.

My girl friend and I met for lunch! It was great! Not to busy and the Street Tacos where amazing, we ordered and shared all of them and I gotta say, they were spot on. I would know ;)

My fiancé and I have been to The Revival three or four times now and the food is so delicious! We have had the green chili pork tacos, the chipotle braised rib tacos, and the carne asada tacos. We also just had the grilled cheese and tomato soup. Best I have ever had!!!
The staff is nice and the ambiance of the whole restaurant is relaxed and comfortable.
I would definitely recommend giving them a try!

My office co-​workers and I decided to take on of our own who was leaving out to lunch. .. and this place was suggested. Been here many times before. .. when it had a different name and different owners. .. so I really did not know what to expect.
I was pleasently surprized. .. I ordered the Big Ass Burrito with Short Rib meat and an Iced Tea. As some of you know I am a BIG guy. .. so I was expecting a BIG burrito. .. it was a good size, but not the biggest I have had. .. and though it was very tasty. .. the best bites had the Short Rib Meat. .. which this burrito could have used more of. The Iced Tea tasted fresh brewed and was nice and clear.
I will definately be back to try more of the menu, „ and it is definatelly worth trying.

I try to go at least once a week. I would say best restaurant in Tempe, but it might be one of the best in all the valley. They actually listen to the customers too… example the steak with chimichuri was a special and myself and a bunch of buddies who frequent the revival said they need it back… last week went back to a new summer menu with the steak on it!!! Yummmm

Okay, I had them at four stars due to liking some things but missing some of the Mucho Gusto items but they have shifted — still new items but some of the favorites from Mucho Gusto are back on the menu, like the gaucho steak and the chiles rellenos. I went with some friends from work after a training and we played Cards Against Humanities (they have several card and board games) over drinks and dinner. I also noticed the price point on items has come down as well so the cost is more in line with what it used to be. I think this is a good example of an eatery trying something new and then shifting back a bit to incorporate things that people missed but still having new items like the selection of cocktails and the larger wine list. On Thursday night they also had live acoustic music which was wonderful! I have to say, I’m much more inclined to start coming back to Revival on a regular basis after this experience and they were quite busy on Thursday night so I hope they are doing well.

Ok, wasn’t impressed. Came for happy hour and did small plates.
First sign things were amiss.
1. our almond horchata, we saw the waiter pour some almond breeze milk into the drink. we politely called him out on it when he brought it over, and he admited, «they don’t get enough orders to make it worth it, so they cheat.» if that’s the case than don’t put it on your menu!
2. guacamole — they are smart, its served on this bed of cabbage in a bowl giving it the impression of quantity but it’s not.
on to the main meal. we did small plates.
tried their chorizo steamed mussels, duck taquitos, and green chile pork stew.
everything was super salty and a bit too rich for my taste buds. But prices weren’t too bad for happy hour, i think I would have been even more annoyed if I had to pay full price.
happy hour (going off of memory here): 4−6pm, $ 1 off small plates, guac for $ 5 (normally $ 7)

Delicious burrito for lunch. I got the half ass with carne asada and it was just right. Came with a quality fresh salad without oodles of dressing.
My friend had the pork tacos, which are his favorite and he is a regular.
The chips and salsa were equally tasty especially the salsa!

WARNING: Small plates=tortillas with some lettuce on top… there wasn’t enough fish to make one taco let alone 2. They did however address it when I showed him the amount of fish by bringing me another ounce of fish…
The rest of the guests were happy with their meals. Just shy away from the Small Plates if you want to get filled up. I think I’ll stick to the spinach salad I had previously.
The grilled cheese sandwich with soup is a delicious looking meal for those that are interested!

Amazing food, pretty impressed.
This place to hard to find at first, it is by Oregano’s and Rag-​o-​rama.
The food was on point, I ordered the short ribs, that is def a must here. Meat was perfect, spice was perfect.

So I got into town looking for something different. I saw this restaurant and turned around and wow was I surprised. Started with the Tomato Soup which was freaking awesome. A little spicy but not too much. Then the tacos arrived. Delicious I really liked them.
The staff was great really friendly. I highly recommend this restaurant.

(Lyrics — Weezer — Say It Ain’t So)
Bo Bites is coming
Is gonna review
Somebody’s restaurant
Is giving me thrills
Guess I’ll just give them a try
Oh yeah, alright, taste good, so right
Unilocal on the website
AZCulture with Warren
Something is brewing
Behind my site
Bo Bites is ready to blow
At The Revival… ooh oh
Your food is a heartbreaker
At The Revival… ooh oh
Your food is a life maker
The Revival is a little off key place away from the crowded Mill Ave. My first impression of the place was wow this would be a cool place to hang with a live band! The place serves up what I would consider Southwestern and American fusion food.
I came here with a date on a Wednesday night so the place was pretty slow overall. I didn’t care for having the staff hanging at the bar since as a manager of the business; that bothers me much. I ordered a Whiskey and ginger and proceeded with ordering for the both of us. The menu was split from small versus large plates. We shot for the small plates so we can share. We ordered the Braised Duck Taquitos, Steamed Mussels, and Patty’s Fish Tacos. The mussels were excellent for a chilly night as it was when we attended; warm chipotle-​chorizo sauce giving it an extra kick of spice along with some crustini bread. The fish tacos had a subtle bite and a minor kick of chipotle; crunch from the cabbage, but one thing I notice most was the corn tortilla which tasted homemade. The duck taquitos was well plated, topped with radish and red onions and surrounded by a tomatillo and pablano sauce — Oh yeah probably my favorite of the night.
We finished the night with some Mexican Chocolate and brownie to an already great night of eats. Overall, a great place for a foodie to grab some experimental bites! — Enjoy!

My review has dropped a bit, but stands at a solid 3.5 star. My main complaint about my recent experience is that the food was WAY OVERSALTED! Like whoah!
But otherwise, it’s still a nifty place. The service was excellent. I still adore the upcycled aesthetic. The owner even told me how to do the copper tables at home. I REALLY hope they bring back the steak salad.

I was a huge fan of Mucho Gusto so I have to admit it’s hard to walk into this building without craving their chili relleno with mushroom and walnuts. There’s a great relleno on the menu at the revival but it’s entrée size and I wanted to try some small plates instead. I had the ahi ceviche, which was a special. And the empanada. The ceviche was very flavorful with good spice. The empanada had a lovely creamy sauce. I enjoyed both of them. My friend had the Gypsy salad and it looked really delicious.

I’ve been a long-​time fan of House of Tricks and chef Kelly’s creations so it is no wonder the Revival was a big hit. I was sad to see Mucho Gusto go but the great location and beautiful patio spot will keep people coming in. Now first off this certainly wasn’t the cheapest lunch but I dug into my pocket book a little deeper because it is well worth it.
A few of my favorites from the menu are the caesar salad with its spicy dressing and pumpkin seeds and the braised short rib sandwich with shallots and an apple cider slaw. The fig itabout it cocktail was wonderful. I can’t wait to go back for dinner and try out one of the steaks.

Came in pretty for late dinner based off good reviews and bc they were open and relatively new. It was nice to see a place with better than bar food open past 10 in tempe. The cocktails were good but the food was much better. I ordered every appetizer for the table, made a nice light dinner, perfect for throwing down beer after without exploding. Check out the pics. Everything was great! My favorite was the fried avocado under the scallops. ;) nice large salad as well, pork belly was meaty, ribs were unusual, but good. Cocktails n every app and a salad, $ 100

I’m really on the fence about trying this place again. On one hand, I liked the wine/​cocktail list, the appetizers and ambiance. On the other, the service was lacking and the entrees were tiny and oversalted.
My sister and I came for restaurant prior to seeing a show at Gammage. I made 5:30 reservations so that we wouldn’t have to rush dinner. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened due to a 30 minute+ gap between our appetizers and entrees. Our server never checked up on us or explained what was happening until after we flagged down someone else to order another glass of wine. I was also irked that our server took my silverware after I finished my first course but never bothered to replace it. Luckily, the host sitting at the door rushed over to give me a new set so I didn’t have to wait on our server again.
My sister got the vegan cauliflower bisque which had a light texture and nice basil flavor. I loved my fried manchego. It was like the best part of a grilled cheese sandwich accompanied by a delicious roasted sweet tomatoes. The succotash entrée, however, was minuscule and almost ruined by the heavily salted wilted spinach. The shiitakes in the dish were very good though.
The desserts were both decent. I got the chocolate almond croissant pudding, and my sister got the vegan blueberry coconut parfait. We both agreed hers tasted more like a breakfast dish.
The patio looks like it will be very welcoming during the cooler months. Maybe after a couple months, I’ll be ready to give Revival another go.