Service started out great, but deteriorated after our order was placed. Different servers brought the dishes and at the end of the meal it was very difficult to get the bill. Food is OK but not outstanding

Enjoyed it thoroughly.
The street was busy and parking was a bit tough, but there is a parking garage a few blocks away ;)

Revival is my 'go to' place whenever I have an event to attend in Berkeley, usually the Berkeley Rep or the University Museum. It never disappoints in the quality of food and service, and my friends and I always love the fixed price 'theater' menu - delicious food, portioned appropriately so you can enjoy three course but not be in a food coma. Energetic and fun place to be, always!

So fabulous - we had a fantastic meal and evening altogether! The food is BEYOND - expertly prepared, the service is knowledgeable and attentive, the ambiance is warm and festive. TWO THUMBS UP!

party of 6, good food, good service, great place to have drinks and food for downtown Oakland location. Parking not that bad since a lot is one block away. Food was enjoyed by everyone (international group). Good wine selection.

Service was friendly. Joe was awesome and was able to accommodate a late addition to our group, and a slightly later reservation from our original. Food was very good. Didn't realize it was restaurant week, but ate off that menu. Had Osso Bucco - fabulous!
Would go again.

Service was slow. We were told they were short-staffed. Otherwise great!

Service was excellent despite. I had the quarter rack of ribs, which was just the right size. The ribs were unbelievable, tender and fell off the bone. The custard I had for dessert was incredible. This restaurant is worth a repeat when in Berkeley.

We went for Berkeley Restaurant Week, this was one of the few participants that actually offered great choices at a great value. Kudos to Revival for respecting their customers! We tried every item on the restaurant week menu, and it was all good. Appetizer choices were varied--we loved the orange/radish/greens salad-- and generous. The vegetarian entree was outstanding, like a tasting plate of differently cooked vegetables, very flavorful. The pork shank was large and cooked to fall-off-the-bone perfection. The accompanying polenta was quite heavy. Desserts were wonderful and perfect portion size.

I know this is a popular pre-theater spot, and it would be a nice (if a bit pricey) place for a drink, but I wouldn't stay for dinner again. We had cheddar fritters (ok but blah), a small lamb chop (way too much fat but tasteless meat), and a pork chop which was ok--the potatoes were good. Service was erratic and at the end we got barely warm coffee. Given the hefty by-the-glass price, the syrah wine was poor as well. It's too bad, it is a great location, and the decor and atmosphere are attractive.

Small and boring menu. The food was ok, nothing I would go back for. Overall disappointing. The most frustrating thing was the lack of choices. A beautiful Restaurant, but the food and service was just ok. Not worth the price.

This is a good place to go if you have reservations at the Berkeley Rep. Its just right up the street and they are used to getting people out in time for the shows. Food is really good. It can be a little noisy, especially if you are in the middle of the room. Ask to be at a table farthest from the bar.

We often eat at Revival prior to going to the Berkeley Rep. It's convenience, delicius food and good service have been our experience. I have some diet restrictions and the kitchen is very accommodating. Two comments about our recent experience...first, the lamb shank was delicious, but waaaay too much food. I can't think of a way the portion could be smaller, but it's enough for two people to share, I think, with a few extra veggies on the side. Second, what happened to the flourless chocolate cake? The item on the menu marketed as such was a chocolate mouse/custard of some sort--definitely not their delicious signature flourless chocolate cake--too bad!

Revival Bar & Kitchen has the best spareribs in town. I didn't even need a knife because the meat literally fell off the bone. The sauce is really tasty and the accompanying items were also quite good.

rocked New Years eve with surprise service at midnight

Food arrived before the wine and was cold. The taste was good but it was apparent the food had been sitting around.

Popped in for an early NYE’s dinner- server was great, cocktails well crafted, and food was delicious. Very nice atmosphere.

We miss what Revival used to be. We miss the flat breads, the excellent wines, the sumptuous kale salad, the top-knotch service. It’s still a good option for pre-show dining, but we miss the early days.

Salad was good. Food was just ok, no flavor. Duck was greasy. Service is cold but ok but at least she asked us if we were attending a show to make sure we were out in tine. Ambiance is great. There aren't many choices of places if you want to walk to the shows. They should get a decent cook and nicer wait staff.

Not much vegetarian and gluten free on menu...

We have enjoyed our dinners at Revival in the past, however this night, though we were the first seating at 5:00 on a quiet night, service was slow and our meals lackluster.

I love this place for a burger, but I was so disappointed on a special occasion that I wouldn't recommend.

We often go to Revival when the mood strikes. This was the first time we were badly disappointed. The occasion was Christmas eve. They had a prix fixe menu that was badly overpriced. Roughly 20% more than when the same items are offered on their regular menu and then poorly executed. Deserts were clunky, the baked oysters were barely warm with a gloopy concoction on top other and nether entre was worth the money. In addition, it felt like they were under staffed even though they were not particularly busy. Again we were badly disappointed.

We came here for the Xmas Eve prix fixe meal, and we really had a wonderful evening. The food was wonderful and will add that the stuffed quail melted in my mouth! My husband loved the cocktails. I wish there was live music like last year but people in Berkeley are very odd and actually complained to the owner that they found caroling offensive, so no music this year (though there was a very nice variety of holiday jazz on the sound system).

A great option if you want a nice Christmas Eve dinner that is both festive and intimate. Revival is also on our list for any special occasion.

During my visit, service was off. I ordered a cocktail but my entree arrived before the cocktail w/ unsatisfactory explanation of why. I ordered the bar-b-que ribs w/sauce on the side but it was slathered heavily on the meat. Maybe just an off night but more attention to service needed.

I’ve been a long time patron but hadn’t been in a few months. Food quality and menu selection have both slipped. Too bad — it’s the most convenient place for pre- and post-theatre dining.

Consistently flavorful dishes prepared in surprising ways. Another great pre-Theater dinner.

Waitress and drinks were good. Fries and coleslaw were good. Expensive pork chop was overdone. Ribs were stringy and chewy. Mussels were few and small. Many had no mussels at all. This restaurant gets worse instead of better. Too bad.

Our experience was mixed. We've been here a number of times. This time the French fries were dry and not very good. The cocktail (vodka on the rocks) was small. When I asked for salt for my olive oil, the bus boy gave me sugar which I of course put in the olive oil. It was a busy night and our waitress seemed plenty busy...nice but not as attentive as I would have liked.

Food OK ... nothing special. Wine selection quite thin. Service hectic; one dish we ordered was never delivered. Once the place got crowded, it was VERY noisy ... or should I say typical for the Bay Area.

The one saving grace is that Revival is just a few steps from the Berkeley Rep, Aurora, and Jazz Caffe. So if you can do without exceptional food before your show, tolerate spotty service, and stand the roar, it's a decent pre-show bet in the immediate vicinity.

Poor service. 10 Minutes seated before we literally had to go find a waiter to acknowledge our presence. Last two of four entrees served 15 minutes after the first "set" was delivered ... only upon flagging our waiter to investigate. He was very nice, but way too harried. Lamb shank entree tasted downright bad ... poor flavor and undercooked preparation. Revival probably gets away with substandard, overpriced food and service only because it looks pretty. But it is not able to handle the pre-theater crowd. This was our third attempt ... wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Revival failed the test again. Don't waste your money expecting a fine meal.

If this restaurant were not so close to the Berkeley Rep theaters and The Freight & Salvage, I’m not sure we would go as often as we do (five or six times a year). However this proximity makes it a go-to for us.
The room has a nice ambiance; the food is always inconsistent: each time we go one person seems happy with the order (for example My swordfish last night was cooked perfectly and quite delicious) and one not so much (the lamb shank was not to my husband’s liking). My kale salad was OK but he loved his persimmon salad. The wine selection is quite limited, which I’m my opinion is weird for this price-point of restaurant. What they have is fine but nothing to write home about. The red wine seems to be served consistently a bit too warm. My husband liked his Rye Manhattan and my cava was good.
The service is also always inconsistent. Of course during the pre-theater rush this is somewhat understandable, but one would think that after all these years of serving this crowd the management would have figured out a way to manage it. Our waitress was simply lovely, yet a bit overwhelmed. It took forever to get our drinks, which was not her fault of course. No again- the use happens every time there are plays or concerts or both.
Overall its fine but as I said we probably wouldn’t go if it weren’t so convenient. There are too many restaurants in the Bay Area that get five stars across the board.
We are grateful it’s there.

Waitress did not know what the ingredients were in the menu items. Most likely a training issue. A bit pricey for the quality.

GREAT food. POOR Service... We notified waiter we had tickets for Berk. Rep. and were seated promptly ( they did not confirm my Open Table rsvp), given 2 menus for 3 of us and introduced to waiter who returned 15 minutes later to take drink order, taking another 20 minutes to tell us they did not have my request, ordered another cocktail, told 10 minutes later they were out and finally got a different drink total of 30+ minutes from initial order. Shared appetizer was amazing, with soft spreadable cheese, chutney and pickled beet salad, with a cured cabbage like presentation that tasted like mushrooms and another vegan dish easily whetting appetites of us 3. Two had the ¼ order of ribs was ordered, very generous size, meaty fall off the bone quality and I had the delicious duck leg on mashed potatoes and slices of perfectly cut duck breast. BUT all this arrived 70 minutes after sitting down, 35 min. before showtime making for a ruled experience. This was the FIRST glitch in the over 10 times we've dined over the ears. We asked for the bill and left hurriedly not to be late. Summary: food and handcrafted cocktails are amazing.

We told our waiter of our theater plans and were assured that it was no problem. We were completely ignored for 35 minutes between the appetizer and the main course. Even when we signaled our waiter, he turned and went away. Tables around us who had arrived after us, were served before us. When we finally got someone's attention they assured us that our food was nearly ready. It was ten more minutes. By then we had to hurry through our food in order to get to the theater. This is not the first time this has happened at this restaurant. We won't be returning.

The menu sucks, to expensive, not enough choices, and food to spicy. Location is great for pre and post theater otherwise I would never go there!

The food was good, and the staff were pleasant. However, they were very understaffed. It took 40 minutes to get served, and we were going to the theater, so it was not a pleasant experience.

The food and ambience for Sunday brunch was good, but the service was terrible (understaffed?) We sat at our table for 10 minutes before anyone brought us water or took a drink order. The staff tried to deliver us the wrong meal/drink twice. We probably waited 40 minutes for our food. It was tasty, but don't go there if you're in a hurry.

We have been there often and it was one of the best meals (eggs benedict/smoked salmon/on potato dill cake) we have had. However, the service was the worst we have had. Our server was fine but she seemed to be alone. It wasn't even close to crowded. It is a bad thing when you have to get up to find someone to help you and retrieve your own wine menu. And really, when a customer gets up, don't do any explaining, just apologize, maitre d'. Not one of Revival's better days.

We had been to this location when it was Downtown, a upscale restaurant with a stage for music and flamingo dancing now and then. So coming to Revival meant the inevitable comparison. The decor was rustic chic, exuding warmth and familiarity. The hostess and waiter were pleasantly welcoming and attentive. I chose the Mighty Howard cocktail and was delighted with its complexity. My husband and I shared a half dozen oysters, the persimmon and pomegranate salad, and the half rack of smoked baby back ribs with coleslaw and cornbread. Plenty of food for us to celebrate his birthday in style. We will be back.