Revival House — Restaurant in Stratford

I visited Revival House today and was incredibly disappointed. We attempted to make a reservation online about 3 hours in advance—it was accepted but never confirmed. We tried calling 10 minutes before arriving and no one picked up. When we got there, the restaurant only had a few tables occupied (likely because it was early, around 5 PM), so we were seated anyway.

The building itself is beautiful, and the decor is lovely, but it was uncomfortably cold inside with a noticeable draft.

I ordered the “Vacation Time” drink, which was supposed to be a cranberry lime lemonade. The first version tasted only of lemonade, with no cranberry at all. I didn’t say anything, assuming that’s just how it was. However, the second one I received was clearly red and actually had cranberry flavor—so something went wrong the first time.

We ordered two appetizers and two mains. The “Flatbread Tandoori Chicken” was the best part of the night. The crab cakes were plain and disappointing—we didn’t even finish them.

For mains, my partner ordered the Royale with Cheese Burger, which he said was fine—nothing special, but edible. I ordered the Beef Farfalle, described as braised beef with garlic confit, shallots, arugula, and a roast butternut squash cream. What I got was a lukewarm, watery, bland mess. The plate itself was hot, but the food was barely warm. The sauce tasted like water, and some of the pasta was crispy and bubbled as if it had been microwaved. I sent it back and didn’t bother ordering something else since my partner was already nearly finished eating.

Our server was pleasant enough and offered me some bread after I sent the dish back, but when the bill came, she made a passive comment about how I had “filled up on appetizers,” which felt dismissive and unnecessary—especially given how much I had been looking forward to my meal, and the fact I had a long drive home ahead.

I also noticed the table next to us had the same dish and theirs looked noticeably different—less watery, with the sauce properly coating the pasta. When I pointed this out, the server admitted it was “a bit soupy” and mentioned that the head chef usually checks mains but things were being “switched up” that night—whatever that means.

Overall, the place is aesthetically pleasing, but the food was poor, the temperature uncomfortable, and the service just okay. We won’t be...

My wife and I had dinner at Revival House last night for our 14th wedding anniversary and we could not have been more happy. Where to start...there was ample parking, easily accessible with a second, clearly marked entrance. When we arrived, we were greeted with a smile from the lovely hostess. We were offered the option of patio or dining room, and while the patio was nice, we chose to.sit inside and take in the great ambiance. This converted church is a treat to dine in. It was a particularly busy night for a Tuesday, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves around us. Our server Zack was attentive and well mannered. His infectious positivity was contagious and did a great job with us despite taking care of what seemed to be most tables in the restaurant. I had the chartruterie board as an app and my wife had the french onion soup, both superb. The 13th street VQA Chardonnay was also delicious, as was the gin cocktail I started with. When ordering I mentioned that I couldnt decide between the beet salad and the board, and Zack being the professional he is, decided to bring us a taster of the beet salad to share, en gratis, and it was very good. As entrees my wife had the salmon and I had the steak frites. There was not a trace left on our plates, as every bite was incredible. I dont often eat steak as when I order it rare, it often arrives over cooked, not this time. My steak was the perfect balance of seared outside and red (not pink) inside, my compliments to the chef. We didnt have room for dessert but their line-up of ice cream and sorbet flavours almost changed our mind. We skipped dessert but may have to go back another time just for coffee and dessert to try the amazing sounding ice cream. When Zack brought my espresso and the bill, he apologized for his service, which was completely unnecessary. We could see he was busy with other tables but we never felt neglected or forgotten. He did a great job and when we return, will request to sit in his section again. I highly recommend Revival House as the ambiance, food and staff were all terrific. Thanks for making our...

We booked a reservation for 10adults and a baby, 4-5 weeks ahead of time. Our reservation was 6:00,Saturday 26 April/25. Our family was getting together for a weekend in Stratford ( from points in Ontario and the States) and the menu and spaced looked great. Well….. right of the bat- we were all squished at tables/ booth that, if they added another table would have made for more comfortable seating. They didn’t have a couple of their popular beers when asked( supplier issue apparently), nor a certain Gin( there was a GinFest the night before). Isn’t the liquor store basically down the street to top up stock?? Also one entree off the menus due to supply issues ( sounds like ordering issues). Appetizers no problem. HOWEVER- the main meal- came out at different times and they TOTALLY forgot one dish. When they finally brought out the last dish it was Completely Unedible and honestly garbage. 4 ordered the ravioli- 3 looking like some sort of soup with pasta sheet chunks and as mentioned the 4th was GARBAGE- as a matter of fact the server later admitted later that they basically threw whatever they had in the kitchen for pasta on the plate!!! The duck dish- the server, when she brought it to the table stated “don’t touch the plate -it’s really hot”. The top was warm- because it was sitting under the heat lamp for probably 15 minutes, but the bottom was stone cold- THEREFORE the squash- blueberry accompaniment to the duck was again unedibly COLD!! The waitress appeared to be by herself. The support staff had no clue what was going on. We get it- staff is hard to find but when you KNOW WEEKS IN ADVANCE there is going to be a large party- you best be ready for it. EXTREMELY...