Revival — Restaurant in Charleston

We made these dinner reservations with Revival about 2 weeks ago, looked into many other options and honestly should have decided on another restaurant.

We arrived and checked in about 15 minutes prior to our reservation time of 8PM and understandably were told we’d have to wait but were also notified that there was a slight wait, as they were busier than expected. Given the day we completely understood and sat in the lobby to wait to be called.

We waited almost 20 minutes after 8PM, before heading back toward the hostess stand, and once we were spotted it almost gave the feeling that we had been forgotten. A couple that had come in after us in fact was seated before us at this point. After a few minutes the hostess offered to sit us at the bar instead of a table that we reserved in advance. After asking how much longer the wait would be the hostess disappeared for another 5 minutes and then notified us that the table was now free and was being bussed to give it another 5 minutes. We watched/overheard as the manager acknowledged the fact that we were being seated over 30 minutes late, on top of us arriving early, because he had the decency to help clear the table. But other than that there was no further acknowledgment of the delay. At this point, we had been seated at 8:40 PM, for a reservation that that called twice to confirm because if we did not show or cancel within a certain time, we would be charged $50 per person.

The waitress came without introducing herself and immediately began the fastest dinner service I had ever been through. To the point where I could spot and see our 2nd course be stopped and turned around before our 1st course was even finished or cleared.

I spent $245 for this dinner, that a 20% gratuity was automatically added, when I wish I could have left nothing, and I am a tipper. We had been seated at 8:40 PM and were back in the car by 9:36 PM. Note the couple I had mentioned early, they had just been served their desserts when we were walking out.

The whole experience was rushed and left a sense of...

Definitely not impressed. If the service had been on point, I would give 4 stars, however very sadly disappointed in the service by Sarah! She was entirely frazzled and instead of having a dining experience, I felt like we were eating at a Mexican restaurant on Cinco de Mayo. Either lack of training or lack of focus that fine dining means an experience, not rushing folks through like cattle. We had reservations for a Saturday evening at 6:45 and the place was almost full. The entrance is odd in that you walk directly into the seating area w/the teeniest hostess stand. I noted that some folks did not honor the dress code. It took forever for our server to come, Sarah, and she asked for our drink order. To me, when you come to a place like this, the server should ask if this is our first visit, and point out the highlights of what they offer. None of that. I told her that I couldn't tell her my drink order until I decided on my meal as I like to pair wines w/what I order. So when she came back with waters, I asked about 3 different reds and she knew nothing but offered to bring them for a taste which was nice. When she brought them, I asked her to not tell me what they were as I didn't want to be swayed by pricing, etc. She said NO, she couldn't do that and just started pouring...again, she was TOTALLY frazzled. I told her that perhaps she needed a glass herself! I also told her that I was hoping for an experience and this was not that! She tried to slow down; I don't know if folks called out that night, but the whole thing was just very disjointed. Took forever to get food and it was typical - fine but nothing special. Us, and the table beside us, had to ask for a serving spoon to dish out the corn - how else would we be able to serve it? Again, just super disjointed. I would definitely NOT go back and would not recommend this establishment and am very sad that we wasted one of our evenings here. For $200, it needs to be an...

My aunt and I dined here on Christmas Day, and it was by far the worst meal we had during our time in Charleston.

We sincerely appreciate restaurants and any folks in the hospitality business who are willing to open on Christmas, a time when most are closed. The folks at Revival were so accommodating and terrific when I was making the reservation- the menu looked like what we were looking for, and the reviews (while a bit mixed) were overall promising.

The best part of the meal was certainly the amuse bouche; and while the presentation (a silver gift box with a red bow) was delightful, it was hard to miss the food-smeared finger prints on the outside of my aunt’s container. Turns out that was an omen of the meal to come.

The salad was deplorable- 4 measly little pieces of beets, a pistachio or two, and no dressing to be found. The greens tasted old. Sadly the meal got worse from there.

The portions for our entrees were microscopic- so small that we actually laughed. We hoped that the taste would make up for the sad, soggy appearance of our meal but it didn’t. My short rib was luke warm, but my aunts pork tenderloin (all 3 oz of it, if that, and all dried out end pieces) was pathetic. Their offerings of sides were so measly it was offensive.

The toffee cake truly was the size of a mini muffin, tasteless, and so dry— like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for days. The chocolate cake was the highlight of the meal, as it was the most edible thing we ate and we scarfed it down because we were still hungry.

I was really looking forward to this meal, and perhaps we just had an off night, but please, if you don’t want to be open on a holiday, stay closed. The bill came to nearly $250, gratuity included, and we did not have any alcohol— I live in NYC, and can confidently say this meal was a...