Revel Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Danville

Still my favorite restaurant in Danville. All the food top to finish always amazing. We always seem to end up here for birthdays.

Post COVID obviously a lot of things have changed. Dining is outside, they have tables in front of the restaurant still, and also in that side alley.

Put our names in, and 15 min later we were seated! They use a texting system so you don't have to wait around.

Restrooms are open, just wear your mask!

OK now on to the rest: Service: Even though we were sat down immediately, it took some time for our server to come to us, and we had to flag someone down to get water. Not a big, we know things are "different" now and def shared some more patience.

Ambiance: being outside is the best!!! There's live music playing across the street, which they do compete with each other some for sound waves haha.

Food: Tuna tartare: delish, but more mellow in flavor profile. I could taste the ginger, but it felt like it need something a little more to kick up the flavor, maybe salt?

Fried Mary's Chicken Breast & Buttermilk sliders: Holy heck, I needed like 10 of these. perfect marriage of salt, creaminess, sweet, was amaze!

Truffle Fries. I stop there. :)

Drink: Aperol Spritz: it was like one of those dangerous orange sodas w/alcohol, a few of these and woops! Very refreshing summer drink.

Butterscotch pudding: every. single. time.

Jan 2022 update: quality of food still good, just some updates on them though Tuna tartare, too much filler w/the cucumber I noticed. Mussels in coconut...

This farm to table place is definitely a place you need to eat at if you are a foodie trapped in the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel. Revel's caliber of food, beverage, service, atmosphere can compete easily with comparative restaurants in SF, Oakland and Berkeley.

It's a small and large plate kinda place - so bring your friends so you can share and taste many of the delicious plates.

Must order the Poutine (We ordered 2 plates), Avocado Bruschetta (my personal favorite), Shrimp & Grits (will be trying to soak up the smoky BBQ flavored sauce), General Santos Ahi Tartare (Tuna was super fresh. Tasted like Ocean), Braised Boneless Short Ribs over polenta (nice balance between the melt in your mouth short rib with the creamy polenta). The duck confit in the spinach pappardelle was heavenly. Can barely taste the whole grain mustard sauce (which is good because we were worried that it would overpower the duck and pasta).

Revel has an extensive bar menu, including their signature cocktails, wines from around the world and the West Coast, whiskeys, cognacs /ports, craft beers, etc. We were drinking pumpkin cider and craft beers during our meal.

Most likely you need to make an advance reservation to eat here. This place was packed, standing room only around the big bar, through the 3 hours we were here. It's so worth it! We were a party of 4 with twin babies. Be sure to call in advance to sit in the back if you bring your stroller.

Free parking on the street and at the back of building (city...

This was our 3rd time coming here in a year and they never disappoint. Our first time here was the day we got engaged. So a one-year dinner anniversary.

This time, we had a reservation through Resy, and there you can put things like occasion and dietary restrictions. I put that we were celebrating an anniversary and honey is lactose intolerant.

Upon our arrival, there was a few minute wait while they prepared a table for us and they did wish us a happy anniversary. We sat at a table near the back door and they asked if we wanted that table, the table wasn't obstructed so we chose that table. It was rather quiet back there.

A few moments later Sara(h) came by and took our order and asked about the dietary restrictions. Very appreciative of this.

As always the food and drinks were good. I highly recommend the wings. The brussels sprouts were cooked to perfection. I had the short rib and it melts in your mouth. Honey had the pork chop and loved it too.

There was a gentleman who kept coming by our table to make sure we had everything we needed (napkins under our drinks, steak knives, etc). He was dressed differently so I assume he had some authority and if he did have authority it was comforting to see him do the work rather than boss people around.

Love this place....