$$$$Price: Expensive • Californian • Berkeley
I've been enjoying drinks and dinner at Revival ahead of shows at Berkeley Rep and the Aurora for many years. During the summer of 2023, I had an extremely bad service experience. Despite arriving almost 2 hrs before show time (with the theatre less than a block away) we waited so long for our dinner we had to leave without it. At first I thought it was a one-off disaster. But friends of mine had similar experiences, so it appeared to me that the restaurant had not recovered from the disruption caused by Covid and staff shortages. I am delighted to say that on a busy Friday night, the bartender was friendly, attentive and made delicious cocktails, our server was friendly and attentive and started off by asking if we had a show to attend. We had an 8pm show, it was 6:15pm, and our server promised she we would be ready to go by 7:30pm - and we were. The staff, the food, and the atmosphere were all lovely. I am looking forward to my next dinner at Revival.
