Revolution Cardiff has just launched a new food menu, which would rival many of the city’s best known food spots.
If like me, you would usually associate Revolution (Revs) as more of a venue for a night out as opposed to a restaurant, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that the bar known for its outlandish cocktails also has a day time food menu.
Revolution located on Castle Street has been part of the night scene in Cardiff for as long as I can remember. It was certainly there when I was 18 and way before that, so at least 20 years. I would say it’s certainly known more for its bar and drinks packages, and one that’s definitely popular with parties and students.
However, in the day time, the venue is transformed into a welcoming restaurant with a menu that would tantalise anybody’s tastebuds. There is even a kids menu with everything from burgers, fish fingers, pasta dishes and pizza.
For the adults, you’re going to have a hard time trying to decide what to eat. There are a number of sharers and grazin’ bowls, sandwiches & wraps, burgers & dogs and event pizza. To top it all off, there is a whole host of sides and other mains to choose from, including loaded fries (yum!).
When looking through the menu, it was great to see a number of affordable day time offers available. We’re obviously living in very difficult times with the cost of living crisis biting (no pun intended), so it was nice that Revs still has a number of offers running, one of which we tried.
What we had to eat & drink at Revs Cardiff
We decided to try out their Burger & Cocktail deal for £10, which in itself is incredible value when you consider that most cocktail bars including Revs would charge on average £9 for at least one of those (outside of happy hour).
For those looking to take advantage of this deal, I should point out that the Burger & Cocktail £10 Bundle is usually a Wednesday only offer. However, Revs will be extending it this week for National Burger Day on Thursday 25th August.
The food
Revolution Cardiff has recently launched its new food menu, which boasts a selection of mouth-watering burgers like the Blue Cheese and Truffle Burger, Mac ‘n’ Chicken Burger, the Chilli Cheese burger and Korean BBQ Pork burger. The menu also includes a diverse range of vegan burgers, which Revs developed in partnership with renowned chef Neil Ranking and THIS™.
Intrigued to put Revs burgers to the test, we opted for the Blue Cheese & Truffle burger, which included truffle gravy, lettuce and blue cheese mayo, served in a brioche bun with house fries. There is also a gluten free version of the burger on offer. Outside of the burger deal, this would have cost £11.50 on its own, without a drink.
The second Revs burgers that we decided on was the Chilli Cheese (a personal favourite), which features spicy pulled chilli beef, cheese, nachos, crispy fried onions and jalapeños. There is also a vegan option available (which we didn’t try) and again, this would have cost us £11.50 without the deal and also came in a brioche bun and house fries – although you can always swap the fries for salad. However, if you are a fan of chips, which we are, I’d recommend giving these a go. They were just the right level of crispiness with a lovely flavour of sea salt seasoning, which made them very moorish.
In terms of portion size, appearances can be very deceiving. When the plates arrived, I thought they looked a little small and I did wonder if I had made a mistake by not ordering extras. However, we found both burgers and fries very filling and we didn’t regret our decision of not ordering more. May be next time!
In terms of flavour, restaurants can often make the mistake of adding so many different things, it becomes overpowering. However, Revs have struck the perfect balance with these burgers. For instance, you can taste all the flavour of the pulled beef and chilli with the kick from the jalapeños, but without taking away the flavour of the burger itself. I dare say, this is exactly what you want, especially when pairing with an alcohol drink.
To drink
If you’ve been to Revolutions Cardiff before, you will know that they offer an extensive range of cocktails. In fact, there is a completely separate menu for cocktails containing pages and pages of drinks to choose from.
As mentioned, the Revs burger bundle comes with a cocktail of your choosing and is probably one of the harder decisions you will have to make. The cocktail menu is organised very well, especially with how it categorises the drinks into different flavours and tastes to help you choose. Despite this, I lost count how many times we changed our mind before selecting the Blank Canvas and the Salted Caramel Colada (a great twist on a classic) and my partners favourite.
There were a number of cocktails on the menu that you could choose to customise, including the Blank Canvas that I decided on. The Blank Canvas consists of Ketel One vodkas lemon, sugar syrup and soda, along with your choice of Revolution Flavour. I fancied something a little bit different and went with Blue Bubblegum – not my usual go to, but the picture on the menu just made it look so refreshing (and it was). When it comes to pricing up, the out of bundle / happy hour price would have been £9 each. So again, when adding the burger and drink, you are saving 50% when making the most of the Wednesday deal.
The venue
During the day, we found the venue very relaxed and not too busy. There were plenty of staff on hand to take orders and deliver drinks to the table. Although, they also have an app where you can order directly to the table as well.
I have not been to Revolutions in Cardiff in a long time, so I was surprised to find a number of seating areas to choose from. We spotted a few Chesterfield sofas in the corner, which looked very inviting. Although, there were also a number of booths and tables to suit all groups.
In terms of decor, each Revolutions Bar and Restaurant has its own unique decor. The one in Cardiff does an excellent job of the ‘outdoor indoor’ setting with greenery and fairy lights – something which is very on trend. The venue also has a small outdoor seating area as well.
Although Revolutions (Revs) Cardiff wasn’t on our radar for food before, it certainly is now. We’d throughly recommend giving it a go the next time you’re in town and fancy some food and a cocktail.
Top tip! – Get down to Revs on Wednesday for the Burger & Cocktail bundle for £10… and for this week only, the deal has been extended to National Burger Day on Thursday, 25 August 2022.
