Cast your mind back a good few months (or just click the link I’m about to plug) to when I confessed to occasional restaurant snobbery in my review of Revolution St. Peter’s Square in Liverpool. I talked about how I’ve become a smidge sceptical of chain bars and restaurants, especially those which are more predominantly renowned for their vibrant nightlife.
Dig a little deeper and you’ll find out how I had my eye completely wiped by ‘Revs’ (as we will affectionately be referring to it from here on in). So much so, I made a return trip there last weekend for a bit of extra-curricular with my work buds.
Okay, so it’s bar food with all of the novelty bells and whistles you might expect on the Revolution food menu. I mean, on my last visit there I had a dirty burger topped with cheese Wotsits and a cone of Popcorn Halloumi. That said, it’s bloody good novelty bar food and really reasonably priced to boot.
After my little Rev-dezvous (urgh, sorry) there over the weekend, what I would say is: go full throttle and just forget about counting the calories while you’re there. This time round, I thought more with my waistline than my tastebuds and feel like I probably should have just gone down the Wotsit burger and Popcorn Halloumi route again.
Basically, Revs does bad really well and I regret being such a goody-goody-two-shoes. That said, my Blackened Chicken Burger (sans mayo and bun) with sweet potato fries (£10.50) was perfectly enjoyable and generous in portion size with its duo of deliciously seasoned chicken breasts.
It is also commendable that Revs aim to offer lighter options for those who don’t want to faceplant 10,000 kcals in one swoop. It’s not just a token Caesar Salad either – I’m talking Avocado on Rye (£7), The Beet Goes On veggie burger (£10) and a Mediterranean Mezze Board (£12) filled with things like olives, houmous, crudités and smashed avo. A real, proper selection of good, honest grub.
I was, however, eyeing up the Street Food Sharer (£15.50) next to me which was laden with pepperoni pizza, mini sliders and fried chicken and kind of cursing past me’s health-conscious selection. My food envy was definitely exacerbated by The Smoke King burger (£12.50) across the table which turned up as a juicy tower of…
*pause for deep breath*
… three beef patties, nacho cheese sauce, creamed corn, streaky bacon, caramel BBQ sauce, fried onions, chorizo ketchup, poppy seed brioche bun and a cloud of applewood smoke.
*Exhale*
But hey, any excuse for a return visit!
Again, I went to Revs this time round with the best of intentions to keep waistline expansion to a minimum and while my gins with light tonic were a delight, they weren’t quite the Bourbon biscuit boozy bonanza I enjoyed so much last time. An epic, epic error on my part.
Alas, I did eventually succumb to a Strawberry Woo Woo and a sip of the Revs Pornstar Martini and can confirm that their cocktail muddling is as on point as ever. The drinks themselves are mixed really well – not to strong, not too sugary – but it’s the attention to detail that I really appreciate. I mean, had that bright blue Bubblegum Daiquiri not come garnished with a quartet of Flying Saucers fizzling away on top, who’s to say it would have even made it into my Instagram story…
So, to quickly conclude before I leave you to drool over that Smoke King burger description, Revolution St. Peter’s Square is still the fabulous place it was when I was last there. The food is great in its context, the drinks are awesome, the staff are just the right amount of attentive and it’s just generally a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon snackin’ and sippin’ with your chums.
Thanks for having my motley crew and I, Revs!