Our son recommended the Revival Restaurant, having known the owner during their many years in Charleston where the original restaurant is located. When we planned a weekend in Hotlanta, we made reservations for a celebratory birthday meal. Our table was ready upon our arrival, and service began shortly after ordering, and receiving, drinks. We decided on two appetizers: deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes (although the plural is implied, a single green tomato appears in four slices at a high price [are green tomatoes that difficult to find?]. The four (two whole eggs) deviled eggs were tasty, and the bacon shards enhanced their flavor. The remoulade for the green tomatoes added the flavor needed to make this dish. One of our family members found the fried chicken to be excellently prepared, whereas another of our family members found the catfish filet to be soft and mushy, as if the filet had been frozen and thawed. It certainly wasn't fresh. As other guests have remarked, the collards were a one-note side dish of vinegar, missing any fatback or pork belly normally associated with them. It is unsure whether the absence of pork in their preparation is intended to make the side dish more attractive to vegetarians. In contrast, the side of mushrooms was tasty, and at least two different varieties of fungi were presented. All in all, though, we found our evening to offer us an average meal, vowing not to return because there are other restaurants where southern food is better.
Jeffrey Mendelssohn
Gosh. I don't know about these other reviews. Eating at Revival was like being at a salt lick. There was too much salt in everything. It was overwhelming. Also, none of the food was a standout. It was slightly above home cooking and boring. The Mac and cheese wasn't salty thank god, but bland as can be. I've never had a blander Mac and cheese. The fried chicken was ho-hum. I've had way better at other places. The atmosphere wasn't that great either. Yes, it was in a home, but the table layout, one bright lighting lacked intimacy and kind of cheapens the place. Not a place to take a date.
Lisa Lippincott
Ryan at Revival helped me plan my son’s rehearsal dinner and it was wonderful. We picked the family style menu and there was more than enough food. There were gluten free and vegetarian options available in addition to the three meat/fish options. Everyone said the food was amazing. Brandy was our main server/hostess and she and her team did a great job explaining how things were going to work and keeping everything flowing. I was very pleased as were the bride and groom.
Finneus McClain
Went to celebrate our anniversary with a couple of friends and had an amazing time. The portion sizes were perfect and both the server and the bar tender were so nice. Everything tasted amazing maybe one of the best fried catfish I've ever had.Parking: There is free on-site parking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
ALW White
Revival is such a cute restaurant, located in what looks like an old house in downtown Decatur. My group sampled several dishes, most of which were delicious! The cat fish and seafood pie were standouts, along with the collard greens and mushrooms. The fried green tomatoes were quite bland and the bread pudding was runny. Service was a bit slow but all in all a nice dinner experience.
Marita Warren
Perfect Sunday dinner spot. We came right around 4:30pm when it opened. Dinner came family style which gave us the perfect amount of food and enough to take home. The weather was gorgeous, we sat on the front porch and enjoyed cocktails while admiring the tall magnolia trees in the front. I love the decor of the restaurant. Truly a gem in downtown Decatur.
Bagspacked19
Was brought bear with expectations of a great soul food dinner. I have had my share of good southern food and was hopeful. The restaurant is charming but that’s where the compliments end. We has a large group 24 people, reservations, and a pre-set menu. However, we waited for TWO Hours before we were served our meal! Prior Tom getting the food it was almost an hour before salads arrived, I ordered a ginger ale which was told to me that it was spicy- I had no problem with that, Yet, this spicy ginger ale was horrible. It did not contain real ginger just something to imitate the burn- drinker beware! On to dinner- I had the fried chicken which must have been twice battered., it was over salted and hard! The collards were full of vinegar, nothing like the advertised “hickory smoked” taste, Bland Mac and cheese, the potatoes and mushrooms were ok, but who can make a meal off of that? The warm banana pudding was too sweet and had no banana taste. We received no apology or explanation for our wait. Glad I didn’t have to pay the bill or else I would have had to meet the manger. Don’t waste your time - this food had no soul!
Susan Lea
This is the second time we have eaten here and we will be back every time we come to Decatur! The menu has so many choices, it feels fresh every time. The food is amazing! We live in an area with lots of Southern diners with “meat and 3” but they really aren’t a fair representation of true Southern Cuisine. Revival is, including the warm Southern hospitality that is legendary (and not always easy to find). You will find it here! This has been a delightful and lovely evening to remember! ? We had the family style dinner, and loved the unique salad, the deviled ham on toast, my meatloaf (glaze on the side) with my favorites of the four sides being the tender potatoes and 3 bean salad. Yum! The banana pudding g was the perfect end to a great evening!
Patsian Low
Fantastic service. Catered to our requests for vegetarian adjustments and food was quick to the table. Southern fried chicken was perfect to the bite. Collard greens had a spicy Tang which was a nice surprise.Banana bread pudding was served warm, tasty but I would have liked something to balance the sweetness. Pound cake + Banana + pudding + meringue became one note after a while .. needed a black coffee after :) but a great introduction for me to southern food!!Vegetarian options: Good options for vegetarians
H L
Casual, friendly, authentically Southern. Incredible experience from cocktail through dessert. I don't understand how this restaurant takes simple Southern food and turns it in to a world class gourmet experience, all the while being friendly and relaxed, but they did it. I'll have to come back just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
My husband and I were pleasantly surprised by our experience at Revival. After reading some negative reviews, we decided to still give it a try for date night. Walking up to the house, we were afraid that they were closed because no one was outside and it was empty when we walked in. But once they seated us, everything changed. The corner we were seated in was full of lively groups. Our waiter was incredible and gave great recommendations. My husband had the flank steak with potatoes and green beans. I had the meatloaf with collards and potatoes. No one makes meatloaf and collards better than my grandparents, but I can honestly say that these were a close second. We will definitely be back.
Susan L.
This is the second time we have eaten here and we will be back every time we come to Decatur! The menu has so many choices, it feels fresh every time. The food is amazing! We live in an area with lots of Southern diners with “meat and 3” but they really aren’t a fair representation of true Southern Cuisine. Revival is, including the warm Southern hospitality that is legendary (and not always easy to find). You will find it here! This has been a delightful and lovely evening to remember! ? We had the family style dinner, and loved the unique salad, the deviled ham on toast, my meatloaf (glaze on the side) with my favorites of the four sides being the tender potatoes and 3 bean salad. Yum! The banana pudding g was the perfect end to a great evening!
jadams5454
We heard good things and had been wanting to go for the past several years but were sadly disappointed. Everything seemed to taste like vinegar. Horrible dinner! Thank God for the key lime pie – which was amazing. The staff was also super friendly! But hated that we only had the choice of a Sunday night ‘set meal’ and had to sit outside with family style bowls of open food that the flies wouldn’t stay away from. I guess they especially like vinegar tasting food! Spent the whole meal swishing flies away and sweating on the muggy, muggy outside poor. Scratched this off the list. We won’t be going back.
Kenneth Adams
Arrived at 5:01pm without a reservation on a Friday night and were seated inside (read no mosquitoes) at 5:10pm. We were told that we'd need to vacate by 8pm. Ordered the beet salad appetizer which was quite tasty, though a tad bit small for $9. Basket of cornbread was tasty and the butter delicious. I ordered the fried chicken which came with three smaller sized prices of chicken which was perfect. Can't imagine if they'd be 3 Texas sized pieces of chicken. It was fried to perfection. I ordered the 3 bean salad (marginal at best but fortunately my wife thought it was amazing so I only had to eat two bites). The mushrooms were sauteed with heavy garlic and super scrumptious. I also tasted the meat loaf which was yummy but kind of pricey for the one slightly smallish sized piece of meatloaf. The roasted potatoes were ok but not particularly flavorful. The icebox lemon pie was good and big enough to share.All together enjoyable place to eat. Unfortunately we sat next to a noisy table of women and men who all cackled (seriously cackled) and the hardwood floors made their voices even louder.A little pricey for meatloaf and fried chicken. We might be back but we'll probably try some of the other Decatur options first next time we're visiting our daughter at college.
Danyale W
the worst food i've had in atlanta. tasteless. no seasoning. my family ordered several different items, the only item that had a good flavor was the collard greens. we sat on covered patio for dinner and it was nice.
Our son recommended the Revival Restaurant, having known the owner during their many years in Charleston where the original restaurant is located. When we planned a weekend in Hotlanta, we made reservations for a celebratory birthday meal. Our table was ready upon our arrival, and service began shortly after ordering, and receiving, drinks. We decided on two appetizers: deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes (although the plural is implied, a single green tomato appears in four slices at a high price [are green tomatoes that difficult to find?]. The four (two whole eggs) deviled eggs were tasty, and the bacon shards enhanced their flavor. The remoulade for the green tomatoes added the flavor needed to make this dish. One of our family members found the fried chicken to be excellently prepared, whereas another of our family members found the catfish filet to be soft and mushy, as if the filet had been frozen and thawed. It certainly wasn't fresh. As other guests have remarked, the collards were a one-note side dish of vinegar, missing any fatback or pork belly normally associated with them. It is unsure whether the absence of pork in their preparation is intended to make the side dish more attractive to vegetarians. In contrast, the side of mushrooms was tasty, and at least two different varieties of fungi were presented. All in all, though, we found our evening to offer us an average meal, vowing not to return because there are other restaurants where southern food is better.
Gosh. I don't know about these other reviews. Eating at Revival was like being at a salt lick. There was too much salt in everything. It was overwhelming. Also, none of the food was a standout. It was slightly above home cooking and boring. The Mac and cheese wasn't salty thank god, but bland as can be. I've never had a blander Mac and cheese. The fried chicken was ho-hum. I've had way better at other places. The atmosphere wasn't that great either. Yes, it was in a home, but the table layout, one bright lighting lacked intimacy and kind of cheapens the place. Not a place to take a date.
Ryan at Revival helped me plan my son’s rehearsal dinner and it was wonderful. We picked the family style menu and there was more than enough food. There were gluten free and vegetarian options available in addition to the three meat/fish options. Everyone said the food was amazing. Brandy was our main server/hostess and she and her team did a great job explaining how things were going to work and keeping everything flowing. I was very pleased as were the bride and groom.
Went to celebrate our anniversary with a couple of friends and had an amazing time. The portion sizes were perfect and both the server and the bar tender were so nice. Everything tasted amazing maybe one of the best fried catfish I've ever had.Parking: There is free on-site parking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Revival is such a cute restaurant, located in what looks like an old house in downtown Decatur. My group sampled several dishes, most of which were delicious! The cat fish and seafood pie were standouts, along with the collard greens and mushrooms. The fried green tomatoes were quite bland and the bread pudding was runny. Service was a bit slow but all in all a nice dinner experience.
Perfect Sunday dinner spot. We came right around 4:30pm when it opened. Dinner came family style which gave us the perfect amount of food and enough to take home. The weather was gorgeous, we sat on the front porch and enjoyed cocktails while admiring the tall magnolia trees in the front. I love the decor of the restaurant. Truly a gem in downtown Decatur.
Was brought bear with expectations of a great soul food dinner. I have had my share of good southern food and was hopeful. The restaurant is charming but that’s where the compliments end. We has a large group 24 people, reservations, and a pre-set menu. However, we waited for TWO Hours before we were served our meal! Prior Tom getting the food it was almost an hour before salads arrived, I ordered a ginger ale which was told to me that it was spicy- I had no problem with that, Yet, this spicy ginger ale was horrible. It did not contain real ginger just something to imitate the burn- drinker beware! On to dinner- I had the fried chicken which must have been twice battered., it was over salted and hard! The collards were full of vinegar, nothing like the advertised “hickory smoked” taste, Bland Mac and cheese, the potatoes and mushrooms were ok, but who can make a meal off of that? The warm banana pudding was too sweet and had no banana taste. We received no apology or explanation for our wait. Glad I didn’t have to pay the bill or else I would have had to meet the manger. Don’t waste your time - this food had no soul!
This is the second time we have eaten here and we will be back every time we come to Decatur! The menu has so many choices, it feels fresh every time. The food is amazing! We live in an area with lots of Southern diners with “meat and 3” but they really aren’t a fair representation of true Southern Cuisine. Revival is, including the warm Southern hospitality that is legendary (and not always easy to find). You will find it here! This has been a delightful and lovely evening to remember! ? We had the family style dinner, and loved the unique salad, the deviled ham on toast, my meatloaf (glaze on the side) with my favorites of the four sides being the tender potatoes and 3 bean salad. Yum! The banana pudding g was the perfect end to a great evening!
Fantastic service. Catered to our requests for vegetarian adjustments and food was quick to the table. Southern fried chicken was perfect to the bite. Collard greens had a spicy Tang which was a nice surprise.Banana bread pudding was served warm, tasty but I would have liked something to balance the sweetness. Pound cake + Banana + pudding + meringue became one note after a while .. needed a black coffee after :) but a great introduction for me to southern food!!Vegetarian options: Good options for vegetarians
Casual, friendly, authentically Southern. Incredible experience from cocktail through dessert. I don't understand how this restaurant takes simple Southern food and turns it in to a world class gourmet experience, all the while being friendly and relaxed, but they did it. I'll have to come back just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
Restaurantji Recommends
My husband and I were pleasantly surprised by our experience at Revival. After reading some negative reviews, we decided to still give it a try for date night. Walking up to the house, we were afraid that they were closed because no one was outside and it was empty when we walked in. But once they seated us, everything changed. The corner we were seated in was full of lively groups. Our waiter was incredible and gave great recommendations. My husband had the flank steak with potatoes and green beans. I had the meatloaf with collards and potatoes. No one makes meatloaf and collards better than my grandparents, but I can honestly say that these were a close second. We will definitely be back.
This is the second time we have eaten here and we will be back every time we come to Decatur! The menu has so many choices, it feels fresh every time. The food is amazing! We live in an area with lots of Southern diners with “meat and 3” but they really aren’t a fair representation of true Southern Cuisine. Revival is, including the warm Southern hospitality that is legendary (and not always easy to find). You will find it here! This has been a delightful and lovely evening to remember! ? We had the family style dinner, and loved the unique salad, the deviled ham on toast, my meatloaf (glaze on the side) with my favorites of the four sides being the tender potatoes and 3 bean salad. Yum! The banana pudding g was the perfect end to a great evening!
We heard good things and had been wanting to go for the past several years but were sadly disappointed. Everything seemed to taste like vinegar. Horrible dinner! Thank God for the key lime pie – which was amazing. The staff was also super friendly! But hated that we only had the choice of a Sunday night ‘set meal’ and had to sit outside with family style bowls of open food that the flies wouldn’t stay away from. I guess they especially like vinegar tasting food! Spent the whole meal swishing flies away and sweating on the muggy, muggy outside poor. Scratched this off the list. We won’t be going back.
Arrived at 5:01pm without a reservation on a Friday night and were seated inside (read no mosquitoes) at 5:10pm. We were told that we'd need to vacate by 8pm. Ordered the beet salad appetizer which was quite tasty, though a tad bit small for $9. Basket of cornbread was tasty and the butter delicious. I ordered the fried chicken which came with three smaller sized prices of chicken which was perfect. Can't imagine if they'd be 3 Texas sized pieces of chicken. It was fried to perfection. I ordered the 3 bean salad (marginal at best but fortunately my wife thought it was amazing so I only had to eat two bites). The mushrooms were sauteed with heavy garlic and super scrumptious. I also tasted the meat loaf which was yummy but kind of pricey for the one slightly smallish sized piece of meatloaf. The roasted potatoes were ok but not particularly flavorful. The icebox lemon pie was good and big enough to share.All together enjoyable place to eat. Unfortunately we sat next to a noisy table of women and men who all cackled (seriously cackled) and the hardwood floors made their voices even louder.A little pricey for meatloaf and fried chicken. We might be back but we'll probably try some of the other Decatur options first next time we're visiting our daughter at college.
the worst food i've had in atlanta. tasteless. no seasoning. my family ordered several different items, the only item that had a good flavor was the collard greens. we sat on covered patio for dinner and it was nice.