RAVE: CAFE REVO ROCKS!!!

[trulyitalian]

I can’t believe how awesome cafe revo is! I have noticed that it keeps getting busier everytime I go in. The menu has expanded and of course the food tastes so good.

They now have a happy hour that is wonderful. I think they call it 4@4? There is a really nice story about one of the owners grand parents. Apparently, when they were alive they would sit at 4pm everyday to talk about the days events. Wow what a great way to live! If you haven’t tried their happy hour, you gotta go. It is from 4-6! Keep up Cafe Revo, you are a fantastic edition to West Seattle.

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[Bonnie]

I went last week and really enjoyed it.

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[JoB]

I have been waiting to post this hoping that a reply from my email to them would land in my mailbox, but it hasn’t.

If they do eventually reply, i will post that fact here…

We went to Cafe Revo for lunch last Sunday around 1:30 and the experience was memorable for all the wrong reasons…

We were offered only a dinner menu so split an appetizer, each had soup and split an entree. Our waiter lost interest in us the minute we chose soft drinks instead of alcohol, the food quality was spotty and by the time we were offered dessert all we wanted to do was get out of there.

For those who will ask.. the meatball in the soup was good.. the broth bland and lacking any real flavor.. the calamari was chewy and not hot and there was enough garlic in the aeoli to linger for days (i like garlic.. just not that much in that form) .. the polenta was good.. but the serving size of the post roast was small, the meat was dry and the sauce was bitter and most of the plate was occupied by pasta and veggies that weren’t mentioned on the menu.

the entree was served on a single plate and we were not given serving utensils for a dish with melted cheese or anything larger than our bread plates to eat it on. I guess they expected us to hunch over the table and eat from a plate in the middle.

I serve a better meal at home most days than the one we got at Cafe Revo… and the service is better in my house too. Our waiter spent most of his time behind the bar reading a paper.

We seldom spend $50 for lunch for two… but when we do we expect to walk out feeling like we had both a good meal and a good time. Instead, we walked out without being asked by the manager if we enjoyed our meal.

To top it off, the next day i found two holds for the amount of our bill on our credit card.

Somehow i don’t think we can recommend the place.

On the other hand, we had dinner at Tom Young Koon last night in the junction… had an appetizer, two of their more expensive entrees and beers (mine was non-alcoholic) and had a great dinner, attentive service and walked out happy.

oh.. and we spent less for that dinner than lunch at Cafe Revo.

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[Anonymous]

These are hard times, especially for a new restaurant, to survive in.

I agree, if the experience shared above is the norm to expect from this new establishment, they will struggle.

However, I am pleased to notice here on the forum that most reviews have been extremely positive for Cafe Revo. I’m glad because I want this place to stick around.

As with any rant, it may have been an off day. Hopefully you will get a response to your satisfaction. If not, based on other reviews here, I think it would be worth giving them a second chance.

P.S. I had a great experience there the one time I’ve been – can’t wait to go back! Especially excited for 4@4!! Thanks for the info.:)

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[livingonthebeach]

We’ve been back twice since our initial amazing dinner and it does get better everytime.

My only problem is I LOVE the Polenta and Pork so much, I haven’t ordered anything else. I have managed to sneak a little here and there from table mates and it appears they are NOT a one dish wonder! :-)

PS…try the Anntipasto, great selection of goodies.

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[villagegreen]

I was going to post about Cafe Revo today and then saw this thread.

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JoB – sorry to hear about your bad experience. That definitely doesn’t sound like the way to win repeat business. Maybe their lunch service hasn’t caught up with their dinner service yet.

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We ate there last night for the first time and had a great experience. Food was very good (if not amazing) and very reasonably price for the portion size (quite large). We had two entrees – Pasta Sofia Bella and Puttanesca, bread w/ olives, calamari, glass of wine, and a Negroni Cocktail. All came to total of just about 50 bucks – and I have enough Puttanesca for a leftover lunch.

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The service was attentive, but not intrusive. The owner/chef, Sean, stopped by towards the end of our meal to chat and gave us two free appetizer coupons (stamped on wine corks)! I even asked him about the Puttanesca recipe since I’ve never had it with sausage and shrimp and he said that was his own recipe and that he’d had it that way in Venice. It was unusual, but was quite tasty.

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Other than the food and service, what I really like about the place is the atmosphere. It’s stylish, without being fancy. It’s loud, but fun. There were diners of all ages – guys in suits and guys in t-shirts.

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My impression is that Cafe Revo is going to be around for a long time and will settle into the goto Italian restaurant in West Seattle for a fun night out. La Rustica will still be there for those nights where a view and/or something a little more ‘romantic’ is needed.

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[Cafe Revo]

Thank you so much everyone for your feeback. It is so wonderful to hear. We really appreciate it and are so glad that you have all come in to see us.

Dear JoB, I am so sorry I never got your email. I saw your post and started searching to see why I didn’t. It turns out that you sent it to nonno@caferevo.com, my father who handles questions on Revo and WS History. He forwarded it to me and I sent you a response. We are so sorry you had a bad experience and hope we can turn that around for you. Thank you so much.

Sincerly, Sofia

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[trulyitalian]

JOB-

Your experience is quite unusual. I am also sorry to hear that you had such a poor experience. I have gone there multiple times so I can tell you that your experience is NOT THE NORM!!!

The owners are really open to anything that happens. They want to know right away about your experience. If it was poor they would totally do something to make it up to you. If you don’t hear from them I would try e-mailing them again. I say this because the cyber world isn’t perfect and I think all of us can say we have lost e-mails incoming or outgoing.

Unfortunately, off days can happen at any restaurant. So hopefully, you will try it again. I haven’t tried the polenta tonco yet, but I have only heard great things about it.

I agree that it will be around for a long time and be the go to place to have a great italain meal!

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[JoB]

New Resident..

these are indeed hard times for a new resteraunt to survive in… and all the more reason to either provide a positive experience…

or to respond promptly to those who let you know their experience wasn’t so positive…

There was nothing about the experience we had at Cafe Revo that would make me want to repeat it…

which i am pretty sure the manager knew when he watched us walk out the door without inquiring about our experience… we had to walk past his position to walk out the door…

he didn’t even bother telling us goodbye.

As hubby said.. the food is better at Trattoria Michelli in Pioneer Square and we have never spent that much for lunch there.. and seldom that much for dinner including wine.

villagegreen..

we didn’t have lunch.. we had dinner at lunchtime:(

We generally try most new restaurants out at lunch when the economic impact of a poor experience is felt a little less on the pocketbook…

but it wasn’t just about the money…

Our expectation was for a wonderful leisurely meal out at a nice restaurant we had anticipated going to in the middle of a crappy day… i even changed before we left the house into something a little nicer.

this wasn’t a treat..

we were both looking longingly in the direction of Cafe Luna as we walked out wishing we had gone for hamburgers there instead.

I am glad others are having a positive experience there… but this diner didn’t.

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[josh]

It’s somewhat puzzling that there are only two types of reviews about Cafe Revo. People that “absolutely love it” and people that “absolutely hate it” .I have yet to read a review about them where someone said it was “just OK”.So who is right here? They are all talking about the same place. Are all the people in “absolutely love it” camp – family members and close friends? Sorry “trulyitalian”, but you sound like a family member to me.

I guess my question is: Do any of you, fine people of west seattle, know of any reviews that are done by a professional restaurant critics about Cafe Revo? I personally haven;t found any and would love to know what do they think.

BTW: I’m in the “absolutely hate it” camp.

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[Traci]

I’m in the middle Josh, so it’s possible!

I have been there three times. Once for dinner and a drink, once for appetizers and drinks, and once for happy hour food and drinks.

Overall i really love it, and live less than a block away from it and am so excited about this addition to our home.

I’ve had mostly wonderful food there. I’d order it ALL again with the exception of maybe one menu item. What I’d love to see are a few happy hour vegetarian options that aren’t along the “___served over bread” line.

I’ve had drinks that I love and hate there. The bitter drink Campari (?) was just simply not for me, not Revo’s fault for example.

If you don’t like Revo, there are so many other options to choose from… It has been crowded every time I go, so I’m sure they’re doing ok :)

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[JoB]

josh..

i don’t hate the place.

The food was ok. The space is nice.

My service that day was not good.

I think it is deceptive to present only dinner menus at lunchtime when a lunchboard is prominently placed outside the door.

I think that restaurants that present a split meal on one plate without giving diners an adequate plate to split the meal show contempt for those diners.

and as hubby said.. they lost him when he realized that he wouldn’t get any bread with his meal without paying for a bread appetizer paired with a spread he didn’t want.

i honestly think the price we paid for the food served was too high…

though that alone wouldn’t have stopped me from returning with friends if our experience at lunch had been a positive one. i frequent places with friends that i think are highly overrated because my friends enjoy them…

trattoria michelli in old town is hubby’s favorite little italian trattoria in Seattle… i am not quite so impressed but we have been going there for decades anyway:)

On the other hand, we walked in the door that day because of the reviews from other people on this site… and we stayed after being presented only dinner menus because we respected those reviews and wanted to give the place a chance.

had they responded to my email query about the double hold on my credit card in any way… i probably would have chalked the experience up to a bad day there and remained silent.

and i too wonder how many people have done the same…

i don’t think i would go back though.. even tho my favorite waitress from another establishment works lunch there one day a week… and raves about the place.

She is what propelled me through the door at lunchtime.. even tho it wasn’t her shift.

You are right that it is difficult to anticipate the quality of experience you will get from individual reviews. We all have such different tastes and expectations.

I am not sure what a professional reviewer will say about the place. Had i been one last sunday they sure wouldn’t have gotten much of a review;(

But then, i tend to appreciate small storefronts with well prepared ethnic food at reasonable prices more than those highly publicized serving food in a trendy way…

and i could care less if there is a bar.

i have friends who won’t let me pick the restaurant because of that ;->

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[villagegreen]

Traci – Yes, Campari is definitely an acquired taste – especially in these times where most people are used to smooth sweet cocktails like Cosmos and Appletinis.

Those in Italy actually drink the stuff straight (on the rocks) or with soda. I’m not quite there yet, but the Negroni (Gin, Campari, and Sweet Vermouth) is a great apéritif. And for 7 bucks a pretty good deal.

You’re lucky you live so close to Cafe Revo!

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[Traci]

That’s what my boyfriend said too – when he was in Italy everyone drank it like we drink soda. It’s such an unusual taste here! I’ll keep the Negroni in mind to try, thanks :)

JoB, it isn’t my intention to stir up the mud here, but was your original comment not adressed by Revo? You established communication with her, got honest feedback and I think an email from her from what I understand. Writing two more lengthy, somewhat slanderous comments in response kind of read like you weren’t actually interested in what Revo had to say to you at all.

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[JoB]

Traci…

i emailed cafe Revo… i even left a note on the back of the receipt for my waiter…

but as of this morning, there has been no reply to my email… and nothing in my mail… and I have not received any phone calls from Cafe Revo.

oh.. and there is no post from them here on this topic.

I am at a complete loss to understand how you could post this

“You established communication with her, got honest feedback and I think an email from her from what I understand. Writing two more lengthy, somewhat slanderous comments in response kind of read like you weren’t actually interested in what Revo had to say to you at all.

i can’t speak for any email that has arrived in the time i have been posting on WSB today but there was nothing in my email as of this morning.. and I haven’t been out of the house to check the mail today but I had not received anything by mail as of yesterday… and i did check for phone messages when i got up, the phone hasn’t rung this morning and i have received no phone calls from Cafe Revo either.

had i received any communication, i would have posted that i had heard from them as i stated in my first post.

You don’t want to stir up any mud? You seem to have no difficulty accusing me of making slanderous comments and stating that i wasn’t actually interested in what Revo had to say to me at all.

In the first place, I can’t very well discount communication i haven’t received. I have no idea who “she” is communicating with.. but it isn’t me.

and in the second, i can only be making slanderous comments if what i am posting is untrue.

I have a receipt from Cafe Revo for my meal and the date and time stamp will verify when i ate there and the content of our meal. I have a copy of the email i sent to Cafe Revo in my send file so i can verify that too. And… both are consistent with my recounting of our lunch on Sunday.

I really think it is totally out of line for you to accuse me of maliciously trying to cause trouble when i not only followed the policies stated in this forum for posting a rant.. but i stated in my post that i had done so.

If you have an inside track to the owners.. please tell them that i would have much preferred communication to disclosure..

and that i will gladly post any efforts on their part to contact me on this forum.

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[Traci]

Um…They replied to you on this thread. #7:

“Dear JoB, I am so sorry I never got your email. I saw your post and started searching to see why I didn’t. It turns out that you sent it to nonno@caferevo.com, my father who handles questions on Revo and WS History. He forwarded it to me and I sent you a response. We are so sorry you had a bad experience and hope we can turn that around for you. Thank you so much.

Sincerly, Sofia”

…..?

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[JoB]

sorry traci..

i didn’t see it. i didn’t see truly italian’s post either.

it may have shown up while i was posting… unless you go back to check the entire thread every time you can miss posts…

i think they must post in the order that you begin the response and not in the order posted because i have missed posts before when i posted a longer comment.

i received an email from Sophia this morning and have asked her for permission to reprint it in it’s entirety on this blog.

if i receive permission, i will print it.

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[JoB]

BTW…

next time i seem oblivious to something obvious…

would somebody please point me in the direction of the post i missed?

sorry to edit/post so many times but my brain/fingers don’t seem to be working so well today:(

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[Anonymous]

So what’s the consensus – is this place worth trying or not?

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[Traci]

Luigi, definately! The food is tasty and they have great beer. A couple days ago I got a glass SO FROSTY that it kinda turned into a beer-slushy. Something tells me that you’ll appreciate that detail.

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[AdamOnAlki]

I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PLACE!

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[rockergirl]

Adam it’s in the building formerly where Murphy’s Upholstery used to be on Avalon near Salon Ola and up the street from Luna Park and Java Bean coffee to the south. Next time your in the hood you’ll have to check it out – maybe your mom and pops will get there before you.

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[AdamOnAlki]

They better not! I actually grew up not terribly far from there (the general 36th and Andover area). Very cool.

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[josh]

Luigilinguini, everything in this world is worth trying at least once, the question is – would you want to try it again…

Until i read a positive review on them done by the professional critic I ,personally, will not go back there.

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[JoB]

josh..

the first month or two any restaurant makes a lot of adjustments…

i didn’t have a bad meal.. it just didn’t meet my expectations… and indifferent service sealed the deal for me.

i don’t know if i could get hubby back through the door..

but it is possible i would give them a second chance if was out with friends…

they’d have no trouble exceeding my expectations now:)

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