Revolution Bar Birmingham

This week I went to Revolution Bar in Birmingham to sample the new menu.  I have to confess that despite having walked past umpteen times I’ve never been inside and I guess I’d always seen it as a place to go for drinks rather than for food.

Inside though is a quirky, interesting decor with spacious high ceilings, somewhere really pleasant to spend a little time.  In the central space there’s a double height ceiling, but around the edges of the room, it’s a bit cosier with lots of lovely, comfortable booths to hide away in and catch up with the latest gossip.

Enough of the decor though we were there to sample the food and the drink.  We had a mooch through the extensive cocktail menu.  I had a Superfruit Nojito, as I had to drive later in the day, and it was delicious and refreshing.  It’s lovely when a mocktail makes you feel that you aren’t missing out by not having any alcohol and this one certainly made me feel I was having a treat.  It’s full of strawberries and blueberries and other healthy, delicious things: wonderful. My guest had a Halle Beri, which is a mix of Stoli and Stoli Razberi vodkas with amaretto, strawberries and apple juice. I sneaked a sip of that and can confirm that it is as good as it sounds.

Before we consulted the menu, we were told that they didn’t have any beef burgers, now I do like a good burger, so that was a pity, but so much better to know before you set your heart on a particular dish.  We both ended up opting for the chicken burgers instead and we tried the Blackened Chicken and the Brooklyn Chicken burgers, one with normal fries and the other with sweet potato fries. The front of house service was very attentive, but it did seem that the food took quite a while to emerge from the kitchen.  It was clearly freshly cooked and the quality was high, so it might just be that it will take a bit of time to pick up speed on the new menu.  My Brooklyn Chicken consisted of buttermilk fried chicken piled high with streaky bacon, smoked cheddar, fried pickles and chipotle BBQ sauce. It came served in a brioche bun with the fries and some red slaw. The chicken was moist and flavoursome and the fried pickles added a little spice without being overpowering.

Pudding was a sharing affair and this sundae was certainly big enough for two.  There were lots of lovely chucks of chocolate brownie in there amongst the vanilla ice cream and the cream topping.

Revolution Birmingham is now very much on my radar as a place to get a good meal in Birmingham and they have special offers on a lot of days, so popping in for a lunchtime meal with friends during the week is very much an affordable option.