Revolution Soho - 2 St. Annes Court, Soho, London W1F 0AZ
I was invited down to check out Revolution Soho on a Thursday night. I have to be honest and say the last time I visited a Revolution, it was called Vodka Revolution, I was just 19 years old, at Uni and ended up that same night in a very bad state. However, with a new name (Revolution Bar) and new interiors I was intrigued to see what this life-long bar chain now had to offer.
Boothes to eat and relax
I walked in at 7pm and the bar was already buzzing. Most of the tables in the dining area were full and the couches and boothes in the bar area were also pretty full. The DJ was playing funky music but not overly loud, so you could still chat. As if in a normal restaurant, our waitress was very attentive and showed us the food menu (before the drinks menu - which shows a shift in their position). The food has everything you need for an inexpensive bite to eat; from fresh stonebaked pizzas to pasta and burgers. We actually had the 2-4-1 stonebaked pizza vouchers from designmynight, so we all had pizzas. Way back when, a pizza in Revolution resembled one you'd get from Iceland, but not anymore. The selection is similar to a Pizza Express with some inventive twists (vodka coated chicken or a duck and hoi sin sauce pizza); served on a wodden pizza board they were absolutely delicious, as good as any famous Pizzeria chain in London! Pizzas were around the £7-£9 mark.
Bar Area
So why go here to eat over a more traditional restaurant? Well...the drinks are still a big pull here! During dinner we indulged in a few cocktails (each!) - coming in at £6.95 don't be expecting the most inventive and flamboyant cocktails but they are all a good size and they serve up the classics very well. However, Revolution is still a Vodka bar (even if they have dropped the spirit from the name of their bar) and I was pleased (and nervous) to see the vodka sticks still in action. Each stick contains 6 different flavoured shots, from Birthday Cake to Jelly Baby! After dinner, we ordered a stick and rolled a die (on our iPhone) as to who got what shot...vodka stick roulette! I have to say...some were rather testing on the stomach but some were actually quite delicious!! And what do you know...4 sticks later we were still going strong! By about 9pm, the bar was really busy and the music had ramped up a bit and it had turned into a proper DJ bar, with people still eating and others having a little dance around the bar area. One big difference from the old days is the clientele...yes you are always going to get a stag/hen and student crowd here but there were also a lot of young professionals and smaller groups simply looking to have a fun dinner and let loose with a few drinkies after!
Dining area overlooking main bar area
Come 11pm we decided to call it a night; definitely merry but not in the state I was after my previous Revolution visit! We all had a really enjoyable night, tasty food, quirky drinks and more importantly we simply had a good old laugh! Having dinner with friends or partners can sometimes be a bit stale in other restaurant chains in London, but not here - we all left smiling and had some funny memories stored ready for emailing the next morning!
Forget what you think you know about Vodka Revolution and give the new-look Revolution a go...
Click here to visit the Revolution Soho designmynight info page
