Welcome to December. So far in Atlanta, Georgia it's been a mixture of fall weather in the '60's to winter the past two days in the '40's. The south doesn't always make its mind up about the weather!
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John and I were lucky enough to travel down to Charleston, South Carolina for one night in late November. The Lowcountry as it's called is one of my favorite places. I am from South Carolina and it feels like home. We stayed on King Street about two blocks from the city market. Before I travel, I like to research restaurants for all of our meals. And, I don't mean look up a few. I deep dive into cross referencing places. I went to TripAdvisor first and pulled up top romantic restaurants since we were on a getaway weekend. Then, I went down the rabbit hole looking at all the reviews, menus, prices, locations. We'd stayed at the Vendue Inn (built in 1780's) now known as the Vendue – a boutique hotel – located on Vendue Range and near East Bay for a second honeymoon in 2001 and loved it.
So, when I saw Revival had opened within the hotel, I knew it was the place I wanted to try.
Revival is romantic, contemporary and located on a corner with high windows out which you can view passerbys, carriages and the evening view. The decor is contemporary with white linen, an elegant bar, candles, bright artwork, and has the magic of being set in brick work dating back to the late 1700's. Nicely spaced tables allow conversations to be heard and that is important because a lot of restaurants seat you entirely too close to the next party and you cannot hear those at your table well.
The Cocktails
I loved the cocktail selections and their names: Dancing Diva, Blushing Beauty, Thyme Machine, Cake or Death, Dressed to Kill. Pretty original. I prefer sweeter drinks so I ordered the Blushing Beauty (server's recommendation) which was beautiful to look at with its watermelon slice, but it was too fruity for me. The Dancing Diva was the winner and I should've known since I always try to order Belvedere vodka. It has no additives or added sugar and tastes clean. The Diva was fun to mix when it arrived at the table because you take the vodka itself and pour it into a glass with the Elderflower, bee pollen, etc. and it foams into the cocktail itself. Delicious and the taste of the flower was pleasant and not overpowering. How often do you get to drink something you create at your table and have the real smell of flowers to it?
The Food
We always look for a menu that offers seafood, poultry, and beef. I prefer shellfish, but John likes variety, although we both chose seafood this time. The food was absolutely delicious. John started with their World’s Fair Chopped Salad. Then, we selected entrees and I went with the Lowcountry Prilou as suggested by the server.
butter poached lobster | crab | shrimp | carolina gold “pegao” | sweet peas | back garlic aioli
Growing up in the south, I’m pretty familiar with a lot of seafood dishes but hadn’t tried this before. I don’t know how I ever missed it. I have to have this again in the near future. I go to Charleston several times a year so it’s a sure bet this will happen. I mean can you go wrong with this mix of shellfish? The lobster was amazing. John chose the Seared Citrus Tuna and it was a winner too.
SEARED CITRUS TUNA
creole seasoning | blood oranges | meyer lemon | mint | oil cured black olives
Unfortunately, we did not save room for dessert. Will try it on our next visit. After dinner we strolled through the corridor and gallery connecting the restaurant to the Vendue’s Drawing Room. We didn’t hang out in the lounge, although we enjoyed the holiday music playing and checked out part of the exhibit on display. On our next visit to the Vendue we’ll budget more time to linger either in the lounge or have drinks on the Rooftop terrace following our dinner at Revival. I highly recommend the experience.
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One tip: Reservations can be difficult to get especially at peak times. I had a difficult time getting one at first. It isn't currently on the Open Table network. I downloaded the app Resy and snagged a 7:00 PM dinner slot pretty easily.
All other photo credits: Jennifer Graham
