Revival Denver Public House - Denver, CO

A delicious funky cool joint with a New Orleans inspired menu . . . 

A few colleages and I were in Denver for a business trip, and I decided to stay an extra day.  Why fly out there and not roam around a bit?  Revival was definitely worthy of spending part of my bonus day 

I walked the few blocks over from my somewhat sketchy Days Inn "Newly Renovated" hotel across from the Ogden Theater on Colfax.  I was looking for someplace relaxed and dark, where I could sit at the bar and have a beverage and read and chill while I leisurely noshed.  Revival hit every note

It's a cool space that I'm sure is constantly evolving with additional decoration.  A bit of yarn bomb here, a craft explosion there.  On a main wall were a number of framed posters prominently displayed by bands like Phish and Widespread Panic, and there's a Jerry Garcia picture hanging over the bar, but don't let that scare you away.  When I was there on a Friday evening, Shazam tells me I heard some funky tunes from The New Mastersounds, The Meters, and Dr. John among others.  Hell, I've been listening to the mostly instrumental "Renewable Energy" and "The Nashville Sessions" by The New Mastersounds over and over since I got back.  Can you believe they're from Leeds, England?

But how was the food?  Not a bum note

I started with the Bison Gumbo, a nice Colorado twist on a classic.  There were big chunks of pot roast-y meat.  Could have used more heat, but Crystal was there.  A bonus surprise was a scope of crispy rice!  Excellent.  Like from the bottom of bibimbap in a hot stone bowl 

When the bartender asked me how the gumbo was, I said I loved the crispy rice with it, and she was surprised.  She actually seemed a bit embarrassed, saying that she was sorry, but it was the last of the rice and she had to scrape to get a scoop.  What?  Oh no, the crispy rice took the dish over the top!  

The next day, I hit Revival again to kill some time waiting for my Uber to the airport, and ordered the gumbo again.  I have to say, it was missing something without the crispy rice.  They should ALWAYS include a scoop of the crispy

Not only that, but it was served in a crockery with a broken handle.  I mean, c'mon, is this amature hour all of a sudden?  Or maybe it's supposed to be hip?

For a main the night before, I was torn towards their Stuffed Pork Chop ("Sausage, Tasso, Cornbread, Pork Jus, Braised Greens, Mustard Seed"), but the bartender got all melty talking about their Fried Catfish and Grits ("Cornmeal Crusted Catfish, Crawfish Cream Sauce, Sweet Corn Grits").  It was as described, lush grits with a excellent non-greasy crisp on the fry 

Plenty of other dishes that were hard to pass up . . . the Colorado Bison Bolognese ("Pueblo Chile Tomato Sauce, Parm, House-Made Tagliatelle Pasta"), Crab Cake BLT, Sweet Heat Pickled Shrimp, Debris Poutine ("Slow Roasted Roast Beef, Chimichurri Sauce, Marinated Peppers, Cheese curds, & Blackened fries") to name a few

  

Yeah, so Revival.  Definitely a place I wish was walking distance from home

  

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Revival Denver Public House - 630 East 17th Ave, Denver, CO 80203

720-524-7867

IG #revival.denver 

www.revival-denver.com