The room: bright, electric, filled with pop-art and cherry-red seating. The mood: playful. Despite the near-single digits on the January night that I visited REV Kitchen & Bar in Beverly, the restaurant was full, the spirit convivial. It was as if everyone had decided, as I had, that the cold was no match for a hearty meal.
REV Kitchen & Bar, the bold 155-seat restaurant that opened in 2019 and that is owned by restaurant veteran Nick Harron, caters to any possible whim and desire. Pizza? They make it from scratch. Steak frites? Check. Churros? You’d swear you were in Spain.
My brood and I ate through every category of REV’s extensive menu, which includes greens, starters, bowls, mains, handhelds, and desserts. (The restaurant also offers gluten-free and vegetarian options.) First up: the restaurant’s so-called crazy bread, which actually isn’t all that crazy. It’s a hand-stretched flatbread, doused in garlic and fresh mozzarella, and served with a cup of marinara, for dipping. The bang bang shrimp came at the same time, a large appetizer helping of three Bibb lettuce wraps, topped with crispy shrimp, a signature sauce, citrus-marinated cucumber, cabbage slaw, and spicy mayo.
We sampled two gorgeous, fresh salads—the REV, made with romaine, cucumbers, various types of olive, diced mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh croutons, all tossed in a white balsamic vinaigrette—and the chop shop, a play on the Cobb, with bacon, bleu cheese, corn, jalapeño, pico de gallo, and a bleu cheese dressing.
And yet. There was more to come.
The re-union club, a sandwich of marinated grilled chicken, provolone, applewood-smoked bacon, smashed avocado, pesto aioli, and a balsamic reduction, all served on toasted seven-grain toast; the eight-ounce marinated steak frites, served with truffle fries, caramelized Brussels sprouts and bacon, and steakhouse compound butter; the crispy cauli bowl, with hand-battered cauliflower, garlic rice, corn and jalapeño salad, pickled onions, edamame, avocado, and spicy mayo; and, finally, a large cheese pizza, exactly what my kids had been waiting to get their hands on. Well, until dessert arrived, at least: a plate of cinnamon-sugar-dusted churros, alongside a thick dipping chocolate topped with an espresso-mascarpone cream.
Meal concluded, my kids strained to get the last few sips of their Shirley Temples, and I sank into the final pleasures of my black cherry no-jito, a zero-proof cocktail made with cherries, muddled mint, fresh lime, simple syrup, and sparkling water. It was refreshing—just as refreshing as finding a restaurant that has just about everything you could possibly want, all in one place.