Revolve Kitchen + Bar

Revolve Kitchen + Bar at Hotel Derek is a comfortable lounge and bar scene, but we’d hesitate to call it a restaurant. From a dining standpoint, the environment is downright odd. When you enter the space, it’s not obvious at all where the actual dining room is. In fact, it never becomes obvious. The front has mostly bar-style high-top tables and barstools. There’s a large room in the back with comfortable booth seating. Bizarrely, though, that same room also houses two large pool tables. As far as the food goes, though, there are a few stellar items and a few that fall flat. A promising spicy lamb and pepperoni pizza enhanced with the complementary flavors of roasted tomatoes, jalapeños, feta and mozzarella cheese was betrayed by a flat, boring, pale and lifeless crust. On the other hand, the queso fresco crusted tenderloin was a satisfying column of beef topped with a chile ancho-infused butter and a lush layer of snowy white queso fresco. Brothy rice decked out to an ardent green with cilantro and elegant spears of asparagus come alongside. Revolve could work as a concept if it were retooled to include a real dining room. As it stands, while it may satisfy the needs of hotel guests, it’s not a worthy destination for people who live in town.