Revive Cafe

Charming: we ordered a coffee and a glass of wine.
The coffee was served… after some minutes the waiter approached me and honestly said: Excuse me, I am new here and I do not know how open this bottle of wine. Can you open it for me, please?” Staying there, holding the bottle, bottle opener and glass I thought: how honest and cute.
I took the opener, opened my own wine, took the glass and asked how much I was supposed to pour. He kept on saying: more, more…
I filled the wine glass and explained this young lad how to open a bottle of wine,
loved his honesty, wine and view.

I do feel kind of weird for only giving this place 3 stars considering the amount of times I go here. I’ll start with the good:
The tea room upstairs is exactly what I look for in a café; it’s peaceful (when it’s not too busy), cozy, windows to gaze out of… it’s a place I like to sit and stare if I’m on a lunch break ;-). They have a nice selection of sweet things and scones and the salads are pretty darn good on a summer evening. In fact, this is the place to go if I’m looking just to sit down with a pot of tea and a snickers cake.
But then we have the bad… I’ve gotten soup and a toasted sandwich a few times (it’s kind of a comfort food for me) and the sandwich is normal… what you’d expect but so far every soup I’ve gotten tastes exactly the same. Vegetable, broccoli (if I remember correctly), leek; they all taste the same! I’m not sure if they actually USE meat stock but it certainly TASTES like they do use it in every soup… even vegetable. Again, they probably don’t, as using meat stock in vegetable soup is wrong on so many levels but that’s the best way I can describe the taste of the soup. Greasy and salty. With no vegetables.
I got a savoury crêpe once… and I won’t again. It wasn’t «bad»…it just wasn’t good either.
And then there’s the poor staff who are always miserable. I’ve never seen one of them smile… I’m not sure if it’s just a terrible place to work or the hiring process prefers those who hate life but either way they always look like they need a hug.
So go here for cake and tea and sit by the window in the corner and look out over a bustling Quay Street. It’s not so bad.