La Revolucion
Posted on March 9, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in The Junction
2 stars
- La Revolucion is amazing! Well no, it isn’t, but that’s exactly how I wanted to start this off. Man, I really wanted to love this place. La Revolucion just looks so dam cool that I figured the whole experience was going to be amazing. When I was first drawn by the interesting front stained-glass window and poked my head inside to look around, I figured that in no-time-at-all, there’d be a lineup to get in. Sadly, I don’t think that’s going to be the case anytime soon.
La Revolucion is a Mexican restaurant, but at first glance, it certainly doesn’t scream Mexican; after eating there, I’m not even sure if that’s what they’re going for. It’s a sparsely decorated joint that for some reason—at least while I was there—feels the need to distance themselves even more from their Mexican roots by blasting annoyingly loud rave music. I mean, their food is the typical, standard Mexican fare you’d expect, like enchiladas and tacos and burritos, but other than that and the few Mexican-esque decorations, there wasn’t much Mexican about it at all.
They’re heavily pushing the banditos aspect of Mexican culture, which is actually a pretty cool gimic in my eyes. While I get the whole concept of banditos and revolution, it seemed as though La Revolucion fell a little short of their delivery of the theme. While what little decor they have there is mostly bandito-related, the rest of the theme is left to interpretation. La Revolucion does feel as though they’re finding their identity, but they have a lot of difficulty conveying what that identity is exactly to their guests. Sitting there, it doesn’t feel as though you were part of the revolution, it feels as though you’re interrupting them while they plan it, and they can’t wait for you to leave so they can get back down to business.
Presentation isn’t their strong point either. They haphazardly slap the food down on the plate, without much concern for appearances. My enchiladas were slightly warm and covered in tasteless green salsa; my burrito was humungous, but it was bland and not nearly warm enough. When I asked for hot sauce, because it was nowhere to be found, I got a small ramekin with some sort of sauce, but it’s details remained a mystery that was left for me to find out with no explanation from the server, and while you’re waiting for that stuff to all arrive, there’s no offer of chips and salsa or even water for that matter, which would have definitely improved the experience.
Interestingly enough, before this place was a Mexican place it was, well, a Mexican place. Whoever it is that owns it probably just decided it was time to rebrand, and while that may have been a great idea on their part, the execution of their new brand and concept needs some polishing because it’s hard to tell exactly what the concept is. La Revolucion may be a restaurant, but a revolution it is not.
- AB
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Wow, I totally disagree! I love this place. It’s not pretentious or expensive and the comfort food I have had there has always been fantastic. I’ve gone a bunch of times since it opened. Also, talk to the owner/staff and you’ll get a much better sense of the joint’s “Mexican-ness” (oh, but maybe not the Scottish waiter). It’s a great addition to the neighbourhood. I can’t wait for the back room to open, too.
I’d love to give it another shot Krystyn. Like I said, I really did want to love this place! I think it’s a great addition to the Junction too, and it pretty much fits the neighbourhood’s style perfectly. It really is too bad that when I went the food was the way it was…
If I do go back, any recommendations on what to order?
And yeah, I thought the back room looked pretty cool too.
I’d say this review is on the mark. This place is fine if you live nearby but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go there.