146 Karangahape Road,
Newton
Auckland,


(09) 309 2372

add to my map

Revel is K Rd. It's surrounded by tattoo parlours and music shops and second-hand clothing stores, and as a cafe, Revel epitomises its area really rather well.

In terms of a vibe, it is pretty funky. It's a long narrow entrance that expands into various seating areas, our favourite being right up against the kitchen where you have hundreds of magnetic words to play with (these being of a more risqué variety). I hope my word combination is still up there as I must say it was quite clever (and too rude to reprint here).

Lots of things jumped out of the menu, which is loaded with lots of vegan options but it was the beef burger that won the day. This was mainly because the menu looked very organic and healthy, so I was keen to see what they would do with it. What came out may not have been super big, but was certainly tasty, especially the wholemeal burger buns which were a nice change to white with sesame. The accompanying coffees were perfect, so perfect in fact that a second round was ordered.

I would give Revel 4 stars if it wasn't for the patchy service. In fact, it's not even that it was patchy, it was almost schizophrenic. Maybe it's because this is where the cool kids tend to hang and if you're not one, you're already on the outer. When we went, the guy behind the counter went from bubbly to rude and back again about 3 times before we'd even finished our order. Weird! We were also overcharged, though that was remedied when brought up. This really put a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, as I don't really think you should ever feel like you're not welcome, no matter who the target market is (and surely that shouldn't be 'funky people').

Revel definitely is a place to visit and if you're feeling the vibe then you'd probably visit again. But be warned that you may not have the greatest service. If you're cool enough though, maybe you won't care.

A Flat White costs: $4

Must Try: the burger buns - they make it look healthy!