The Refinery

Review summary

1. K

   Kevin

   Nashville

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We had the beef short rib that was excellent, very tender!
   

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2. J

   Jenny

   New York City

   10 reviews

   3.0

   10 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   I will preface by saying it was holiday season and the restaurant was understaffed. That said, they forgot one of our orders so one of our group of five waited and waited. We did let the server know, but it was 30 minutes of waiting before she told us they didn't have what was ordered. It then took another 20 or so to get her some food. We did have appetizers, but still. Thant said the food we did have was very good. There are a lot of reginal options. The drinks were also excellent with many choices. We were able to try some new things which is always great. We laughed when we were told we were "Comped" the food that was never brought. We were not "comped" anything. I think the order that was so late (and not the original order) should have been removed from the charge in addition to the foods were never got. That is what a "comp" is. All in all it was a bad server night, but that does happen. I would recommend the food and drink and atmosphere.
   

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3. M

   Michelle

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   On an already small menu, they only had half the items available. Understaffed such that our drinks came 3/4 of the way into our meal and some ordered food items were forgotten about. The food we did eat was delicious.
   

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4. C

   Christine

   New York City

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   7 guests, had a reservation at 5:30. Ordered steak-waitress came back and said no steak. Ordered Mahi Mahi instead. Never came. Guest Ordered drum sticks-waitress came back, no drumsticks. Guest Ordered chicken empinadas- waitress came back- no chicken!
   

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5. B

   Barbara

   VIP

   New York City

   20 reviews

   5.0

   20 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   My family of 5 absolutely loved our experience at The Refinery. We arrived at 8:30 on Christmas night and the staff was clearly working really hard to accommodate a very busy evening - but all the while they were friendly and kind trying to make room to seat us. While they were out of empanadas by the time we ordered, it did not matter as we were totally delighted by the inventive combinations of flavors in all of the appetizers we shared ( we devoured 2 sticky and delicious popcorn chicken, a crab and corn fritters and a couple of salads) and then the special lobster and Trinidad Doubles entrees wowed us again - unexpected flavors so different from home (NYC) but absolutely delicious! This was our best meal yet on St John and our favorite service as well - they almost felt like family by the time we left. Loved and highly recommend!
   

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6. A

   Amanda

   Caribbean

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Can't speak for the food but the service was terribly slow . So slow that we waited over half an hour for drinks after eating almost 20 minutes to have a service take our drink order . We went and cancelled drink order after half hour and went somewhere else .
   

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7. I

   Ilana

   VIP

   Philadelphia

   8 reviews

   5.0

   8 reviews

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   A fun, spicy island restaurant. Very Caribbean. Atmosphere upbeat, friendly servers.
   

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8. K

   Karen

   VIP

   Philadelphia

   11 reviews

   5.0

   11 reviews

   Dined on December 18, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We had a fabulous, authentic, island time meal & drinks. Our party of five adults chose to order all of the starters for our dinner and they were delicious. Group favorites- the fritters, caramelized plantains, spicy shrimp, fried chicken. We appreciated that the staff was friendly and we weren’t rushed through our meal. The rum balls were a perfect ending to the meal. Try the rum flight and the El Presidente for beverages.
   

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9. S

   Scott

   Greater Boston

   13 reviews

   2.0

   13 reviews

   Dined on December 16, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Everyone can have a bad day and I'm sure this restaurant gets high ratings for good reasons. But our experience was quite frustrating and I post this to caution anyone who books this establishment for a special occasion as we did. We originally made a reservation online for a Sunday birthday celebration. When we got to the Refinery it was totally closed up. It was 6pm and at that point all the other nice restaurants were booked. We were not happy but assumed they were closed on Sundays and it was a fault with the reservation system. We verified the next day that they were open and made reservations online for 5:30. Day after Birthday, but we were still really looking forward to our meal. When we arrived we were given a nice quiet table in an outdoor alcove. The waiter was very nice - he told us he showed up for work himself the day before and did not know why they had closed. He took our drink order promptly and when our drinks arrived we ordered fritters and empanadas for appetizers. The waiter then informed us that they had No Fish Entrees! - 20% of the menu and the main reason we had chosen to go there. Disappointing- but we decided that we would have our apps and perhaps still find something on the menu as a replacement for the fish. Then our apps arrived - and they were totally black - they had been in the fryer so long that we could hardly break into the inside of either app. At first we thought maybe this is how they were supposed to be? but after one burnt bite it was obvious that these were horribly overcooked. The waiter came over and agreed they were unacceptable - he assured us they would correct this right away. A short time later he brought new plates that looked much better -but they were totally raw in the middle. We told our waiter we just wanted our check so we could leave. He brought the Mgr. who was very nice. We just wanted to leave - but he brought us house-made sherbet that was delicious and only charges us for our drinks.
   

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10. J

    Judy

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on December 1, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1

    We were expecting a great evening at The Refinery. We showed up for our confirmed 7:00 reservation and were seated at an outside table. While we were given menus, no one acknowledged our presence. In fact, another table was seated after us and received attention — drink orders and water, etc. We walked out. This place is NOT worth it — ambiance is “meh” and the service is awful. Sorry. Will be advocating for our friends and family who visit St John to not have The Refinery on their list.
    

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