The Refectory Restaurant — Restaurant in Columbus

Comments below based on expectations for a $500 dinner for 2 people. Tasting menu for 1 person w/ basic wine pairing + 1 cocktail A la Carte for 2nd person + 1 cocktail Beautiful building. We were taken to our table about 10 minutes after reservation time (no issue), then sat at our table for close to 10 minutes before being greeted by our server. No water on the table, and no water brought for the initial greeting. Waiter gave a brief but interesting history of the restaurant and building. Ordered water, bread, and cocktails. Took close to 15 minutes before drinks arrived. Ahead of the date I let the restaurant know I have a tree nut allergy, host confirmed this. A different employee that showed us to the table confirmed the nut allergy. Somehow the waiter and kitchen had no idea about my allergy and I had to tell him while going through the menu. Order food, takes more than 30 minutes for 1st course to arrive, at this point it's 110 minutes after reservation time and just now receiving 1st course. Salmon prelude was fine, but boring. Salmon pastrami tasted like cold smoked salmon with pepper. Sea bass was delicious, highlight of the meal, lamb chops were completely forgettable, and all the accompaniments were completely underwhelming, especially the mushroom duxelle (bland) and my wife's truffle potato's (slightly raw). Dinner progressed and was fine, but then the waiter returned and asked me for a 2nd time what desert I ordered even though we had a lengthy discussion already. The main point of frustration was the wine pairing that came with my wife's tasting menu. Every single pairing was delivered at least 3-5 minutes before or after the dish was served. What is the point of pairing if your food is sitting getting cold for 5 minutes while you wait for the sommelier? The sommelier, while seemingly knowledgeable ( I don't know anything about wine), essentially gazed off into the distance with a war veteran 1000 yard stare while repeating the memorized phrases for each wine with absolutely no mention of how each wine would pair with the particular dish. We did however find out the name of the family that owns the vineyard, which did make the wine taste better.

Overall, spending $500 for 2 people comes with an expectation that the food will be astounding (it wasn't) and that the service is impeccable (it wasn't)

I would recommend Guild House, you can get the same or better quality food, better service, and save yourself $200

tldr: Food -- good, but unexceptional for the price point Service -- poor -- timing for meals and drinks was off the entire meal, food allergy info was not...

If there is a restaurant that I could describe as once having hated with a passion, it is this one.

Roughly 15 years ago, I visited this location with my mom. Being a pre-teen, I wore a t-shirt and shorts; unbecoming of the fine atmosphere of the restaurant, but I was young and naive. Had there been a dress code, I could have simply been turned away, which I would have accepted, but instead, my mother and I were seated.

After having ordered my entree, the ostrich steak, I promptly received it about half and hour after. Excited, I took a first bite. It tasted funny. My mother tried it, and immediately spat it out. It was rancid. The waiter confirmed as much once we had called them over.

Now, question me this; under what circumstances would a “fine dining” establishment serve a rancid steak? Did they not notice? That couldn’t be it…the staff at one of the fanciest eateries in Columbus didn’t recognize good meat from spoilt meat? Then it leaves another option…it was known it was bad and served intentionally. The folks at the Refectory saw how I was dressed, and instead of simply turning me away, felt it appropriate to serve me rancid meat that risked my health. Simply dehumanization.

This core memory has since greatly altered how I view people as a whole; the pretentious from the genuine. I’ve since been to many other “excellent” restaurants, dozens of Michelin star and world’s best title establishments, and while some have proven genuine in their service and quality, many others have failed what I’ve since dubbed “The Refectory Test”. A restaurant that fails this test is one that is style over substance, one that cares about how everything looks rather than how it tastes, one that cares more about the type of clientele it serves than what it dishes out. This test has helped me recognize the truly excellent restaurants from the frauds.

I’d like to thank The Refectory for serving me a dressed pile of literal garbage that day; it was a memory that helped me grow as a person. The anger has since subsided; only amusement remains; both of how the perceived local prestige of this restaurant has shrunk in my rear view mirror and of the clientele believing that the food served here ranks anywhere near the overused term “excellent”. And to those reading this review, wondering if this restaurant is worth visiting, I respond with but a simple phrase: a dressed pig is...

My husband and I went to The Refectory last night and had a wonderful experience. Our server Lisa was very personable and did such a wonderful job educating us about the dishes offered and drink selections. The Refectory operates differently than most Ohio/US restaurants. It's recommended to order all courses ahead of time as they are small batch. We ordered 4 courses and even though the plates are smaller than "normal" we were pleasantly stuffed at the end of our meal.

To note, courses do come out at a slower, more European pace. Our entire dinner took 2.5 hours. I highly enjoyed the slow pace, it gave us more of a chance to slowly savor our dishes and really connect.

The escargot is more in a loaf type form and comes with a garlicky sauce that is just amazing. Not pictured is the soup I had which was the vegetarian, which was deliciously simple but definitely warming. My husband had the shrimp that had a lovely bright vinaigrette followed by the arugula salad. The arugula paired with the pancetta (I think) was delicious as the fat cut the sharpness of the arugula.

For my main course I had the sturgeon which I highly recommend. It was meltingly soft and the potatoes/vegetables provided a contrasting crunch. My husband had the duck which he highly enjoyed, the cherry sauce had a tartness he enjoyed but I did not particularly care for.

Dessert we both chose the creme brulee. The grand marnier was a nice change from a standard vanilla, it was beautifully silky and paired so well with probably the BEST latte I have ever had.

There were a few items I'm going to grumble about but really are minor and not worth detracting any stars: I have celiac and the gluten free bread basket at $5 extra was rather disappointing. It looked like regular sliced sandwich bread that was cut in diagonals. I'll skip the bread next time as Cameron Mitchell restaurants, Cooper's Hawk and others have better to offer.

The other grumbly item is the lack of dessert options for someone with celiac. I could choose between the creme brulee or I believe a sorbet. Dessert is my absolute favorite course so this was disappointing. It's the reason we'll come back maybe once or twice a year, but...