Refinery Rooftop — Restaurant in New York

I was thoroughly disappointed with this place. Was highly recommended to my friends and I, who are here on vacation and were super excited to eat in a beautiful restaurant with great ambience. When we first arrived we were put on a wait list which was no issue at all especially since we walked in with no reservation and would take any table possible. The hostess wasn’t the kindest of people and honestly didn’t seem enthusiastic to be there. When we came back for our table a manager (I believe since he was the only one in a suit) was at the hostess stand as well and had no welcoming attitude and in fact seemed a little fed up with us when we asked if they had a garbage to throw our drink containers out. We sat down at an absolutely beautiful spot and were very happy but the service we got is what lacked. The bussers were quite attentive and honestly were the best service we had all night. We waiting a while for drinks, which was expected as it was busy, though they were quite good. The waitress was informative but was barely around and our empty dinner plates were left on the table for maybe 20 minutes after we had packaged them up to go. When she definitely has time to come back more often as I saw her standing at the bar most of the time doing cutlery. For such a beautiful and high rated place I expected a little bit more of an experience as even our waitress barely spoke to us and like I said earlier was not attentive at all. The next issue we had was then going to the bathroom where the first one I walked into didn’t lock, and didn’t have toilet paper. I was about to go to the next bathroom over when I watched the ( what I believe) manager walk out of the bathroom I then walked into, there was once again no toilet paper. My friend was in another bathroom/stall and she said it stank like urine and was left a mess. I also witnessed him on his phone many times and had no interactions with any tables. Again not sure if he was truly the manager but since he was in a suit and many employees were asking him questions, one can only assume. We all had amazing meals but are utterly disappointed with the service we received today especially for a rooftop restaurant in New York nobody had any customer service or sense of excitement to be there. As a server myself, I truly believe this place could have been 5 stars if we had received better service, and maybe more energy? I never write reviews but I was quite upset after tonight. For those excited to come here I would only come for the food and ambiance and not expect a...

For starters, it’s always a first for anyone if they’ve never experienced the after-work hour crowds that flock to these absolutely sensational rooftop lounge bars for a quick bite of dinner and cocktails to boot. This restaurant & bar scene is located on the 13th floor of the building. A reservation is a must should you choose a table to accommodate your party or instead choose to wade it out with the front line at the entrance. There are two sections once upstairs. Those tabled “with reservations” requiring a deposit, and those closest to the bar and outside patio, free-standing room only “without any seating.” Now the noise level is rather high. And literally talking at a normal decibel won’t cut it unless you’re words are mincemeat by conversations zooming from everywhere in this packed space. Great stuff—including the cleverest concept cocktails on this side of the Mexican border.

Now, the appetizers are pretty scrumptious and tasty, though once you get around ordering a main entree it kind of loses it’s flavor and fizzles out, like the Lobster Atoll roll and ‘pommes frites’ rustiqua avec Sel de la Mer, sprinkled on top! Delicious to a point but, messier eating than by its colorful plated presentation.

Once several rounds wound down the evening into night, the tab came rolling around. Quite a bit from generally eating at the average Midtown places that are half the price or less, dramatically geared to outpace the average Schroeder. In any event, it’s a beautiful,spacious indoors, with great views, and gobs of people from everywhere but here it seems though they’re mainstay is milling about ‘shmoozing’ doing business and always in good company as it were. Along with piping the hot tunes cooked up to shake that thing on a dance floor number. Just great music!

Pleasurable (and awfully fun), for partying with the hobnob in-crowds here on a Thursday night! Just perfective re-finery. Obviously there’s nothing quite like this found on the Left Coast since the lockdowns loosened businesses. Maybe less L.A.? More so than perhaps San Francisco or worse Seattle’s abysmal downtown core. Which, up until now continually suffers from its never-ending drug-infested urban areas … how nothing changes that blight. But thank goodness for places like NYC — hallelujah ! Where even it’s own wider classed denizens can enjoy every sort of luxury that no place on Earth the planet offers … Well, sort of … most of the time. Really. There’s Dubai ... But that’s the point—Where...

To be honest with you, as a rooftop bar this is highly overrated. I booked a table through open table based on a number of recommendations from my work colleagues as I am from out of town and wanted to have a happy hour with an amazing view of the New York City skyline. I was very disappointed that from my table I could not actually see the skyline, which was the whole reason I came. This place has three seating areas, there's one area that is pretty much indoors, one that could be indoors in the winter but has one side of doors open with a partial glass ceiling, and then a fully open outdoor area. My party of two was seated in the middle area and when I asked if we could be seated outside the host stated that those tables were available for larger party reservations only. I feel this was misleading and should've been stated when I made the reservation, that I would not actually be on the patio. Also, because of the way my two person table was situated, my partner could not see any of the skyline. I was only able to see the skyline for a few minutes when I walked to the outside area.

As a regular bar, it's great, 4/5 stars. There is a wide variety of drinks, although I wish there were a few more with whiskey that had a bit more strength. The apricot smash was good and the pomegranate martini was excellent. There rose spritz was a little sweet for me. The quinoa and kale salad with steak (GF) was surprisingly good, and the dill dipping sauce that came with the tater tots was also excellent. My partner enjoyed the hamburger and chips, so I would check this place out for drinks and food but know you may not be able to enjoy the view. Also there are no happy hour specials and brunch menu does not...