The Refectory

The food was exquisite!! My taste buds have never tasted anything so delicious before!! I recommend the spicy flatbread and the ramen noodles. The ramen noodles were so delicious never ever had ramen like this before!! The bread basket was kind of bland... I don't recommend that especially for the price...

Amazing spot on Villanova campus. Solid food and pretty reasonable prices. Upscale atmosphere and professional service.

So Good! I nearly forgot to take any photos, my group was just chowing down. We ordered a lot of the things, but my favorites were the brussel sprouts, buffalo cauliflower, nova fries, spicy vodka rigatoni, and the carrot ginger soup. Drinks were excellent as well. Ordered 2 cocktails, Dem Apples (tequila base) and Blue Moon (gin base). Absolutely recommend both. Next time, I'll try to save room for dinner.

Nice restaurant for parties or a date night🌹our server is very friendly. Love their food as well!

The restaurant is so cute and cozy! We had a large party who sat in the large booth. The service was great and the food came out quickly. Will definitely be back.

Ohhhhhh Goodie! So Happy I found this Brunch Beauty 😬😬 My sons and I were looking for a new place to try. The food here was absolutely Delish! The service was great, the ambiance was pleasant, and honestly; it was just giving me those good ole brunch vibes that I love! #Mimosaswereflowing! I’m a little bummed that I didn’t get better food pics! I was excited when everything came out, I stumbled and didn’t do my due diligence with the camera. Anyway, we’ll definitely be visiting this lovely jewel again! Thanks again, our experience was excellent!

Went here for a relaxing lunch. Got there around 1pm in June and it was empty. Small menu, but everything we got was really well done. I got a Turkey sandwich that rocked. Very nice at atmosphere right in the heart of the beautiful Villanova campus. Service could have been a bit more friendly. But otherwise, it was great!

Had an amazing girls dinner (including my ten month old!) with great dishes from the For The Table section of the menu. Family friendly, easy to park, very nice staff. The food and cocktails were delicious and the pastry for dessert was amazing! The new GM Gina checked in on us several times and had wonderful recommendations.

02Aug2023 Update We returned to Refectory on 02Aug, this time to dine in. From start to finish we had a much better experience. Our server was attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu. His descriptions made us excited for each course, which did not disappointment. The chef puts an elevated twist on classics such as the touch of truffle with the deviled eggs and the surprising, yet delicious, oat fritters served with the filet. Can’t wait to return! Original review: Ordered spicy pepperoni flatbread and the 1/2 rack of ribs from the website for takeout. When we arrived to pick up, there was an error with our order. Totally understandable so we patiently waited. Our corrected order came out in a timely fashion. But I was disappointed to see the lack of care to package our flatbread. It was haphazardly placed in an ill fitted box. When we got home 10min later, the flatbread was warm at best and the crust was soggy at parts due to the packaging. The ribs were fall of the bone but the sauce was way too salty.

Very good place for lunch. We really enjoyed the sliders and sandwiches and the service was great! The fries were very well seasoned as well.

Such a delicious meal! The service was great and the food came out so fast. The drinks were so good and very unique

Good experience! The flatbreads were great, as was the chocolate chocolate chocolate dessert. Good service and cozy two-person booth.

Interesting cocktails! Clover Club was quite tasty. The peperoni flatbread was also good. Interior design is very nice.

1st time here and the food and service was amazing. Would definitely go back to try the dinner menu.

We had a small retirement luncheon in a lovely private room. Our waiter was so attentive, the food was tasty as usual, & the location with easy parking was perfect. Many of us dined at Refectory Nova since its opening & truly rate it as one of the best, if not the Best of the Main Line. We savored every second of our special celebration there - thanks to Kelsey's efforts & arrangements.

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting on three different occasions—twice personally and once professionally while coordinating an event—and every experience has been wonderful. From the attentive staff to the fresh, delicious options and the inviting ambience, each visit has left a truly positive impression.

Never had the food there before but I’m definitely sure it’s delicious! biff the owner is a great guy really good kind hearted man I hope nothing but the best for him 🙂 would recommend to everyone honestly all staff is very generous and kind each and every one!!! Bar is really nice had a couple beers there very cold and fresh also the whole place (restaurant) is very fancy and always clean!!!! Recommend to everyone even celebrities lol keep it up the great job they surely deserve it honestly.

Madison was our server and she was as fabulous as the food was. Don’t hesitate to come here. Everything we ordered from the drinks to the dessert was outstanding.

We visited the Refractory for the first time today, based on reviews. We were not disappointed - we had the mahi tacos and mushroom soup appetizers and turkey sandwich as a main .... All were wonderful. Lovely and comfortable atmosphere.

Beautiful sit down restaurant at Villanova. The building itself is beautiful and well constructed, and the interiors of the restaurant are thoughtful, warm and inviting. Service was excellent and food was delicious. The buffalo cauliflower and the Truffle Deviled Eggs are must haves.

Made reservations for new years eve and took my mom, wife and kids. Found the place on open table, never heard of it before and didnt know what to expect being right in the heart of villanova, and wasnt sure if we were going to walk into a college bar. It was the total opposite of my initial thoughts. The ambiance was warming, our waitress-Alexis was awesome and very attentive. She recommended a few good platters and took a bunch of great photos of our table for us being NYE. The cheese steak egg rolls, Brussels sprouts, and calamari we started off with and got a bread basket also which all hit the spot and everyone enjoyed them all. Our entres were even better, my lobster linguine was terrific as was the scallops and cod. The plate presentations are beautiful. The desserts topped it off and the apple swirl cake with ice cream comes highly recommended. I cant wait to go back and try the other dishes. Very satisfied and highly recommend. Will be back!

This is a really great restaurant on the Villanova campus. We went for lunch and the Bibb salad and cheddar broccoli soup were delicious. Domino was our waiter and took great care of us. The decor and ambiance are well done and cozy. We went back later the same day for drinks after the basketball game and it was very lively. This is a must-go place if you are visiting Villanova.

I ordered Roasted Salmon and my wife ordered filet mignon. My fish came with a potato rosti. We asked of chef Cheli could swap it for brussels sprouts. OMG when tasted the mash with wild mushrooms- it was incredible. Darcy our server was helpful without being in our faces. The place felt collegial . The quality snd attention to detail stands out.

The Refectory is a consistently solid and great experience. My wife and I eat there fairly frequently. The servers are always personable and attentive. Eric the manager has been very helpful, Darcy, Kevin, and Brianna are GREAT servers and the food is consistent and excellent. We are always greeted with a smile and kindness from the staff here. Their chef often innovates the menu and they keep dishes that are popular. The atmosphere is mellow and welcoming. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Lovely meal in a warm and cozy atmosphere. We were seated right away at a nicely lit table. Food was absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked. My branzino was spectacular, in fact. Gluten free items indicated on the menu. The creme fraiche ice cream tasted home made, and the ricotta doughnuts made me consider risking getting glutenized they looked so good! Keep in mind that they validate parking.

The staff was gracious and attended to every detail of our event. Kelsey and the entire team were organized, thoughtful, and really took such good care of our guests. I would recommend hosting an event here, or just patronizing this restaurant. I look forward to coming back with friends and family.

Very classy place for the price (but you will pay to park unless you like a hike.) Good ingredients and portion sizes. Cheesesteak was OK. Roll was fresh but dry. They should scoop it for a better ratio. Maybe season it a little more. Nice presentation. Professional and friendly service.

A friend and I decided to come here on a Thursday night. We got a table fairly easily, although the place seemed to fill up as we ate, so I would recommend a reservation. I had the calamari and the mushroom ravioli. The calamari pieces were large although the portion was smaller than some others I’ve had at other places for the same price. The mushroom ravioli was quite good, although I would have preferred more ravioli itself in the dish. It was overall a nice dining experience. The restaurant isn’t frigid like most places, and the lighting gives a nice a relaxing feel.

A lovely meal with my girl friend!! We came on a Thursday night at around 6pm. Getting a table at this time was pretty good (without reservation), however it quickly filled up so if you want a later meal I would suggest reserving! To start we had calamari which had peppers. They were very crispy and overall I’d rate them a 9.5/10. Then we had mushroom ravioli. The taste was not a combo I’d typically think of but it was surprisingly very good. I was disappointed there was not more of the actual ravioli though as the plate was primarily mushroom and brisket. Not sure if I would get again for $25. I’d give that a 8/10. I had a great experience!!

Good Saturday brunch here. FYI this is directly within the Villanova campus. There is a parking garage across the street and down the corner. It’s nicely decorated and designed inside, a very Crate&Barrel take on a retro diner. Good looking menu with variety. We shared the champagne bucket with carafe of OJ for mimosas and the breakfast fries topped with a poached egg, some bacon and cheese. I ordered the pancakes and my friend ordered the funfetti French toast. Everything was good. Not great, not amazing. But good. Fries were very wimpy; they sounded better than they actually looked or tasted. Pancakes were good. My friend said her French toast was good. That’s really about it, it was a satisfactory yet underwhelming experience. If you’re in the area and looking for a meal it’s a good choice; otherwise I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.

We had heard great things about this place and came here for a weekday date night. Reservations were easy and quick. The location is a bit hard to find, but there is a parking garage across the street that is affordable and some signs as you get closer. The ambiance is great, very cozy and welcoming while being modern and chic. Service was excellent, both our waitress and the manager who greeted and checked in on us multiple times. For the food, we had the wagyu bao buns to start which were good, could have used a bit more sauce at the bottom. Oysters were great! For our main course we got the tuna and the short rib. Tuna was 5/5, yummy, well balanced flavors and well cooked. Sides were on point. The short rib however, did not impress. The sides of hollandaise and mushrooms, although tasty on their own just added more heaviness and richness to already heavy and rich short ribs. I would have loved some more balance and acid to make it more balanced of a dish. However, the waitress again was lovely and when we expressed not being thrilled with the short rib gave us a dessert on the house - so we got to try delicious doughnuts (although all the desserts looked amazing). Drinks were wonderful! Great selection and I had their "jealous lover" which was yummy! Overall would recommend anyone to check this out, great for a date night, and we can't come back to try some of the other yummy offerings!

Chicken Parmesan was hyped....maybe a little too much. Not bad but not amazing.

First time there a few weeks ago and it was a good experience. All of the staff - from the hostess to our waiter - were extremely friendly. The vibe in the restaurant was perfect for our work meeting - lively but not extremely loud, kind of chic but more casual than upscale. The prices were pretty reasonable and see why people use it as a meeting place on Villanova's campus. Again, our waiter was extremely prompt, attentive and friendly throughout our dining experience. The food was very good. I ordered the Salmon BLT (without bacon) with a side salad - so tasty, cooked well and very good sized portions.

The food was amazing and our server was great (cameron). My lobster risotto had great flavor, but was very under cooked and I crunching on arborio rice. The young lady manager was kind enough to take it off my bill. My wife's meal was the potato gnocchi, which was so delicious, the sauce was sweet and creamy tasting. I think my big issue was that with an open kitchen you get complaisent and not relize that guests can see you all the time. As I was sitting there I was watching the cook, (he had a black shirt on) eating while making food. This behavior falls on the Chef of the kitchen to make sure that your cooks keep aware of surroundings and what guests can see because this is a sanitary issue.

Went here with my husband for our anniversary, we like to try different places around the city. We made reservations for 8pm arrived around 7:30pm we were seated right away. 7:45 arrived we were not greeted there was no water given. I watched a group of 4 young men be seated in the bar area and was greeted with water in less than 5 mins. Now I did speak with a manager who came over and spoke with my husband and I she offered to cover our first two drinks. My experience that night put a forever bad taste in my mouth and I'm not sure we will return to this establishment. Sidebar: don't order the ribs if you have high blood pressure the salt content is through the roof.

Was a part of a private event, the service was okay but I thought the food was very lackluster. There was not enough food for the 16 of us. The portions were too small for all courses. However my partner ordered the chicken dinner and their portion was massive. Seems to be not consistent. Appetizers being family style was inconvenient and too small of portions. Dessert was sad. mini brownies, donuts, and mini strawberry cups. felt like it was for children and we were all at least 30. The staff was okay, the dinner took too long to arrive. I wouldn't come here again.

Skimpy amount of gnocchi (7) for around $27. Others had a more reasonable amount of food for about the same price.

We recently had dinner with another couple at the Refractory. It is tucked away discretely in one of the large new Villanova buildings right on Lancaster Avenue. You could drive right by it a never know it was there. Parking is free after validation in the garage across the street. The restaurant has a cozy vibe. Sort of like a club or a library. Not to noisy. The clientele seems to be largely made up of parents taking their college age kids out for a nice meal. Service was friendly but very clueless. Shortly after we were seated our waiter came to take our drink order. When we said we weren’t ready yet, he lurked by our table. We got an appetizer but our mains must have come out quickly. We had 3 separate people try and clear our plates while we were still working on the appetizer. We finally gave up on the third try since the Shisito Peppers were pretty nondescript. At one point our waiter was filling our waters. He wasn’t paying attention and poured water all over the table. I had the lobster risotto ($33) being a big fan of risotto. The lobster was not noticeable and the risotto was sitting in a lot of liquid. My partners salmon was average. While it is a nice room in a convenient location, the food and service need improvement at the current price levels.

The absolute worst calamari of the hundreds of calamari I've tried in my life. It doesn't even taste like they were fried. Fries didn't taste fresh, and the topping definitely isn't brisket. Most likely chuck. Entres, burger and ramen, are interesting but not necessarily in a good way. Nice atmosphere, nice server, slow service on a busy night.

Comically small portions with mediocre quality that can’t justify the minuscule size. Ordered a 25 dollar pasta that only had literally FOUR TINY pieces of pasta. It was so embarrassing that it was clear they were trying to hide those miserable four pieces in thin sauce and piled garnish to make the dish remotely presentable. The flatbreads, shareables, dessert were no better - they needed every trick in the book with lighting and plating to hide the tiny sizes. The food quality is no where good enough to command this type of “faux fancy” portion to price ratios. Our friendly, professional server was the only good part of the experience. Felt embarrassed to have paid good money to eat a full course there.