Refuge

I really enjoyed it here. It is a gorgeous high ceilinged room. Fabulous cocktails. Lovely atmosphere and really great staff. Location perfect for Palace Theatre n Oxford Road Station. I would have given 5 stars but when we tried to book to eat they told us they were fully booked. Which is fine. But they could have told us we could eat the same food that the restaurant provides in the bar. And there was plenty of room there. Regardless I will return

First time visit to this cathedral of past commerce and does not disappoint. Wonderful open hall tiled columns and terrazzo floors . Long bar well populated by draft beers and lagers. Prices reasonable for a premium venue. Circa £5.50 for a pint of very nice Cider. Seating selection comprised of leather armchairs, individual tables and chairs and perimeter seating. Overall definitely a place to visit and return to. I didn't try the food, but an adjoining table had some sort of well filled wrap which looked and smelled delicious. I'll be back.

Lovely location, worth a visit.
Food was ok, some very nice bits but some average ones too.
Service ok, but had to flag them down a few times for drinks.

I love Sunday roast! This week I booked to try out with my date at night.
It was good. Very good service. We ordered the Sunday roast to share which is £39 for chicken pork and beef for two people. Very good value. I like their beef and chicken. The Yorkshire pudding is not crispy enough but overall is good! Value for money.
I also like their renovation! High ceiling! Definitely recommend for date and family dinner

Great evening spent in your private dining room last night. Food was beautiful and staff were brilliant. Thank You for making my best friends 40th a memorable one. We’ll be back x

Sunday lunch was amazing the food was cooked to perfection you could tell the meat was superior quality loved the vimto red cabbage - portion size ….. you will be full when you leave Great atmosphere and for all the family with a modern Manchester edge - gorgeous building - definitely worth a visit or 2 😉

The grand design makes up for a sometimes understaffed and undermotivated venue. You would think the poshness of it all would guarantee a great service, but for an hour no one was picking up glasses, bar staff seems depressed. Bottle shelves not stocked to the max behind the bar (first rule of bar management?!) That being said everyone was friendly enough and the drinks were good.

Delicious! A very nice variety of food selection, a lot of vegan and vegetarian options as well. The wait staff are perfectly attentive without being overbearing (ask for Becky!!)
The billfold for the check was the best one I have ever seen, i had to get pictures of it! A definite place to return to

Fabulous place - wonderful service and attentive servers, delicious food and hip atmosphere. Couldn’t fault it. Definitely the place to visit in Manchester

Nice vibe, polite staff, helpful and friendly. For such a large venue it’s still intimate. Chose to sit in the bar in the orangery bit. I hadn’t been in here since the palace hotel. It certainly has the bones of the old place but feels contemporary. Lovely cocktail try a queens peach ! The coffee was good abs food was perfectly fine too. This place was a strong all rounder.

Amazing setting in beautiful big hall.
Nice food but nothing that special. Flatbread and black garlic dip were the most tasty, the dip actually really yummy. Gypsy pie was super sweet, and the contrast between a rock-hard crust and the almost runny center was quite big. Staff was really friendly and sweet, allthough maybe they were serving too many tables as waiting times were quite long.
Music was good, but really really loud, as it was echoying around very sharply in the big hall, making having a conversation almost impossible.

A pretty place for good food and drink. Friendly staff. Sharing plates menu, but everything was delicious. We went for drinks and dinner on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings. There was a DJ on Thursday evening at the bar area, so it’s a little loud near the bar, but not too loud at the dining room.

Beautiful place! The cocktails were outstanding and sipping them on the comfortable couches was delightful. Like taking a step back in time with a modern twist. Stunning, you feel like a film star!

The Refuge in Manchester has to be the definition of "cool". One small word of warning - consider NOT going here (first) if you are starving - they serve what are basically Tapa's - small portions that night share with you dining mate(s). They suggest starting with 3 per person - prices range from £5.50 (small portion of triple fried new potatoes bravas) to £9.50 (small portion of sea bass (Mrs. G's fave) £16.50 (small 5oz steak) - so it can add up if you take 4-5 per person.

So with this one caveat the Refuge is awesome. Go and graze with friends together with a beer, wine

Just a bar review as we did not eat here.
Oh my lord what a fun atmosphere. Big! Booming! Lively!
The décor is kind of like eye candy.
Snazziest bar I have ever been to in Manchester.
The beer was great too.

Cool location and even more cool inside. May have been far to cool for this traveller but still worth it. Service was spot on and the tapas selection by our waiter was also spot on. All in all, worth the time and money!

The Refuge has a unique theme, and is situated in a truly beautiful building. Dining here is both an experience and a total pleasure :-)

To begin our experience, I tried a Scarlet Fever, which is one of their signature cocktails. The cocktail had a kick lick a mule, and tasted amazing! A great start to a wonderful meal.

On to the food! The food is all in keeping with the décor and the theme of the restaurant, which are inspired by Voltaire's travels. There are both Indian and Asian influences to the cuisine, which I say is best described as tapas.

Tip: The sweet potato fries are delicious

The food is mediocre...nothing to brag about. You are paying for the new atmosphere. It is overly priced.
I give it a two star.

The Refuge is unbelievably impressive. the décor follows the rustic brass and dark wood trend that has become quite popular in bar/restaurants in Manchester City Centre, but that is far from a critique as The Refuge looks amazing!

The venue is separated into different section with a long bar situated in the centre, and the front is the "Public Bar" area where everyone is welcome. Another section to the right of the bar is the dining area, which is a little isolate to the public area, which offers a great place to dine. Behind the bar and occupying the centre of the venue is the

The bar. Horrible service. No server for tables tonight. Come up to bar and get your own. Only 1 bartender at 5pm on a Tuesday.

So sad, such potential.

Thought I reviewed Refuge already but I guess not!

I've been for lunch on Sunday and dinner on Monday now and both times it was quietly buzzing and was a really nice environment - they've really enhanced what was already a cool, historical space (Manchester tiles!). The winter garden is beautiful. I did attempt to come for a drink on Saturday night but the winter garden seriously lacks seats (several tables left without any) so bf & I abandoned it which was a shame for Refuge given the amount we drink.

Foodwise it's generally a good standard. We also had really nice servers

Excellent! We spent around four hours here on a Tuesday afternoon sampling their food, savouring their coffee and scabbing their free wifi!

I'll start with the basics. The Refuge is conveniently located on Oxford Street just a two minute walk from the train station. The casual seating area is huge with plenty of places for different sized groups to sit, there's even an Apprentice Style boardroom table. The vibe is very relaxed but when I entered I noticed a lot of business people (or people clearly working). The decor is fantastic, as mentioned its a huge open space but the dark wooden

I loved this place! Its owned by the same guys who run Volta Bar on Burton Road in Didsbury. Its located next door to the the Palace Hotel in town. We decided to go for a drink in here before seeing a gig at Gorilla, its also very handy for pre drinks before seeing a show at the Palace Theatre next door, The whole place looks amazing, It has a victorian style to it due to the nature of the place yet trendy like the Hoxton Hotel in London with long tables and good looking arm chairs, The bar looks striking as does the rest of the place! It has a nice chilled out atmosphere to the place and its perfect

Definitely a wow factor as you walk in. I love the old Victorian tiles and decor of (i hope) original features of the building. It does reminds me of Brown on King St or Hawksmoor on Air Street London. The price is reasonable for lunchtime menu and the food is great. I really enjoyed the black daal, which is on par with london famous black daal in dishroom. Very creamy and full of flavour with a bit of kick too. I also love the calamari very fresh but I would love it to have less batter on it. In terms of my main, Lamb Shawarma was definitely a dish to fill your tummy (if you are hugry) and it

Popped in here yesterday when walking to Piccadilly station from Oxford Road and thought - oh yeah, this new place - must give it a spin!

First impressions with only popping in for an hour is - yes, this place is awesome - so well designed and really bringing it back to life and to it's past glories (but with a modern spin) - it really will be great for all occasions.

I was actually only looking for a place to work for an hour so got settled in their cavernous lounge and there was plenty of room and great high speed internet. I think it will be a big favourite amongst remote workers and