The Refuge

Review summary

1. T

   Timothy

   VIP

   Chicago

   64 reviews

   3.0

   64 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

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

   Our brunch experience was not what we would normally expect for a popular restaurant. We arrived slightly early for a 10:45am reservation. For about 10 minutes, no host/hostess to greet guests arriving . The entrance filled very quickly with customers. A host showed up and said he would check for our table. It appeared that the servers were also having to bus the tables so this delayed the turnover. We were seated and our server took our drink order. She returned with the drinks and took our food order. She came back to tell is the bananas foster French toast was not being made that day. I changed the order to eggs Benedict. After 10-15 minutes the server came to tell us it would be a few more minutes until our food would be ready. She came back 10 minutes later to apologize for the delay. Roughly an hour after our actual reservation time, our breakfast finally arrived. Oddly enough, tables that were all seated after our arrival had all finished eating and were paying their checks. Hopefully, this is an isolated occurrence. The food was good. We were just asking ourselves why our simple order was held up for such a long time.
   

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2. e

   eleanor

   VIP

   Charleston

   29 reviews

   5.0

   29 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   nice decor good service very good food easy parking we will be back
   

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3. D

   Devin

   Charleston

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Was a perfect little place for Valentine Night Dinner
   

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4. M

   Melissa

   New York City

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   Great experience. Our server Jermey was attentive and was great!
   

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5. C

   Camilla

   Washington DC

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 8 February 2025

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

   Excellent experience - the drinks were well-made, the food was excellent, and the service was amazing.
   

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6. D

   David

   VIP

   Charleston

   39 reviews

   5.0

   39 reviews

   Dined on 2 February 2025

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

   The food and service were outstanding, thank you! Best brunch on the island
   

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7. L

   Lynn

   VIP

   Greater Boston

   44 reviews

   5.0

   44 reviews

   Dined on 12 January 2025

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

   Great brunch as usual-they were able to make my go-to surfer bod pancakes even though they aren’t on the menu! Bennett was a fantastic server during a busy time. Overall stellar experience as usual.
   

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8. D

   Denny

   Coastal Georgia

   7 reviews

   4.0

   7 reviews

   Dined on 10 January 2025

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

   We have eaten here a number of times before and never been disappointed, but something was off last night. Two of the four at the table ordered the trigger fish. The sauce was so salty, it was inedible. They sent it back and settled on Caesar salads with chicken. When those came they also were way over salted too. The other two of the four meals we received (another trigger fish and a scallop) were perfectly fine. Just going to chalk it up to a bad night in the kitchen, which was a shame, because we were all celebrating a belated family Christmas since we hadn’t been able to be together at Christmas. Waite staff service was excellent as always.
   

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9. R

   Robert

   Charleston

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 3 January 2025

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

   The food was good but not great or even up to Charleston standards. The salmon was overcooked and dry and the risottos was not creamy but like flavored rice. The Crab Carbonara was not a true Italian Carbonara (no egg yokes & the salty crispy prosciutto ham was replaced with large chunks of fat back that was not crispy, but rather soft and fatty). It was more like pasta in a cheesy Alfredo sauce. The tuna tartare with fried wontons was very good and I would get it again. The crab dip at market price was a little surprising at the market price. It was extremely rich in nature. But the flavor was OK.
   

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10. R

    Roger

    VIP

    Charleston

    310 reviews

    5.0

    310 reviews

    Dined on 1 January 2025

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

    We always enjoy the Refuge and only wish it was closer as we live on Johns Island. The menu is full of delicious options. It was New Year’s Eve and I had the Prime Rib special, which was perfect. My wife had a special pasta dish, seafood diablo alfredo with shrimp that she loved. The crab cakes are real ‘Maryland’ style and are fantastic. Can’t wait to go back!
    

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