The Refuge - San Mateo

Review summary

1. J

   Jim

   San Francisco10 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 25 February 2025

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

   The Reuben is to die for. I’m a big fan of pastrami, so this is tailor-made for me!
   

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2. I

   Isaac

   San Francisco1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 8 February 2025

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

   Fantastic food, great drinks, super fast service! We drive from pretty far to come here.
   

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3. M

   Marta VIP

   San Francisco236 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 30 January 2025

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

   Best pastrami Ruben in the Universe. Friendly, attentive waitstaff. Order the onion rings, you won't go wrong.
   

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4. A

   Ann VIP

   San Francisco21 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 30 January 2025

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

   Always a wonderful experience at The Refuge. Great food and fantastic service. Great place to dine with family or fun date night. There is something for everyone on the menu. Great new beers and ciders on tap make each visit memorable. Highly recommend this restaurant.
   

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5. J

   Judy

   San Francisco23 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 15 January 2025

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

   Great time! Thanks Refuge for sponsoring a fundraiser for our Temple. The service was very friendly and the menu had an even longer cocktail and beer list than the food menu. Hubs gave that a thumbs up. Way to go! Our pastrami Sammy’s were delicious, saved half for lunch. Will be going back soon.
   

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6. L

   Lady

   San Francisco10 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 8 January 2025

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

   Thanks for hosting our lunch meeting today. Food was delicious!
   

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7. A

   Adam

   San Francisco5 reviews

   2.0

   Dined on 5 January 2025

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

   The photos were misleading since I was hoping to find a quiet and nice place for a date, and that had better food. Instead, the food was disappointing. The burger patty wasn't properly formed or properly cooked. Also, unless you're mixing steak meat with your patty, ground beef should never be raw in the middle. Burgers should be pink in the middle and or medium, not rare unless you're having a steak burger. Also, this place was too casual for going on a nice date. More like a loud sports bar that happened to be kind of empty. I won't go back here ever again. Burger was way over salted like someone spilled the bottle in the ground beef by accident. Fries were not tasty or properly crispy. Price for value didn't make much sense, but if you have poor taste or you don't care about quality, then you probably won't notice. I'll be amazed if this restaurant can keep its doors open for much longer serving lousy food like this. No complaints about the service. They were responsive and fairly quick, but in all fairness, the place was not busy at all. No need to make a reservation and I really don't understand why this place was even listed on Open Table to begin with. What a disgrace.
   

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8. t

   thelma

   San Francisco1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 4 January 2025

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

   Great experience for a family gathering,, three generations coming together. We felt comfortable and well attended to. Refuge has the best pastrami in town as well as myriad of delectable choices for all ages
   

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9. P

   Peggy

   San Francisco15 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 4 January 2025

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

   Very fast service and delicious food. My party of four really enjoyed their food: pastrami salad, Philly cheesesteak, soup/sandwich combo, and pastrami on rye. We all drank tap water. Our bill came out to $90+ and after tip, it cost each of us $30. As delicious as the food was and the wonderful service, a simple meal in a non-white tablecloth venue is steep for $30. I really like this place but can't afford meals like this on a regular basis; that's for sure.
   

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10. J

    Jennifer

    San Francisco1 review

    5.0

    Dined on 31 December 2024

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

    You just can’t go wrong when you take your family to the Refuge. I love their pastrami and the fries with the chili mayo. The only wish I have is that they would bring the Aspall dry cider to the San Mateo location too. It’s my favorite! I tend to go to the San Carlos location more often so I can have it with my pastrami fix.
    

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