The Refinery

Participated in a private event.
- 4 individual washroom stalls in total
- Dark and red-ish interior and lighting
- Somewhat difficult to hold conversation due to the music
- Skilled and accommodating bartender (drinks were a little pricey)

So long story short, this place ruined by birthday or almost did.
My sister was throwing me a surprise birthday party and booked The Refinery 2 months in advance. What happened? The Manager booked a different birthday party in and booked us downstairs at The Pawn Shop.
There is no way in hell I would would book my birthday there. LOL. NO WAY. First off, I hate tequila...

I looked at my sisters correspondence with the manager and it was clear that she did not want the Pawn Shop. After arguing with the Manager he apologized and set up some shots (that were disgusting) and a bottle of champagne. This did not make up for spotty service.

I'm sure the girl upstairs that got the refinery was annoyed that my guest kept showing up to her party, only to be redirected downstairs. Blame the Manager.

Luckily my friend had a hook up at the Roxy and got all 30 of us in! Birthday luckily saved.

Never giving this venue any business ever again.

Came here for a private party.

Parking along Granville is a free-for-all during most evenings. Good luck.

The front entrance is quite difficult to locate. We walked right past it. It's located literally directly above Sip, if that helps.

For food, our host had an appetizer platter made. It was mediocre at best. The vegetables were all soggy. Somewhat disappointing.

I had the bartender mix up a "strong drink". It was a shot of JD mixed with something out a green mystery bottle. Hopefully it wasn't antifreeze. Came to $4.50. Not bad!

My biggest problem (though this is not the only place guilty of this) is that the music is too freaking loud. I couldn't hear anything, and had to shout in people's ears. Yes there's a DJ there (and he's quite good, hello Snoop Dogg, blast from the past), but seriously, please turn it down a notch.

The other thing I didn't like is that the interior is quite plain. Yes, it's supposed to look like a refinery, but putting 500 glass jars filled with random food items on the shelves on the wall doesn't cut it. It makes the place look like a 1800s supermarket instead. This place needs some help in the branding department.

Overall the experience was okay, but it was nothing memorable at all. There are better places in town.

Awesome little place located in downtown Vancouver. They have a good collection of wines & whiskeys. They also do some cocktails. I loved the "Prince of Yan". A gin & Chai tea cocktail. Bit on the pricey side, but good music and a very friendly service makes up for it. Definitely worth visiting.

Food : Great
Service :Very Friendly
Ambiance : Casual
Worth the price : Yes

Graham is the bomb!

We came in, sheepishly, only a few minutes after they open on a Saturday afternoon right after we checked into our hotel room. We didn't have reservations and got turned away until we told them that we just wanted to try a drink. And I'm so glad we persisted. Graham was patient with all our questions regarding the different cocktails since they do use unusual ingredients that we usually don't encounter. You can see the jars along the wall of all the infused ingredients they make in house.

At that moment, all the cocktails has one unifying ingredient in them. We failed miserably in figuring out what it was, you should try to figure it out.

Since it was our first stop in Vancouver and we're there to explore cocktails and food, we asked Graham for some recommendations. This is where he really went above and beyond when proceeded to hand write 5 (!!) pages of places to go to. And spent at least 10 minutes describing each one and what their specialty is.

Really gave us a good first impression of the city and how close knit the bar scene is. Awesome! Would give a 6th star if I could.

Came here for a dine out and really enjoyed the experience. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive (water glasses rarely were empty), the food was quick and it was definitely a good deal at $18 for the 3-course.

The penny floor is beautiful, and I spent a lot of my time marvelling over it. The other thing I noticed is that there was no elevator. I was sporting a pretty hawt baby bump at the time, so the stairs had me huffing but it was still doable.

My only knock is that the portions were small and we both left hungry (smallest lamb shank eveeeer). But then again, $18.

I've never eaten at The Refinery and what better way to try out a place then with a LivingSocial coupon. The deal was for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts and 2 alcoholic beverages (you can go for non alcoholic, but why would you do that??) for $44.

My husband and I ended up sharing everything and here's the verdict:

Appee
Beef Carpaccio - needed a bit more flavor, maybe more salt and parmesan?
Seared Ahi Tuna slices - perfect amount of capers, shallots and olives. Seared perfectly, but a bit too much olive oil

Entree
Gnocchi - cooked with spinach, bacon, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes and parmigiano. It was the best dish out of the bunch and had a nice crust on the outside of the gnocchi, while remaining fluffy inside.
Halibut with barley risotto - the halibut was a little overcooked, but the risotto was plate scraping good.

Dessert
Cinnamon bun cheesecake - came with 2 slices and was surprisingly good. Not too rich, but was delicious.
Walnut brownie - warm on the inside and not overly sweet topped with sangria ice cream. Yum!

The place is great for a date night out as it was lively and fun, but never too loud where you can't hear your dining companion. I base how much I like a place by thinking to myself, would I come back and pay full price. The answer is yes.

If you like the nightlife vibe, come here during the week for a toned down version! Located above its sister restaurant SIP Lounge, Refinery is the only spot on Granville that offers a cocktail kitchen with exquisite, hand-crafted cocktails by Mixologist Graham Racich and a surprisingly delicious menu of share plates and mains - perfect for lounging in a trendy-casual environment for dinner and late night to some house music back beats.

I`ve been here a few times for casual drinks, but this was the first time I ate from their menu and I must say, I was definitely impressed by the food! We ordered one of the Dine Out menus and a few items from the regular menu:

- Smashed Peas & Prosciutto bruschetta - Recommend!
- Beef carpaccio olive oil, garlic aioli, aged cheddar, arugula - Very fresh
- Seared Tuna Albacore Tuna
- Braised Beef Short Ribs - Tender and deliciously soaked in onion gravy!
- Chocolate Pot de Creme
- My Marma -Lady. Well-crafted, giving us an usual first taste with the peach bitters, but brilliant aftertaste.
- Lavare - Vodka, lavender syrup, grapefruit

Overall, their tapas and share plates are very well portioned and reasonably-priced - I'd say they're quite 'guy-friendly' (aka. good portions).

We unintentionally confused the server with our order and she was extremely accommodating, helpful and generous to us. Great experience, and I definitely recommend it. Will be back!

Comparable to: The Diamond, but with better custom cocktails, food and music.

The bartender was great and drinks were good.

However, server was horrible and food took an extremely long time.

The server gave us our food and came back 1 min later to tell us she gave us the wrong food. We already touched it at that point and she asked if we wanted to switch to that instead. We said we wanted what we ordered but she pointed out we already touched it, as if it's our fault that she gave us the wrong dish. Who gives someone the wrong dish and asks them to pay for it?

When we got the bill, there were 3 extra drinks on our bill we didn't order. We pointed it out and the server argued with us about it. She was extremely rude and didn't believe us until she went to confirm with the bartender that we were right. When we were paying, she slammed our credit cards down on the table as well as the bill. I understand that it gets busy on weekends and it's stressful but she should def not be taking it out on customers.

Will not return because of the horrible service.

I have now tried the delicious food here, and a couple more delightful cocktails. The Woodlands Sour is cramazing (crazy amazing).

The gorgonzola gnocchi kicks ass. The cheese is a little crusty and gooey at the same time. The gnocchi is cooked just right. I just wish there was more of it, because sharing this was difficult as I wanted it all.

My friend and I also tried the veggie flatbread. This was also delightful, though I thought the price a tad high. Overall, very good.

The bathroom is nice and clean, but watch the lock, it's a tough one.

I will be back, especially to check out their Cocktail Kitchen series. Mmmm.