The Refinery

I have had some meals here that could easily top my favorites in the Tampa Bay, but sometimes they swing and miss. The burger is consistently good and I once had a warm beat dish that was heaven. They also typically have great flavor combinations with whatever the fish is. Not a place to take a picky eater as they my not find something that they are willing to try. Always good service and friendly staff.

Food awesome as always so five stars.
Good notes
Texture of the grits amazing
Combo new and interesting different enough to almost put me off but keeps me fascinated. It all goes it’s just out of my paradigm. Awesome work.
Poached eggs were perfect.
Notes
Toast could be toasted a lot more or at all.
Easy on the salt in the grits
More «something» in the gravy
Ditch the what tastes like wasabi.

Finally got a chance to go this place. I made a reservation and when I got there, we were offered to check out the balcony upstairs. We decided to stay inside b/​c it was warm outside. The place was unique and cute at the same time. Brian was our server and he’s kind and nice. I had the NY strip sandwich. It was delicious and the portion was also just enough for brunch. I had a great time and will definitely come back.

I ordered the burger rare and it came out as close as it can to perfection. The flavor profile was outstanding and I loved the crispy chicken skin was delicious. The food came out promptly, but my friends chicken was extremely too salty. I would come back to eat here again.
Also if you have an dietary needs (i.e gluten, vegan etc) the menu is perfect for you.

I can honestly say I’ve never had a good meal here. I’ve met people here so many times for dinner and the closest thing I’ve had to decent meal was the Poutine and even that has been spotty. I’ve had cold food, bad service and it’s just not the place for us. I don’t get it. I do like that they have an outdoor area, so that’s where my two stars come from. I also like that they carry local brew.

Nice décor, and nice although hipster waiters, however the food particularly the burger, toast, and pound cake were not up to my standards. After a couple bites of the burger it was to sweet to eat, although it was good for the first few. The toast left a weird aftertaste in my mouth, but It was still good, and for me the pound cake was too dry to eat without water. It may just have been a bad time to go so I can’t say don’t come here but I would not want to based on what we had

All the entrées we had were great. The beef shank, flat iron, and burger were good. The burger had a lot of taste. The bun could have been a little fresher.
Treat yourself to a Stiegl Grapefruit beer from Austria

Would give 3.5 stars if it was an option, but this restaurant is more of a 4 than it is a 3 star restaurant.
I’ve been to The Refinery for both dinner and brunch and enjoyed both experiences. My most recent experience was a Sunday Brunch. Our party of 8 was immediately seated when we arrived at 11. We waited a bit for service, which was fine because we had a lot of chatting to do.
When our server came, she explained the specials, which no one ordered, presumably because the description sounded like a heart attack waiting to happen. I’m sure it was delicious, but I’m not trying to tap out for the rest of Sunday.
I ordered the Pork Machaca (onion, peppers, jalapeño, cumin, garlic,
cotija, scrambled eggs, tortillas) It was definitely tasty, but not a slam dunk. The winners at the table looked like the True Grit (creamed corn & grit casserole, house bacon,
over easy eggs, fried onions) and the Sweet Biscuit Debris.
I;ll probably be back for dinner, but maybe not for brunch too often. I wish their menu was a bit bigger for brunch.

For the quality and creativity of the food at a down to Earth price, The Refinery is well deserving of five stars. This review is based on food, service, cleanliness, atmosphere, and value.
I found myself eating, and really enjoying foods I wouldn’t normally order. I love when restaurants push me outside my comfort zone with perfectly executed ingredients. The pairing of flavors is some of the best I’ve had in the Bay Area.
I had the burger, which came prepared with beer cheese fondue, pickled broccoli chips, and a caramelized onion aioli, served with Yukon Gold Fries (and delicious house made ketchup). The burger was thick and juicy, and perfectly cooked to order. The bun was nicely toasted and fresh. This was one of the best burgers I’ve had in the Bay Area, possibly ever. The salad was very delicious, I absolutely loved the dressing. The soup was scrumptious! The flat iron steak had a rutabaga purée, roasted vanish, scallions, and an orange-​anko-​sage marmalade; simply divine.
The building appears to be someone’s house from the outside, but don’t let that deter you from trying this culinary excellence. It’s nice, small, quaint, quiet, and intimate inside, with seating on the first and second floor. The second floor has a nice outdoor patio seating area, which is where we’ll be dining next time. This is a farm to table restaurant. They only use fresh ingredients which can be found local (by local, they claim FL). The menu is forever changing, depending on what fresh ingredients they can get their hands on locally.
The service was good, the cleanliness was great, the atmosphere was awesome, and the value was unbeatable! Overall, this place comes highly recommended from me.

I have the longest list of «must trys» and have had the Refinery bookmarked since before we moved. I was able to get a 7:15 reservation through the Unilocal app which I love and they confirmed the day before. I want to say — it wasn’t busy and we didn’t «need» a reservation on Valentine’s weekend, but it was nice to have one. It eventually did fill up closer to 8 so keep that in mind.
We had an awesome rooftop two top table. The house the restaurant is in is old and much of it is clearly original. It reminded me of Fountain Square in downtown Indy and had a really cool overall vibe in the neighborhood.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive and very informative. She helped us choose all of our items. We started with the Kingfish BLT and she described it as «deliciously salty» which is what sold me. It was! Oh em gee… it was so good. I loved how they replaced the bacon with the kingfish and used a garlic aioli instead of mayo. There were little flavorful tomatoes that popped with flavor! It was awesome but the star of our appetizers (for me) was the oyster mushrooms. There were almonds with some crunch, an INSANELY good purée of sweet potato (and a lot of it) along with the wild mushrooms and crispy purple cauliflower. Seriously I licked my plate (literally — when no one was looking).
I read the whole menu three or four times before deciding on what I normally would NOT get — pan fried chicken. Let’s just say it was NOT a mistake. I usually try something I don’t eat a lot at home but I had to try the risotto. And I was sooooo soooo happy with my meal. The crispiness of the chicken skin was MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM good. I could have eaten a whole plate of JUST that. The chicken was moist and did I mention the skin? It was seriously amaze. The risotto was so so good too. I really enjoyed my meal a LOT.
My hubs got the special which was a corn-​bread crumb mahi mahi and it was super tasty as well. I really enjoyed mine though and only snagged one small bite of his.
We each had two drinks and we skipped dessert. Overall an affordable dinner at right around $ 120 with tip. I loved eating outside on the rooftop (they do have heaters) and I thought our server was awesome (super on the nose with refills and checking in). Not to mention there was more than one person around who happily helped, checked in and made us feel welcome.
It was THE perfect place for a date night but I would enjoy this with a small group, girls’ night out or just to grab a few drinks. The upstairs bar looked really intimate and interesting. It seems very easy to hang and wait there if you have to wait for a table.
Well done, Seminole Heights. We will be back!

The atmosphere had a posh/​hipster combo, great service and over all great food.
The flat iron steak was nice and tender with a flavourful sear.
The burger was almost like they made ground beef out of the steak, it was so tender and juicy. The bun however wasn’t so great. But it turned out that a lot of people had issues with the bun this week, so I’d attribute it to a bad batch.
Onto the dessert, between the pound cake and the devils food cake. The pound cake was a light dessert with a whiskey style vanilla ice cream, the cake itself was a little dry and bready, and felt like it could use more egg.
The devil’s food cake on the other hand was rich and delicious, definitely a dessert for 2 or save for later. Where normally you expect the cake to be lighter with a heavy ganache, it was actually the other way around, the cake was thick and rich while the dark chocolate ganache was refreshing and mild but still sweet.

I’ve been here a few times and have been impressed each time. One of my favorite things here is the outdoor covered patio in the second floor. Outdoor dining is awesome and the ambiance they have set out here makes the dining so much more enjoyable.
They have a fairly small menu as they rotate the items each week however I would say they emphasize quality instead of quality. I had an amazing burger and my wife had probably he best marinated baked chicken she had ever had. It was incredible how much flavor was deep within each bite.
Service was good and quick, friendly and attentive and we will definitely be back.

I came here while waiting for another restaurant in the area. It’s probably as big as your living room but two stories. you’d miss it if you didn’t see the sign, and trust me you definitely don’t want to miss it! downstairs is a quaint little eating Area but upstairs is my most favorite part. Going upstairs there’s a little bar that maybe seats 4 or 5 people, then going through the doors you’re at a rooftop deck! It’s a very romantic rooftop deck with string lights hanging over it. It was chilly out so the heaters was on. The ambiance was so relaxing you kind of forget your even in Tampa!
I wasn’t there for the entrees at that time but instead had some of he wines and different beers they had. My friend doesn’t drink too many beers but we had an awesome waiter that helped us and explained everything. It was all reasonably priced. I also got the desert which was awesome if you love chocolate. The ganache was just sweet enough along with the peanut bark. There was also a chocolate shortbread. Eating it separately was great but all together, it was delectable! It definitely set the mood for the remainder of the night!

My boyfriend and I met up with another couple at the Refinery and knew we were in for a treat when there were not only no reservations left for the night (we had called ahead and gotten the advice to head to the bar and order food there) but also only one parking spot left. We lucked out and were able to be seated together near the upstairs bar. We had a really friendly server who kept our glasses full and was knowledgeable about everything on the food menu.
The duck meatballs came highly recommended, so we got two orders. The meatballs were huge, tender, and oh-​so-​flavorful. Our friends ordered the steak and burger and raved about them. My boyfriend and I decided to share the chicken breast, which was perfectly seasoned and cooked. Our bellies were full from the wine, beer, and food, so we didn’t order dessert, but the options sounded amazing.
The food and service were great, and if you’re someone that’s impressed by fun, clean bathrooms (like me) then you’ll be happy to know that the bathroom upstairs is quirky («Employees must wash hands. If employee is unavailable, please wash your own hands.») and the walls are painted with chalkboard paint. Chalk is provided so after you do your business and wash your hands, you can write fun messages on the wall, which I’m guessing are wiped down each evening for the next day’s customers. That’s probably the most I’ve written in a review about a bathroom, but hey, why not?
I will say that I found the menu to be a bit more expensive than I personally felt it should have been. The ingredients and quality were all top notch, to be sure, but the price point is a little overwhelming. Still, I wouldn’t mind another visit.

I love everything about The Refinery, not sure why I waited so long to write a review. Everything about this place is unique and unlike any other restaurant in Tampa Bay. They change the menu multiple times weekly and are always creating delicious menu items centered around local crops, the climate, «food hypes», everything you need to consider for a customer, they do it.
They offer both indoor and outdoor seating or you can sit at the bar and just have a couple drinks too. My choice is always straight up-​stairs to the 2^nd floor patio for LOTS OF FOOD. I typically spend more money than I would at other restaurants because I am intrigued by the small plates and can’t force myself to just try an entrée and then there’s beer too…
Ive also noticed I only photograph the burgers, probably because they are SO beautiful it takes a few minutes before you’re ready to dig in.
Awesome service, delicious food and really smart management that supports local business and puts together all sorts of things others wouldn’t know to combine.
Highly recommend supporting them and rewarding your tummy with a visit!

This place is so hip I thought I was in Portland, OR for a moment. I should’ve worn skinny jeans and brought my Macbook Air.
Intriguing food/​alcohol menu. Small Plates (appetizers) were just okay. The burger was decent but not particularly amazing given the price. I liked their ketchup.

Well this was a bit of a let down. I’ve heard wonderful things about this ever changing menus, farm to table restaurant. There motto is something to the degree of «no frills» and that’s totally ok by me. Set in an old house, classic of Seminole heights, this restaurant has an eclectic, simple vibe.
Unfortunately our service was «okay» and our waitress changed half way through our meal with no explanation. Also had to ask for refills… 2x. This may have been because we sat upstairs and outside. The patio outside had a lovely ambiance and was nicely lit by «fairy lights». In contrast, the bar upstairs was so dark, it was difficult to see the menu.
My friend had the $ 13 burger with hummus and garlic. It was a bit salty, but fantastic. French fries were a little bland and not too warm, but decently.
I, unfortunately, had the $ 28 steak. This came after both an employee and a regular (he was on his second dish, after sending his first entrée back) recommended it. The steak itself was decent for the cut, but it was served with two types of potatoes (supposedly savory and sweet) some type of bland, white sauce (reminded of Greek yougart). All in all it was lacking in flavor and quite bland. I did LOVE the «wilted greens» which were a little crunchy, VERY flavorful kale and complimented the steak very nicely. The waitress did kindly offer to exchange it, but there wasn’t anything else I really wanted and I was quite hungry.
I’ll come back and give it a second try, especially because the menu changes, but I didn’t feel like it lived up to its incredible hype in uniqueness, flavor, or the price I paid.

Decided to try out The Refinery after many friends suggesting this restaurant. First impressions of the building, it looks like a house the has been converted into a restaurant. Nothing wrong with that, I actually thought it was pretty cool.
After entering the restaurant, my friend and I decided to go sit in the outdoor patio on the 2^nd floor. For Florida weather it was actually quite comfortable, enjoying the breeze. I enjoyed the idea that the menu changes often, due to using fresh local ingredients. For dinner, we started off with the ratatouille. Which was basically grilled veggies served over biscuits. The ratatouille tasted buttery. It is a simple dish, probably not worth the price. For my meal, I had the flat iron steak, with German potatoes. The steak was tender and juicy, lots of flavor. The potatoes were delicious.
The server was attentive, friendly, and helpful if you wanted suggestions. She made us feel quite comfortable. Would come again and recommend this place to anyone!

Finally tried The Refinery, and we were very satisfied. We sat upstairs on the outside patio. It is covered, and they have fans, but the hot and humid of our summer was still dreadful. We had our little dog with us, so we suffered and survived.
We had a Sirloin Steak Sandwich on sweet Hawaiian bread with pesto and onion rings on it. It was pretty big so it was good for two people. We also tried their sweet biscuit debris. It’s like funnel cake. It was served with blackberry preserves. Both were delicious. We are dying to try their dinner too sometime.

Weekly changing menu including gluten free and vegetarian options. If you like fish and your server tells you that today’s special is mackerel which was caught that very morning by the chef, order it! It was fresh, juicy and delicious.
If it’s nice enough outside, ask to sit on the covered deck upstairs. The view is nothing spectacular but the soft white string lighting is romantic and al fresco dining is always nice when it’s available. There is plenty of room with tables spaced fairly far apart.
Great little farm to table restaurant in a converted house with delicious, locally sourced eats. Plenty of parking in back. Casual but romantic enough for date night.