The Refectory

+44 1636 815691

The Refectory, Church St, Southwell NG25 0HD United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Open Today: -

Quick Facts About The Refectory

The Refectory has several strengths that make it an attractive place to eat. The staff are always pleasant, friendly, and helpful, creating a welcoming atmosphere for customers. The food is described as really good and of good quality, with some mentioning that the dishes are served quickly. The eatery is also said to have marvellous top-quality dishes. Additionally, the Refectory sometimes offers dedicated vegan options, which is a positive for those with dietary restrictions.

However, there are also several weaknesses that should be addressed. One recurring complaint is the high prices of the coffee and snacks. Some customers feel that the premium prices are not justified, especially considering the additional charge for soya milk. Another issue is the lack of vegan-friendly food options. While vegetarian options are available, they all contain cheese or butter, leaving those who follow a vegan diet with limited choices. Some customers also criticize the coffee for being lukewarm and only containing a single shot, which may not meet their expectations.

The Refectory is also criticized for its restroom facilities. Although the toilets are generally clean and decent, it is mentioned that the male and female toilets are often locked despite there being several customers in the establishment. Only a single disabled toilet is left unlocked, causing inconvenience for those who need to use the facilities. Additionally, there are reports of queues forming outside the disabled toilet, with three or more people waiting, further highlighting the need for more accessible restrooms.

Another weakness mentioned is the loud conversations in the eatery. Due to the older clientele, some customers find it difficult to have conversations with their companions. This may affect the overall dining experience and possibly discourage some customers from returning.

In terms of the overall ambiance and surroundings, the Refectory is described as a lovely place to eat, with an outdoor seating area and pleasant surroundings. It is set in the grounds of Southwell Minster, a popular location for locals, and incorporates the Cathedral gift shop to the rear. The eatery provides both indoor and outdoor seating options, accommodating customers in different weather conditions.

Overall, while the Refectory has several strengths such as friendly staff, good food, and a pleasant ambiance, it also has weaknesses that should be addressed. The high prices, lack of vegan-friendly options, restroom issues, and loud conversations may deter some customers from visiting again. Addressing these weaknesses would improve the overall dining experience and make the Refectory a more attractive option for customers.

Best TL Reviews

Premium priced cost coffee and snacks yet they feel it necessary to lock male and female toilets despite 15 customers remaining with others arriving.

Single disabled toilet left unlocked but already in use already and 3 people waiting to use it.

30 minutes before close so very short sighted making everyone wait like donuts.

Staff are always pleasant friendly and helpful, food is really good. Lovely place to eat. They sometimes have dedicated vegan options.

We stopped by on a hike through Southwell hoping for food and coffee, but had to settle for just coffee. Staff were as welcoming as you can expect minimum waged Saturday staff to be, it looks clean and the toilets are decent. There's a slightly confusing one door for in, one door for out one way system still in place that isn't apparent until you're inside. It's immediatly apparent that food here isn't cheap, the specials board show a sandwich with crisps and salad starting at £10 which I slightly expected given the type of area Southwell is.

There were no vegan friendly food options at all(all the vegetarian options contained cheese or butter), not even vegan cakes or flapjacks. Soya milk is 60p on top of an already expensive coffee and the coffee was luke warm with only a single shot of coffee in it.

Many of the customers were a lot older than us and as a consequence there was a lot of loud conversations as people whose hearing might not be great struggle to hear each other. Which is fine unless you want to talk to the person you're with as well.

Wouldn't visit again, probably better off heading to a pub or somewhere else in Southwell for a better chance of getting some vegan food or snacks and more reasonably priced coffee.

Gem of an eatery with rather marvellous too quality dishes served quickly in pleasant surroundings.. Great stuff

I am giving this 2 stars only purely because price of cakes is excessive.

I appreciate prices are rising for businesses, but the prices here for cakes are over the top.

I have been to refrectory many times in the past. Staff are always friendly and food is of good quality. I think they need to adjust their prices.

This was my very 1st visit to this establishment, set in the grounds of Southwell Minster which is a very popular location with the locals(the older generatiions are very noisy with it aswel )With outdoor seating for when the weather permits & plenty of tables inside which are all on ground level and it also incorporates the Cathedral gift shop to the rear.On this occasion it was very busy & 10 mins ish wait was needed till a table came free,cleared then cleaned (very pleasing to see)by the busy staff .There's a quite a varied drink & menu choices which includes some strange variety meals on the special board on the wall ! .With table service provided, my party of three decided on tea for two,a Cappuccino coffee & 2portions of 2slices of Sourdough toast with marmalade & jam, after an initial enquiry as this wasn't on the menu but looked nice when bring served elsewhere in the room .There was a nice large tea pot for the shared drinks but along with the Cappuccino coffee which came pretty quickly but really far too early as there was along wait for the toast as it was very busy with orders, resulting in the coffee being half left & cold due to the wait.The Sourdough toast was very tasty but the crust was like concrete & slightly burnt on my 2 slices which I left as I didn't fancy a visit to the dentist.The place is dog friendly for those with animals which I'm not fond of having inside a foody place.The toilets facilities were nice & clean,the gents hand drier takes 4 or 5 go's as it doesn't stay on long enough to dry your hands ! .Payment is made by card at the counter unpon leaving.

Had a BLT on granary bread and my aunty had tuna, it was so fresh and delicious. Lovely welcoming, clean and a great menu. Cherry crumble full of flavour. Love it.

Really good food and very quick service, a great find for a quick lunch.