The inside is the way it was when I first started going there 15 years ago... time for an upgrade ;-). Still a excellent pastrami sandwich with slaw! Good service and the one of the only places to get St Bernardus trappiste on tap.
Antonio Guillén
I really loved the wit cheesesteak. Don't recommended the tuna melt sandwich
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stacy Williams
Had late lunch on a Saturday afternoon. The 963 and cheesesteak sandwiches were fabulous! The 963 is so good - the slaw takes it to a whole new level. The portions were big - could only eat 1/4 of the 963. We had a very attentive and polite server. He was on it and the cook - just wow! My absolute favorite was their poutine though - partly because it is familiar soooooo I had big expectations for this and was very satisfied. I love that they didn't devieate from the original. Fries were perfectly crispy, the melted cheese was a great substitute for cheese curds - if that's your preference, and the brown gravy! Nummy - we added bacon which seemed necessary. If you want a good meal, substitute the bacon with pastrami.
The atmosphere was the only drawback and not because of the service or food but bbecause of other patrons. They were being obnoxiusly loud and inconsiderate for the rest of us. It was way over the top and louder than loud - so much so that I really believe someone should have addressed it from their staff. There were 3 other tables equally as offended. Unfortunately this made our experience far less enjoyable.
But great pastrami, service and try the poutine and 963! You won't be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kathryn Chen
We came on a Friday around noon. No wait to be seated.
We ordered the Belgium flight, the Reuben and the steak & fries. Everything was delicious!
The pastrami is as advertised: flavorful, tender and delicious. We loved both the sandwich and the hunk of pastrami! The fries were super satisfying: crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Soooooo good.
Our fav pastrami in the Bay Area. We’ll be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Teri Altizio
Great food and great people
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sherry A
I always buy a pound of their pastrami. So many dishes you can create on your own.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeff B
Pastrami…very flavorful, could use maybe a tad bit more salt for my taste. Price is a bit high, but I understand the labor and time that goes into this dish. It’s not something you can easily recreate home which makes it sought after. Pastrami - mustard and Swiss, was pretty good. Tomato soup is also worth a mention here, it was delicious!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Mark S
We had a great experience dining at The Refuge with a group. The atmosphere was lively and well-suited for larger parties. While the pastrami isn’t traditional New York style (it’s chopped instead of sliced), it was still very flavorful and satisfying. The staff was exceptionally attentive and made sure everything ran smoothly. Overall, a solid dining experience and worth a visit.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
David Xu
the pastrami with chicken liver paste is out of this world
Paul
Best Pastrami west of the Mississippi! Cole Slaw just like my mom's. Great selection of beers, too. Whenever I am in the Bay area I go there to get my Pastrami fix.
Way too expensive ($27) for a very mediocre pastrami sandwich with no sides. Also, they nickel and dime you with 3% credit card fee and even charged us $1 for extra gravy because they didn't put enough gravy on our poutine.
Daniel Behrendt
Good food 😩😩😩😩
Great fries.
Good service
Highly recommend
G Lee
I was gonna say it’s a 4 but then when I thought about food,service, and atmosphere, I had no reason to say it’s not a 5!
Pastrami sandwiches and pastrami steak… Excellent! Tilapia fish sandwich… very good. Grilled cheese awesome. Tomato soup was very, very tasty. And garlic fries were perfectly made!
We had a dog so we sat outside on the cupboard patio with heated lamps. It was perfect. Pleasant view of the street. Service was just as good outside as inside. Very friendly and quick. And we got some fresh air.
They’re 49er fans and have a big banner inside that bumps them one star my book. Casual bar atmosphere inside.
I definitely wanna come back again.
May 2025 Ok I went back! And still loved the food and service! Reuben on sourdough instead of rye is perfect for me. Fries with garlic are just right and not overly garlicky. Ask for the slaw outside if you don’t like it but I like it inside! Large menu to choose from.
Danielle
The pastrami was excellent as always. They did not do great on the allergies. A salad ordered without croutons had some "leftover". Seems like a side salad could be something assembled in real time. Great outdoor area, easy to park even on the weekends.
William
Great Host greeting , Service was friendly , fast & frequent . Had OG Philly Cheesesteak & it was Awesome.
The inside is the way it was when I first started going there 15 years ago... time for an upgrade ;-). Still a excellent pastrami sandwich with slaw! Good service and the one of the only places to get St Bernardus trappiste on tap.
I really loved the wit cheesesteak. Don't recommended the tuna melt sandwich
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had late lunch on a Saturday afternoon. The 963 and cheesesteak sandwiches were fabulous! The 963 is so good - the slaw takes it to a whole new level. The portions were big - could only eat 1/4 of the 963. We had a very attentive and polite server. He was on it and the cook - just wow! My absolute favorite was their poutine though - partly because it is familiar soooooo I had big expectations for this and was very satisfied. I love that they didn't devieate from the original. Fries were perfectly crispy, the melted cheese was a great substitute for cheese curds - if that's your preference, and the brown gravy! Nummy - we added bacon which seemed necessary. If you want a good meal, substitute the bacon with pastrami.
The atmosphere was the only drawback and not because of the service or food but bbecause of other patrons. They were being obnoxiusly loud and inconsiderate for the rest of us. It was way over the top and louder than loud - so much so that I really believe someone should have addressed it from their staff. There were 3 other tables equally as offended. Unfortunately this made our experience far less enjoyable.
But great pastrami, service and try the poutine and 963! You won't be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came on a Friday around noon. No wait to be seated.
We ordered the Belgium flight, the Reuben and the steak & fries. Everything was delicious!
The pastrami is as advertised: flavorful, tender and delicious. We loved both the sandwich and the hunk of pastrami! The fries were super satisfying: crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Soooooo good.
Our fav pastrami in the Bay Area. We’ll be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great food and great people
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I always buy a pound of their pastrami. So many dishes you can create on your own.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pastrami…very flavorful, could use maybe a tad bit more salt for my taste. Price is a bit high, but I understand the labor and time that goes into this dish. It’s not something you can easily recreate home which makes it sought after. Pastrami - mustard and Swiss, was pretty good. Tomato soup is also worth a mention here, it was delicious!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
We had a great experience dining at The Refuge with a group. The atmosphere was lively and well-suited for larger parties. While the pastrami isn’t traditional New York style (it’s chopped instead of sliced), it was still very flavorful and satisfying. The staff was exceptionally attentive and made sure everything ran smoothly. Overall, a solid dining experience and worth a visit.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
the pastrami with chicken liver paste is out of this world
Best Pastrami west of the Mississippi! Cole Slaw just like my mom's. Great selection of beers, too. Whenever I am in the Bay area I go there to get my Pastrami fix.
Restaurantji Recommends
Way too expensive ($27) for a very mediocre pastrami sandwich with no sides. Also, they nickel and dime you with 3% credit card fee and even charged us $1 for extra gravy because they didn't put enough gravy on our poutine.
Good food 😩😩😩😩
Great fries.
Good service
Highly recommend
I was gonna say it’s a 4 but then when I thought about food,service, and atmosphere, I had no reason to say it’s not a 5!
Pastrami sandwiches and pastrami steak… Excellent! Tilapia fish sandwich… very good. Grilled cheese awesome. Tomato soup was very, very tasty. And garlic fries were perfectly made!
We had a dog so we sat outside on the cupboard patio with heated lamps. It was perfect. Pleasant view of the street. Service was just as good outside as inside. Very friendly and quick. And we got some fresh air.
They’re 49er fans and have a big banner inside that bumps them one star my book. Casual bar atmosphere inside.
I definitely wanna come back again.
May 2025
Ok I went back! And still loved the food and service! Reuben on sourdough instead of rye is perfect for me. Fries with garlic are just right and not overly garlicky. Ask for the slaw outside if you don’t like it but I like it inside! Large menu to choose from.
The pastrami was excellent as always. They did not do great on the allergies. A salad ordered without croutons had some "leftover". Seems like a side salad could be something assembled in real time. Great outdoor area, easy to park even on the weekends.
Great Host greeting , Service was friendly , fast & frequent . Had OG Philly Cheesesteak & it was Awesome.
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