Went tonight, on a recommendation from friends who live on the main line. This place I would not recommend!! It was very pricey and the food meh. I sensed they think they're special because they are on Villanova's campus, but they do not deliver. If I lived in the neighborhood or visiting Villanova U, lots of other options. I will say the bar is inviting and friendly. But for a Wednesday night, granted it was August, it was dead. Enough said. read more

I've been here a few times for lunch and dinner. Pros: big portions, good service, [[HIGHLIGHT]]clean dining..bathroom ok[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. Cons: pricey but so is everything else that's comparable in quality I will keep returning but not as often due to prices. read more

Stopped here for lunch today with a group of friends. We were seated quickly, even without a reservation. Our server was delightful and very knowledgeable about the menu, including a chipotle mayonnaise that was not listed with its sandwich. I had the salmon BLT&A, which was delicious and came with a side salad and the house vinaigrette. My only complaint is that their espresso was awful- it tasted like twice-boiled regular drip coffee and cost $6.50. I will definitely return here, but just won't order an espresso. read more

I highly recommend the Refectory! Unbelievably helpful and cordial waitstaff. The flavors were great and the serving sizes were appropriate. Their menu is flexible and can be tailored to food allergies. Excellent atmosphere for some casual dining and some after work drinks. I'll definitely check this place out again the next time I'm in the area. read more

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We had a private family event in the Friar Room. Everything from the planning through the actual event was excellent. They were in tune to our needs and everything went off flawlessly. I would strongly recommend them if you are planning a private event. read more

No better food at any price. Great burgers and Nuvo American foods. Drinks and desserts are amazing too.

I recently went to the Refectory for a dinner date & was pleasantly surprised by my service. Eric, was phenomenal- with her menu expertise and recommendations. I tried the Lobster roll with old bay fries... perfect for the season and so fresh! For dessert, I had the Chocolate Peanut Butter cake. It was so decadent. I couldn't have picked a better dessert if I tried. The ambiance of the Refectory is perfect. Whether you want to relax & unwind after work, meet with colleagues or have a girls night out... it has a great atmosphere that is calm, yet fun! read more

The Refectory - Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake - New American Near Me - Villanova, Pennsylvania

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Such a cute spot, with lots of seating and bar in the middle. We came for a baby shower and they had some great food. Oysters, charcuterie, and passed hors d'oeuvres like lamb chops, shrimp salad, sliders, shrimp cocktail, and more. My fave was the fried crab cake balls. The staff were very attentive and the cocktails were pretty good. I liked the frozen drink hotel nacional. A great place to have a party or just come with your friends. read more

The Refectory - Jealous lover and hotel nacional - New American Near Me - Villanova, Pennsylvania

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Very welcoming restaurant in Villanova University. We had the Cajun Calamari and White Wine Mussels for appetizers and the Sticky Baby Back Ribs for the main entree. Portions were adequate and delicious. So convenient for students & parents visiting Villanova. Highly recommend read more

Villanova is my home away from home. It was nice to be back to the alma mater for dinner with some family and friends. This was my first time in this new area on campus and it did not disappoint. Training my brain that I in a giant building complex that used to just be a parking lot was the only difficult part of the night. The interior is designed perfectly and I loved all the decor and the layout of the bars and tables for dinner. It seems like the perfect classy spot for professors to visit after work or during the day for a nice lunch. I cannot really see myself enjoying it if there was a bunch of college students in there but it was over break that I was there so the crowd was minimal. Food was very well done and exceeded all my expectations but no shock there because Villanova has always been spot on when it comes to food! They don't just excel at Basketball ! Definitely stop in if you're driving down the main line, parking was east and right behind the complex or across the street! read more

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Fantastic food and drinks with a free minor issues. Service is good too: Chris the bartender is super knowledgeable and guarantees a great experience. Yelp doesn't make this clear, but this is ON the Villanova campus. Go on a Monday or Tuesday, and avoid Nova game days and parents weekend unless you want to scream over the din. Fair warning that portions are HUGE. Food Recs: - Spicy Vodka Rigatoni - Absolutely delightful. Ordered this twice in a row because I couldn't stop thinking about it. I added pulled chicken, which I totally recommend. - Roasted Chicken - Great chicken, but the artichokes were bizarre. They had cut the whole thing (leaves included) into 1-2" chunks, which made it impossible to eat most of it without just popping it in your mouth and spitting out the remaining fibrous mass. - Royal Trumpet Mushrooms - I'm usually iffy on mushrooms, but these were great! Delicate but flavorful, great start to the meal. - Haselnut Fudge Round - classic flavor combo, very heavy. Split it. We had a bad experience with the Steak Tartare Flatbread; the crust was so hard that it was basically inedible. Had to scrape the toppings off and eat them separately. Overall, I recommend you check it out! This has quickly become an unexpected favorite spot on the Main Line. read more

Dined here for happy hour tonight, 11/20. Service was inadequate, sat at the bar with plenty of staff in front of us, they couldn't be bothered to check on how we were doing or refill our waters. They all seemed to focus more on making the drinks than assuring the satisfaction of their guests. I have been here once before on a quiet afternoon in September, you can tell the difference, tonight they were just all over the place. The cheese flatbread, is just over cooked, the cheese was too crispy. As for the pepperoni flatbread that was undercooked. Not to mention we were overcharged, no one picked up on it until we mentioned it. Really inconsistent. The atmosphere of the Restaurant is very beautiful and sophisticated especially for a University. But I seriously would expect better service wise, sad to say I definitely won't be coming back. It's not worth it. read more

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I'm a student at Nova and I waited too long to try the Refectory. I loved my spicy rigatoni and the cosmic brownie I had for dessert. The staff is so friendly and the decor inside is amazing. It didn't even feel like I was on campus. Loved my visit here! read more

The Refectory - Spicy rigatoni - New American Near Me - Villanova, Pennsylvania

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We like their pancakes. But I ordered orange juice and they charged me $6.50 for a glass of store-bought, average quality orange juice. It wasn't even fresh-squeezed. Buying a full carton of OJ would have been cheaper -- even at Whole Foods! The markup shocked me and should shock you too! Otherwise, we have found their food prices reasonable and the value good. read more

Nice ambiance, food is good too, flatbreads are really amazing, my husband and I both loved what we ordered. Restaurant looks pretty both outside and inside, not crowed, quiet and private, highly recommend read more

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ALL DRAFT BEERS ARE $10-$12 !! Regular Price Sliders-3-2oz ARE $20.00 Regular Price You've got to be kidding! read more

YUM is all I have to say. We came here on a Sunday for brunch and the parking across the street was free. We had the bottomless mimosas, shrimp toast, watermelon salad, salmon flatbread and pancakes. I don't know which one was my favorite because with every bite, my eyes grew bigger! The restaurant, service and food were all amazing and I can't wait to go back! read more

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What a disappointment this place was. Recommended by a friend. $21 for salty, crappy fish and chips. No thanks. Wanted to really like this place. Nice atmosphere. Loud as can be though. We sat at the bar and had Kelsey as our bartender. Zero personality. She was too busy chatting it up with her friends seated at the bar and eating her shift meal to worry about serving us. Sorry if we inconvenienced you. We had to put our food orders in with the bar back if we wanted to eat. Apps, entree, and desert. He was the silver lining of our visit. The buffalo cauliflower was absolutely amazing. But, it was only a tease because it was all downhill from there. I've read previous replies from the owner stating...new staff, students, Covid, I'll pass your remarks onto the kitchen, please come back and let us earn your business....free round on us next time, blah, blah, blah, wow really? No thanks. Save your breath. I didn't write this review for your benefit. I wrote it for the readers who rely on honest feedback when deciding whether or not to try out a new restaurant. Won't be back. Why would I waste my time and money at a place I had a horrible experience? So you can earn my business? If you're looking for a loud, over-priced place with underwhelming food and inattentive bar service, this is your place! Do yourself a favor and steer clear. Too many other places out there that actually appreciate you coming in and spending your time and money there. Cheers! read more

It was a lovely place to have Mother's Day brunch. The place was bustling and we had the best server. Chris was friendly but not intrusive, attentive and charming. The food was delicious. Loved everything. The hostesses were charming and I would definitely go again. read more

The Refectory - Bar area - New American Near Me - Villanova, Pennsylvania

A close friend of ours invited us to the Refectory in Villanova. Hmm, what's this? I drive by Villanova twice a day and where is this place? Oh, it's one of those new buildings that Villanova constructed after they won a basketball championship and had more money to spare... We arrived before our friends and went to the completely packed bar. We were finally able to order drinks and then went to these standing tables to wait. Our friends arrived and wanted dinner and we grabbed a table. Even though my wife and I already ate dinner, we wanted to get some light bites, which turned into a lot of food. Proscitto wrapped mozzarella, baked brie, maryland crab cake, and cocolate butter cake for dessert. Everything was good, but the baked brie was probably my favorite. I'm not sure how often we would return, but this could be a decent place for work lunches, especially when someone else is paying. There was a parking garage a block away and The Refectory offered to validate the ticket. $5 parking for free. Does that garage have a yelp page? I'd love to comment that maybe you shouldn't have built such an expensive garage if you need to charge $5 to park there. It's in the middle of nowhere, who is going to park there for those prices? The Refectory knows what's up though. Thanks for the free parking! read more

This restaurant is amazing the food is out of this world. I was there for a luncheon and all I can say is I am definitely going back for dinner. It will be worth the drive. It was so delicious that I over did it on the gluten. I will recover tomorrow! You must try the brisket fries, brisket sliders, and the assorted flatbreads. And let's not even discuss the brussel sprouts OMGOSH! read more

I initially had quite a positive experience at this restaurant. Unfortunately, after I left a review raving about this place, I had learned that I had left my credit card behind. After five attempts of attempting to contact the restaurant with no successful communication on day 8, I was able to finally reach someone who confirmed that they were not able to find or locate my credit card. That same evening my card was charged for $50 at a gas station right down the street from the restaurant. Clearly if you leave your card behind at this restaurant it will get stolen and it will get used, I don't see how this was even possible if they were responsible with my card and cleaned up properly after I mistakenly left it instead it was obviously taken by someone and used. Now I had to cancel my credit card, notified 10 other businesses of my new credit card number for all of the reoccurring charges that I had set up, wow what a mess. Lesson learned, don't ever leave your credit card behind at this restaurant or it will cost you hours and hours of work. read more

Had an amazing girls dinner (including my ten month old!) with great dishes from the For The Table section of the menu. Family friendly, easy to park, very nice staff. The food and cocktails were delicious and the pastry for dessert was amazing! The new GM Gina checked in on us several times and had wonderful recommendations. Dietary restrictions: They asked if there were any allergies, which I appreciated. read more

Service was awesome, Madison was great. I've driven by this place a million times and never knew it was there. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great ambiance.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Easy parking in the garage once you figure it out. read more

Great food, on campus so really nice for visiting families, quite classy for a campus restaurant

Consistently amazing. Great service, very good food, great vibe. We have gone many times and have never been disappointed.

We went here since I recently got a new job and wanted to celebrate. Heard good things about the place and wasn't far from where we live. First off you have to pay for parking which is a bummer. It's not expensive but I feel like I wish I would've known. Second, when we were seated we were seated by the bar though I specifically asked for a booth as I had looked up the place beforehand. The seats by the bar are small booth -like seats but not really a booth. Just was a tad annoyed because I made a reservation for one. Third the food was kind of not filling. My salmon entree was so small. I felt like it could've been an appetizer or like a small plate mixed with a salad. Only redeeming quality was that it was tasty. I didn't taste the pistachio crust as the roe on top kind of was the overpowering taste. Don't get me wrong it was tasty but I guess it was different than expected. I ate it so quickly on top of my small broccolini and wondered why my entree cost so much for a small plate. Furthermore, we had a server. But more than one server would fill our water, deliver our food and then check how we were doing. We had one server ask us about the food. Then to have another server 5 minutes later to ask the same thing. It kept interrupting our conversation. Lastly, my husband's fish and chips were so salty. He finished his food regardless. (He hates to waste food or send it back) but I found it inedible, since I have to watch my salt. I wouldn't recommend going here if you're going out of your way. But if on campus then stop by, I guess. I left feeling hungry and a bit poorer Pros: modern vintage decor, nice ambient lighting Cons: pricey, small entrees, weird service, food is so-so read more

Last week was my first time trying the Refectory and it was quite disappointing. First up, the portion/price ratio is whack. Whoever does inventory must be budgeting the kitchen. Spent 21 dollars for rigatoni alla vodka hoping to at least get a full bowl instead we got exactly 20 noodles (a portion of the bowl wasn't even covered in food). That's charging close to a dollar per noodle. Next we spent 17 dollars on the spicy pepperoni flatbread... basically half of a personal pizza covered in grease. In fact so much grease that the cheese dissolved halfway through dinner. The appetizers were ok but could've been the saltiest we've ever had, the tater tots were like eating rock salt. I would've left my feedback but our waiter was also the bartender so we didn't get the best service here either. read more

If it were t for the supporting staff, including the bartender, bussers, and clearers... I would rate my experience much lower than a three. The miserable human being Dorian who "waited" our table has no business (ZERO) being in the service industry. His attitude, lack of attention, failing to respond to simple questions, pace, mumbling... I could go on but I'll stop at "he's not fit to interact with people". he ruined the experience for our table of eight - there to celebrate the holidays and a birthday. And good ole Dorian - probably after overhearing everyone at our table comment about his horrific service - gave us the initial bill for $366. I scanned it to see if there was "auto gratuity" built into the bill. I was surprised there wasn't. After I gave my credit card to pay and received the receipt back, he built up the final bill by 20%. Thats NOT how it works, Little Dorian! the food was mediocre at best Small portions. The cocktails were good. I'll never return - especially if their wait staff includes this Dorian. read more

Very nice place we stumbled upon when visiting Haverford College. Great for a weekend, tucked into Villanova, easy parking. The food was very good, service prompt, and attractive decor. Menu items varied and good-tasting (our test for a good menu is having difficulty choosing one, with many appealing choices!). Heartily recommend. read more

Fantastic entrees. Great service. Great, diverse menu. Great atmosphere based around Villanova University. Super expensive drink menu. A 5oz, house special drink is $17. Entrees are more reasonably priced. read more

The service and food is top notch. The location is in a great location. The staff is very friendly. The menu is diverse and the prices are very reasonable considering their proximity to the main line. Great energy and wonderful experience. read more

It pains me to say this as a Villanova alumni, but I do not recommend The Refectory. We recently held a reception for our daughter's baptism here. There was a salmon dish on the menu that was most not certainly identified as "sushi grade", so multiple people who would not have ordered "sushi grade" fish due to health reasons, did so and received undercooked fish. Although we paid for ~50 people to attend the event, giving the restaurant a significant amount of revenue during an off time on a Sunday afternoon, our inquiries with the restaurant after the fact were first ignored, then dismissed with excuse after excuse. Restaurants should simply be transparent and forthcoming about these types of things, and then apologize when they fail to do so. Refectory failed in both regards and created an unnecessary health risk. I would not recommend giving this restaurant your business. read more

Quite honestly, the worst meal and service we have had in ten years, maybe more. My husband's shrimp scampi was literally inedible. I was so looking forward to my ribeye, and it was less than mediocre. My daughter said her cheese flatbread tasted flat-out "weird." On a positive note, the shareable Brussels sprouts were amazing. But nothing would ever in a million years draw us back here. Run, Erin away! read more

Have been here a number of times. Drinks generally very good along with service. The pasta dish (vodka rigatoni) was sent back. Jarred sauce may be better? Ramen special was OK. Menu is all over the map. Just another mediocre main line restaurant. read more

Outstanding first experience at The Refectory tonight! Eric our waiter was unbelievable- he was super friendly and attentive. I recommend the Buffalo cauliflower appetizer- although it was VERY spicy, so just be mindful of that if you don't like too much heat! The bucatini cacio e pepe was excellent and the portions are reasonable. Atmosphere was very cosy and the place was not too loud. The tables were spaced out perfectly and all staff was wearing a mask. I enjoyed the hand sanitizers at the entrance, too! Definitely give this place a try, will definitely be returning soon! read more

Wait staff was friendly. Out of 4 of the 6 beers they had on draft. Beer wasn't very cold and served in a plastic cup. Uneventful disappointing first time visit. read more

I've eaten here before and was satisfied in all respects. Here comes the big However. However I recently took my family including 4 adults and 3 children for lunch on Saturday around 11:45. Other than an order of French fries we didn't get our food until 12:45. We had ordered salad and sandwiches. The kids ordered spaghetti with marinara and parmesan cheese from the kids menu. My salad with fried chicken was very small with a decent fried chicken filet. Not worth the price. The rest of the adult lunches were adequate but not memorable. I tried the kids spaghetti and it could best be described as pasta with watery tomato soup. To me it was inedible. Service was minimal and we had to grab a bottle to refill our own water glasses. During our extended wait the server did not check with us or give an update. One of the "staff" members was wearing a pair of sagging black jeans which looked dirty but may have been a style element a dingy white shirt partially tucked in and a black tie hanging midway down his shirt. I thought that he might be a dishwasher until I saw him behind the reception desk greeting a customer. The restaurant is beautiful and well laid out. Maybe it was because it was Villanova spring break that they were short staffed but I was very disappointed all around. Perhaps it was just a bad day but no one seemed to care. I'll give it another try but not too soon. read more

Great friendly service. Awesome atmosphere. Food was fantastic. I had the ribeye and my son had the flatbread pizza.

I gotta say these hash browns are smack-your-mama good!! I added an egg and was in absolute foodie heaven!! My boyfriend ordered the chicken and waffles and the honey they put on the waffle is so friggin tasty!! For our drinks we ordered the Early Riser and Pink Moon, pretty good brunch sips!! The bar-tenders were attentive and in good spirits. Overall it was an entirely enjoyable experience and we look forward to coming back to try the dinners! read more

The Refectory - Early Riser, Pink Moon - New American Near Me - Villanova, Pennsylvania

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