Dinner at The Refinery CityPoint

[Ad- gifted experience] Dann and I have previously been to the Refinery CityPoint for drinks and had a pretty good time, so we were both excited to have dinner there! We went for a big meal out, with a bunch of our work team, after one of our main events. There were a lot of us, so we pre-ordered about a week before, giving us each little name tag reminders of what we actually picked out, which was very useful as I did not remember in the slightest.

Spiced Cauliflower Bites and Mushroom Arancini Balls

I got the spiced cauliflower bites for my starter, which was a generous portion. The spiced cauliflower bites were breaded, giving them a crispy-ness to them. They weren’t very spicy, but the sauce at the bottom of the plate was fantastic and really brought the dish up. Dann picked the much better starter; Mushroom Arancini balls, which came with an equally amazing garlic sauce, had so much flavor! The food was full of mushroom taste and the fact that they were mini made them very easy to eat. I do think next time we come to the Refinery CityPoint, i will get the Arancini!

Braised Ox Cheek and Salmon with Cream Sauce

For our mains, I had picked out the braised ox cheek. I actually had never had ox cheek before and wasn’t sure if it was something I would really enjoy. The beef looked so savoury and full of gravy, and it really was. There was a lot of flavor and it’s clear it had been slow cooked. The mash was perfect for soaking up all of that gravy. I also really enjoyed the greens, which were salty and creamy, and absolutely delicious. This meal was so filling and I had a fantastic time eating it! Dann had the Salmon with Cream Sauce dish, which had a bunch of mussels too. Dann said the skin was very crispy and the mussels were well cooked. He felt there was a bit too much of the cream sauce, as it was overpowering, but overall he really liked his dish.

Black Forest Chocolate Bomb and Sticky Toffee Pudding

By the time it was time for dessert, we were pretty full! There was a lot of conversation and waiting in between courses, due to the size of our group and all of our pacing, which felt just right for the amount of food. I got the Black Forest Chocolate Bomb, which I thought you were meant to pour the cherry sauce over the chocolate shell for it to melt, but the cherry sauce wasn’t warm in the slightest, so it didn’t really melt. The flavors were all there though! Delicious chocolate cake, tons of cream, lots of cherry sauce. Dann got a Sticky Toffee Pudding with a very delicious ice cream on top and a good level of salt in the caramel. It was filling and very tasty.

Roasted Pineapple Margarita and Berry Manilow

I am a sweet cocktail girl, but at The Refinery CityPoint, most of their cocktails had sour notes and twang to them. I had the Roasted Pineapple Margarita, which had a lot of sourness to it. It did taste of pineapple, but I was surprised it wasn’t as dressed up as the food was. Dann got a Berry Manilow, which was extremely small for the price point. The drink contained tea and lots of berry notes, but was also extremely sour.

We enjoyed our time at The Refinery CityPoint. The only real issue was with the music. The whole place is extremely loud, making it so hard to talk to each other. If you like places with loud music though, the food is spectacular!

Check out some of our other restaurant reviews!