I went with a group of 12 friends to the Refuel restaurant, which is the restaurant at the Soho Hotel, just off Wardour Street/Dean Street in Soho.
We arrived early for our 3pm booking and decided to have drinks in the bar area, which has a rather contemporary feel to it, although not overly comfortable seats. It took at least fifteen minutes before any member of staff asked us if we would like a drink, then when we ordered it, it took at least another twenty minutes to arrive - we weren't in a hurry, but this is just to emphasise the general poor service of the place.
Finally at 3.10 we were seated in the restaurant area and given our menus. Whether they gave us more time because there were 12 of us I do not know, but they didn't take our food orders for at least another half an hour. I ordered chilli crab cakes with aioli, which was quite tasty, although the breadcrumbs were soggy rather than crispy. My partner ordered Shaved fennel, feta, bacon and chive salad, which he said was limp and absolutely tasteless, which you wouldn't imagine, given the ingredients, but somehow they managed to make it very bland.
Ah well we thought, the main course should be fine, as we both ordered the mixed grill. This is a £20 plate and doesn't come with anything else, so should be quite substantial. When you think of mixed grill, you think quite a lot of meat. Well, when it turned up, all that was on the plate was 3 TINY bits of meat (tiny lamb chop, small piece of steak and a tiny bit of pork chop) - no garnish, very disappointing. Oh, and the meat was lukewarm at best. In fact, my crab cake starter was more substantial than the mains we had. I ordered a portion of hand cut chips with mine, just to bulk out the plate. The chips cost £4.50 and when they came, I counted the chips. Six - yes six chips folks. Admittedly, they were biggish chips, but I would have liked a proper size portion.
I've never eaten at Refuel but the food always smells great. Tend to pop in there for drinks with friends every now and then, there's a great atmosphere about the place.
You could do a lot worse than Refuel.
Refuel Bar and Restaurant is located in the Soho Hotel. Not a huge menu but there are a few nice platters you can get to go with your drinks.
Refuel Bar and Restaurant is a lovely place - not too expensive either, considering the location.