Dare I say that it was “reasonably priced?” Well, I’ll hold back on such a bold statement for fear of getting thoroughly ripped by those who may comment upon this blog. Thank God, I didn’t order my steak medium well. But at $23.95 per person, I have to admit that it was a very nice price for Refectory-style dining. Of course, we have to factor in the great restaurant bargain spoiler, alcohol. But we’ll leave that to the individual diner’s discretion.

Of course your options are somewhat restricted on the Bistro menu but your budget must be as well if you are considering it. But let me say they were damn fine options. And behind curtain no. 1 is . . .

French Country Terrine at The Refectory

Have we reviewed any terrine on finerepast.com before. It appears so albeit a salmon terrine. I would have figured to have done so at La Tour d’Argent but the closest we came was a little pressed crab flavored with taragon. The Refectory officially titled this dish, French Country Terrine with micro greens, szechuan peppercorn vinaigrette. It was mainly composed of white and dark pheasant meat. I thought it was very well prepared and a great way to start off the meal. In fact, it went splendidly with some Pinot Grigio that the Refectory had recommended with their Bistro menu. It was so good that . . . . Well, I’ll get to that later.

WILD MUSHROOM EGG EN COCOTTE

My dining companion started off with a Wild Mushroom Egg en Cocotte. I just had a taste but found that the mushrooms and eggs complemented each other very well. I’ll let her make further comments on the dish later.

ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST with a caperberry red wine sauce

Our choices for entrées were the above and a Pan Seared Sea Bass. I went with the chicken because I knew my companion preferred the sea bass. Ok, the Refectory got me on this one. Not sure I’ve heard of caperberry but glad information is at my fingertips here on the web. No complaints about this dish. Again, it was marvelously presented and very well done. I had the wrong wine in hand for this dish but that was my fault. We later ordered a malbec but I was left still searching.

Pan Seared Sea Bass at The Refectory

Here’s a shot of the pan seared sea bass. I don’t recall trying this but will look to my dining companion for comments to be posted later on the dish.

We had several choices for dessert – New York Style Cheesecake, a dessert du jour (which I have forgotten), warm chocolate break pudding with vanilla ice cream and I believe at least one other but leave it to me to take a different course. In a Refectory first, I ordered and was served the French Country Terrine for dessert.

Yes, it was that good! And it was another first for finerepast.com. Try to follow in those footsteps.

I should mention that we dined out on the Refectory’s patio. Although located adjacent to Bethel Road and it’s accompanying traffic, around 8 pm or so, traffic did die down and made for a pleasant evening. I hope it’s no longer than 3 weeks before my next return to The Refectory.

The Refectory
1092 Bethel Road
Columbus, Ohio 43220

614-451-9774

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