#1. District 1, French Restaurant The Refinery Review
French restaurant The Refinery is located in an alley next to steakhouse El Gaucho, across from Park Hyatt Hotel on Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Opened in 2006, this charming restaurant serves authentic French cuisine in a building with quite a long history in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.
This restaurant was remodeled from a building built during the French colonial period, and you can feel the authentic French restaurant atmosphere. I visited alone on a Sunday lunchtime and sat in a corner.
It was Sunday lunch and a French restaurant, so I ordered a glass of red wine, Earthworks Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a cheap Australian wine, lacking in depth but quite heavy and slightly dry with acidity, which was not bad.
Baguette and sourdough toast were served with butter as aperitif bread. The warm bread was quite tasty, but the butter was cold and hard, which was disappointing.
For my first dish, I ordered Clams Steamed in White Wine as a starter. It is a French dish of large clams, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, etc. steamed in white wine. The savory taste of the clams, the aroma of the celery, and the acidity and flavor of the white wine were quite good.
It was quite good to dip bread in the savory broth or to eat it with clams, celery, etc. The clams were fresh and large, so it was more delicious than I expected.
For the second dish, I ordered Imported Duck Confit as a main. It is a typical French dish where the duck legs are cooked in low-temperature oil for a long time, then baked once more in an oven or pan to remove the oil, so that you can enjoy the crispy outside and soft inside without feeling greasy.
The thin, crispy fried exterior and soft interior were impressive. It was quite delicious when eaten with the savory mashed potatoes and apples marinated in red wine sauce. It had a bit of the duck's unique smell, but some people may find it even more appealing.
#2. French Restaurant The Refinery Menu
The Refinery is an authentic French restaurant, and depending on what you order, the prices are quite reasonable for a nice restaurant in the city center. The atmosphere is like visiting a local restaurant in French, and the friendly staff and high-quality French cuisine make me feel very satisfied every time I visit. They have a special menu that is not on the menu, so it is recommended to check on the black board.
I visited alone on Sunday lunchtime and ordered as follows.
Imported Duck Confit: 450,000VND
Clams Steamed in White Wine: 255,000VND
Earthworks Cabernet Sauvignon: 215,000VND x 3잔 = 645,000VND
The Refinery is a French restaurant with good value for money, with many inexpensive menu items such as pasta. On that day, I ordered three glasses of red wine and a main dish that was quite expensive, so eating alone came to 1,350,000VND, which was a bit more expensive than I expected. However, considering the restaurant's atmosphere, the quality of the food, and the service of the staff, I was able to have a satisfying meal overall.
#3. French Restaurant The Refinery Hours and Location
French restaurant The Refinery is located in an alley next to steakhouse El Gaucho, across from Park Hyatt Hotel on Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. It is an alley where excellent restaurants such as Japanese restaurant FUME, Mexican restaurant Rico Taco, and Vietnamese fine dining Hoa Tuc Saigon are gathered. For detailed location, click the Check Location button below to check it on Google Maps.
Address: 74 Hai Bà Trưng, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh
Website: http://www.therefinerysaigon.com/
Phone: 02838230509
Hours: 11:00 ~ 23:00
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