The Refuge

Looking for a Summer party venue?
We’ve halved our minimum spend in The Den for August, including private bar, Pool table and DJs Thursday through Sunday.
Call our reservations team on 0161 233 5151 for more info.

DINING ROOM
Book a table to dine in our Dining Room by simply heading to refugemcr.co.uk and select 'Book Table'.
New dishes, roast platters, vegan roasts, introduction menus and perfect puddings are all there for the tasting.

VEGAN ROAST
Get stuck in. Our Vegan Roasts run alongside our Sunday Roast Menu. Vegan Wellington: Spinach, Mushrooms, butternut squash, lentils, shallot marmalade glaze, sesame maple syrup with all the trimmings.
Book a table via refugemcr.co.uk

S T A Y A L L D A Y P L A Y A L L N I G H T

PUDDINGS
If you have a sweet tooth, we have the perfect puddings for you. Choose from the Chocolate mousse, cherries and nut brittle (ve), Sticky toffee doughnuts, Amalfi lemon tart or 'The Mess'.
Check out our full menu and book a table to dine here: refugemcr.co.uk/menus

SUMMER IN THE CITY PICNIC
For the perfect afternoon treat, pull up a seat on our outdoor terrace, or in the Winter Garden, and enjoy a picnic filled with a selection of Refuge favourites.
The Picnic is available Monday - Friday, 12pm - 5pm from £15pp.
... Full info: https://www.refugemcr.co.uk/news/summer-i n-the-city-picnic/
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There is just something special about our city.
📷: @thisisourmanchester

COME AS YOU ARE WEEKENDER : 24TH-26TH AUGUST
Our Come As You Are Weekender returns for August Bank Holiday. 3 days and 3 nights of outside parties, basement raves, food, drink and one hell of a lineup.
More info and line-ups here: bit.ly/2LTOqXq

'To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.' 🌿

Waterhouse Way looking glorious in the sun.
Tomorrow we transform the space for our all day event with Big Grillie Style. 12-7, free entry, BBQ and Beats all day long from the finest music selectors in the city.
... Full info and line-up here: bit.ly/2uTZo5vbit
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COCKTAILS ON THE REFUGE RIVIERA
We have a new cocktail menu ready for your enjoyment. We suggest making the most of the sunshine and working your way through the menu whilst sat in the surrounds of the Refuge Riviera 🌿
Take a look at the full menu here: bit.ly/2LCQFhy

Join us and our friends Big Grillie Style this Saturday for a full day of BBQ and Beats in our Courtyard.
Free entry, families welcome, 12-8pm.

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” - Lennon
Take Refuge.

SUMMER IN THE CITY X BIG GRILLIE STYLE :
A week today and it's our Big Grillie Style BBQ & Beats event.
Here's a sneak peek of one of the dishes available, 'The Unabomber' - American style hot dog, ketchup, mustard, crispy fried onions (vegan and veggie dogs available too).
... Join us, Big Grillie Style, 'The Unabomber' and many more for a full day of great food and Beats from the finest selectors in the city.
Free entry, all welcome, round up the fam and family. SATURDAY 28TH JULY - 12pm - 7pm
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NEW MENU ADDITIONS :
We have some fantastic new additions to our menu including, Lamb rump, Parmesan crumb, cauliflower, goat's cheese, tapenade, Scorched mackerel, cucumber, San Marzano gazpacho and Daal Makani with fresh ginger (ve).
Book a table in our Dining Room via refugemcr.co.uk

SATURDAY 28TH JULY - Big Grillie Style BBQ & Beats. 12pm - 7pm
Join us and Big Grillie Style for very special pop up bloc party style eatery on our Waterhouse Way Courtyard.
... Expect a Refuge inspired menu for you to enjoy alfresco style in our courtyard washed down with a cold beer from the guys at Camden Town Brewery!
Beats will be provided by specially selected guest selectors:
Martin Brew - Claud Cunningham - Andy Newens aka Andy Shake'N'Fingerpop - Ruby Basson
Feast your eyes on the delights to be on offer...
- The Snoop: bacon cheeseburger, housemade burger sauce, pickles and red onions.
- The Still Dre: Bacon cheeseburger, BBQ, baconaisse, pulled pork, Frazzles.
- The Unabomber: American style hot dog, ketchup, mustard, crispy fried onions (vegan and veggie dogs available too)
- The Re-Fugee-la-la: Jerk Chicken thighs, rice, and jerk gravy
- Furious Fries - BBQ seasoned fries topped with baconaisse, BBQ, hot sauce (optional), crispy onions and chilled.
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'We shape our buildings: thereafter they shape us' - Churchill.

REFUGE SUMMER INTRODUCTION: £15pp for 2 to share.
We've extended our Summer Introduction menu to celebrate the Mancunian Summer. It’s the easy way to enjoy the best that our Dining Room has to offer.
See the full menu here: buff.ly/2lUuVPL

TODAY : TANTRUM 1pm-3pm
An early afternoon toddler frenzy-fuelling rave courtesy of the Playhouse Project. Music comes from DJ Lil’ Fee (The Whip), plus there’ll be visuals, LED hoops, bubbles, dancefloor activities, a soft play area and face painting.
The World Cup final will be viewable and we're serving Roasts all day!
... Tickets available on the door of the Refuge Basement.
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Good morning, Manchester ☀️
We have Neil Scott on the decks 3pm - 8pm followed by Phil Rose until the early hours.
Drop by and try the new dishes and drinks that we have recently added to our menu.
... Book a table to dine via refugemcr.co.uk
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What brilliant service today - amazing food, including the waitress and 5* from Nathan the restaurant Manager, took time to give my mum a tour of the building, my mum worked here from 1964 - 1987, before Refuge Assurance relocated to Wilmslow! Top top service, can’t thank you enough!

Went for the very first time last night for my birthday . First of all, what a wonderful building. I absolutely enjoyed the evening so much. Very friendly staff to the point of me struggling with my Uber app LOL very attentive and knowledgable of all dishes

We were given a lovely table and unfortunately for my Bank account I managed to wade through the menu very easily. The steak was amazing and I never knew you could make a simple dish like squid taste so nice. Finished off in the stunning orangey for multiples of gin and would highly recommend the Highvoltage gin

Wonderful evening

Thank you Refuge I shall return

This morning. we joined a tour of the hotel run by Jonathon Schofield (which was really informative, entertaining and highly recommended). At the end of the tour we then found ourselves in the Bar and Restaurant "The Refuge" of the Principal Hotel. On a spur of the moment decision, we had our last meal in Manchester before heading to the airport for a flight back to Cornwall. Although we passed this magnificent building several times during our week, we thought it would be too fancy for us!! How wrong we were. Magnificent architecture (see above), friendly and welcoming staff, who were so helpful. We found the prices to be incredibly competitive for such a high end city centre venue; the food delicious and the portions were generous. Furthermore, how lovely to have hand made folded wraps rather the ubiquitous sourdough!!! The final word goes to the really helpful young lady who made our visit such a pleasure.

Really liked the place,3 huge rooms...pool tables,nice outside terrace..craft ale ,good selection of bottled bear(but no bitter , my only criticism)

Will definitely be visiting again.

Private dinner for a hen do was amazing. Food , ambiance but above all Aisha the wonderful lady who served us and added to our magical experience was the icing on the cake. Can't wait to go back

My partner and I came here tonight for the first time after a recommendation from a friend. First of all I would like to say what a beautiful venue, the building is extraordinary! My partner and I are vegetarian/pescatarian and usually find it hard to eat in restaurants but there was so much choice for vegetarians and vegans. The food and flavours of each individual dish were incredible. We have both travelled around the world and this has got to be one of the top places we have been to. The service was extremely attentive and our waitress Kylie M was so lovely. She made us feel welcome and asked us what our occasion was. In our case it was our 6 year anniversary and she went the extra mile and gave us some complimentary champagne. Exquisite service and attention to detail. What a beautiful place, we will definitely be attending again soon!! �

Love this place - perfect for any occasion and any crowd. Been with husband, a work dinner, big group of friends, girls' night out - for food, drinks or dancing all night. Winner every time. Food is really good and music spot on.

I brought my mum here for her 80th Birthday on our way to The Palace Theatre.

The venue is beautiful, the staff very attentive & the food was delicious.

Also mum was presented with a lovely arrangement of flowers.

Thank you all for contributing to making her day special.

I would highly recommend a visit. You won’t be disappointed.

Fantastic venue. My daughter booked us in for food on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. The food was a treat and well presented. My sweet came with a candle and a complimentary drink, thank you to our waitress who was brilliant, attentive without being fussy. She reserved a sofa in the winter garden where we took our after dinner drinks. What an excellent setting. We will definitely be back. Thanks.

Fantastic food in a wonderful setting. A special thank you to the staff who made our sons communion dinner so special and listened to him talk incessantly about Dr Who! The special pudding for him was a lovely thought. So unexpected but so lovely. I don’t know the name of our waiter but I wanted to mention how fabulous he was and so kind to Owen. Thank you so much!

Fab place to go for Sunday lunch, the food and staff were excellent nothing was too much trouble we were celebrating a birthday and the staff made it extra special

Definitely recommend the High Voltage cocktail . One of the nicest drinks I’ve ever had ! And the food is very very good too. It helped loads that the waiter was so good and helped us choose things and said what went nicely together. Can’t fault anything about it !

Amazing tapas food in a stunning building. Staff were friendly and the food came quickly as we were at the Theatre later that evening. Portion sizes good too. I didn't think three dishes would be enough but i was surprised. Definitely returning again!

Absolutely amazing! The food is delicious, specially the picanha and the chicken liver pate. Yummy! The stuff is friendly and the place has a really cool vibe! The only con is that we made a reservation and we hoped for a better table but overall the experience is worth it! It's a 100% recommended place if you are in town.

A few hick ups with the room being ready even though we arrived at 6pm.. hats off to the team as they sorted out the issues and acknowledge the frustration! Luckily our first stay but not our last!! Great hotel ( the best in Manchester ) , but a lovely personal service too!! Bravo guys and gals✌️

The food was gorgeous! The slow cooked Ox cheek was to die for, it just fell apart. The only disappointment was the drinks. The guns n tonics were served in ‘bbq tumblers’ because apparently they don’t ha e enough of the proper gin glasses. The espresso martini were the smallest I’ve ever seen. I think I saw a munchkin at the bar saying it was even too small for him. :-)

Lovely place to meet friends. Sunday lunch was a bit of a let down to be honest. There was a lot of it but it was only warm and a bit bland in taste and for £20.

Spectacular venue and our waitress was very nice but that's where it ends sadly!! Extremely expensive for very average food went for mid week lunch on our way to the theatre :-(

The whole experience was bad from start to finish. I don’t normally bother with writing reviews but this place was shocking



1. When we arrived the waitress only took a few peoples drinks orders then disappeared so I was waiting for her to come back so the rest could order.



2. The sunday roast is really expensive compared to other places in Manchester.



3. The selection of food on a Sunday was really limited.



4. They had run out of vegetarian Sunday roasts so brought out a Chinese pancake roll with half the amount of food as all the other roast dinners we had ordered and still tried to claim it as a roast dinner



5. The waitress got the order wrong so I was left waiting an extra 5 minutes for my food.



6. When it did arrive it was cold and undercooked (apart from the potatoes, which were burnt) so I sent it back.



7. I had roast pork and had to ask specially for apple sauce. When that arrived it was clearly from a cheap jar you would buy from the supermarket. Not what you expect when you pay way over for a simple Sunday roast.



8. A roast pork dinner... with no crackling...?



9. Made the mistake of ordering dessert. I ordered a chocolate mousse that was disgusting. It was hardly a mousse. More like a brownie they had forgot to cook.

'We shape our buildings: thereafter they shape us' - Churchill.

What brilliant service today - amazing food, including the waitress and 5* from Nathan the restaurant Manager, took time to give my mum a tour of the building, my mum worked here from 1964 - 1987, before Refuge Assurance relocated to Wilmslow! Top top service, can’t thank you enough!

Went for the very first time last night for my birthday . First of all, what a wonderful building. I absolutely enjoyed the evening so much. Very friendly staff to the point of me struggling with my Uber app LOL very attentive and knowledgable of all dishes

We were given a lovely table and unfortunately for my Bank account I managed to wade through the menu very easily. The steak was amazing and I never knew you could make a simple dish like squid taste so nice. Finished off in the stunning orangey for multiples of gin and would highly recommend the Highvoltage gin

Wonderful evening

Thank you Refuge I shall return

This morning. we joined a tour of the hotel run by Jonathon Schofield (which was really informative, entertaining and highly recommended). At the end of the tour we then found ourselves in the Bar and Restaurant "The Refuge" of the Principal Hotel. On a spur of the moment decision, we had our last meal in Manchester before heading to the airport for a flight back to Cornwall. Although we passed this magnificent building several times during our week, we thought it would be too fancy for us!! How wrong we were. Magnificent architecture (see above), friendly and welcoming staff, who were so helpful. We found the prices to be incredibly competitive for such a high end city centre venue; the food delicious and the portions were generous. Furthermore, how lovely to have hand made folded wraps rather the ubiquitous sourdough!!! The final word goes to the really helpful young lady who made our visit such a pleasure.

Really liked the place,3 huge rooms...pool tables,nice outside terrace..craft ale ,good selection of bottled bear(but no bitter , my only criticism)

Will definitely be visiting again.

Private dinner for a hen do was amazing. Food , ambiance but above all Aisha the wonderful lady who served us and added to our magical experience was the icing on the cake. Can't wait to go back

My partner and I came here tonight for the first time after a recommendation from a friend. First of all I would like to say what a beautiful venue, the building is extraordinary! My partner and I are vegetarian/pescatarian and usually find it hard to eat in restaurants but there was so much choice for vegetarians and vegans. The food and flavours of each individual dish were incredible. We have both travelled around the world and this has got to be one of the top places we have been to. The service was extremely attentive and our waitress Kylie M was so lovely. She made us feel welcome and asked us what our occasion was. In our case it was our 6 year anniversary and she went the extra mile and gave us some complimentary champagne. Exquisite service and attention to detail. What a beautiful place, we will definitely be attending again soon!! �

Love this place - perfect for any occasion and any crowd. Been with husband, a work dinner, big group of friends, girls' night out - for food, drinks or dancing all night. Winner every time. Food is really good and music spot on.

I brought my mum here for her 80th Birthday on our way to The Palace Theatre.

The venue is beautiful, the staff very attentive & the food was delicious.

Also mum was presented with a lovely arrangement of flowers.

Thank you all for contributing to making her day special.

I would highly recommend a visit. You won’t be disappointed.

Fantastic venue. My daughter booked us in for food on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. The food was a treat and well presented. My sweet came with a candle and a complimentary drink, thank you to our waitress who was brilliant, attentive without being fussy. She reserved a sofa in the winter garden where we took our after dinner drinks. What an excellent setting. We will definitely be back. Thanks.

Fantastic food in a wonderful setting. A special thank you to the staff who made our sons communion dinner so special and listened to him talk incessantly about Dr Who! The special pudding for him was a lovely thought. So unexpected but so lovely. I don’t know the name of our waiter but I wanted to mention how fabulous he was and so kind to Owen. Thank you so much!

Fab place to go for Sunday lunch, the food and staff were excellent nothing was too much trouble we were celebrating a birthday and the staff made it extra special

Definitely recommend the High Voltage cocktail . One of the nicest drinks I’ve ever had ! And the food is very very good too. It helped loads that the waiter was so good and helped us choose things and said what went nicely together. Can’t fault anything about it !

Amazing tapas food in a stunning building. Staff were friendly and the food came quickly as we were at the Theatre later that evening. Portion sizes good too. I didn't think three dishes would be enough but i was surprised. Definitely returning again!

Absolutely amazing! The food is delicious, specially the picanha and the chicken liver pate. Yummy! The stuff is friendly and the place has a really cool vibe! The only con is that we made a reservation and we hoped for a better table but overall the experience is worth it! It's a 100% recommended place if you are in town.

A few hick ups with the room being ready even though we arrived at 6pm.. hats off to the team as they sorted out the issues and acknowledge the frustration! Luckily our first stay but not our last!! Great hotel ( the best in Manchester ) , but a lovely personal service too!! Bravo guys and gals✌️

The food was gorgeous! The slow cooked Ox cheek was to die for, it just fell apart. The only disappointment was the drinks. The guns n tonics were served in ‘bbq tumblers’ because apparently they don’t ha e enough of the proper gin glasses. The espresso martini were the smallest I’ve ever seen. I think I saw a munchkin at the bar saying it was even too small for him. :-)

Lovely place to meet friends. Sunday lunch was a bit of a let down to be honest. There was a lot of it but it was only warm and a bit bland in taste and for £20.

Spectacular venue and our waitress was very nice but that's where it ends sadly!! Extremely expensive for very average food went for mid week lunch on our way to the theatre :-(

The whole experience was bad from start to finish. I don’t normally bother with writing reviews but this place was shocking



1. When we arrived the waitress only took a few peoples drinks orders then disappeared so I was waiting for her to come back so the rest could order.



2. The sunday roast is really expensive compared to other places in Manchester.



3. The selection of food on a Sunday was really limited.



4. They had run out of vegetarian Sunday roasts so brought out a Chinese pancake roll with half the amount of food as all the other roast dinners we had ordered and still tried to claim it as a roast dinner



5. The waitress got the order wrong so I was left waiting an extra 5 minutes for my food.



6. When it did arrive it was cold and undercooked (apart from the potatoes, which were burnt) so I sent it back.



7. I had roast pork and had to ask specially for apple sauce. When that arrived it was clearly from a cheap jar you would buy from the supermarket. Not what you expect when you pay way over for a simple Sunday roast.



8. A roast pork dinner... with no crackling...?



9. Made the mistake of ordering dessert. I ordered a chocolate mousse that was disgusting. It was hardly a mousse. More like a brownie they had forgot to cook.