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Pastrami, belgian beer and burgers - The Refuge - San Mateo, San Mateo, CA

The Refuge - San Mateo

4.6
4.6
120 Reviews
$30 and under
Gastro Pub

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 3 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Great for craft beers
  • Great for happy hour
  • Great for outdoor dining
As featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, The REFUGE specializes in hand-carved, ultra tender, boldly flavored navel pastrami which is sending shockwaves throughout the gastronomic consciousness of patrons who call it “the greatest this planet will see in some time.” The REFUGE boasts the world’s best Belgian and Craft Beer on draught (24 in San Mateo) in the Bay Area, with many more by bottle.

Since 2008, the REFUGE has been providing protection for many East Coast street food classics especially the hand-carved navel pastrami. But wait, just for good measure, we grind our own blend of hamburger on a daily basis as well as procure our own Ribeye Blend for our Authentic CheeseSteaks.

We also offer honest Old World wine, dazzling salads and eclectic appetizers. Casual connoisseurs unite! This place is the real deal. Whether it’s a quick lunch, a raging evening, a private event, take-out or delivery, the REFUGE experience is unlike any other place at any one time.

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Gastro Pub, American, Deli
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Sat 11:30 am–9:00 pm Sun 11:30 am–8:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Michael Greuel
  • Delivery & takeout

Experiences

  • Come To Celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

    Mar 17, 2025 only
    Hand-carved corned beef, braised cabbage, mashed potatoes, and welsh rarebit.
    Come To Celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Photo

Offers

  • REFUGE San Mateo Bi-Weekly Trivia Night!

    Mar 24, 2025 only
    Mon - 5:00 PM - 8:45 PM
    Come join us Monday Night from 6pm-8pm for our Bi-weekly Trivia Night at REFUGE San Mateo in the Hillsdale Shopping Center! $30 voucher goes to the first place team!

    REFUGE San Mateo Bi-Weekly Trivia Night! Photo
  • REFUGE San Mateo Bi-Weekly Trivia Night!

    Apr 7, 2025 only
    Mon - 5:00 PM - 8:45 PM
    Come join us Monday Night from 6pm-8pm for our Bi-weekly Trivia Night at REFUGE San Mateo in the Hillsdale Shopping Center! $30 voucher goes to the first place team!

    REFUGE San Mateo Bi-Weekly Trivia Night! Photo
  • REFUGE San Mateo Bi-Weekly Trivia Night!

    Apr 21, 2025 only
    Mon - 5:00 PM - 8:45 PM
    Come join us Monday Night from 6pm-8pm for our Bi-weekly Trivia Night at REFUGE San Mateo in the Hillsdale Shopping Center! $30 voucher goes to the first place team!

    REFUGE San Mateo Bi-Weekly Trivia Night! Photo

What 120 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.3Ambience
  • 4.1Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Refuge in San Mateo offers a delightful dining experience with standout "best pastrami ever" sandwiches and a "great beer selection." Guests appreciate the "friendly and efficient" service, diverse menu options, and "great outdoor patio" seating. This spot is perfect for family gatherings, casual outings, and even trivia nights.

120 Reviews
  1. Jim

    San Francisco10 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 25, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The Reuben is to die for. I’m a big fan of pastrami, so this is tailor-made for me!

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  2. Isaac VIP

    San Francisco1 review

    5.0

    Dined on February 8, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fantastic food, great drinks, super fast service! We drive from pretty far to come here.

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  3. Marta VIP

    San Francisco236 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on January 30, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Best pastrami Ruben in the Universe. Friendly, attentive waitstaff. Order the onion rings, you won't go wrong.

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  4. Ann VIP

    San Francisco21 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on January 30, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Always a wonderful experience at The Refuge. Great food and fantastic service. Great place to dine with family or fun date night. There is something for everyone on the menu. Great new beers and ciders on tap make each visit memorable. Highly recommend this restaurant.

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  5. Judy

    San Francisco23 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on January 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Great time! Thanks Refuge for sponsoring a fundraiser for our Temple. The service was very friendly and the menu had an even longer cocktail and beer list than the food menu. Hubs gave that a thumbs up. Way to go! Our pastrami Sammy’s were delicious, saved half for lunch. Will be going back soon.

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  6. Lady

    San Francisco10 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on January 8, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Thanks for hosting our lunch meeting today. Food was delicious!

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  7. Adam

    San Francisco5 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on January 5, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 2
    The photos were misleading since I was hoping to find a quiet and nice place for a date, and that had better food. Instead, the food was disappointing. The burger patty wasn't properly formed or properly cooked. Also, unless you're mixing steak meat with your patty, ground beef should never be raw in the middle. Burgers should be pink in the middle and or medium, not rare unless you're having a steak burger. Also, this place was too casual for going on a nice date. More like a loud sports bar that happened to be kind of empty. I won't go back here ever again. Burger was way over salted like someone spilled the bottle in the ground beef by accident. Fries were not tasty or properly crispy. Price for value didn't make much sense, but if you have poor taste or you don't care about quality, then you probably won't notice. I'll be amazed if this restaurant can keep its doors open for much longer serving lousy food like this. No complaints about the service. They were responsive and fairly quick, but in all fairness, the place was not busy at all. No need to make a reservation and I really don't understand why this place was even listed on Open Table to begin with. What a disgrace.

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  8. thelma

    San Francisco1 review

    5.0

    Dined on January 4, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great experience for a family gathering,, three generations coming together. We felt comfortable and well attended to. Refuge has the best pastrami in town as well as myriad of delectable choices for all ages

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  9. Peggy

    San Francisco15 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on January 4, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Very fast service and delicious food. My party of four really enjoyed their food: pastrami salad, Philly cheesesteak, soup/sandwich combo, and pastrami on rye. We all drank tap water. Our bill came out to $90+ and after tip, it cost each of us $30. As delicious as the food was and the wonderful service, a simple meal in a non-white tablecloth venue is steep for $30. I really like this place but can't afford meals like this on a regular basis; that's for sure.

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  10. Jennifer

    San Francisco1 review

    5.0

    Dined on December 31, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    You just can’t go wrong when you take your family to the Refuge. I love their pastrami and the fries with the chili mayo. The only wish I have is that they would bring the Aspall dry cider to the San Mateo location too. It’s my favorite! I tend to go to the San Carlos location more often so I can have it with my pastrami fix.

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FAQs

The Refuge - San Mateo offers delivery in partnership with Uber Eats. The Refuge - San Mateo also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (650) 458-3044.

The Refuge - San Mateo is rated 4.6 stars by 120 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 3 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for The Refuge - San Mateo

66 31st Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403-3404

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Gastro Pub, American, Deli
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Sat 11:30 am–9:00 pm Sun 11:30 am–8:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Michael Greuel
  • Delivery & takeout
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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