Serves meat, vegan options available. Cafe menu labels what's vegetarian and vegan. Sample items such as chili, kale salad, dal, slaw, muffins, cookies, breakfast soy yogurt parfait and tofu scramble. Has kombucha, cold press juice, plant milk for coffee drinks. Order at counter for breakfast & lunch. Table service and drinks at dinnertime. Open Mon-Thu 9:00am-8:30pm, Fri-Sat 9:00am-9:00pm, Sun 9:00am-3:00pm.
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2726 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, North Carolina, USA, 27707
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 25 Oct 2017 by refectory
Update business info -
Added by turtleveg on 28 Jun 2013
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15 Reviews
First Review by turtleveg
Vegan Vagabond
Points +5645
Meh - Edit
Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I found this place to be a big let down. "Lots of vegan options" are three. A tempeh sauté for breakfast and a wrap or a bowl for lunch. I suspect that all three are the same. One is served for breakfast, the other is served for lunch and the wrap is just the bowl wrapped in a tortilla. So, I went with the breakfast sauté, after double checking that it had "lots of veggies." What I got was a bowl of oily squash and zucchini, with a few strips of peppers and onions and a small amount of tempeh. Not impressed.
Read moreturtleveg
Your negative experience with the tempeh dish aside, they do have several other vegan options including a vegan dal w/ brown rice, and vegan chili, a black bean burger, a few different salads, and a couple of vegan desserts. They do offer several different vegan dishes using tempeh which I think is what you are referring to. Sorry you didn't enjoy!
Read moreTumbledrylow
Oh my lord, that picture looks just really sad. And gross.
Read moreThis must be what critics mean when they say the food was "uninspired". This is just lazy. It's actually insulting. The owners must really hate vegans if they think this is what we want. Clearly they phoned it in.
Guest
bullcityveg
Points +207
Only if you hate money - Edit
The food here is okay. It is not delicious, the menu is kind of all over the place, the atmosphere if you eat in is pretty lackluster. so, nothing is really mind blowing except the prices.
Read moreOccasionally I’ll suggest it as a place to get dinner with Omni friends or parties with multiple dietary restrictions. Recently, we got takeout in such an instance. They charged $8 (plus tax, plus tip) for - I am not exaggerating - 3 pieces of broccolini. Not big pieces. We were planning to share the side dish among 5 people and…it was a bite of broccoli for 3 of us. They charge $20-27 for pasta dishes. I want to support a local business especially one that always has had options for me but…come on.
Pros: Dal is tasty enough , Always vegan options
Cons: Prices , Portion sizes for prices
Guest
WHA
Points +1791
⭐️ - Edit
The food is underwhelming to say the least. $80 for 2 people to eat and we both left wishing we had just eaten at home. The pancakes were greasy and the oil or vegan butter it had been cooked in left a burnt taste. The vegan burger was just okay. It fell apart and the bun reminded me of the cheapest ones you can buy at the store. The cashew sauce on it was good but not good enough to carry the meal.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2022-04-24
Pros: Clearly labeled menu
Cons: Expensive , Bland
Guest
Vegan_ACL
Points +2845
Good food, confusing brunch service - Edit
Went on a Sunday for brunch and it’s very confusing how selecting a table works. There were a ton of empty tables but they all had reserved signs on them and/or dishes that hadn’t been cleared. We went at 11am and a lot of the empty tables had a 10am reservation sign. Not all tables had times listed so it was very confusing. I think they’re understaffed, so I don’t want to hate real hard but I wish there was a more clear way to not accidentally steal someone’s reserved table.
Read moreGuest
jalisamarie15
Points +462
Pretty good - Edit
Their vegan menu items were clearly marked. It took a while for us to order and get our food, but it was busy so we were patient. The food came out hot and was prepared correctly.
Read morePros: Vegan food clearly labeled
Cons: Reserved seating is weird
Guest
KateShaw
Points +891
Decent food - Edit
My friend had butternut squash soup (a seasonal special) and I had the vegan grilled cheese and sweet potato fries. Food was decent, nothing special but not bad.
Read morePros: Vegan options clearly marked on menu
Guest
sethh
Points +89
Solid vegan options - Edit
Just had lunch at Refectory. I met some friends and wasn’t sure what to expect. There were several vegan options, all clearly marked. Food and service were good.
Read moreGuest
CharonMoon
Points +1118
Lots of options - Edit
They have quite a few vegan options including salads, sandwiches, and their signature Dal. I have also had some of their vegan specials which were delicious too. They have a vegan bread option for sandwiches. The dessert case usually has several vegan option too. The cheesecake is awesome!
Read morePros: Good food, Good portion size, Dessert options!
Guest
KelliKaspar
Points +35
Great lunch spot, great vegan cheesecake - Edit
For lunch it's order at the counter and then they bring your food to you. Dinner has table service but I have not tried that yet. I ordered their signature vegan chili which was amazing and black bean sliders lunch special also vegan and sweet potato fries which were perfect as well as a passion fruit raw vegan cheesecake to go. One of the servers said that cheesecake was the reason she decided to work there and I completely get it. Everything tasted great, the service was friendly and fast and I will definitely be back.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan and vegetarian options, Vegan desserts, Plant milks for lattes
Cons: Dining area a bit loud.
Guest
jackbussard
Points +32
Very good - Edit
I had a tofu scramble and a muffin for breakfast and it was outstanding!
Read morePros: Moderate amount of vegan options, Great food, Nice people
Guest
TEE427
Points +287
Good black bean burger - Edit
I had the black burger here. It is vegan and spicy. Definitely will try again when I am in the area
Read morerefectory
Thank you! Our pastry chef created that recipe and we have multiple Vegan breads locally baked.
Read moreWe look forward to seeing you again when you come to visit Durham. Check out the Vegan pancakes, Vegan scramble and our new Vegan smoothies. We make our own Cold-pressed Vegan juices too! Kombucha is also locally made here in Durham and we carry many Vegan "milks".
Thank you for posting!
Guest
CommanderCort
Points +128
Very Tasty Food, Super Friendly/Professional Staff - Edit
Very welcoming environment and staff. Food was very original and tasty. Had the tempeh steak. Also have several vegan pastries.
Read morePros: Several vegan options, knowledgeable staff, origin
Guest
xxxx
Points +267
Great vegan cakes - Edit
I haven't had the food here, but they have awesome vegan cakes. I've had both the chocolate cheese cake and the blueberry cheese cake, and both are phenomenal. Service is great too.
Read morePros: Delicious vegan cakes, Good service
Guest
Alyannkar
Points +1175
Great drinks - Edit
I visited the Refectory Cafe for breakfast and ordered coffee, a green smoothie, and a tempeh scramble. The drinks are all serve yourself with a fantastic buffet style bar. There are several options for sweeteners and such right there. The smoothie was fresh and tasty. The tempeh scramble was very small for the price, which was a tad disappointing compared to the drink bar. The service was wonderful, though.
Read morePros: Lots of options
Guest
turtleveg
Points +1723
good food, nice atmosphere - Edit
This place is "cafeteria" style but don't let that stop you - it actually has a very nice atmosphere - open and bright - and staff is very friendly. They happily promote their vegan options, which are all quite tasty. Standards include Indian dal, chili, slaw and kale salad. There is also always a vegan cookie and vegan muffin option. And often a daily special or soup that is vegan. The best part is there is a vegan option at breakfast/brunch - tofu scramble and/or vegan tacos (fresh with avocado, veggies, and cilantro - it's really good), and they also have fruit smoothies and soy yogurt parfaits.
Read moreVariety of hot or cold drinks including beer.
If it's a nice day, sit outside on the picnic tables.
They also have a location at Duke Law school with a similar menu but I haven't been to that location.
Pros: vegan breakfast options, friendly staff, outside tables
Cons: distance from downtown, would like to see more vegan variety
Guest
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