There should be no surprise about what to expect from this place by now. When you walk in, everything is as it should be. Very "modern" clean decor, the staff are all very efficient and friendly (though I would say perhaps slightly coldly professional). No need to say more, so let's move on to the food.

We had the 4-course chef's menu. $64 this one. We let them know any preferences of course and off they went. There were no repeats or duplicates, each person had a different dishes (even the amuse bouche) so there was plenty to sample and talk about. The dish sizes ... well, to be expected, we thought we'd easily stuff it down and walk out of there. Oh so wrong, by the time dinner was over, we were rolling out of there. I don't know how we could've gone for the larger menus without fasting first.

Each course was definitely creative. Not something that you'd remember eating elsewhere. Of course, that is not without risks. My particular soup was just okay. There were one or 2 other "okay's", but no misses. One highlight for me was the pork. My gosh, yes, it was tasty pork for sure, but at the same time, also reminded me of munching down on a nice medium-rare steak for some reason. One of the most innovative and best pork dishes I've ever had.
Each dish came perfectly paced for a good dinner that involves a lot of eating and conversation.

Unlike some lucky souls, it'd be impossible for us to come here on any frequent basis. However, I would qualify this as a "must-visit" place to open your eyes once in a while to see what could be done. There are no "usuals" here. Highly recommended.

Came here during the Olympics and it was not as busy as I expected, guess W4th didn't get the overflow crowd from downtown. Tried a few appies, lemon rissotto - good but tasted a bit like chinese congee, roasted bone marrow - never tried it before and it was good, gnochii - just OK, had better but the mushrooms were really good, hangar steak salad - below average based on the size and the quality of the steak, raw oyster - average, baked oysters - aveage. Service was really good and they replaced cutlery and wine glasses quickly. Ambiance is solid, new moderne feel. Value is just ok, the portions were a bit small for the price. Overall would come back and try again. No mention of any daily specials but would be interesting if they had some.

A few friends and I ordered from the DineOut menu at Refuel and it proved to be quite a memorable experience altogether. Our night started with a few Mocktails which were absolutely delicious. Then came the food...

Our appetizer was the Pork Rillette, which can be likened to an organic locally grown SPAM. There really was no difference in look or taste. The rye crackers that come with the Rillette were extremely crunchy and we are lucky no teeth were chipped.

For the main course I ordered the Heritage Pork with caramelized brussel sprouts and potato puree. The highlight was definitely the brussel sprouts.

For dessert, we all ordered the chocolate pot de crème, which tastes extremely similar to Jell-O Pudding.

With such a scrumptious sounding menu enough to make one salivate, we were disappointed that the words did not fit the plate.

Refuel is outstanding. The ribeye IS heavily marbled, to perfection. They do use salt when they cook, in a masterful way. If you actually like good food and appreciate simple, delicious dishes prepared by an expert kitchen then Refuel is for you. If your favorite restaurant is the Naam and you think fat is bad for you you may not enjoy everything they serve at Refuel.

Now that I am done my rant...

Refuel is worth checking out, if you are a foodie, or if you just want THE BEST BURGER in the city. Again, this is not for the light hearted. They serve it medium rare, almost like warm steak tartar, and it blows my mind. If you can handle meat that is rare or medium rare, then give this burger a shot. The menu is constantly changing and evolving. If you have a chance go to one of their special events like the whole pig dinner, amazing

The food here is definitely a fine dinning experience. The waitress was consciences on topping our Antipodes Sparking water and the service was prompt and courteous.

We started with celeriac soup served with warm bread, unsalted butter and sea salt on the side. The soup was poured at tableside over the nicely turned vegetables. More seasoning would be my preference.

My first glass of Pinot Gris was short poured. I noted this to the server and silence was the answer. My second glass of Riesling was better. Not the wine but the actual ounces. Their wine list is weak on product for this pretender type of Bistro Restaurant and they could be a bit fairer prices on their wines by the glass.

Our main courses of sable fish and trout arrived at our table first as a feast for our eyes and then for our senses. All the above complaints melted away to the background and we thoroughly enjoyed the Chef’s creations.

Finished the dinner with decaf cappuccinos and cheese choices of Camembert and Cashel Blue. The touch of raisin crustiness on the side was excellent and seconds appeared on request.

And my final irritant could be a big one: We only had the table for two hours (18:30hrs – 20:30hrs on a Friday night). At these prices, should there be a time limit? And when the “addition” arrives, close your eyes, open your wallet and say ‘ah’. Try not to feel the pain when the kitchen “Tongs” swipe your credit card.

If not insisted by my girlfriend's friend, I would not have suggested going there in the first place. I have been to Fuel, and was not impressed by the value for the quality.

I'd say the menu and the decor are more down to earth than before. Service was standard, as expected in any restaurant of similar size (the restaurant is not big at all). I'd still think the dishes do not present good value. The quality is standard, but I would have gotten it anywhere else I am expecting to pay similar price.

One thing they do well, I guess, it's their marketing. Oh well, like last time, I might not be back soon.

I still regret that I did not dine at the original, unadulterated Fuel. The prices set by the cocky yet capable Alberta-bred ownership were too steep for Fourth Avenue, and definitely too steep for Fourth Avenue during a recession, so the restaurant was revamped in December, 2009. With a shift towards comfort food and charcuterie, ReFuel has a diverse and undeniably creative menu, but every dish that was ordered at our table was a bit "off".

First, the Aged Beef Burger was raw and cold in the middle, despite a request for a "medium" yet "cooked-through" patty. This was brought to our server's attention and she assured us that there were no health risks based on the way that the beef is ground and prepared in-house, but cold ground beef is *never* pleasant in texture or consistency.

Second, the ingredients in the Seared Albacore Salad (which I ordered) were unusual and complementary, but my fish-to-greens ratio was off by a few degrees. The chefs were generous with the tuna, which I definitely cannot complain about, but I did not have enough blood orange and crushed picholines to tame these ginormous slices of fresh fish. I actually left some of the tuna (gasp!) because I sensed a seafood overdose coming on and really felt that I needed more greens to resolve this "f-issue".

Third, the Hangar Steak Salad was elegantly presented (deep reds of rare beef juxtaposed against lush arugula like rugosas in a Tuscan garden) but contained an overpowering amount of blue cheese. A sprinkle would have tied the room together, but this downpour of Devon Blue left the room flooded and inhospitable. Lastly - and this only counts as a quasi-criticism - the Buttermilk Polderside Fried Chicken basically consisted of an entire (!) chicken, with a teeny dish of slaw and a tiny jalapeno biscuit. Again, appropriate ratios would have been appreciated, by our palates and arteries.

Yikes. I hope I haven't been too mean to ReFuel. Robert Belcham and company definitely have crazy skills...and the service was attentive...and the food was well prepared, but - like the mismatched and random decor - things didn't quite click. I don't think I will go out of my way to dine here again, but if I do end up at ReFuel in the future I will focus on the playful and rare starters, such as the Roasted Bone Marrow and the Foie Gras Croquettes (which I ordered as my appetizer and was highly amused by).

Went on Fried Chicken Friday to try the fried chicken of course, but also tried one of the set lunch menu. The fried chicken was good, better than KFC, but I still prefer Church's (perhaps it's a childhood memory thing). Anyways, since the chicken special comes with a beer and the ambiance is very nice, the value is good. The set lunch was more memorable and more reasonably priced than at dinner time. If you do go for the chicken special, you should consider ordering in advance since there is a limited number of the chicken special and more than 75% of the people appeared to be having the special.

Tried Fuel for the first time on Easter weekend. For an appetizer I had Cures Charcuterie, which is similar to anything you might find at Salt. If you enjoy this kind of thing you'll really enjoy it... I did. For the main I had venison shoulder. It was a prepared well and very flavorful. The presentation of each plate is as a high quality as you'd expect. The ambiance is pretty simple, nothing unique. This seems to be the trend for the last few years in a lot of places, but given the cost of design and materials, it is probably a more pragmatic decision than a stylistic one. The service was excellent. Our server was very friendly and helpful. He took time to explain to us the questions we had. He was very friendly and seemed to really enjoy is work. If there was a reason I would go back it would be b/c of the service we experienced, but there are other places which are doing the same thing as Fuel in terms of food. If you haven't been, it's worth checking it out.

I'm not sure about the trends of the new concept for high end restaurants - excellent chef, serving often brilliant food, well done wine list in a cafeteria setting to offset the "irony" of $35 entrees. The food, as I mentioned, was artfully prepared, with the steak being a superb, flavourful and satisfying choice, which is odd in places like this. The drinks menu was very good, with the offering of a Sazerac from New Orleans because the sommelier had been to New Orleans and brought back some Peychaud bitters showing the commitment to the little things that get you noticed.

This is a noisy place, definitely not suited for a romantic dinner for two but nice for a noisy, if showy, evening out, although the place doesn't encourage you to linger too much. Staff are generally well trained, trying to offer Michelin 1 star lite service, often achieving it. Recommended but rather selectively depending on your age, and desire for a modern nouvelly irony experience.