It is called refectory, a word from the Latin refectus (refreshment),[1]​ to the room used as a dining room for monks in monasteries and convents. It is generally rectangular in shape, and is located in the gallery opposite the church "Church (building)").

Tables line the walls. Monks are installed according to their rank of seniority; The abbot or prior's table, at one end, presides over the others. The meals take place in silence, broken only by the readings of the Bible, generally from a pulpit,[1]​ by one of the monks. This room is normally accessed through the cloister or from the kitchen. It is a quite important room since the monks spend a lot of time in it eating, dining or having breakfast. Silence during meals is crucial so as not to interrupt the reading of the Bible, so that while the gathered monks feed their bodies with food, they also feed their souls with the word of God.

All the religious meet in this large room for the two or three meals of the day. Before going to the refectory, the monks pass through the lavatorium where they wash their hands and enter in silence, pray out loud before taking their seats and while they eat they listen to the readings.

The word refitolero or refitorero was used to identify the monk in charge of the refectory[2]​[3]​.