Smollensky's on the Strand

for me smollenky`s was a place to go on sunday evenings. In the past before their refurbishment, it was a pleasent place to watch a live band and have a good meal from a comphrehensive menu. For some reason the menu was reduced to that of a fast food joint. I made a complaint to the manager when served coffee in mugs with "smollenky`s the best steaks in town" written on the side... I`m no snob but i felt it was a little tacky, especially as the prices were the same for low quality food.

My girlfriend and I have visited once since the refurbishment. The decor is very nice indeed but it is spoilt by the poor and over priced food on offer. There`s a small lounge behind the dining area whereby a small group of "chavs "decided to bang there table loudly intime to the music. At no point did any member of staff bother to stop them disturbing everyone else`s enjoyment of the music. smollenky`s is no more :(
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mike richards
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Thursday, November 30, 2006

I went to Smollenskys on Saturday, what a fantastic place. My daughter who's 3 and I were invited last minute not really knowing what to expect, and what a treat. Party bags, a clown and a magician! plus an emergency television for when they get bored watching their mums waffling on and quaffing on red wine! I felt relaxed, the kids were happy - forget shopping! One thing I would like to suggest for the kids menu is vegetables, surprisingly my daughter asked for sprouts and baby tomatoes, not expecting those exactly but maybe peas or broccoli would have been nice - however we did not think at the time to ask for the mixed veg from the adults menu - too much wine I think!
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Penny Thompson
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 20, 2006

My girlfriend had just moved up from Devon to London and I wanted a special location for a meal. Smollenky's was perfect. Her reaction on entering a class restaurant in "the big city" was immense. The place looks fabulous. I can't speak highly enough of this restaurant; service, drinks, food & atmosphere could not have been better. Thank you Smollenky's for delivering on your word!
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Danny Mann
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 13, 2006

My partner and I ate here on a recent weeknight. The restaurant wasn't terribly busy, so we got in without a reservation, no problem. We requested and received a non-smoking table.

Our food and drinks were very good, and the service was fine. But unfortunately our night was spoilt by the restaurant manager. Our non-smoking table turned out to be quite near to the bar section. Apparently the tables farthest from the bar are smoking, so the non-smoking section is literally surrounded on three sides by the smoking section! We had no problem until half way through the meal when a group of office workers lit up cigars about ten feet from our table. We complained to the waitress as this was impacting our meal quite badly. She went to speak to the manager. He came along about 20 minutes later, wasn't at all apologetic and basically said that we were in the non-smoking section, so there was nothing he would do. We tried to reason with him and make him understand that cigar smoking is banned in most nice restuarants, at least away from the non-smoking section, but he was having none of it. If the manager had apologised or showed the slightest but of sympathy, it wouldn't have been so bad. But his complete lack of concern convinced us to never go back, depsite the good steaks, friendly service, and nice decor. If you don't want to inhale cigar smoke with your steak, I suggest giving this place a miss!
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Martin F
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Friday, November 10, 2006

We went to Smollenskys at the end of August, it was my husbands 40th and we wanted to do something special involving the children, we saw a show, and had then booked dinner at smollenskys. There were 4 adults and 3 children in our party. The children were greeted on arrival with an overflowing party bag full of fab things to do including bubbles!!

Having mentioned my husbands birthday on booking, the waiter greeted us at the table, with a centre piece of balloons> The children were made up!!

The menu was lovely, it suited all tastes and age groups and was brilliant value for money. There was aslight mix up with 2 steaks but once corrected, they were melt in the mouth!!

When pudding appeared, my husband had a sparkling indoor firework in his which again the children thought was wonderful.

We really recommened this place for familys. I finished off the perfect day!
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Lucy Farrington
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, October 26, 2006

Perfect place to eat with three children. The food was delicious and I would definitely go there again.
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Maria
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, October 26, 2006

We had a family lunch here on Saturday to celebrate my daughter's 5th birthday and I'm happy to say we were most impressed. I'm not sure I like the new decor much, but the service was excellent and the food was very good. We chose Smollensky's because it was listed under 'Child Friendly' and the location suited us, and would have no hesitation in recommending it as a lunch venue at the weekend for people with children. On arrival the children were given little party bags containing coloured pens and a few other bits and pieces and they were able to colour in their menus. The kids menu is excellent - split into 2 age-groups. My daughter had chicken goujons with chips and my slightly older son chose from the menu for older children and had chicken breast in lemon and tarragon. Some extra vegetables would have been nice, but it wasn't a big issue. The adults in our party ate a variety of dishes, all of which were perfectly OK, although not exceptional. Smollensky's have a clown and a magician who visit each table during the lunch time and perform for the children. They were both absolutely wonderful and really made the lunch a special occasion for us all. The bill was more than reasonable too.
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Skanks - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 09, 2006

We went here on Saturday night and was very disappointed. Did not read the reviews before we went as it had been recommended to us.

The place looked very nice and at 8pm they had live music which was better than the tape they had on before as I found the tape to be very loud. Our waiter was friendly not that sure of the menu when asked certain things.

The food was very bland, I had the catch of the day and it really did not taste of fresh fish, my husband had steak which was very tough. We had the selection of breads which turned out to be 3 slices of white bread and 2 slices of white bread with onion bits in - these felt hard as if they had sat out for some time.

The child's menu I was disappointed that none of the dishes came with any veggies. She was given a piece of paper with quizes and drawing on but not given any pens to actually write with. The kids cocktail which was charged at £2.50 only came with a straw. My daughter was expecting to have at least an umbrella sometimes with other items put in and maybe a sparkler. If you pay extra for a cocktail then they should make it special.

The last thing was the chocolate mousse yes it was brown and light but there was no taste of chocolate at all but had a taste that we were very unsure off.

Would we go back. No I think it was very bad value for money and not very tasty food.
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jeanette
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Thursday, October 05, 2006

Since my last visit that went pretty poorly in most respects Smollensky's did something that most bars wouldn't, namely invite me back to discuss the events of that fateful evening!

Some praise must go to Smollensky's for a quite unexpected invite to return and talk with a senior member of staff about what happened that night (see earlier review), all this whilst enjoying complimentary food and drink.

A warm reception was afforded to us and since that meeting the bar menu has been reviewed to take into consideration our comments on the value for money of many of the choices on offer and questions asked about the very poor level of service we received.

This has gone some way to make up for the bad experience of my last visit but the odd question still remains, why the design of the stage if not to have live acts perform on it?

Aside from this it's always been a top venue with stylish decor and the restaurant has always been good value for money and most importantly great food.

Definitely give Smollensky's a try it's one of few central London venues we return to, and post a review, it's worth the effort!
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Richard Dewick
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, September 07, 2006

Sunday night is Jazz night, and what a terrific night it was at the restaurant this last sunday night.

There were 18 of us having dinner in the restaurant and to listen to the band, fronted by the amazing Nicola Emmanuelle, who has become quite a draw for Smollensky's it seems.

The service was great, very courteous, prompt and quite discrete, the food good, although not amazing, it was worth the cost, and the evening was made a great success by the wonderful singer and band, which is one of the main reasons for makinng it into the west end on a sunday evening.

We would really recommend a Jazz night as a great way to spend an evening.
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Chelsea Louise
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, August 29, 2006