Smiths of Smithfield

Not bad at all to be honest.

I wouldn't say I am a vegetarian as I eat fish but unless you are in a seafood restaurant that in itself can be limiting with the veggy option usually an afterthought . Have to say the Haddock was lovely as was the creamed spinach. My other half had the Beef & Ale pudding and he said it was delicious. We shared a sticky toffee pudding and that was gorgeous. The overall meal was really nice but at £90 quid including two glasses of wine and a G&T, it was on the pricey side. I liked the space as there is nothing worse than a stuffy loud restaurant so it suited me.

The waitress made me feel a tad uncomfortable as I felt very much on the receiving end of a dose of I am going to be nice to you because I have to thing and I truly hate my job, but having lived in London for 25 years.. I have seen worse ;O)
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Paul
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Monday, January 30, 2012

I'm so glad I wasn't paying the bill here. I would have been even more disappointed if I had.

I was one of a party of about 10, so I had the benefit of overview when it came to the actual food. I wasn't that impressed. Starters were amateur relative to the price. Mains were embarrassing. I should have ordered two starters. Instead I had the fish, which had been battered to within an inch of its life and swimming in grease. Not quite what I was expecting. For dessert I ordered a creme brulee to sweeten things, but the sugar had been so burned it quite literally left a bad taste in my mouth.

The service was merely functional. There was no real friendliness or attentiveness about it. They did their job, but we had to repeat a few orders as they dropped the ball a few times. They were never rude, however, and did their best, but it left a lot of room for improvement.

As for the atmosphere? I honestly believe this restaurant should be somewhere else. As it stands, it's located in the most cavernous space possible - is it an ex-warehouse or ex-factory?

When it came to the bill - as previously mentioned, I'm glad I wasn't paying. It was too high for the experience. I can't recommend this restaurant. Too much superior competition in the area to justify returning.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Thursday, October 20, 2011

Last night we returned to Smith’s of Smithfield for a second wonderful meal. On around the same date last year, our friend Hannah invited us there for her birthday dinner, having had a real trauma trying to find a good restaurant in London who would accept a booking of ten without a deposit and/or set menu. SOS though were happy to oblige us with a lovely large table in their second floor dining room, and so we returned again this year for Hannah’s celebrations.

Adam and I are self-named ‘ethicureans’ and only eat free range meat, and fish that’s line caught and responsibly sourced, so dining out for us is often a disappointment as we forego the amazing looking meat and fish dishes in exchange for a vegetarian meal which fits in with our rules. When we first heard we were going to SOS though we checked out their website to find out a little more about their ingredients and sourcing, and then after a quick phone call we found that all their meat is in fact free range….not just ‘British’ or ‘outdoor bred’. One waiter even said to us ‘I wouldn’t work here if they served any less’.

So, that box ticked, we arrived to the buzzing ground floor bar for arrival drinks before heading upstairs (in the trendily red-quilt-lined lift) to our table situated between the open kitchen and a vast well overlooking the floor below. These, and the other busy tables made for a great atmosphere in what is actually a pretty large restaurant (130 covers), and the attentive and knowledgeable staff certainly helped too.

Last night, having nearly spoiled our dinner on a rather-too-large lunch, Adam and I opted out of starters….although I couldn’t resist a few excellent Rock Oysters with sherry vinaigrette (£2.20 each) whilst everyone had their gorgeous looking Dorset Crab & Cox Apple on Toasted Sourdough (£9) and Cream of Cauliflower with Cheese Puffs (£5). Onto mains though and ‘eating light’ soon went out of the window as we were determined to make the most of our meaty feast. Adam chose the South Devon Rib Steak (Aged 21 Days), with Chips & Mayo (£17.50) which was served beautifully pink and perfectly succulent. For me, it was the Rosé Veal in Egg & Parmesan, with Rocket & Anchovies (£16) and although it wasn’t a pretty plate (I’m not a rocket person, and the veal was completely covered in the egg like a sort of omlettey schnitzel) the veal was tender and tasty….as was my side order of wonderfully silky mash (£2.50).

We were too stuffed for puddings, but opposite me, Greg’s Sticky Toffee Pudding (£7) made me very envious as the smell of the hot toffee was almost enough to make me place a late order. Adam settled for an espresso whilst I finished my wine (slow drinker) which he tells me was very good. And by the time we’d finished chatting the place was nearly empty, but with no less atmosphere for it….. and so we left pleasantly full and rather jolly, vowing not to leave it so long until our next visit.
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prettypretentious
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, October 16, 2011

I haven't been to SOS for a few years - but ventured back recently having moved back into the area. Always loved the buzzy bar, and it didn't disappoint this time either. I don't think these guys have ever served food in the bar, but I always thought it would be good to serve something that wasn't a full on steak dinner.....and now they are!

Think the 1st Floor used to be a raucous cocktail bar - but it's now a great little restaurant, pretty informal & just what you want if you want t a few bits to share, but still eat properly. The staff told me they've just bought in a new menu which is more about small plates & trying wines by the glass - they were really helpful with suggestions too. We had the sliders, some potato croquettes, scallop sashimi, roast cod with rouille, and my favourite the lamb cutlets with white beans. The table next to us had the cote de boeuf which I will definitely be back for!

So, a good return to Clerkenwell - am going to try the Top Floor with some clients in a couple of weeks too, new Head Chef has apparently changed the menu quite a bit, so let's see!
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Rossco - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, August 21, 2011

Used to visit top floor SOS quite frequently but gradually was disappointed so gave it a rest for a couple of years. Took some visitors there last Saturday. Will not be visiting in the future. The weather was perfect and the setting is wonderful on a summer evening. First disappointment was the bread. I assume they changed supplier when a new chef was appointed. Always on the menu was half crab. Now they serve two tiny portions of non descript crab meat. My first course of salad with a poached egg was a joke. I followed this with a filet steak was perfect. My partner's steak was hard and chewy. The chef should pay a visit to North Sea Fish Restaurant to find out what should be served as chips. We asked for the two children aged three and five to share one dish. They charged for two. I only drink tap water and asked for same. They charged for the water which the waiter said was filtered. This beautiful restaurant was only half full on a Saturday evening and still the service was extremely slow. To crown it all the bill was pretty hefty. Maybe John Torode should do less TV and more SOS
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Pamela Hoffman
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 03, 2011

I visited Smiths on Saturday night (25th June,2011) along with my partner, sister and brother in law. We were greated warmly by the staff downstairs who where very polite, personable and professional. The staff advised us that rather than sitting in the busy, loud, ground floor bar we should make the most of the evening and weather and enjoy a drink on the terrace! The lift took us to the top floor where again, a very warm welcome. Even though we were early we had the choice of sitting at the table or the terrace. Being smokers we sat in the designated area and relaxed. The staff were prompt and alowed adequate time for us to browse through the wine list.

The staff throughout the heaving were superb, their knowlegde surrounding the wine, the meat and most importantl the cheese, was second to none!!!!!

The starters were delicious and creative, highly recommend the scallops and onion bhaji. Amazing combination. the starts were served hot and the white wine was scrumptious. The mains followed, and were outstanding. You can't go to Smiths and not have steak. The New York rib (cote de beouf) was delicious and cooked perfectly to our preference.

A nice touch to the menu's is on the front, the panoramic view from the balcony is printed on the front of the menus, all numbered and answers inside.

As i previously hinted, we ended the meal with a cheese board. The waiter knew all about the cheeses and threw in a couple of extra's as a treat!!!!

I could ramble on for hours.....All in all a superb evening. Having read the reviews I had become slightly concerned hence why I feel it very important to praise Smiths and their staff.
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Jenny Logan
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, June 26, 2011

My Fiance took me to Smiths on sunday 19.6.11 for my birthday lunch. Well the wine list was extensive and expensive. After watching masterchef and listening to John comments on food, well I thought I was in for something really special. What I got was steak and chips. My thoughts is that a top chef would NEVER offer chips. I thought this was a fine dining experiance and thought the food was very ordinary and any of those dishes could of been better cooked and prepared at home. I am Australian and expected to see maybe a kangaroo steak on offer as this meat is very lean in fat and very yummy. But no nothing imaginative there at all. I think I would of enjoyed dinner at Harvester much more and saved a lot more money. I would hang my head in shame Mr Torode.
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Shane Dodds
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 20, 2011

I have had many happy evenings eating in the second floor restaurant. The steak is top notch. This morning, however, I made the mistake of having breakfast there and it is clear the great man John Torrode (the owner and TV star) has not done this for some time or he would be aware of the truly appalling service.

First off the coffee arrived in dirty mugs. I mean quite obviously dirty mugs with large black drip marks on the side. Then after quite a wait the poached eggs arrived stone cold. Enough of this, it is time to leave but where is the waitress. Wait a few minutes. Wait a few more. Time to go and find a waitress and there they all are on the other side, by the till laughing merrily amongst themselves. "Can I pay," I ask. "Yes," I am told, "go and sit down and someone will be with you shortly."

Now I know that breakfast is not the main purpose of SOS but they do claim to be open for breakfast and they do charge for breakfast so it is only fair to assume some effort might go into the service of breakfast.

"John, get down there mate. They're having a laugh."
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Richard Allrey - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 19, 2011

I have eaten at Smiths top floor many times as it is one of my favourite london restaurants. My new husband and I wedded at the Chelsea Registry Office mid way through March and booked a table for 7 people on a thursday night after our ceremony, although we had booked for 7.30pm we turned up about 7.15pm or so, and although I understand they could not seat us they wouldn't let us go up to have a drink at the bar on the top floor either, we were told we had to wait downstairs till our designated time as the table wasn't ready. We had guests in suits/dresses who then had to sit in the downstairs bar and I must say they were not impressed. The lady on the desk was aware of the 'occasion' but said there was nothing she could do about it, but would not let us go up and even have a drink rather than be seated, it really was ludicrous. I was very disappointed in this as I have had many great evenings (although never more than 4 people, perhaps 7 was too many?!!). Our table spent at least £500 and surely another drink at the bar wouldn't have hurt!

I would recommend the restaurant for great food but not for large groups and not for really special occasions as they may not be able to provide the 'extra' touches!
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Tracey Crannitch
6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, May 08, 2011

Rubbish chips. Bland food.
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5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Sunday, May 08, 2011