Smiths of Smithfield

Went here with a work colleague about 3 weeks ago. It was the first time I had been and was not dissapointed.

We had reservations at the bar in the wine room, which I thought was weird at first (Never eaten at this bar or any other before) however it was entertaining to watch the helpfull staff cook and serve up various cocktails.

We had Eggs Royal for a starter, the portion was enormous, enough for a main meal. If it was not so nice I would have left some.

Our Sirloin steaks were just perfection, cooked exactly as we wanted and as they should be for a medium rare and rare steak. The meat was juicy and tender.

The Chocolate browny dessert, fantastic!!!

The two members of staff behind the bar were very helpful. The girl making up the cocktails seemed very professional and seeing her make up these wonderful drinks only made us order more. The young man cooking the food behind the bar (Very novel) was very helpful and was a joy to watch.

A good experience, nice atmosphere, helpful staff. I would go back.
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Eddie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Without question the worst service to be had in London.

The food is good and the place looks great but after having problems with the service on the last three visits it's time to call it a day.

I will not be returning, which is a shame as it used to be great.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Friday, May 02, 2008

I went there with a friend for lunch last week. Very nice atmosphere and my eggs florentine were very good, but my friend's beef pie arrived stone cold inside. It took them 30 minutes to replace it, by which time I'd consumed my (by then stone cold eggs and spinach) No apology either. .Not great.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Friday, May 02, 2008

Five of us ate here for lunch on the second floor, a faultless meal: Lucky Squid was fresh and delicious and notably made with seasonal stem broccoli, starters of field mushrooms on toast were excelelnt with perfectly poached eggs.

Our waitress was helpful, polite yet friendly wihtout peing pushy or hurrying us.

Mains - the burger was enormous, made with excellent quality meat cooked to rare perfection.

Rissoto, fishcakes and hake were all well cooked, well seasonsed and delicious. Price of food and drinks are all very good value for money.

The surroundings are very 'New York' bare brick walls and open kitchen and the dining room was lively but not too loud. A perfect mix of quality food at fair prices in a un-stuffy environment.

I will be returning, very impressed.
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Rob
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ate on the third floor tonight for a special treat. Tinned crab on burnt toast to start, charred tough steaks to follow with almost frozen salads and then for dessert lavender creme brulee that tasted like nappy cream! Seriously it was so bad I had to spit it straight into the napkin! The waitress was great but the floor manager acted as if we were trying to get something for nothing when we asked for some items to be removed from the bill because they were inedible. Ridiculous. Top price restaurants can be rubbish when times are good but during a recession they would need to start to get something right. It was easy to get a reservation at short notice and now I know why..

Would not recommend to anyone.
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Anita
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 0
Sunday, April 06, 2008

I LOVE the atmosphere , the raw feel of the place and was so looking forward to the food .......Smiths of Smithfield having proper good quality of meat from the Smithfield Market ....sadly I was very disappointed with the quality of the meat, presentation fab, food crap .....I feel so disappointed that the meat was tough 'TOUGH AS AN OLD BOOT' as my mum would say ...but it was!
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Sarah
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Thursday, April 03, 2008

Having read a few reviews beforehand we were a little nervous booking a table for 6 on the top floor. Reasoning that people review when they have bad experiences rather than good, we thought we'd ignore the negative types and see for ourselves.

On the whole I wish we hadn't bothered as OK is all I can say about an expensive meal. The food was good (especially the oysters but that's more praise for the oyster than the chef), all except the meat, that is.

Quite unbelievable that a restaurant boasting fine meats which is sited opposite London's meat market can serve up such sub-standard beef and offal. Service wasn't all that either so on the whole I'd say try the other floors and have the fish.
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Jim Collins
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Monday, March 31, 2008

I lovvveee this place! it's not fine food but it's gooood food with big portions and delicious as well. Not pricey either considering the atomsphere of the whole place and the good service! I had the duck with oyster sauce and it was huge with a small leg and a big breast and oyster sauce was not the thick stuff from the bottle but a nice broth! Also had the chocolate and mascarpone torte... mmmm... it was havenly! I love this place, been there twice already, will definitely go back!
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pea - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I read many reviews prior to my visit to the 2nd floor of John Torode's restaurant in the center of London, some of which were very good and some very bad, on my visit i was lucky enough to find the event very pleasurable.

This restaurant tries to be all things to all people with a trendy bar...business meeting area...dining room...and an expensive upper floor restaurant.

My mushroom and paster starter very good and a 10oz beef burger main was delicious, all finished with a delightful sorbet dessert. To my surprise, the portions were moderately sized, unlike some of the other places similar in standard.

The whole restaurant had a really good atmosphere and the service was great with the waiters/waitresses being helpful and cheerful.

My only complaint (and now I am really splitting hairs) was that the alleged 'fresh orange juice' had the distinctive bitter taste of a concentrate.

Overall I had a thoroughly good time and would recommend Smiths' of Smithfields' to anyone so long as they have moderately deep pockets.
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Ben Voce - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 16, 2008

I have been to Smiths on the Ground floor numerous times and have never had any complaints. Last night I went to Smiths the first floor for my second or third visit. Previously it has been good. Last night was one of the most apauling meals I have ever had the displeasure of eating. Frankly on this showing the proprietor is not only unqualified to judge Matsrchef he probably would not get through the first round. A great start, in that of the limited main courses (there are only about 6) 2 were unavailable, leaving a meagre choice. It was 10pm granted but perhaps the waitress might have informed us before we sat down to order and having already consumed a couple of drinks at the bar. The potter crab was passable, though the bread it was served with was clearly past its best. As there was little available of the mains my friend had the risotto balls. These tasted more like salt balls and they were left on the plate. I selected the most expensive thing on the menu, the steak, it was frankly uneatable. Needless to say when the bill came in at £75 for a meal I would have been ashamed to present in my home, I was a tad miffed. Not going there again!
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Tim Drukker
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 0
Saturday, February 16, 2008