Smiths of Smithfield Top Floor review by The Rogue Scribbler
I dined here on a busy Friday night. Service was very slow, with dishes taking a long time to come out of the kitchen (over 15 minutes for the starters!).
They had run out of squid by 9.30pm, so their popular starter of salted squid was unavailable. We were only told about this when it came to ordering, so half the table had to choose another starter at the last minute. We should’ve been told before it came to placing the order.
I opted for the Dorset crab on toast as a starter. One third of the toast was BURNT, literally black. This is inexcusable. The chef in charge of that dish should’ve put the burnt toast straight in the bin, rather than trying to hide it under the crab. It only led to an unpleasant shock when I took a bite to discover the taste of bitter, charred toast, which ruined any flavour the crab had. The Head Chef should not have allowed this to leave his pass, but I expect he didn’t notice as the toast was hidden.
For a main I chose the Hereford rump, pan-fried with a béarnaise sauce. The steak was perfectly cooked and flavoursome. The chunky chips were nice too. The béarnaise sauce was delicious although it had been poured on top of the steak already, and I prefer to have it on the side for my chips. A slight bug-bear of mine.
The chocolate dessert was good, nothing spectacular but nothing to complain about either.
In summary, John Torode needs to spend some time in his restaurant, ironing out the problems in the kitchen and front of house. And they need to have a serious word with the chef who served the burnt toast! Prices here are way too expensive for the low quality of service and cooking they currently offer.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Overall rating 
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
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