Smiths of Smithfield: London, UK 0

www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk

Do me a favour.

Click on the above link.

Read the quote. Then…..

DON’T BELIEVE IT.

Ok, maybe DO believe it, ’cause maybe they DO have a team of people that understand what Smiths is about and maybe they DO work hard to create the best place possible for their customers…….BUT , sorry, it’s just not good enough.

Of course I’d HEARD of John Torode and watched him religiously on Masterchef since I first landed on these shores almost a year ago, but I was NOT aware that this 4 storey restaurant located in the heart of London’s meat district was his.

Friends called us a week ago and told us they had booked for dinner on Sunday night. So I googled, I tubed it, I arrived and I must say, after a scary little confusing walk from the station, I was quite impressed upon entry. The ground floor is a very funky / industrial style space with concrete floors, leather couches, high high ceilings with exposed duct work and lotsa light flooding in from the glass frontage. The DJ was playing a beat and I threw myself down on a chair whilst husbies grabbed me a drink. I felt pretty chilled.

Admittedly, as I said, this is a 4 storey restaurant and we only ate on Level 1, so I absolutely cannot comment on the food served on any of the other levels, nor can I comment on breakfast / brunch (what the place is known for) as I only ate dinner.

So, when our mates arrived, we hiked up the stair to Level one where we were greeted by a friendly waiter who showed us to our table. Service continued to be pleasant throughout the night, non-intrusive, albeit a little ‘casual’ at times, but pleasant nonetheless.

Let’s cut to the food. I cannot say there was something WRONG with it, as there wasn’t. Everything came out as described on the menu. For starters, our table had Squid with Aioli (looked ok, I didn’t try it as it didn’t look DEEEElicious); Spring Salad (I ordered this – no asparagus in sight contrary to description from waitress and the sole reason for me placing my order for it); Lamb Kofta with Tzatziki (husbies had this, I tried one, tasted fine, bit boring, nothing unusual, but fine) and Risotto (I didn’t try it but everyone else at the table did and there was still a big pile of it left in the bowl when the plate was collected…..couldn’t have been that good.)

For Mains we had Pork Belly with Lentils (3 of our group ordered this, including me, 2 of us left half of it on the plate – I actually thought it was quite nice, if I went back I would order it again – the lentils were mixed with Burghul or something, was unusual and refreshing); Pappardelle with Meatballs (our friend who ordered it ate everything and said it was ‘good’ – it looked ‘good’); and Steak and Chips (husbies had steak said it was tough as nails and not yummaroo at all – chips were the absolute highlight of the evening – I thinkkkkkkk they may have been thrice cooked as they were COMPLETELY golden and crunchumptious).

None of us had dessert. We were tired. Reasonably full and kinda over it.

Look, I guess this is all a bit harsh, but where’s the fun, or benefit, in being nice all the time?? If people are looking for a GREAT place to go with GREAT, reasonably priced food and impeccable service, then why should I just recommend everything willy nilly??? I eat out quite a bit, as it’s something that I love to do and the associated costs are definitely factored in to our entertainment budget, but if you don’t eat out much, for whatever reason, don’t blow ya cash here.