Smiths of Smithfield

Having been invited to lunch at Smith's i was looking forward to a good hearty steak meal, JT on TV judges other peoples cooking with some degree of criticism but the standard in his establishment is left wanting. the sirloin ordered rare came over cooked, which must have been left on one side only consquently cook through the underside had no sign of being griddled, it was dreadful and a complete waste of good meat,(Devon red) cooking and time eating.

The wine list is left wanting and more middle priced reasonable wines need to be included.

All in all a great disappointment.

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.

Yesterday evening with my father. 5 stars; Without doubt the best Chateaubriand Ive ever had. Cooked to perfection at the Top Floor restaurant. Bang on. Frienly staff and relaxed atmosphere, the top floor also offers a impressive view across this historical part of London.

I love the restaurant and it is esp enjoyable in the summer months when the glass dorrs are open and the sun is setting. You are nestled in the rooftops of Clerkenwell, it is very Mary Poppins with all the chimney tops! Add to this setting the great food and wine list and attentive service and you really cannot go wrong.

One slight problem is that the atmosphere can sometimes be a bit flat… but hey when you've steak this good that is a secondary factor!

Poor service,
Worse Food.
Very nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvingon.
Won't be back

Smiths is a cool concept, one that caters for everyone in a kind of culinary version of Dante’s Circles of Hell. I’ve long grown out of the 200 decibel ground-floor bar and diner: I adore the calm and civility of the top floor with its attentive and understated service, and memories of the most perfect (and most expensive) sirloin steak I’ve ever eaten.
Meeting friends from Hong Kong recently I decided to check out the limbo that was neither ground-floor nor top-floor: it styles itself the Dining Room. It’s still pretty noisy (there’s a hole in the centre of the room that lets the sound float upwards), but it’s got a nice, lofty vibe and, as the sun sets, the light (especially now that London Transport have razed the surrounding buildings to the ground) is wonderfully atmospheric.
Our friends were hideously late so a couple of gin martinis kept us going. When we finally ordered, the menu offered something for everyone: a nicely international influence with an emphasis on meat and fish. I had a flavoursome Thai Beef Salad (£7.25) which had a nice kick and some suitably zingy notes. Also consumed were a beautifully smooth chicken liver and foie gras parfait (£6.50) and a nicely textured risotto of summer vegetables.
For a main I had a simply grilled whole bream (£16.50) – nicely cooked with a crisp skin – though the accompanying salad of fennel, endive and radish was a bit drab and non-descript. Elsewhere salt beef seemed to please, and a slow roast piece of belly pork looked terrific. We washed it down with a perky Bordeaux pink that went under the deliciously camp name of Marilyn. The bill came in at £186, fair enough but the experience wasn’t particularly special. Definitely worth considering paying for an upgrade!

On a weekday evening, a beer downstairs in Smiths of Smithfield is a busy affair. Lively pinstripes and romancing couples crowd the entrance and ground floor, drinking from the bar and choosing from the reasonably pricey Ground Floor Menu. In the bottom right-hand corner of the menu is the following text: “John Terodes’s ‘BEEF’ and other bovine matters – pick up your very own signed copy (£15)”. Terode is, of course, famous for presenting Masterchef and coining some silly catchphrases along with his shorter market stall trader counterpart. You know, him, erm… Greg Wallace! Terode is also the head chef of SOS and this imperative – pushing his book to you like a carefully orchestrated political campaign – appears throughout the restaurant, on menus, walls and posters. “Buy me, buy me, buy me…”

The towering building has a New York loft apartment-feel with large arched windows and timber beams. There’s blasted brickwork and honey sunbeams leaking in through each aperture. Logistically, it’s nestled perfectly, a stone throw away from Smithfield Market and a mile or so walking distance for those bankers in their Church brogues. In the neighbourhood of St. John’s and Hix, it’s certainly in good company. But there’s nothing cosy and local about SOS; it’s bustling with an eclectic ramsham of shippers, shoppers, tourists and Masterchef enthusiasts. There are four floors that seem to rise from ground floor to top on a class system, or at least a ‘how heavy is your wallet?’ system, judging from the menus.

Terode is clearly serious about sourcing quality, local ingredients though and this is backed up in the restaurants statement on the website: “Simple food from simple ingredients”. The meat comes from named suppliers, the ageing time is given and you can choose whether your steak is pan-fried or grilled. There is also an epilogue of thanks on the menu to the “Suppliers, Farmers and Growers who work so hard to meet our needs and deliver us the highest quality produce from around Britain.”

On the second floor you’re able to peek into the kitchen as chefs dirty their whites and prepare the grub. Flaming steaks leave the kitchen smelling deep and fatty and I know some who say the best they’ve ever eaten were served in this very room. Maze Grill, Gaucho’s, and the likes, may argue with this, but on the tingly nose sensation I experienced, they could be on to something.

For a starter I ordered the lucky squid, chilli jam and Chinese broccoli (all starters are priced £7.50), which was an absolute delight. The squid was thick cut and dressed with a tangy chilli jam. Other starters range from tomato-and-basil soup with cheese on toast to lobster and sweetbread ravioli, spring onion, coriander broth; or seared tuna Szechwan pepper crust, black bean dressing (for seared read raw, and served with a selection of differing seaweed, great textures complimenting elusive seaside flavours). And then there it was on the menu again: “John Terodes’s ‘BEEF’ and other bovine matters – pick up your very own signed copy (£15)…” Calling out: “Buy me, buy me, buy me…”

Our waiter, a tall, skinny Camden-type (these include the multi-coloured sleeve tattoos, the rolled up sleeves – above the shoulder – part shaved head, part wavy, greasy comb-over, and one of those ear piecings – or ear stretchings – that exaggerated aperture in the ear the size of tea coaster), informed us that the special was pan-fried sea bass. Almost starving, I enquired the size of the fish, to which he replied, “Well, they’re all different sizes. Some are bigger than others. I think they’re big today, about the size of my dick.” Yes. That’s what he said. “Erm….right. Okay. Thanks,” I responded, quickly drawing an eye away from the specials and to the meats. So there I was, scanning the meats with a semi-proposal from my waiter. Right, enough about “meats” and semis”. What did I choose…?

Being the excited consumer of animal that I am, I had the power plate of braised lamb shoulder and sweet potato with green peppercorn sauce (£15.00), and like our other main of crisp belly of pork and mash potato with green sauce (£15.00), it had that now ever familiar restaurant presentation of a typical juicy main with a dollop of creamy mash potato (sweet potato here) at the centre and the chosen meat (lamb for me and pork for him) placed painstakingly central on top, the accompanying sauce drizzled precisely around the plate like Jackson Pollock splurges. It’s a trim and orderly presentation but one that has become commonplace, and rather monotonous.

The second floor space is large and handsome, but loud, with a break-void through the core of the building punctuating each floor. Whether each person is having an enjoyable time or in an instrumental pitch competition, I couldn’t tell, but there’s a murmur that swiftly reaches fever pitch and I found it strenuous to hold conversion (to the frustration of my partner, I’m sure).

There’s a good selection of red, white and dessert wines, all very reasonably priced. Some punchy reds to accompany meat dishes, with £43.50 being the top-end price. We revelled in a bottle of Santa Rosa Merlot from Chile priced at £17.50. And then had another.

From the Sweet Tooth menu I had sticky toffee pudding and ice cream (£5.50) that was both ‘sticky’ and ‘toffee’ and excessive in sweetness. The vanilla cheesecake with rhubarb and PX sherry shot (£5.50), received positive feedback.
Leaving, we took a crimson padded lift to the ground floor – bloated on our own greedy indulgence – and exited past the stair foundations and ‘Terode Corner’, where we are reminded, for the final time: “John Terodes’s ‘BEEF’ and other bovine matters – pick up your very own signed copy (£15)…” “Buy me, buy me, buy me…”

First time at SOS after a few pleasant reviwes from friends. First impression of the bar downstairs was cold and uninviting. My husband and I had a drink and then made our way up to the 2nd floor for dinner. Took ages before anyone came to take our drink order. My husbands starter (practically thrown at us by the waitress) was so good (Lucky Squid), I had the Portuguese Salt Cod Fritters – have to say I struggeled to taste any salt cod – my mum is Portuguese and hers are the best, so maybe I have been spoilt with hers!!! Ours mains were nice but nothing special. Dessert was ok too. Overall it was an average night. I wouldn't rush back.

Beware of the guy downstairs with his clipboard tyring to get you a minicab – we were quoted a silly fare and got a black cab for half the price instead.

Appalling service from Manager downwards. No apology for cold food sent back or sub standard cheese. Serious attitude from waiters which ruined an evening & they weren't even busy!!

Once again I was hungry for a steak and Gaucho was fully booked, so ended up here this time. We went to the fine dining top floor restaurant where I’d not been for nearly 10 years (omg showing my age now!)

Whilst the service was average it wasn’t any where near fine dining standards as various bored youths took drinks and food orders.

The New York rib I had was excellent however, not only because of the portion size but very tasty too. The chips were a anaemic looking McCain affair, given how they are trying to big up the top floor you’d expect hand cut at least and even maybe double cooked.

In summer the balcony would make this a bit of a destination, but sadly not really the food. Might be a number of years before I return again.

After 3 visits to this restaurant for breakfast meetings, a matter of logistical necessity not design, I can give the following advice. This advice is based upon the 3 visits, not just one visit, and the overall comments are fair based on 3 visits over a 6 week period this autumn.

1. The procedure for obtaining a table at breakfast time needs refinement. It's organised like someone at the front door of Harrods waiting for the sales to start and lacks any real individual kindness and courtesy. It would be very helpful to be lead to the bar area and be shown a waiter who will immediately get a tea or coffee for you whilst you wait for your guest. Instead the practice is to let you mill around by the front door, which is at best embarrassing if your guest is tardy, and at worst makes you look like a right lemon ! As it's a trendy place where media luvvies like to be ‘seen’, people are constantly looking up to see if they're being seen rather than concentrating on their guests and their food. Therefore, it would be nice to not be left standing up loitering like a dummy and be shown kindly and courteously to the bar.

2. The tables are very small. They ideally suit 2 people, are definitely not suitable for 3 people and it's impossible for 4 to sit around. It's an unpleasant time trying to deal with your guests on a table where training in a circus to balance things on your head would be more applicable in handling the tiny, tiny area allowed for plates and cutlery.

3. The music is deafening at times. It is always played loud and was today, the 3rd of my visits, particularly loud. Given that the design of the building lends itself to a noisy atmosphere (is the euphemism ‘buzzy’?!), the addition of the music makes it extremely stressful when trying to hold a conversation. It appears from reading other reviews that the staff are aware of this problem, and I too have asked them to turn the sound down on two of my visits, which can only mean that the staff play the music for themselves and not for their clientele! Today was positively ‘disco inferno’ !! I asked for the music to be turned down, it wasn't.

4. The food is okay, it's not great, it's dressed up a little to make it appear more ‘upmarket’ … but does it taste any better than the traditional London Italian cafe ? Certainly no better ! Granted, you do not leave the restaurant smelling of bacon and eggs the whole day ! But when you have to meet at strategic places from time to time in business life, why should you have to be punished by loud music, unkindness at front of house where you are treated as ‘cattle’, in a bedlam of fuzzy noise ? If that's where it's at, and I'm a very liberal chap, then keep it ! I would not go there by choice.

5. On my way out, and this has happened on one other of my three visits, I've gone to the loo only to find it impossible to use because there's some big bloke in there in a boiler suit cleaning it out. Surely toilets are cleaned before breakfast starts and after the rush – say 10.30am – so they're clean again for early lunchers. Suffice to say I held on to my problem and awkwardly got to the office as quickly as possible to use the loo !

It is with great regret that I write as such, I detest and loathe adverse comment, but I am that proverbial Englishman … the one who stands in the queue, never moaning when people push in until one day, when it's raining hard, I can't take anymore. Today at this restaurant I'd had enough of having to accept ‘noise’ as as a prerequisite for being ‘trendy, now, happening’ as a restaurant. There is clearly a split down the middle of clientele at this venue. On one hand you've got 20 something scruff necks who don't shave and wear unironed shirts and very out of date Converse shoes, looking like eternal students. On the other hand you've got business people in suits, freshly boiled sitting uneasily amongst the mire of noisy scruffiness.

Horrible place. Waiter was rude, they dropped half of the dishes on the floor, so adding 15 mins of waiting time to the food. Price was far high for food quality. After dinner, half of us out to smoke, half stayed in to have a drink. The ones out smoking could not get in back, and we were verbally abused by the doorman.

Awful place – find another place to spend your money

Decided to take a friend out for a meal and was out to impress, so selected Top Floor at SOS on the basis of strong recommendations from friends and colleagues.
The service was excellent. I cannot stress enough how good the staff were; Friendly, attentive, polite, helpful… these people went out of their way to make us feel comfortable.
The food was superb. I had the halibut with lobster mash, which was beautifully presented and very tasty. I had the pastel de nata with raspberries for dessert which, as someone who has consumed a lot of egg custard tarts in their life, was *perfect*.
Everyone remembers this place for the view, and even with a seat from the back of the room it's quite something.
Wine on the top floor is expensive, but like everything else on the top floor – you get what you pay for.
The total was just over £100 for two of us (two courses, dessert, bottle of wine and coffee), which, for a premiere resteraunt in central London, was pretty much expected.
****Highly recommended****
(A warning – the bread comes with no bread plate. It's ‘rustic’ apparently. The uptight might find the prospect of holding a bit of crusty bread frightening. It's OK to drop crumbs. Really. Your mum isn't watching.)

One of the most insidious afflictions that has crept into the London restaurant scene over the last few years is the idea that you get a table for a set period of 2 hours. SoS (or at least the second floor restaurant) has gone one stage further; one-and-a-half hour time slots! Fair enough possibly, but why did nobody tell us this when we booked, so that we could have gone somewhere else? Maybe that is exactly why they didn't tell us.

I admit that it was our fault (well, one of our group's fault) that we were nearly 30 minutes late, but then to be told that this meant that there wasn't enough time for us to eat, as the kitchen couldn't cope, was absurd. With much grovelling and protestations that we'd forego starters, we were allowed to grace the restaurant with our money.

The set up on the second floor is pretty starightforward: starters are all 7 1/2 Pounds and mains either 13 or 15 Pounds (pretentiously never £s). Of course, we were barred from even considering starters, so went straight to the mains. Steaks all round. £15 for steak and chips isn't so bad these days, and the rare was bloody, the medium nicely pink and the well done like shoe leather, so everyone was happy.

We had, however, only expended half an hour of our by now one hour long slot. So we could have had starters after all. Instead, we got another bottle of wine. Come the end of the alloted hour and a half, and even though there were other empty tables, and nobody queing for a seat, we were presented with the bill and politely told to sod off. Sorry, we were told that we were welcome to sit downstairs at the bar.

Maybe the City really is going soft, and boozy lunches are now banned, but even for a half decent break at a half decent restaruant, an hour-and-a-half just doesn't give you enough time to really enjoy it without feeling rushed. For a leaving lunch, that was supposed to be long, lazy and relaxing, it was just deflating.

At the risk of sounding like my mother (who rates a place bythe quality of its loos above all else), one thing that has always interested/ bugged me about SoS is the loos. The urinals at the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo have a floor to ceiling window behind them, allowing one to admire the vista of that most marvellous city spread out forty floors or more below, whilst doing the necessary. I like this. At SoS, the window runs the length of the loos, from about waist height to the ceiling. Instead of looking down onto, or even out over, the roof tops of London, you look out over the Circle line (which is at ground level here) and straight into the next door office. Now I can see what they're doing, so???

What a disappointment! I've been, twice, to the other Smithfield restaurant and this was such a disappointment. To be fair my friend who recommended it had a great meal there the other weekend, maybe Thursday is YTS night in the kitchen? The venison was drowned in oil, my lamb main tasted as if it'd been boiled, the salt beef was brown in the middle and the burger of our 3rd friend was so non descript as to be not worth the mention, other than the fact that the 3.50 extra for the measly bowl of chips weren't even cooked properly! Seriously head south when in Smithfield.

Went to Smithfields for a birthday lunch with a group. While the space and atmosphere is great and the service fine our meal was decidedly average. The portions small and the tastes and flavours of our dishes just did not seem to work.

I had the scallops with black pudding and courgette fritters as a main – I got three small scallops and the fritters were soft and tasted uncooked. One of our party had the ribs which were tasty – if a little overdone, as was the quail.

If we had stopped at mains I think the experience would have been written off as ok but we all went for puddings and these were far below average. The trifle had a base of hard something at the bottom – a strange texture – certainly not sponge. The seasonal fruit pavlova came with a grey sludge that was so tart it couldn't be eaten and what we thought was a poached pear was more like a bitter pickle. The cheese board tasted like it had been sourced with cheese from Sainsbury.

Thankfully when challenged the manager agreed the trifle sponge was wrong, the cheese was cold and he tried to tell us that the pear was quince – even though it was a poached pear colour – quince normally goes orange when cooked. To his credit he didn't charge us for any of the deserts – but I am not sure that this gesture is enough to make me want to go back.

We went as a party of 6 for dinner on a Sunday evening. The place was in turmoil, despite having a reservation we had to wait over 30 minutes.
The main reason for my complaint is the fact that I did not get the steak I ordered. I had ordered a ribeye and a sirloin was served, I had asked for it to be cooked medium rare and it came well done. On challanging the waitress she did admit that she could not recognise the cut of meat.
I then asked for the manager, a young lady came to the table and asked what the issue was, I explained, she too was at a loss to name the cut of meat on my plate!
My fellow diners were equally poorly treated. Despite our obvious dissatisfaction we were not offered any alternative nor were we given an apology, we then left paying for our wine only.
I called the next day hoping to speak to someone who knows about service and food, however I met with the same treatment and lack of knowledge.
Arrogance is the main problem with the staff here and that combined with a lack of food and service knowledge makes for a very poor dining experience.

Great space, attentive but relaxed service. Wonderful pea soup, but tuna sashimi disappointingly stringy. I think of Smiths for steak, but my wife adored her sea bass (and she's picky about her sea bass) while the rest of the table had excellent steaks and vegetables. For pud the seasonal tart had rather strange pasty, but the berries and waffles were a delight and the creme brulee properly made. Carafe wines provide a good value offering, but £70 a head all up for this Sunday lunch is still a bit toppy in my book.

Only been on the ground floor at SOS for breakfast (twice) which I thought was ok! nothing special but ok.. there was something I liked about it which was the buzz of lots of people in a big place enjoying a good sized full English breakfast which was reasonably priced. The seating was a small wooden stool with no back support which was very uncomfortable to say the least. I enjoyed the proper mug of tea with the tea spoon left in,and the bacon was thick cut but I would have liked it a more crispy. The waiting staff where nice enough but if I may say a little scruffy in those horrible black screen printed T.shirts. Would I go again? yes of course it's ideal and the breakie sets you up for all that sight seeing after. I love the area around Smithfields and SOS fits in well and I can't wait to go back again.
To sum up if people are queing up to get in for breakfast then they must be doing something right!!!

There can be few more pleasurable ways to spend a leisurely summer Sunday lunch, than on the balcony of the top floor of Smiths of Smithfield.

It was a beautiful day and the ability to sit outside under the awnings provided a very relaxed and enjoyable location for lunch. The food was excellent. I am not sure what has been happening recently in the kitchens there but, on this occasion, the food was much better than we have enjoyed on previous visits. My eggs benedict to start with was very well presented and the egg poached to perfection. My friends had the smoked eel and the calamari as their starters and similar comments of satisfaction were expressed.

A very good bottle of Gigondas, sensibly priced, accompanied our meal.

For the main course I thoroughly enjoyed my roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, my friends had the roast lamb and the lobster. The meal and the accompanying vegetables were will cooked and seasoned, with no evidence of the ‘over seasoning’ that can sometimes happen at Smiths of Smithfield.

I declined the desert but I gather, from the appreciative comments, that the creme brulee and the tarte au citron were excellent.

To top off the occasion spendidly we were served by a waitress, who we learned is from Sydney. She was attentive without being intrusive and certainly added value to the selection of both the food and the wine. Smith's are to be complimented on securing her services and she is certainly very skilled and competent in providing a high standard of customer service. Regardless of the food, good service is often a reason for returning, or not returning, to a particular restaurant. On the evidence of our last experience we shall return.

We went there last night and after reading some of these reviews was expecting to be disappointed but were pleasantly surprised. The girl that served us was really attentive, but not intrusive, very friendly – as were the other waiting staff. The food was excellent and we had a really lovely time. Would definitely go back and recommend it to others.

I love watching Masterchef, but I fear John Torode is appearing in the wrong cookery program. He might be better suited to appear as a victim in an episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. It would be great to see Gordon in action here, saving SOS from any further decline.

We had an early table, it was busy and atmosphere was buzzy. You go to SOS for a good steak – you would hope that being located in Smithfield Meat Market, this would be the case. No starters, just looking forward to a really well cooked steak and chips. The food arrived incredibly fast, which always worries me. The waiter presented us with our food which looked pretty appetizing along with a small pot of bernaise sauce and promptly turned on his heel and left the table. Is it just me, or is it reasonably standard to be asked if we would like any other other condiments to accompany a steak? Hoping he would return and without disrupting the flow of conversation with my friend, I waited for him to return. He didn't.

The steak was very average, too grey, chewy and not really of great quality – I didn't enjoy it. The chips were anemic, bland and slightly undercooked, the bernaise not enough to compensate for lack of any other condiment. Our lovely waiter returned to clear our plates clearly not bothered if we enjoyed our meal – if he was, he didn't ask. Two mid priced bottles of red (another friend had joined us) and two cheese plates later we were told that it was time for us to vacate our table…

“Oh we were just thinking about ordering another drink – would it be possible for you to see if there is any space downstairs to relocate before we moved? ”

“No, we don't deal with the other parts of the restaurant on the other floors.” The bill was slapped on the table.

We paid it (including wine nearly £60 each) and left via a visit to the Ladies Room.

First cubicle – out of order.
Second and third cubicle – light bulbs out and pitch dark.
Fourth cubicle – light bulb on highlighting the wet floor and loo roll which had fallen out of it's holder onto said wet floor.
Fifth cubicle – just about acceptable.
Sinks – one of taps in industrial style sink covered in black bin liner and finally, no soap.

Three words… SOS!

I've been a regular to the top and second floor of Smith's for years. Reecently however the food on the second floor in particular has gone downhill. Last week my squid was almost ediable because it was so salty, the chips tasted like then'd be frozen and defrosted a few times before being cooked. Several other regulars I have said they'd noticed a similar decline. Perhaps John Thorode is spending too much time judging the quality of apsiring MasterChef's food when his kitchen is in need of a bit of a Ramsay's kitchen nightmare overhaul

I dined at the Top Floor restaurant with a party of six on a busy Friday night service. The dining room is noisy and it was hard to hold a normal conversation above the invasive din. 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.

I opted for the Dorset crab on toast as a starter. One third of the toast was burnt, literally black, and turned upside down in the hope that I wouldn't notice, as if the chef thought I had no taste buds. 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 might have had.

For a main I chose the Hereford rump, pan-fried with a béarnaise sauce. The steak was perfectly cooked (medium rare, as it should be) 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. I wouldn't expect that in a greasy spoon, let alone here. Prices are way too expensive for the low quality of service and cooking they currently offer. Sorry John, you need to get out the bull whip!