Smithy's Wine Bar & Restaurant

Smithy's – Bar and Restraurant ‘with yummy food’ it used to be ‘an old stable’ hence the name 'Smithy's' replacing shoes for Shire Horses way back in it's day! I nice surprise to eat, drink and be merry in the middle of the hussle and bussle of the Big Smoke…! I'm always charmed by the fact it's hidden away down cobbled street nr Kings Cross, and make a bee line to visit this Restaurant when in London, I find the food exceptional, as a vegetarian I have never been disappointed yet! and served by friendly staff, (always a plus) Love the look of the place and trappings of a by-gone-era; It's such a delight to be somewhere warm and welcoming and not pretentious… I highly recommend a visit and enjoy the surroundings whilst eating a good hearty meal made by great chef's.

We booked a table larger than 10 people, but because it was near to christmas they made us pre-order our food a month in advance. When we arrived there were only two other tables except for us so seemed pointless that we had to order so far in advance – this also meant that everyone forgot what they ordered anyway and made everything confusing. Even though it felt almost empty in the restaurant we felt like we were rushed to eat and leave. One of the guests even had a waitress standing over him waiting to collect his plate before he had finished his starter!! Because the starter and mains came so closely together we had to ask for a break between the mains and dessert rather than stuff ourselves with 3 courses in a timescale of something like 40 mins. When the desserts did arrive they were cold (the chocolate cake was supposed to be warm), so we had the impression they were made when we were eating the mains and had been sitting out and getting cold when we had a break. The service was poor, the waitresses were not particularly pleasant, they didnt ask us if we wanted drinks for the meal and we had to chase down a waitress to order wine. When we settled the bill our party split the bill, we all put in an equal amount roughly split between us. Bear in mind there is an ‘optional service charge’ that was included – when all the payment was arranged, the waitress had the gall to come back ask for more money as we didnt pay the full service charge! The only saving grace was that the food wasnt really really bad – it was just ok. But for the price… Lets say, i'll never go back there again and i'll never recommend anyone else to go there either. £500+ could have been better spent elsewhere.

Went to Smithys last night, which is hidden away from the main hub of Kings Cross. The restaurant/bar itself is lovely, all wooden panelling and dark veneers. with a great selection of wine and spirits in a very relaxed and convivial atmosphere. Unfortunately however, that was as good as it got. Three of us ordered the rib-eye steak, and what appeared for almost £20 was nothing short of a disgrace. The meat was the cheapest cut i've ever seen, extremely tough, full of gristle and chewy beyond belief. In short, it would not even have massed muster in a Wetherspoons pub! Unsurprisingly we sent all three back immediately, and expected that it was a on-off. We were wrong. The owner then appeared and disdainfully explained to us that there was nothing wrong with what we'd been served and that all of the steak was cut that way. There was no point in serving us an alternative either, as it would be the same. Now, I have eaten steak all around the world and i can honestly say that it was the poorest i've ever been served and probably the worst value for money. The owner then proceeded tell us that we did not have a clue what we were talking about, had never had a complaint in 5 years and that I did not look like I had enough experience to complain about what i was served! It was unbelievably patronising, and all really quite surreal. In fact, i thought she had to be joking. Our party of six, sat there for a full 2 minutes almost completely speechless. I have never experienced anything like this in 20 years of eating out, and hope i never do again. The arrogance and supercilious attitude of the owner beggared belief. Clearly the adage in Smithys is that the customer is never right ! Needless to say, we refused to pay for the food, paid for our wine, (which was very good) and high-tailed it to the nearby St Chad's which was excellent. All in all, a very unedifying experience and a real shame, because the location is a real gem.