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.