Smith's of Wapping — Restaurant in London

This is my 'angry review' of The Smith restaurant. Why 3 stars? Read and find out.

My wife and I wanted to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We could have gone to any restaurant in London, but decided to stay local.

I happen to know one of the pianists at The Smith, "Michele," so he arranged it all for me. He said "I'll get you the best table," I answered, "I don't need the best table, just one by the window."

We arrived for dinner; it was on a Monday, 7pm. As l was saying hello to Michele, my wife was accompanied to our table. Seconds later she was back as we had been given a 'plain table right by the kitchen' (!).

l immediately talked to the manager of the restaurant who happened to be just there by the piano. We were offered another table in the middle. All the tables by the window were taken. I wasn't happy, but l tried not to show it as l didn't want to ruin our special celebration.

To add insult to injury, the manager told me the tables by the window were for 4 people. This comment almost had me going, because l would happily had paid for 4 or 6 people just to have the table my wife wanted for our special dinner. Luckily, I managed to control my emotions and stay calm, even though I was starting to boil in the inside.

Once at the table, my wife and l changed seats as we feared someone would bump into her as everyone seemed to be passing by her side (again, the table was right in the middle). Thanks god we did because I had a waiter hitting me with a tray right on my left shoulder. Luckily no food/drinks fell on any of us.

When it comes to the food, we both enjoyed our dinner, except for the dessert we ordered which was simply plain bad. In any case, I thank the restaurant for the "happy anniversary" dish they used for it (look at the attached pictures). One star here.

The service was attentive and polite and our waiter did everything he could to make our night pleasant. One star here.

If you like piano music and you can distinguish between a good pianist and a very good one, go and listen to Michele's music and judge for yourself. Say hello to him and ask him for any song (new or old) you fancy. If he doesn't know it by heart, he'll look for it online and play it immediately after you are back at your table.

All in all, my wife and l had a good time, but because we both are good at managing our emotions and trying to make the best of any given situation. The night didn't start as we had envisioned, but we moved on.

Now, I have to warn you: If you, like me, like to celebrate very special dates, then l would recommend you to find a different restaurant: one where they care about your special date as much as you do and make sure everything goes as it should.

However, if you just want to have a pleasant dinner and don't care where you are seated, then, as much as l'm annoyed about what happened to us, I still recommend you this place as it's a nice one and the food and...

I had dinner here yesterday, with a great friend of mine, to celebrate his birthday and I don't think he could have picked up any better place for such special occasion. Would give 6 stars if I could! And here's why:

Impecable service, from a warm welcome by the staff, the moment you walk in, to the extremely polite and pleasant waiters who took care of our experience throughout. The atmosphere is lovely. Tables are arranged in a way that everyone can enjoy beautiful views of Tower Bridge and London iconic skyscrapers by night. The room isn't loud - you can easily have a conversation without having to scream, and there is no such staff-running-around vibes. Waiters KNOW the menu in detail and are made aware - in advance - of any special requests made upon reservation. For diners with food Intolerances like myself - believe me - this makes you feel welcome, well taken care of, and reassured that every recommendation made on the menu is taking your needs into account - it's PARADISE. Excellent menu options, from the couvert to the desserts, as well as the wide wine list. The quality and freshness of the ingredients, as well as cooking skill, are perceived immediately. We ordered the Halibut and the Salmon fillets, both seasoned and cooked to perfection, beautifully presented, paired with lovely velvety sauces, and served WARM (although this may sound obvious, is def not a #1 rule in most restaurants). The entire course was served on impecable timing. You don't feel like you've waited too long for any dish and, even more important, they don't rush you to make your choices, finish your plates or leave (such as bringing the bill before it's been asked for - which I always find extremely rude). All dishes were definitely worth the price! For the record, it is not outrageous - 100% in line with other venues in the same standard around London. Most dishes can be made gluten / dairy free as well - at no extra charge - which is worth mentioning.

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for an incredible dining experience. Overall, it is perfectly suitable for special occasions - friends, family, couples - or for those days when you just want to treat yourself with incredibly tasty food and not worry about a thing.

Thank you very much for everyone involved! We'll definitely be...

We were a party of four (two couples) and for my wife and I this was not our first visit. Greeted on arrival for our lunch booking at 2pm. The restaurant was very busy, as it has been on all our previous visits. Our table was not quite ready but we were happy to sit in the bar area and have a drink.

Shown to our table by a window, what is really nice is that the tables are large and well spaced out. Immediately offered water and asked if we would like another drink or wine. Bread followed shortly afterwards.

Between us we ordered calimari, soft shell crab and sashimi to start and for the main courses it was lemon sole, roasted shellfish and the Smith's Special hake with a parmesan crust. Absolutely perfect in all respects. This was accompanied by chips (probably the best we've ever had), leeks, seasonal vegetables and spinach. Worth mentioning that the food when served is always piping hot which for me is a definite plus.

Three of us were lucky enough to each be equipped with a "pudding stomach" so we ended with lemon posset, steamed raspberry sponge with custard and strawberries & cream.

Service throughout from front of house team through the bar to the restaurant was impeccable. Extremely efficient and helpful.

So if it's that good why did I not award 5-stars across the board? This must be our fifth or sixth visit to Smiths of Wapping but the first time we'd booked for lunch on a Thursday and for 2pm which was relatively late, last bookings are for 2:30pm.

It was rather noisy, not surprising as every table was occupied but one adjacent table had six "chaps" who were enjoying themselves immensely. Maybe a lunch on their last working day of the week before WFH on Friday and Monday? Lots of loud laughter. Not rude or raucous just loud.

If you want a quieter lunch possibly best to avoid booking late on a Thursday.

The food has always been wonderful as has the service. We will be...