Smoke & Salt — Restaurant in London

Divided opinions - at our table of four, some loved the food and found the service lacking while others thought the service great but the food quite average.

Service - Our friends who arrived 5 minutes early (and didn't make the booking) were chased by the waitress multiple times when we were arriving. She had our booking time wrong (thinking we were 10 minutes late instead of 5 minutes early) and made the start of the dinner uncomfortable for our friends. Her reason for rushing them was that "latecomers confuse the chefs" which we found odd as there was no guarantee we would have chosen the Tasting Menu. Throughout the evening the waitress was also quite curt when explaining food and drinks - and service overall did not leave us with a good experience. It wasn't until we left that our friends told us that they were being told off for being late for our booking and I wish I knew so we could have cleared it at the start and shown proof of the booking time on email.

Food - Not for the faint hearted. The flavours on the Tasting Menu changed drastically with every dish. You start off with some lovely warm bread and special butter. Then move on to a Mediterranean dish, then a heavily curried dish, then a mild European smoked dish followed by a sorbet and mousse pudding. It was a wild ride - which I loved, but others in the group not so much. As avid Tasting Menu fans (we've had 4 in the last 3 weeks alone) this is the first place I've seen my partner not eat 2 out of 6 dishes.

Glad we managed to try this Tasting Menu, which was both fairly priced and generously portioned, but we would probably not rush to...

Been here twice so far and each time had a lovely time. I have never had an issue with the service. Each time it was really good. My husband has a chilli allergy which many restaurants struggle with but they have been able to guide us through what could be ordered very well each time.

The food here is good, tapas style dishes which is fun. First time we did tasting menu and second time we did a la carte. I think the first time when we added up costs of dishes of tasting menu we realized that it was not saving you much money. So the food is beautifully presented and well I find that the dishes were hit and miss. There were some great ones and some that were meh. Which is why I am giving this place 4*. Last night when we went the dish which we hoping was the star of the show the wagyu beef dish was our least favourite. We did let the waitress know what our issue with the dish was so hopefully in the future people who order it don't have a dish that falls short.

Turns out the star of the show were the grilled spring onions. The trout dish needed some lemon to make it sing. Luckily we had limes as garnish in our cocktail that we could use that helped elevate the dish.

The cocktails were also really good- worth trying if you go.

As I am local I will return on nights I feel like having a treat and I...

We’d been meaning to visit for a while but have young kids so finally managed it. Lovely setting. Food was middle of the rd (at best… very confused flavours!) but service was dreadful. Rushed, frantic, short.

We really enjoyed the wine pairing. The food was very lacklustre apart from the namalaka which was executed very well. Some genuine technical errors (Cold grilled elements, crunchy turmeric fudge etc etc) but also just some bad ideas - blue cheese and chimichurri are both some of my fave things but together?! Get the thing with spicy sauce on chicken and blue cheese but churri IN the blue cheese?! Just the last straw in bad flavours.

What ruined it for us was the service. Completely all over the board food and no change of cutlery or plates. Don’t mind (and like!) sharing plate style but using the same plates and cutlery for spicy and delicate dishes is either downright lazy or in thoughtful. We finally just asked for a change. Every course served was brief and rude and rushed. First plates were very rushed. Even when restaurant slowed right down to two tables still terse and brief. Not enjoyable.

We were recommended from friends. Food pics a year ago look like a ridiculously diff standard.

Wouldn’t recommend. Sorry. I know how tough it is out there but this is not a £200+...