Smithfield Station — Restaurant in Smithfield

Smithfield Station has been one of my top local choices for fine dining for more than a decade. On my most recent visit there, I was very disappointed and unimpressed. They will not take reservations, so I was a little anxious upon driving up to see that the parking lots in front of the restaurant/hotel and across the street were nearly full. This was on a Saturday late afternoon/early evening. I thought that maybe we did not beat the crowd to the restaurant and would be waiting for a table. However, I should have kept in mind that the parking lots are shared with the marina, the hotel, and Windsor Castle Park. There were many empty tables in the restaurant, and we were seated immediately. The ambience of the dining room was unchanged: bright, clean, casual, and nautically themed. Table service was prompt and friendly. I noted that there were few, if any, changes to the menu items from years’ past; however, in keeping with the times, the prices have increased noticeably. Unfortunately, while the prices have gone up, the quality and quantity of the food served and the thought that went into its preparation and plating have gone down considerably. The steamed shrimp ($21.95/lb.) were not deveined and, therefore, were a chore to peel. Furthermore, they were served without finger wipes, so they made for a messy first course. The blackened shrimp and salmon ($27.95) came with a piece of salmon smaller than is served at Ruby Tuesday’s and four medium-sized shrimp. The bearnaise sauce accompanying them was improperly prepared as it was separating on the plate. This never should have left the kitchen! (We also thought that there was too much conflict between the flavors of the blackened seasoning and the bearnaise sauce; that is a matter of taste, but something to consider.) The seafood combination platter ($31.95) came with four medium-small shrimp, four small bay scallops, a moderately sized piece of flounder, and a nicely sized but very bland and mushy crab cake. It came with two of the most tasteless hush puppies I’ve ever eaten, or, in this case, did not want to eat. I would have felt that I was overcharged for this dish even at half the price. I was also dissatisfied that the entrées were served with a choice either a potato or a vegetable, not a potato and vegetable. Again, the portion size of the side dish was small. My conclusion: ambience and the dearth of competition for fine dining in Smithfield will not be enough to keep this restaurant afloat without prompt and significant changes. Pick up your game, Pack family! We can get better meals elsewhere at...

The staff were unpleasant. The lady who served us (Pat) seemed like she didn’t want to be bothered with anything, she seemed like she was in a rush and was grabbing things and slamming things. There were other staff that were talking extremely loud as if there were no guests in the restaurant, even having disagreements with one another. Another staff member was doing something to the booth behind me and had slammed the back of my seat numerous times, again, as if nobody was there. I wanted to leave before even being served simply due to the unprofessional nature of the staff. This was my first time at this restaurant, and my first impression is quite negative. I stayed because I drove all the way from Northern Suffolk/Harbour View area, to give this restaurant a try. My oldest son ordered the cajun pasta, another son ordered the crab patty and my other son ordered the shrimp plate. I ordered their smash burger as the description was rather tempting.

If your staff seems like they are not wanting to be there then understand the cause. Is it that Pat was over-worked that day? Perhaps too many people were being seated in her area? There were other staff that didn’t seem to be as busy, whatever their role was I am not sure. I can’t say why she was this way, however the manager should be aware of the front of the house and the back of the house. They should be able to notice any imbalance and address those moments before everything else goes off-kilter.

As far as the food was concerned: The burgers were good, nothing different from anything else you might have. It wasn’t a “smash burger” but rather two regular burger patties, so the description was a bit off. My son was not able to finish Cajun pasta, after trying to get through it, it just wasn’t up to his taste and said he regretted ordering it as he said it didn’t taste right.

Overall I’d say this was not lived up to the hype as I had hoped it...

My first and only experience at The Restaurant at Smithfield Station was less than satisfactory. My wife and I were celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary and wanted to try somewhere new to us in the area. From the beginning when they said it would be a 30-45 minute wait (which is normal for a good restaurant) but we waited over an hour to be seated. Then after being sat, we were not spoken to for another 15 minutes, no water, no menus, it was not a good impression. We tried to give them the benefit of the doubt as they had a wedding party present which would understandably slow down service. But, the food point blank sucked. We had the crab dip (cold), an apple butter old fashioned (ice melted and tasted like water) and a bone-in ribeye steak that had a) no bone for a bone in ribeye b) no seasoning and c) no Demi glaze. My wife’s drink was good but her Norfolk Combo (which was supposed to have scallops) did not in fact have scallops (apparently this was something the restaurant was out of and knew they were out of but we were never told. Don’t worry though as they still made sure to charge us for something we didn’t get). I paid a lot for a meal that wasn’t really edible. The GM was nice enough. He may be the bright spot of this place. He was running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to serve food, solve other problems, and convince people to come back as we were not the only people having problems tonight. He altered our bill to omit the crab dip and the drink, but we won’t be returning. Save your money and go literally anywhere else. Like for example any of the other restaurants that this group runs that we have been to. (Decoys, Vintage Tavern, Riverstone Chophouse, The Surry Seafood Co.). Just don’t go to...