Return to Smith & Wollensky

Last Updated on : 15th August 2023

I was recently the unfortunate recipient of a birthday. It wasn’t a landmark one, or even particularly noteworthy. The combined weight of its consistent numbers was enough however to depress the perkiest of spirits.

One of my oldest friends (therefore about the same age as me,) was determined to cheer me up, and knowing my love of steak suggested an evening at London’s most American of steakhouses, Smith & Wollensky. I’ve been before of course, and in fact written about it before on these pages…that was however pre pandemic, and I thought it would be interesting to see how whether this most ritzy of institutions had succumbed to the general malaise that seems to have infected so much since Covid.

First impressions were good, the brass and floors were polished, as was the welcome. Relaxing sounds of liquid and ice dancing within Boston shakers emanated from the bar, whilst the menu continued practising shock therapy on those of use suffering from a sensitive wallet.

We were seating at a pleasant table at the heart of the upstairs dining room. This was less busy than I’d seen it previously, a condition that our charming waitress put down to the time of year, more than the state of the economy.

Smith & Wollensky serves two types of steak, USDA which they describe as being softer, butterier in texture combined with a smoother flavour and Irish which is grainier with a flavour more redolent of the green grass of the emerald isle.

The steaks are available in cuts to enjoy on your own or to share, with prices ranging from the merely concerning to the downright terrifying (£30-£150.) Our waitress was happily singing the praises of the Cote de Boeuf weighing in at 850 grams and £150. This was rather rich for our blood and so we settled for the budget bone in Ribeye at a mere 600 grams and £90.

 

To accompany we agreed on some French fries, mixed vegetables and sauteed spinach. This was washed down with sort of Malbec that other Malbecs would like to be when they grow up.

Now I don’t know whether it is ever worth spending this much on a steak, but I can say as the evenings main attraction it certainly put in an award-winning performance. Buttery and flavourful as promised, the portion size was enough to leave you satisfied without being over full,

Of course, you can have things other than steak, I have heard people speak highly of the burger, the lamb rump and especially (the expensive in its own right,) shellfish. To me though this seems a bit like having a coffee in a wine bar, plenty of people do it, but I’m not going to be one of them.

Like the starters we skipped over the hearty looking desserts and fortified ourselves against the August cold with Irish coffees (£11.) These seemed to be more parts Irish than coffee, which was good as we were anesthetized against the shock of the bill when it came, and my companion very generously decided to pick up.

I felt that the food and service were better than they had been a couple of years earlier. The only negative was that even here you could spot a trend for instagrammable dishes (in this case the hanging Tomahawk.) Now if I could only find another friend to take me back.

www.smithandwollensky.com

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