Smiths of Smithfield

Smiths of Smithfield takes its name and its steaks from the market next door, split across four floors that go from casual bar to a genuine destination grill room, and the building itself does almost as much work as the menu in explaining what the restaurant is for.

This used to be a working part of the meat market’s cold-storage infrastructure, and rather than sand that history down into a generic “industrial-chic” fit-out, the restaurant has largely let the bones of the building stay visible — exposed brick, old iron, a sense that the room existed for a purpose before it existed for dinner.

Few restaurants can claim their proximity to a source ingredient as literally as this one can, and this review’s 4-star rating rests on whether the cooking upstairs actually lives up to that claim rather than just the building’s history.

The Room

Four floors, each with a distinct register: a casual ground-floor bar and cafe that serves market traders and passing City workers alike, a mid-level dining room for a straightforward dinner, and — the actual destination — a top-floor grill room with windows looking directly down over Smithfield Market itself.

The climb up is worth it specifically for that top floor, where the room quietens, the tables are properly spaced, and the view does something no amount of interior design elsewhere in London could replicate: you’re eating steak with a direct sightline to roughly where it came from.

Go later in the evening if you want the top floor at its best, once the market below has gone dark and the room takes on a slightly different, more atmospheric character.

What to Order

The dry-aged steaks are the reason to be here, sourced from the market next door and aged with real seriousness rather than as a marketing line — ask what’s been hung longest and take the recommendation. The Sunday roast is worth timing a visit around if your schedule allows it, a proper slow, generous version rather than a scaled-down weekday menu with gravy added.

For the full experience, the multi-course Grill tasting menu walks through several cuts and preparations in sequence, and it’s the right choice if you want the kitchen to make the decisions rather than working through the à la carte list yourself.

The Drinks List

A serious, red-heavy wine list on the top floor, chosen specifically to stand up to the char and fat of a proper dry-aged steak rather than to impress on the page — expect depth in Rioja, Argentine Malbec, and Northern Rhône Syrah alongside the more expected Bordeaux. Downstairs, the list is shorter and more casual, built for a quick glass with a market-hours lunch rather than a full evening’s pairing.

What You Will Pay

A standard dinner runs to around £45–70 per person, which for London steakhouse pricing and a market-fresh cut is genuinely fair. The full Grill tasting menu is the bigger commitment, at roughly £110 per person before drinks, and closer to £160 with the dedicated wine pairing added — a proper occasion price, but one that includes several courses and cuts rather than a single steak alone.

The Verdict

Go to the top floor for the view and, ideally, the tasting menu — that’s the version of Smiths worth planning an evening around. The ground floor works perfectly well for a quicker, cheaper steak if you’re passing through rather than making a night of it, and there’s no shame in choosing that option on a weeknight.

Booking ahead for the top floor matters more than it might for a restaurant without the view attached — the good window tables go quickly, and turning up without a reservation on a Friday evening is a genuine gamble.

What’s Being Said

A steakhouse literally built on top of the market it sources from — the geography does real work here, not just the branding. It would be easy for a restaurant with this much history and this good a view to coast on both; instead, the kitchen upstairs earns its place in the room rather than simply borrowing the scenery.