Smith and Wollensky Review
Having seen pictures of Smith and Wollensky’s 1kg 28 Day Dry-Aged Tomahawk on instagram, I knew ONIN.London must visit here. Smith and Wollensky is stated as the best steak restaurant in London, though we’d have to say if there’s something better than best… Smith and Wollensky is certainly it.
Smith and Wollensky was created in 1977 and their first restaurant opened in New York the same year. A number of boutique collection of restuants sprung up in 9 other iconic locations around the US, however, is limited to one restaurant per city. This is due to wanting to maintain their integrity and high standards. In June 2015, Smith and Wollensky opened their first restaurant outside of the US in the landmark Adelphi Building here in London.
For starters we shared the Seared Chilli & Garlic Shrimp and the Hand-Dived Scottish Scallops with Garlic & Parsley Butter. The Scallops melted in our mouths and we tried to savour every bite.
We were incredibly spoiled during our wait for our mains as we were given a tour throughout the restaurant, including the kitchen, butchery and aging room. It was incredibly interesting learning about how Smith and Wollensky’s steaks are USDA Prime, dry-aged and butchered on-site. This makes them the only steakhouse in London which offers a cut of meat that combines all three.There is also a number of British and Irish cuts and premium seafood together with locally-sourced ingredients from the very best UK suppliers. It was also good to learn that whether you like your steak cooked rare or well-done, if the quality of steak is high – taste and flavour will never be comprised.
Both my friend and are at opposite ends of the steak spectrum. She prefers Medium Rare where as I prefer my steak Medium Well, so it was suggested we try the USDA Fillets. As this is my favourite cut of steak, I can say I was incredibly excited. When it arrived with the Peppercorn Sauce, both my friend and I nearly forgot about the Sautéed or Steamed Spinach and Truffled Mac ‘n’ Cheese we ordered with it. The steak was that perfect. After our first bite, my friend declared that she thought she was going to cry because she was in heaven. (So now I know I need to find a guy who will stare at me the same way my friend was staring at that steak). My Medium Well steak was impeccable. The almost caramelised crust of the outside was the perfect compliment to the juicy tender insides. Plus cutting into both steaks was like cutting butter. The knife just slid through them… not always an easy task when you prefer your steak closer to well-done. Both steaks, almost didn’t need the peppercorn sauce due to how flavoursome they were without it. Though with the peppercorn sauce… they were a revelation of flavour.
During our tour of the kitchen we were shown the slices of the Gigantic Chocolate Cake. This Moist five layer chocolate cake is brushed with Baileys Irish Cream, chocolate mousse and covered with dark chocolate ganach. It looked absolutely divine and is perfect for sharing as its meant for 2-4 people. Seriously it’s massive. Knowing we couldn’t fit it in after our amazing dinner, we opted instead to have the New York Style Cheesecake and Mini Doughnuts with chocolate & salted caramel sauce for dessert. Both desserts were delicious, but I will be visiting again to try that chocolate cake!
We had an amazing evening and we can’t thank the staff enough for their impeccable service which was obviously a standard throughout the restaurant.
Smith and Wollensky also have a lovely pre or after theatre menu to choose from alongside the dinner menu. We know we’ll be back as we haven’t stopped talking about it since we visited.
