Bird of Smithfield (Closed)

Address: 26 Smithfield Street , London, EC1A 9LB, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7559 5100
Website: view Bird of Smithfield (Closed)’s website
Door: Open door
Style: Lounge bar
Food: Set menu

Review

Bird of Smithfield, moments from the famous meat market, is a multi-faceted, multi-storey site featuring a lounge bar, restaurant, private dining room, fancy event space/club and bijou roof terrace. It opened last week and still smelled brand new.

We started out on ground level, a relaxed café-style ambient room which features a small bar at the back. On this level the seating is casually arranged, small tables and cushioned benches are positioned in front of stacked shelves full of coffee table books. The all-day venue sees doors open at 7:30am but coffee gives way to booze as the day progresses.

A small cocktail menu is sharp and to the point, featuring seven original drinks that pimp classic serves with flavoured foams, home infusions and even a touch of science lab (acid phosphate - it adds a sour 'bite' without the flavours you'd normally associate with citric acid) and some quirky serves.

Service was new-venue friendly on our visit, if a bit frantic as a surfeit of new staff seemed to be becoming accustomed to the site as much as we were. Our rating stands for the moment but there's ample room for improvement once the operation finesses out.