BANGKOK RESTAURANT

Smith

An elegant industial theme and hearty comfort food with a twist. 

4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Set in a former furniture warehouse, Smith is decked out in an elegant industrial theme, with bare cement walls lined with tools and furniture made of roughly hewn wood. The venue also features a garden with a barbecue area. Chef Peter Pitakwong focuses on locally-sourced, fresh ingredients, meats, fish and comfort dishes. Among the must-try dishes are slow-roasted lamb ribs with coffee spice rub and the tuna with braised pig’s tail. You can also find craft beers, wines and solid cocktails.

Smith gets its name for its focus on craft, as in “blacksmith,” which in the food world, translates to that whole nose-to-tail trend about eating calf tongue and pig’s trotters. Throw in an industrial chic décor (corrugated steel façade, a scattering of old tools and unadorned loft-style ceilings), the uber-cool Hyde & Seek team (Chef Peter Pitakwong, star chef Ian Kittichai and Flow mixologist Chanond Purananda), and you’ve got an achingly, almost annoyingly, fashionable venue—they don’t even have a sign outside! The hype, compounded with some growing pains, which saw the usual kitchen and service hiccups in the early days, managed to alienate a few people. We feel they’re missing out, though. Smith’s service is now smiling, fast and attentive. And the food, much of it geared towards carnivores, is pure Kittichai: familiar dishes we love with subtle, fun, details to refresh and reinvigorate them. The beef tartar (B250) comes with a soft-boiled egg, crunchy tempura-like capers and garden flowers. The crispy toast and apple notes (cider vinegar, fresh apple) of the head cheese (B280) terrine are a delight. The simple hanger steak (B790) is bursting with flavor, accompanied by lovely mini-veggies, and came cooked just the way we ordered it: rare. On occasion, it doesn’t all come together quite so perfectly, such as the sausage pie (B310), where the promised harissa is undetectable and the honey-glazed veggies have added their glaze to the sauce, excessively sweetening the whole dish. Also, portion sizes can be a tad uneven, a similar grumble to Kittichai’s Issaya, but overall it feels just about right if you want a three-course meal—and given how good the desserts (B180-220) are, we do recommend you go whole hog. Note that there are also craft beers from Beervana (from B280), the aforementioned cocktail talent (from B280) and a solid wine list with most options in the B1,400-1,700 range. The only downside to comfort food is that it’s a tad safe, even with the creative flourishes. (Maybe the chef’s table, upstairs, is a bit bolder, but we haven’t tried it.) But what Smith does, it does very well, in a handsome (if slightly trendy) décor, with a good crew of servers and a crowd of beautiful people. Corkage B500 (wines); B1,000 (liquors).

Venue Details
Address: Smith, 1/8 Sukhumvit Soi 49, Bangkok, Thailand
Phone: 02-261-0515, 02-261-0516
Website: www.smith-restaurant.com
Area: Phrom Phong
Cuisine: International, Western
Price Range: BBBB
Open since: June, 2012
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 4-10:30pm; Sun 10am-10:30pm
Alfresco, Reservation recommended, Parking available
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