Smollensky’s

While in London, I walked by this place every single day. It’s right next to Canary Wharf station so it’s in a high traffic area… There’s outdoor seating, but I opted for the indoor one at a high top right before the tube Strike started. Great luck right? Only in london for a week and there’s a strike. but anyways I ordered my drink at the bar and then grabbed a seat. It was a very chill atmosphere, i didn’t feel too awkward sitting alone as i was waiting for my friend to get off work. The cosmo here is great! Wish it was happy hour when I was there, but i was a bit early. i believe it starts at 5−7pm.

It’s an excellent outdoor space — when the weather is nice, it’s great to sit outside, watch bankers going by and enjoy your meal. I had a chicken & bacon salad for lunch here — it cost me £9.50 — which for Canary Wharf is pretty normal…
The service was quick & friendly, as you’d expect from a place in the middle of business district.
I went here for drinks previously and that was nice too. It’s just not ‘whoa’, there is nothing ‘whoa’ about this place — just nice, concise and good space.

Good place for after work drinks. Food is pretty good. If the sun is shining they have outdoor place to sit. If you are looking for a casual place for a drink during the week with the «suits» this is the place

Completely unacceptable food and service.
I was served a cottage pie with beef and pork mince that had pink bits all through it. When I brought this to the attention of the server, he tried to tell me that this is normal. This is absolutely not normal. Steak is acceptable pink (rare) because the cut of meat is such that the internal portions that remain pink have no exposure to air prior to cooking. Mince, conversely, must be cooked til the pink is out or nearly so because the processing part of creating mince exposes the meat to air and bacteria.
The server took the pie back, stuck it in the oven at very high heat for 5 minutes, and then returned it, STILL PINK.
Obviously I didn’t eat this. When my full plate was taken away, not even an inquiry as to whether I wanted a replacement meal or an offer to take the dish off the bill.
Never in my life such poor quality of food and service, let alone from a restaurant serving in a professional area. Will not return, nor recommend to my work colleagues.

Walked day on a beautiful sunny day in Canary Warf and decided a much deserved drink was in order. Just so happened they had buy one get one on cocktails. I ended up getting a mojito or two which were the best mojitos I’ve ever had. The crushed iced was the icing on the cake. I love that there is ample outdoor seating. The bar man was a rockstar, flipping bottles and all. Would definitely go back for a bit of grub!

I actually hate this place.
I’ve been here twice. The first time I was looking for some friends, I walked in struggled through a seething mass of city types squeezed in to the few metres wide bar defending my ears against the thumping dance music. I left as soon as I could find a path to the door.
I’ve avoided it since, until last night when my girlfriend told me she was meeting a friend there and I met them a little later. It was not quite as bad as I remembered but it was still overly loud and full of shiny suited city boys. We left after they finished their drinks.
I can’t comment on food or drinks as I’ve never stayed long enough to order one.

Food was really good but the service could have been better considering the size of the crowd.
The meal had really great quality to value

Very expensive, noisy, and far too busy. Not the best place for a relaxing drink, but you’re in with all the rowdy suited bankers on a Thursday or Friday night

I’m guessing the name «Smollensky’s» is a play on the name of a chain of respected steakhouses in the States called «Smith & Wollensky’s». It was on the assumption that they would serve steak that we had decided to stumble in on a sunny Saturday.
They don’t serve steak.
But they do serve well crafted baguette and chicken sandwiches. Seldom would I applaud, much less care to review, an establishment that serves no red meat. This place deserves an exception.
The sausage artisan baguette: Bread is wheat-​based and is definitely made same day. The sausage was like that of bangers. Total dude entrée.
Cajun chicken burger: Never thought I’d ever order anything like such outside of Carl’s Jr but it was worth mentioning that the kitchen managed to keep the chicken breasts moist (in itself a herculean task) and was served with thin skin-​on fries (a rarity in UK). Each of these are below GBP 7.00, a bargain in these parts.
Cocktails are half priced (a standing 2-​for-​1 offer) and a free bottle of prosecco on your birthday provided you’ve signed up to their promotions list.

Overpriced and noisy. Only redeeming feature is its proximity to the tube which makes it easy to get home.

This is a good place on a Friday evening in Canary Wharf. Depending on what music you like! Its loud but if you’re up for it you can have a little dance which is nice as the music is fun ranging from Amy Winehouse to Bob Marley! Until about 10.30pm when it turns into dance music. To be fair I always leave at this point as its not really my thing but its pretty fun up to then. The bar staff are friendly and kind. Never eaten here but the food looks nice!
The place is SO over priced though!

Yes this bar is nice. Pretty good cocktails too. But there are a feel things that let it down for me.
Firstly, those bar stools. I know moaning about bar stools seems picky, but unless you work in Canary Wharf and can get here at lunchtime and not leave, you’re never going to get a table seat. so instead you’re sat on one of those seats that you permentanlty think you’re going to fall off. Slippy, wrong height and generally just make any enjoyment you might have dissappear. Impossible to relax while you’re clinging on for dear life.
Plus, they really need to turn the music down. I know that makes me sound old. But, I firmly believe if you’re not going to dance (and you aren’t in here) then there’s no point playing the music like you’re in a nightclub. What’s the point? Sometimes they get it right, but if it’s too loud, I leave. If i can’t have a conversation with my friends, and I’m falling of my chair before I’ve even ordered, that’s not a good start, is it?
Shame, as the location is great, the staff are nice and the cocktails are pretty good. Maybe I should come back in the summer and sit outside.

Haven’t been here since a lot of the major layoffs in Canary Wharf, so I don’t know how much the vibe has changed, but when I lived nearby I relished coming here for its «New York» city feel; with its efficient layout, sleek right-​angles, and wall of glass, I felt as if I could easily be dining in some swank restaurant in Manhattan’s financial district… which is exactly the experience Smollensky’s is trying to deliver — and they’re pretty on target…
So when I wasn’t checking out the throngs of men in suits surrounding me, I was noshing on a tangy vegetarian salad and feeling nostalgic about American cities… probably sipping on a vodka tonic and happily listening to the loud exuberance of the many Yankies yammering away around me.
The service here is good… and the manager is a sweetheart… he’s pleasantly dealt with more than one of my special requests… and instead of punishing me for it with a British eyeroll — once brought me a complimentary glass of dessert wine so that I could give him my opinion about it.
If you’re here for the true American dining experience — don’t skip dessert… order the chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge… then perhaps you’ll understand why it’s a staple on almost every menu in the US!

I’ve seen a lot of bad reviews for this place elsewhere on the internet, but I didn’t have a bad experience when I went here for my birthday in 2008. In fact, the opposite was true.
Granted the food was expensive, but I was expecting that. Considering what we got it was well worth it.
We went on a Sunday afternoon at sunset (around 4 pm), and there was literally no one else in the place. We got undivided attention from our very good waiter, who made sure our food came out at the right times.
We didn’t bother with a starter and I ordered a large Scottish steak, which arrived cooked exactly how I requested (medium rare). It was moist, tender, and delicious. My partner had a burger, which was cooked as he requested and served without salad or sauce, also as he requested. We enjoyed the chips as well.
But dessert really was the crowning point as we decided to go for something a bit unusual and got a sort of chocolate molasses pie. It was utterly heavenly and well worth every penny we paid for the whole meal.
I think ultimately, if you go at the right time, you’ll get good service and good food. The right time seems to be early on a Sunday evening.

If you are looking for somewhere nice to meet someone for a drink, then you could do worse than suggest smollenskys. Especially as it is so easy to find as soon as you come out of the station.
I had a nice meal here a while back, and couldn’t really fault the the staff or service. That said, we were there on a week night when it wasn’t busy at all. It would have been pretty poor if we hadn’t have received good attention because there were only a few other tables full at the same time. The food was lovely, I can reccommend the steak and the dessert list looked great. However it did seem a bit pricey. I know it’s canary wharf and we’re in london, but the bill was a little bit more than what i would have expected. Still worth a shot.

This is a nice little place right in the middle of all the offices. Evenings become quiet pleasant, and you have the option of taking ur drinks glass, and walk upto the docks, or sit in open-​air, or on a couch inside. Music and crowd is great !

Smollensky’s is probably the first thing you see when you get out of canary wharf station so its a good place for a meeting point for friends. best to visit during the day for a nice drink.
not too pricey but i found the staff very busy and rushed they didnt put there full effort into serving so we decided to leave!

The food is generally good and certainly better than most at Canary Wharf.
The service was reasonably attentive although we found it unacceptable that having made a booking we should then be asked to leave our table after only an hour (!) and while we were still drinking our coffee
Finally when will restaurants learn that adding service and then leaving the bill is treating your clients with contempt?
It is a shame that good food should be undermined by poor management.

Smollensky’s is more an easy place to find in Canary Wharf rather than an ultimate destination. Its right next to the tube station by the 12 clocks and on Reuter’s Square. On a fine day there’s some useful tables outside but the fill fast. And inside theres some perchy tables along by the bar.
The place gets rammed in the evenings as the various skyscraper office blocks empty. It plays music pretty loud too, which creates energy but is probably also aimed to ensure urgency and turnover.
After a spell in this bar, its worth venturing further afield in Canary Wharf to some of the other quieter bars. Great people watching spot or for one drink after work.