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Exiting the train at Faringdon station; I’m getting used to the station and it’s surroundings. Popping into London for the day, or even just to attend a social event is becoming a regular occurrence for me, one which I am very much enjoying!
Saturday, the 10th of March was no different, but with a bit more excitement, I was going to be reviewing Bird Of SmithField.
An early birthday celebration I thought to myself as we walked the 5 minutes to the restaurant. Although it’s always somewhere different we rock up to, even Ida is familiar with the station and the hustle and bustle of London life, she eagerly marches ahead even though she has no idea where we’re going!
We push the door open and I’m impressed to know that there is a ramp giving access to the building. Within moments a lovely Lady, clearly front of house welcomes us warmly and invites us to sit at the bar before heading off to dinner.
We politely decline, because we are unsure if our table was booked and on a specific timescale.
She takes us upstairs and introduces us to the restaurant and the staff on the floor.
Oh no I thought, this restaurant is not accessible for wheelchair users or people with limited mobility.
As we entered the restaurant we were greeted kindly by a member of staff who gave us a choice of where we would like to sit and offered to take our coats.
As we took our seats I could tell the lighting was low and overheard a group of people laughing and joking, the 1930s/40s jazz music that was playing complimented the scene and atmosphere.
We were given menus and asked if Ida needed water, we agreed and within a minute a fresh bowl of water was placed in front of her. Being the mucky pup she is, she managed to create a mess, the staff were excellent and said not to worry, they would clean up any spills she made. I also noticed that even though we had interacted with more than 3 members of staff already, not one of them interfered or tried to interact with Ida and spoke to us both warmly, instead of only addressing Grant which does happen a lot when I am out and about.
We were offered water as we peruse the menu, the staff were brilliant, filling both our glasses and being exceptionally aware of Ida and not disturbing her. Grant ordered our starters, mains and desserts in one. When the waitress realised we were both opting for the same pudding, she politely asked if she could suggest an alternative, so Grant changed his.
We were offered fresh homemade sourdough and butter to eat before our food arrived. I opted to try seaweed butter on my sourdough bread and it was lovely. Salty but not overpowering and smelt slightly fishy.
Grant opted to try the unsalted butter claiming that the seaweed butter smelled far too fishy for his liking… Even though he had just ordered two fish dishes!
I’m not sure where his logic was during that moment, but I laughed and enjoyed my sourdough bread regardless.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely and the staff complimented it’s ambience perfectly, asking each individual how their day was going and if they could take their coats? Just because we were here for review purposes, didn’t mean that we were the only ones receiving five star treatment, everyone in the restaurant was getting the same fantastic quality of service.
Starters:
Our starters arrived and we were both impressed with the presentation as well as the taste. I ordered the Country Style Pork Paté which came with Radish, green apple and sorrel, The slices of apple gave a sweet crunch to the pate.
Grant ordered the Beetroot Cured Sea Bass with sea herb tempura, horseradish, turnip and lettuce, the sea bass was perfectly cooked and was beautifully complemented by the tempura. The Horseradish and turnip added an earthy texture to the sweet sea bass.
Maincourse.
I chose the Smoked Chicken , sweetcorn & Tarragon Pie which came with savory cabbage and cauliflower Purée and oh my God was it delicious, the pastry was cooked exactly to my liking, soft but not soggy. The chicken and the sauce was deliciously creamy and I was even more in love when I realised there was a cheese sauce too… I was in heaven! I have literally never tasted pie so good!
Grant’s Pan Fried Fillet of Wild-bass was soft and melted beautifully in your mouth, the lentils were perfectly cooked and completely complimented the fish The Crispy skin of the Wild Bass added a delightful salty taste with a bit of crunch to the lentils and the tenderness of the bass.
Desserts.
I ordered the sticky toffee pudding with a butterscotch drizzle, Vanilla Ice Cream, honeycomb and Almond, this pudding was a pudding to remember: the sponge was soft, but as you bit into it you could taste the sweet crunch of honeycomb, and flakes of almond. What impressed me more was the butterscotch sauce on top which completely sensationalise the pudding, rather than being overly sweet or sickly.
Grant had the vanilla baked pear with Almond financier, Milk Ice cream and white chocolate and although that tasted lovely, it was not a patch on my pudding! In fairness, I am not a fan of cooked fruit, and that could be why. But Grant finished it, so clearly he enjoyed it.
Throughout the entirety of the meal, staff were vigilant at checking in to see if we were enjoying our food, topping up our water and wine, and clearing the table.
We opted for a rose wine, and we were given the taste test. This is to ensure that your wine is not corked and is to your satisfaction. History also suggests that the taste test is a symbol of; the head of the table ensuring the wine is not poisoned… Of course, we had no worry of that!
Our food was presented beautifully, in a very timely manner and in perfect portions. We soaked up the atmosphere, the food and of course the wine! Grant even had a cup of tea after his meal but I didn’t.
We both said more than once during our meal that we would return again, not only for the excellent service, but because the food was absolutely delicious!
We would like to thank Paulo and the rest of the team for hosting us, we thoroughly enjoyed our food and would certainly visit bird Of Smithfield again.
Hospitality: 5/5
From the moment we walked in, until the moment we left every member of staff made us feel completely welcome, relaxed and approachable. They were friendly, chatty, polite, courteous and efficient.
Without hesitation I would recommend everyone to go and experience the restaurant for yourself.
Quality of service 5/5
The restaurant was clean, comfortable cosy and extremely accommodating to my guide dog. Every person we interacted with made us feel welcome and The food was absolutely superb, it came out hot, brilliantly presented and tasted divine.
We will definitely return again!
Accessibility: 3/5
Although I was completely impressed there was a ramp to enter the building, anyone with limited mobility would not have been able to access the restaurant upstairs as there were no lifts available due to the age of the building.
The toilets were small, meaning you would need to leave your service dog outside, which wouldn’t be great.
If the restaurant could accommodate people with a disability, by having your food downstairs then I would certainly see this as an option, especially as the toilets on the ground floor seemed accessible.. unfortunately though, I feel that people with limited mobility would feel segregated and may not choose to dine here because of it.
As a person with a service dog, I would return again.
Have you ever been to bird of Smithfield? Would you consider going after my review? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments.
*We were invited here for review purposes, but all thoughts and opinions are our own
I used to work near there, but had no idea that this restaurant existed. Also good to hear that you had no problems in relation to Ida being given access and made to feel welcome. I had very mixed experiences when trying out new places to eat with Cindy.
Ahh cool, where did you work/what was it that you work as? To be fair if I wasn’t with my partner I would have walked past it! Faringdon is tricky for places to eat… I’ve had access refusals before! I stand my ground, and they don’t like me very much for it xxx
When I worked near there I worked as a Communications Manager in a government department. Now I work for myself as a language teacher, teaching adults online.
It’s true, if you don’t know places are there, it’s easy to walk straight past them.
I used to stand my ground in shops or bars, but I was more careful if I knew the people I’d made angry would be preparing my food! I didn’t trust them not to do anything to it! So I’d try reasoning with them, but if that didn’t work, I usually went somewhere else and put in a complaint to the management afterwards. That usually got results, at least with bigger chains.
Will be sure to check this restaurant out if I’m in the area XX
All looks delicious. I was pleased to see some very different sounding veggie options
It sounds like a fun place. You are correct that dining in a an area separate from most of the people is not a good experience. I once attended a university alumni function that I discovered was upstairs in a building with no lift. Sandy and I ate a hamburger and departed. Later someone asked why we left early. Indeed.