Smithfield

I’ve been here a bunch of times and it is what it is.
A Chelsea sports bar geared towards Première League aficionados.
The happy hour is redic… and goes till 8pm. Yea, I ain’t fukin kidding.
The crowd is fulla ex-​pats.
The food is an amalgam of comfort, pub grub and asian (?) fare.
The service was affable, prompt and attentive.
Of Note: The bouncer is 7′ and looks like Captain America on steroids.
Of Extreme Note: Go Manchester City!

Tourist from Minneapolis. Visited during #blizzard2016. Very great full that this pub was open this evening as much of the city was shut down. We had the Mac and Cheese and the fries. Both were great. Service was also wonderful.

As soon as I arrived, the hostess greeted me. As soon as I found a seat for me and a friend at the bar, the bartender greeted me. The Jameson rings were awesome and the burger was delicious. Went there to watch the NFC Playoff game while on the other side there was a Soccer Game, didn’t even know there was another side but loved the frequent cheers! Place was a great spot and made my Sunday a Fun Day!

Great neighborhood spot to watch a game. Above average bar food (I’ll be craving the chopped salad), plenty of tv screens, efficient bartender.

Standard sports bar. My wings were pretty good and sweet potato fries also did the job. Service was good, nothing going out of the way or anything, but didn’t leave us hanging either. We came in for a Monday night football and were pretty satisfied with the whole experience. And you can’t beat all night Monday happy hour! Prices were great for the area. There are some other sports style bars/​restaurants in area that cost MUCH more, so this was a nice alternative. Didn’t have to break the bank for bar food for a football game.
Deal Seeking Diva tip: Check out Monday Night happy hour which is all night long Great deals on house wines, cocktails, and select beers. They have happy hour other nights of the week as well, but Monday is til close.

Went on a Sunday — multiple TV’s with the game (s) on every screen. The place is loud and fun and has plenty of space for larger groups or hanging out.

Like most carnivores in their right mind, I love a Philly cheesesteak. Now I’ve eaten Geno’s in Philly more than my fair share of times so I know good cheesesteak.
With all that being said, I ordered the Philly cheesesteak panini. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. The steak was perfectly cooked, the cheese all gooey and not overly smothering, the onions were bursting with flavor and the panini (sub roll if you are from Jersey) was soft. I raved as I ate it. I would actually say the filling is comparable to Geno’s.
Lunch special for $ 10 that included a lot of fries in NEW YORK CITY, I’m loving that! We’ve been here before for lunch and had the fish n chips which were perfect too. Had the guac n chips too. Chips are gluten free which is nice, guac was average.
Nice and clean, good sized bar/​restaurant in Chelsea. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly. Sangria is pretty good too. If you are in the area, hit this place up, you won’t be sorry.

Don’t drink here. Service takes forever.
This is how Smithfield works:

Our bartender was so slow and stupid.
She wasn’t even a model.

Just came for food. We got a burger, fish and chips, and the chicken and waffles. Fish and chips was just meh — came with an excessive amount fries when compared to the amount of fish. Burger and Chicken and Waffles were both good!
Bar was surprisingly roomy and relatively empty for its size for 11 pm on a Friday night. Had at least 2 drunk dudes come by our table of 3 girls to offer us free bottles of Dos Equis and/​or Coronas if you’re into that sort of thing.

In short: this is a fun sports bar with above average food. Get the jameson wings!
We were looking for a place to watch the Giants game and have a bite. Smithfield did not disappoint in either department. I should warn you that this is a very loud, quite raucous sports bar. Not the best place for a date (or for any conversation really), especially during major sports games. But there are tons of TVs, providing you many vantage points of the action. Similarly, the staff struggles a bit to please such a large crowd. The waitresses were unorganized and not particularly fast or efficient, but I understand things can get rough during football Sunday!
The food was quite good, definitely better than your typical pub fare. The jameson wings were large and very meaty, super flavorful with a little kick, and had the perfect bit of crunch. I’d highly recommend these. The rosemary fries were another hit, but get the wings if you only have one choice. My boyfriend loved the steak and the accompanying garlic aoli, and I similarly enjoyed the mac and cheese. It looks like a small portion but it’s very cheesy and filling, with some breadcrumbs on top for added texture. The beer list was pretty standard with the typical craft beers you find in Manhattan, but there was a pretty large selection.

Good food, killer fries, pretty good drafts.
The problem is the atmosphere. Too many confused, bouncy millennials, and lack of communication make me want go take my sports loving ass and corresponding party elsewhere.
3 of us, entered, asked for 2 basketball games to be on, were allowed. After we got comfortable, bar tender negates hostess’ promise, who got approval of the manager, to allow a viewing of 2 ball games, one of which was the Knicks, the other golden state. The mets game was on every tv, but since it’s a snooze fest, more pple were paying attention to the embarrassing Knicks.
After paying 80.00 in drinks alone, and not consuming the typical bud lite beers, establishment could’ve spared a tv, or been honest; We would’ve went elsewhere.
Anyway the mets lost, and you all can go in forgetting any relevance the team has.
Onto real sports, and real sports bars.

SMITHFIELD is why we need separate ratings for food & the establishment. Smithfield the bar may be worthy of 3 – 4 stars… But from the «food» I attempted to eat (unsuccessfully), I’d say 1 star is generous.
Sometimes it’s hard to gauge the atmosphere from a few photos or reviews… Especially when you’re hungry and relying on your phone to find someplace to eat. Smithfield was highly rated, and had what appeared to be a slightly elevated bar menu. In reality, it was a generic sports bar with food that I wouldn’t feed to my dog.
Look, we’ve all had bad food, but when we’re hungry, we try to power through it and finish. This was not bad… it was inedible. Maybe Smithfield has some good food, I wouldn’t know. I can only speak for the two dishes we had, but they were BOTH awful.
1.) Mac & Cheese (Cheddar, Gruyère and Muenster) … $ 10
I’ve had boxed Mac & Cheese that tasted better than this! Cheddar, Gruyère, Muenster? I don’t know if they were just naming cheeses for fun, but they certainly weren’t on my plate. It tasted more like that KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese powder mixed with Elmer’s Glue.
2.) Chicken & Waffles (Buttermilk fried chicken paillard, Belgian waffles
with warm maple syrup)… $ 13
If my waitress wasn’t so nice (as was the rest of the staff), I would have thrown this «waffle» on the floor and walked out. I know I wasn’t getting ‘Pies ‘n’ Thighs’ or ‘Amy Ruth’s’, but I would have been better off eating a frozen Eggo® Waffle on top of some KFC chicken. This «waffle» was not a «waffle»! I have no idea WTF it was made out of… but it certainly was not food. I’d like to think they got these «waffles» from some Ikea display and decided to serve them as food; but sadly that’s not the case. The «waffle» tasted as if you took all the dirty paper napkins, blended them up, and poured them into a waffle iron; then served that. Yes, that bad!

This place cranks!!! As a soccer fan, I go to Smithfields on a somewhat regular basis and the place has yet to disappoint. They have an insanely good whiskey and beer menu (Houblon Chouffe!!!), televisions everywhere and great staffers who know their trade very well. Even when the place is mobbed beyond belief, the bartenders and waitstaff handle the crowd with aplomb. The food is way above and beyond the usual gastropub fare, and the prices are very reasonable.
Since I’ve never been here after 6 pm, I can’t comment on the night scene.

*3.5 stars*
Once you get past the bouncer, Smithfield becomes a lively, energetic pub and sports bar serving above-​average food. It’s a great place to grab an after-​work dinner and drink with some friends, but not if you’re looking to catch up with them; the environment is very loud, making it difficult to hear anything (even if you’re sitting mere inches from someone else). I fully expected this, so it didn’t detract from my experience at all, but it’s definitely something to note for those in search of a laid-​back, casual restaurant vibe.
My friend and I stopped by around 6:30 on a weeknight, and Smithfield was already packed! Surprisingly, we managed to snag a seat at a small table near the back. I wasn’t really in the mood for a drink, but my friend ordered a bottled Magner’s Pear Cider ($ 6), which she enjoyed, albeit not enough to get a second. Both of us were more interested in our actual dinners.
Smithfield initially impressed me with its menu, which offers several vegetarian options, including a miso glazed tofu burger with french fries, oven roasted vegetables, a variety of salads, and more. On the night of my visit, the mixed green salad with baked tofu caught my eye ($ 8, +$ 4 to add baked tofu). Make no mistake, this isn’t a baby salad that can double as rabbit food — it’s huge! A bed of organic field greens, tomato, and cucumber drizzled with an aged sherry and extra virgin olive oil dressing, it won points in portion, presentation, and taste. I’ve eaten typical bar fare many times in the past, and this defied my preconceived notions of the kind of quality meal this place was capable of serving.
Similarly, the portion and presentation of my friend’s chicken quesadillas ($ 10, +$ 3 to add chicken) was above par, even though I can’t speak on their taste. I will say that guacamole as an accompaniment for sour cream was a nice touch.
Overall, Smithfield is a fun environment to hang out and blow off some steam during the week after a long day at work. Its food raises the bar (no pun intended) for other pubs/​sports bars, although the crowded, rowdy atmosphere that comes with the territory may not be for everyone.

Above average bar with a younger flirtatious crowd. L-​shaped bar (small L) with a wood bar top with no rail, round foot rest, & wooden stools that are really not that comfy. Bar back of bottle shelves and several HDTVs.
Bartenders know how to do their job and the food is good. Several seating options opposite the bar. Atmosphere that is lively. Definitely worth a stop.

Smithfield has a common yet friendly and comfortable atmosphere paired with fast and friendly servers, and their food ain’t half bad either.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
As a lifelong fan of all things European football, it was the focus on the game that really drew me into Smithfield. While I strolled in later on a Friday night, you can tell that this place comes alive throughout the weekend days, and the atmosphere is conducive to some fervent support. Service is fast, friendly, and you’re able to either snag a seat at the bar as a stranger or grab a larger table as a group. No complaints. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
Having heard rave reviews, I went with the Jameson wings in addition to an order of mac n cheese, which ran me $ 10 and $ 12 respectively. Now, it’s worth pointing out here before you raise your brow at a $ 10 price tag on mac n cheese that this was one of the larger portions of mac n cheese that I’ve ever had. ever. The picture doesn’t do it justice in this case but this was a truly tremendous pile that ended up lasting me two full meals. That’s some serious value. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
Good? Yes. Great? No. I’ll start with the good, which came in the form of the macaroni and cheese. There weren’t any surprising or overly unique flavors here even though I added bacon to the equation, but I was fine with the creaminess and the flavor however mild. I needed to add some pepper to the mix to spice things up a bit, and I think I would have been a bit happier with maybe a paprika element or green chilis or anything to boost the experience. Good. Not great.
The wings were the weakness here, and while I can’t gripe with regard to the size of the wings, the flavor was exceptionally weak. It seemed like these were just normal wings that were (in some cases partially) dunked in a basic tangy buffalo sauce, and while I liked the breading that was more than most wing makers often lather on, these were pretty basic. One good one not so good? Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
To watch a match? I just might, but I’m all about the food, and the food at Smithfield’s in my opinion needs just a little bit of improvement. No Star Granted.

A buddy of mine is a staunch supporter of Rogue, the sports bar just down the block from Smithfield on 6^th Ave. Given the good reviews, I managed to convince him to try Smithfield just for casual drinks and to watch baseball/​football. We came in for dinner, and it was relatively empty, save for 2 huge groups of bros, at separate tables, being somewhat rowdy, but not enough to be bothersome. We seated ourselves and were immediately approached by the roving waitress to take our drink and food orders.
The space is pretty large, and I liked the seating arrangement. There was a good amount of seating at the bar, and a room at the end of the hallway with some large tables. We ended up ordering burgers and fries, the only thing you really can order besides wings and nachos when watching sports. The burger was very flavorful (a Pat LaFrieda blend), cooked to a nice medium rare, and the accompanying fries were crispy and delicious, sprinkled with salt and rosemary garlic. At $ 12, it was a very good deal.
However, after taking our food orders, the service got progressively worse. It took a long time to get drink refills, and our requests for BBQ sauce and to change the channel to NFL Network were left unfulfilled for about about 20 – 25 minutes. We had to flag someone down finally before anything was taken care of. I could understand if it were super busy in the bar, or if it seemed like it was understaffed, but it was neither of those things, and I don’t feel these requests were that difficult to complete.
In all, the food at Smithfield, in my opinion, is way better than the food at Rogue, but the service is just about the same, if not a little shoddier. That being said, it doesn’t seem like a bad place for casual drinks or happy hour. Who knows, I may come back for some Sunday football.

Went here relatively early on a Saturday morning and was surprised by the huge crowd. Apparently there were a bunch of soccer (futbol, whichever) games going on, which made for an interesting atmosphere.
A good a place as any to enjoy a pint and some bar food. Ordered up a beer ($ 8) and the popular Jameson wings ($ 10). Upon ordering the beer I realized they had certain ones on tap for $ 5, oh well. Got the wings — came piping hot with a sweet tangy sauce to the side. After the first bite, I regretted ordering the meal. Very very sweet wings, thought they’d have some kick, but whichever sauce they use overpowers the chicken flavor. The side sauce was also on the sweet end, so didn’t help much. Tabasco sauce helped a little, but wasn’t really feeling it at all.
Was debating on giving this 2 or 3 stars, but the service was friendly enough, and the drinks aren’t too expensive for happy hour. Not a bad place to have a drink and watch a game, but not going for the food again.

My friends and I came to NY to visit. On our last night, we wanted a wind down spot to give our feet a rest. We found Smithfield on Unilocal and it wasn’t too shabby. I had the chicken katsu burger was which perfection. Fries were good. Amber ale was good. Coconut cheesecake AMAZING. Good way to end a fantastic trip with great company.