Smith & Mills
This Smith & Mills location is in the small inner plaza where the Rockafeller rink is. It caught my attention because the Tribeca location apparently had received some high regard, so I thought it’d be worth a shot to check out this location. Although the food options are small, some of it looked pretty tasty. This restaurant is fairly close to Naro. We had a reservation for 3 for 5 PM, and the place was not full at all. I thought this was to be a restaurant, but it seems like the atmosphere is definitely more of a bar.
From the website:
A keen interest in Bauhaus and Constructivism, a reverence for industry and design, all inspiration for a restaurant that contemplates and considers, bringing something new to something past. Akiva Elstein and Matthew Abramcyk have created an environment where soft lights envelope aging materials, from walls wrapped in molded plaster to a bar and doors fabricated from centuries-old wood, even to a turn-of–the-century elevator cabin. Seating is designed inward, encouraging conversation and collective small plates to be shared beneath classic cocktails. Open seven days for brunch, lunch, dinner and late-night drinks.
Ambiance & Service
The interior definitely felt like a very rustic, wood-like, lumber-mill decor. This seemed like a place where the food was to be secondary to the liquor. It’s fairly small, so some of the booths are close to the bar seats.
The service was fairly uneventful. They forgot to bring out the tuna crudo, and we had to remind them. Our main server departed his shift without telling us, and it feels like the new server didn’t know to take over for him.
Food
The Cosmo Royale ($20 - right) came with Meyer Lemon Vodka, Cointreau, lime, Cocchi Americano Rosa, and Prosecco. I’m not big on cosmos since this was also quite sweet, but my partner enjoyed it.
The Smith & Mills “Super Tuscan” Le Logge di Pietranera ($18 - left) came from Tuscany, 2019. I’ve lately been in a Tuscan mood, and I thought this was pretty good. It felt balanced, medium body, and not too acidic for me. You can definitely taste the berries, and it was complementary to both the steak and pastrami.
The Steak au Poivre ($54) came with filet mignon, broccolini, and pomme rosti. The filet mignon was cooked a perfect medium rare, and you can tell the quality was actually superb. The peppers that they put on the steak were not as peppery for my partner, so they actually thought this was quite good despite them historically disliking au poivre sauces.
The Pastrami Short Rib Reuben ($35) came with red cabbage, aged gruyère, and Russian dressing. The sandwich was good overall, though I wished there was more pastrami. The pastrami was slightly dry, so the Russian dressing helped a little. The bread was pretty crispy, like a panini. It was a little underwhelming with how much it cost and what you get.
The Tuna Crudo ($28) came with sauce ravigote, avocado, and finger lime. The ravigote is a light acidic sauce that came with the tuna. The tuna meat itself was pretty good, and everything had a nice balance of acidity.
Final Verdict
Smith & Mills is probably a decent bar to stop by to grab drinks. The food was decent, but it’s definitely not the highlight of the town. If you are near the Rockafeller area, it might be worth a stop if other places are too full.
Yelp Jabs
The cod and ham croquettes are the best I’ve tried in the city!
I always find these comments pretty funny because there are too many options in NYC.
Revisions
- April 26, 2024 - Initial revision.