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St. JOHN Smithfield, London,
Award-winning

St. JOHN Smithfield

4.8
4.8
4100 Reviews
£41 and over
British

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2 people
20:30
Booked 53 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Great for fine wines
  • Charming
Fergus Henderson’s original home of “Nose to Tail Eating” opened in a former smokehouse around the corner from Smithfield Market in 1994.

Celebrating the finest of indigenous British produce and making the most of what is seasonally best whilst applying straight forward cooking techniques, St. John is now celebrated as one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World and in 2009 was awarded its first Michelin Star.

Nose to tail eating means that, where appropriate, every part of the animal should be put to good use in the kitchen and so along with Roast Beef and Lemon Sole, diners will find Rolled Pig’s Spleen, Kidneys and Ox Heart, Liver and Chitterlings as well as the Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad, something of a ‘signature’ dish.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    £41 and over
  • Cuisines
    British
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Mon–Sat 12:00–15:00 Sun 12:00–16:00 Dinner Mon–Sat 18:00–22:30
  • Phone number
    020 7251 0848
  • Website
    http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive Chef
    Steve Darou
  • Private party facilities
    The Private Dining Room can accommodate up to 16 guests (terms and conditions apply). St. JOHN bar and restaurant is available for private hire. Please contact amelie@stjohnrestaurant.com for details.
  • Location
    26 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY
  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN 1 Star 2023
  • Area
    Farringdon
  • Parking details
    None
  • Public transit
    Farringdon Station, Barbican Station
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar Dining, Beer, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 4,100 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.5Value

Noise • Energetic

Loved For

  • City of London

    Best Overall

  • City of London

    Best Value

  • City of London

    Innovative

  • City of London

    British

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
St. JOHN Smithfield is a celebrated dining haven in London, famed for its "legendary food" and "unpretentious atmosphere." Diners rave about the "amazing service" and "innovative dishes," with many highlighting the iconic bone marrow. While a few reviews note service hiccups, the overall experience remains "outstanding," making it a must-visit for any food enthusiast.

4,100 Reviews

  1. Arnold

    Toronto

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    One of the best meals I’ve ever had which requires a revisit to be able to try other things on the menu. Superb service and loved the ambiance of the place. Best bread pudding dessert!

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  2. marco

    London

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great food, great athmoshpere, great experience. Thanks

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  3. Lucy

    Oxford

    8 reviews

    4.0

    8 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Best suited to meat eaters! Good meat menu and Great puddings!

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  4. william

    London

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our waitress was exceptional. This is one of the most authentic places you can dine in London. It’s outstanding in every way possible. Thank you for such an incredible meal…

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  5. Edward

    London

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Excellent, unfussy dining experience. Food is very filling, but make sure you leave room for dessert!

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  6. Hannah

    London

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing experience from start to finish. Faultless. Highly recommend!

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  7. Brían

    VIP

    London

    40 reviews

    5.0

    40 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This restaurant is one of life’s great pleasures. If you don’t go you’re simply doing yourself a disservice.

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  8. James

    London

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    I'm so disappointed. I came here for my birthday after months since reserving a table. Underwhelming cannot begin to describe our experience. We arrive on time, order some drinks, and after a few moments, told we had better order because there are people waiting for our table. So we quickly order, food takes quite a while. I receive the bone marrow, the most expensive starter on the menu, and barely any of it is edible because it has been overcooked. So that's about £13 for a piece of bread, which was plonked alongside the marrow bones. Afterwards myself and my partner are handed the mutton, a main which was also one of the most priciest on the menu, and the portion size is tiny. Five or six thinly sliced pieces of meat. Mutton is not an expensive cut, I'm not sure what happened with that. Worse, we go to order dessert, and it never arrives. Our table reservation, so coveted apparently, was supposed to be given up at 8:15pm but we are still sat there gone 9pm and we haven't received our dessert. My partner had even asked for a candle to be put into one of the desserts apparently, but still nothing. They eventually offer to take the dessert off of our bill, and we wait longer, but still nothing. It took me to actually get up and walk over to the manager to ask for the bill to leave and get out of the place. I could also mention the state of the bathrooms downstairs, or even trying to get to them, tripping over the bags of the patrons at the bar who had decided to sprawl there goods all over the place, and the bits of toilet paper on the stairs. So we end as I started out - so disappointed, St John. I've waited about 10 years to try your restaurant but never again. I hope that people read this and think twice before deciding to dine with you for a special occasion or otherwise. I also regret paying the service charge, since service was basically non-existent.

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  9. Michael

    VIP

    Nashville

    52 reviews

    5.0

    52 reviews

    Dined on 10 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    What a fantastic experience. We are fans of “nose to tail” dining and love dishes made with organ meats and other elements not usually served in restaurants. Even so the cuisine here was extraordinary: Exceptionally well cooked and simply presented. And our server James was both knowledgeable and very attentive. All around a smashing dinner. When we return to London we will most definitely come back.

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  10. Neil

    London

    11 reviews

    4.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on 10 December 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Fabulous meal and service as usual . Experience only marred by very noisy space.

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FAQs

St. JOHN Smithfield is rated 4.8 stars by 4100 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
20:30
Booked 53 times today
Google Map for St. JOHN Smithfield

26 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN 1 Star 2023
  • Area
    Farringdon
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Mon–Sat 12:00–15:00 Sun 12:00–16:00 Dinner Mon–Sat 18:00–22:30
  • Price
    £41 and over
  • Cuisines
    British
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    None
  • Public transit
    Farringdon Station, Barbican Station
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Steve Darou
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar Dining, Beer, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Website
    http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/
  • Phone number
    020 7251 0848
  • Private party facilities
    The Private Dining Room can accommodate up to 16 guests (terms and conditions apply). St. JOHN bar and restaurant is available for private hire. Please contact amelie@stjohnrestaurant.com for details.
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