The Smith – Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C

We love The Smith before a play or a concert! Fabulous cocktails and an extra interesting menu make it a great low key choice for a drink or dining out in Penn Quarter. Staff is also exceptional!

Our dinners were delicious. We had a wonderful dining experience!

Good food and service

Service sucked. NO idea who our waitress was, never got checked in on... had to beg for another round of drinks. OH and the table to the right was less than welcoming greeting us with dirty looks the second we sat down.

We were seated a few minutes after our reservation, but it was very busy so it was completely understandable. All of the staff was very friendly, and service was quick even though the place was packed. The food was very good and overall it was a great experience. Definitely will go back.

Dinner was wonderful as was the service. Definitely coming back!

Service was a little spotty because our server was tied up with a very difficult patron (seated behind us). We sat and waited for about 15+ minutes until a server from another section took pity on us and offered to serve us. Apparently they normally bring bread to the table, but no one brought any to ours (perhaps the whole service team was scarred by Difficult Debbie behind us). I did appreciate that they brought out complimentary still and sparkling water. The dishes were well cooked and tasty. I took off stars because we were shoved cheek to jowl with patrons to our left and right - it was a very intimate dining experience with 6 total strangers. The Post's food critic recommended it as a family alternative to one of our other favorite restaurants, so we were a little disappointed at the set up - we were kid-free when we dined here (a test run to see if we could bring our 2 little ones), but after dining here we definitely would not bring our kids (who are well behaved in restaurants, but kids come with a lot of junk - it would definitely not have fit) here. Anyway, this restaurant isn't terrible, but it didn't deliver what The Post critic attempted to sell (a kid friendly restaurant).

Cute atmosphere and yummy food!

Amazing brunch, very reasonable for downtown dc

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Walked in just a couple minutes late for our 6:45p Valentine’s Day reservations and were promptly seated by the lovely hosts. The table itself was a small two-top bench style right next to others – my only disappointment. The service, food, and cocktails were all fantastic. It was very busy and loud, but still appropriate for date night. Would highly recommend!

Everything was great, but the server was slow to respond and hard to get his attention.

Loud but not particularly crowded at 6:30 pm on a Tuesday evening before theater. Food was heavy and not particularly good. -- Fish tacos on the special were really sauced up beyond recognition. Not returning. House chard -- not great and very small pour. Not returning.

Great food, great service! The atmosphere was wonderful and in great area for brunch and site seeing.

We have been to this location multiple times and usually enjoy it. Brunch is way more busy than dinner and this time was especially bad. Service was very slow and I never even received a drink I ordered. I wasn't charged, so it wasn't that bid of a deal, but I did want the drink. The Smith is also not a great brunch place if you are gluten free. They have very few options and it's hard to know if the options they do have are in fact, actually gluten free.

The best French toast I have ever had. I loved this place.

Loved it! Great atmosphere—super lively and fun, but people of all ages would feel comfortable! Had a great time at the bar, Chris was amazing! Our first time visiting but will definitely be back again. Only thing is some portions were a little small (crab cake tots = delicious, but tiny). Cocktail menu looked great and the oysters were 👌🏻

This was my second visit to The Smith. The first time was a quiet weekend in the Summer and everything for our party of 15 went smoothly. This time we arrive at 5:30 pm on a Caps home game night. Thanks to our reservation we were seated quickly. And our server was nice and polite. But the way the drinks and food arrived was piecemeal and indicative of just how overwhelmed the staff was. We certainly with another couple and their entree was delivered 15 minutes before ours. And when my wife got hers it was done Medium Rare, when she ordered it Medium Well done. The staff fixed it, but she was so put off that she doesn't want to dine at The Smith again anytime soon.

My 3 year old son can’t stop talking about the Mac ‘n Cheese. Neither can I.

Everything was great. We just had to wait for almost 30min with the reservation. Our server was not that great; left us without asking for more drinks and check for long time, refused to do spit check or even just gave us option of telling how much to pay in one card. My steak was amazing though.

Went there with my son for a special night out. Great experience! We started with the oysters - which were fresh and delicious. We had skirt steaks with fries - perfectly prepared and nicely seasoned. Finished with port wine and vanilla ice cream. What a treat!! The service was very good - even with a completely full restaurant. Great cocktails too. Only complaint is the noise level. It’s really fairly loud. Definitely will go back.

A very fine upscale casual experience. Service is good and servers are properly attentive and friendly.

Food is very good. This is upscale so it can be a bit pricey but the food and experience
balance that out favorably for me.

The environment is inviting and active. It can get a bit noisy but it is an open, social setting so that’s to be expected.

Always an enjoyable experience and I’ve eaten there several times. Do recommend it to others.

Great food / had 2 apps instead of a main dish! More than enough food / couldn’t finish my Mac and cheese! Great wait staff! Constantly checking and great attention to detail! Only complaint was it was soooo loud / even at 5:30 with a half empty restaurant! Otherwise deelish

This place is going to be my new go-to before hockey games! The Long Island oysters were wonderful! The staff was very attentive! I am going back on Monday!

Way too loud

Always a wonderful meal. We were greeted with a smile seated before our actual reservation. Our server was attentive and the food was tasty. Would have liked more garlic in the mussels.

Our food was good, and other than having to wait longer than expected for the check, our overall experience was good.

Had an amazing dinner at The Smith! The staff rocks and the food was delicious!

Breakfast pot pie was delicious!

We went for Brunch before a Washington Capitals Game (Sunday Matinee Game) - it was great food, good service and we will gladly go back!

Food was outstanding. The breakfast pot pie was tasty. The service was second to none.

Enjoyable place, good food did have a wait a bit with an empty beer glass, but everyone was complimentary of their dish.

This is my second time to The Smith and my first time for dinner (I was previously there for brunch, which was very good). We were seated promptly and the hostess was friendly and professional. A waitress came quickly to take our drink orders; she was eventually replaced by another waitress who did a solid job of being attentive and professional, even if she could've stood to smile more and be a little more friendly. Our food came out as ordered and everyone seemed pleased with it... I'd say my only real concerns with the food were that the "hot potato chips" weren't hot at all, which was a disappointment; and that when I ordered the steak salad (which was very good!), I wasn't asked how I'd like my steak cooked, which just seemed odd. Other than that, I think the wine by the bottles are overpriced, but that's true in most restaurants. Overall, the food and service were very good and it's a great option prior to an event at the Capital One Center or any other time. I'm guessing we'll be back in the future!

The food was amazing but unfortunately our server wasn’t that great. He was extremely slow and forgot things often. Our bus boy was amazing and made up for the waiters lack of service. The food was good!

I love this restaurant.. everything is good! I’ve yet to have a bad meal .. They execute well on flavors in their dishes .. it’s a cut above other restaurants of its kind and as a result is always crowded. I’ve ordered the bass fish special and chicken paillaird as well as the bimimbap which came in a piping hot stone bowl and perfectly cooked sunny side up egg... delicious!! Even the coffee was delicious.

The overall experience was a bit disappointing. I had a guest and reserved a table for two. They gave us a table for two but the size of the table, I would characterize as a modest sized table for one. We needed the server to take some stuff off the table just so we had room for the plates. The chicken pot pie was ok but just ok. It was a relatively small amount, mostly a moist (not in a good way) cheesy crust. It seemed like there were no really good medium calorie choices. The location is very convenient from my office, so I'll probably go back and try something else at some point, but I could not use the word "recommend." On the plus side, lunch for two was under $40 (before tip), which is pretty good in that location for a sit down place.

If you're a foodie, then this is a great spot because the food is wonderful! However, this may not be the place you want to go for a quiet romantic evening because it's very loud.

Omar did a great job. Really enjoyed the Sunday spaghetti and meatballs special.

Excellent food, loved the ambiance. Went there with 3 other mom friends for a "Bad Moms" night out. Cocktails and food were delicious (I had the grilled shrimp entree), but I do think it took quite a while to take our drinks. We didn't notice that much because we were so busy talking, but I bet we would have had at least 3 rounds of drinks if they got to our table faster.

Excellent cuisine but servers overtaxed and noise level very high.