06/21/04

Smorgas Chef - DELICIOUS

by shnorpybottoms

Smorgas Chef is one of the most unique New York restaurants I have ever been to. It is incredibly charming, quaint, the service is excellent and the food is FANTASTIC. You feel as if you've been transported to Europe or Scandinavia, and can sit outside on the cobblestone street in the sun. The owners are delightful and the head chef is fantastically talented. All in all, fabulously unique and fun. MUST TRY!

• Pros: charming, great food, great service
• Cons: , none, none

06/27/08

Keep it Outside

by bianco_della_neve

I went there last night and be warned the street was PACKED. Despite that, I stil recommend sitting outside, as the inside decor was a little bleh. It looks much better inside on their website...and don't go to the bathroom, the view into the kitchen is kinda gross. So if you DONT go inside and have the food, you will have a nice time! The food was delicious, had the lingonberry daiquiri-SOOOOO good, and the meatball sandwich which was tasty as well. The lingonberry tart was really good. Whats nice is that they don't rush you. Overall I would recommend it.

• Pros: FOOD and DRINKS Location
• Cons: The inside needs to be cleaner and less grimy

04/22/08

Worst service ever - Do not ever order from them unless you like eternity as delivery time! BAD FOOD

by taldagan

Waited for two hours for food - got attitude from the manager - bad food

Really waste of time ordering from this place!

• Pros: Not ordering from here
• Cons: The last time I had to eat there!

03/18/08

Unique for Downtown

by changmino200

I've been intrigued by the place for years, but never could choose it over the other great and fun places on Stone Street. With the wine promotion, I finally went in and had a great meal too. The service is great and they really try to keep it fun and casual. The food is unique for the financial district which doesn't have too many specialty cuisine restaurants. It doesn't really have something for everyone because it's almost all seafood, but it is worth the try, so go for it!

• Pros: Interesting food, great drinks, and excellent service!
• Cons: Grill smell infiltrated the dining room and my clothes!

12/19/07

Imitation Lobster Meat

by jsewnsen

The menu describes the $8 lobster bisque as containing "morsels of fresh lobster" (which is obviously true) and a "dash of sherry" (which seems to be true, as well). What they don't tell you, though, is that it also includes IMITATION LOBSTER MEAT. What more can I say?

• Pros: Nothing that can compensate for the "cons"!
• Cons: Imitation lobster meat!

10/18/07

Happiest Hostess Ever

by bdbez

One of the better places to dine in the Financial District. It's fun to eat outside on the atmospheric cobblestone street. I like coming here for lunch during the week as I work in the area. Outdoor seating does get crowded as there are lots of other restaurants nearby that share the outdoor dining section.

I hear there are lots of great things on the menu including the Swedish meatballs but I always order the Duck/Pear Salad. I can't not get it! It is sooo good. If you like duck you will not be disappointed!

The best part of the whole place is the red haired hostess outside. She smiles constantly like she is the happiest person on earth to be watching all these people eating. I can't imagine her job is very exciting but she acts like it is. She is so sweet. I hope she gets paid well!

• Pros: Great service, outdoor dining
• Cons: Well, it's in the Financial District, lol

02/02/07

GREAT RESTAURANT

by jennybry

I have just recently started with a new firm in the area. I ate at Smorgas Chef for the first time today and i must say how great the food was! It was so packed my friend and I had to wait a few minutes (but it was well worth the wait!) I had the herring appetizer which was soooo tasty, and my friend had the meatballs for her appetizer. The service was a little rushed, but I think that was understandable due to the overwhelming crowd. Regardless, she was very friendly and knowledgeable of the food and wine selection. For entrees I had the chicken salad which was to die for. I loved how the goat cheese and asparagus topped off the huge portion of greens and chicken. We shared a order of cloudberry waffles. I don?t know exactly what cloudberries are but I don?t care, they were unbelievably delicious. I will definitely be back

• Pros: Food and service
• Cons: none

01/06/07

Only send your enemies here

by bobgarrett

We experienced the most bizzarre dining experience in years here. First, I ordered a dirty martini with olives and my girlfriend ordered a Heineken in a bottle. The waitress/hostess came back about 5 minutes later telling me that they don't have olives. Fine. I ordered another cocktail, but thought that was weird. A little bit later my girlfriend's beer showed up skunky and warm. Oh yeah, almost forgot. When the waitress/hostess was taking our order, my girlfriend said she needed a couple minutes to decide on her entree after ordering her drink, yet the waitress/hostess insisted on taking my entree order with my drink order. No thanks, learn some manners.

Here's where it starts to get really weird. I ordered a starter salad and entree, my girlfriend ordered only an entree. They brought out my salad and her entree at the same time. My entree showed up 20 minutes after her's. She didn't want to eat without me, so her food got cold.

Here's the breakdown. My food was fine (Caesar salad, Swedish meatballs), my girlfriend's was not (Caramel chicken). The service was horrible. No one knew what they were doing. Everyone seemed to be doing a little of something, but no one was doing anything.

This place is empty for a good reason.

DON'T GO!!!

• Pros: decent food
• Cons: horrible/.clueless service

10/30/06

What a great discovery for the people that live downtown!

by ketelandsoda

I stumbled upon this place for lunch wandering around after a work out at Equinox Wall Street. They have outside tables and a tiny interior. I really enjoyed the open chicken sandwich. The chicken is marinated in caramel and honey. Extremely flavorful! I had the Kyoto Cherry tea the aroma was very strong but not in taste. It was cherries and tea, soft and easy to drink. The service was attentive and friendly. I can't wait to go back for dinner.

• Pros: Good food, great wine list with specials, they make you feel welcome.
• Cons: Crowded during the Biz lunch time, go after 1:30.

10/03/06

Forget Minnesota, It's in NYC!

by garbanz

It is hard to come by some standard Scandanavian cooking, w/o somebody twisting or influencing it with other cultures in this city. Here, they did it just right. Meat, potatoes, fatty fish, root vegetables, sweet accents and butter. All the staples of northern European cuisine and especially Scandanavia, using the best available. The meatballs were good, the Herring and Lefse was better, and according to the people I was with the gravlax was among the best they've ever had. Waffles were a good choice for dessert. The restaurant was nothing amazing to look at (though outside looked nice), but the food more than made up for it. I look forward to checking out their other locations.

• Pros: Herring and Lefse, Lingonberries
• Cons: Inside Seating

09/23/06

Loved it!

by nslepoy

There's no better way to escape from the hustle and bustle of Wall Street than this cute place. It's on a beautiful little cobblestone street, with amazing food, and yummy drinks. Stop by if you're in the area.