26 Smithfield feels like the beating heart of Smithfield Market, with an amiable and welcoming staff, a robust food menu and plenty going on.

The Venue
Squarely opposite Smithfield Market, 26 Smithfield is not difficult to find from either Farringdon or Barbican underground stations, and the smart black and gold signage marks it out clearly from the nearby rival chains and office blocks.

You enter straight into the main bar area, which is a mix of tables, chairs and comfortable battered leather sofas. The long bar is to the back of the room at the right, and there is a plasma screen opposite for match days and decks in the corner for the evenings. You’d be forgiven for thinking that was all this venue has to offer, but there’s much more – there’s a basement Champagne bar, which is opened up on busy days and available for private parties of around 60 people, plus an upstairs dining-conference room with seating for around 40 more. The piece de resistance, however, is located at the top of several flights of stairs, but it’s worth the climb – the roof terrace is a large outdoor space with views over the City and Clerkenwell, and there’s a barbecue up here on warm days.

The Atmosphere
26 Smithfield packs in the crowds from nearby offices and, of course, Smithfield Market. There’s a really great vibe, whether you want to tuck yourself away in the corner with a newspaper or stand at the bar and banter with the staff, who hold court with the regulars and offer a bit of lighthearted teasing for newcomers (gents should remove their tie before arriving if they want to leave with it in one piece!). There’s always plenty going on in this sprawling pub – corporate events upstairs, private parties in the basements, karaoke and open mic nights in the bar area, which guarantees a good time.

The Food
In the perfect position to take advantage of Smithfield’s fresh produce, 26 Smithfield offers a robust and hearty menu of fresh meat and fish, plus burgers and sandwiches. With pork chops, lamb shanks, and bangers and mash regularly featuring on the frequently-changing menu, it’s a meat lover’s haven. Indeed, the carnivores would be hard pushed to find a rump steak in London that’s travelled a shorter distance, and priced at just twelve quid it’s good value for money. The haddock and chips is great value for money too, priced at under a tenner it’s the size of a whale, with the ends of the battered fish flopping over both sides of the large plate with delicious hand cut chips.

The emphasis is placed pretty firmly on quantity and value for money, and while there’s nothing to fault in the quality of the ingredients there are certain things that would lift this venue a notch above their rivals. In an era when Gordon Ramsay seems to be buying up local boozers and turning them into gastro-palaces, our expectations of neighbourhood pubs like this are at an all-time high, a few specials would enliven the menu.

The Drink
With bottles of wine from £12 and a cocktail list starting at £6 for a mojito, there’s great value choices for whiling away a tipsy evening, not to mention half a dozen lagers on draught. Fosters costs just £3.20 a pint, and a glass of the house red (a medium-bodied fruity Merlot with plum and cherry flavours) is just £3.30 for a medium glass.

The Last Word
26 Smithfield deserves to be as busy as it is, with a determined and personable staff working hard behind the scenes at corporate and private events whilst managing to put plenty of entertainment on for regulars. Whilst not outstanding, the food is certainly filling and the drinks cheap, although the biggest attraction has to be the atmosphere.

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