“Nose to tail eating” is on offer at St. John Bar and Restaurant located (aptly enough) on St. John Street, just a short skip from Smithfield Market. Not for the squeamish, St. John’s menu of traditional British fare reads like a poem for omnivorous readers eager to partake in the sampling of delectable titles, such as “Grilled Squid & Green Sauce” and “Mince On Dripping Toast.”

During my visit, I shared a starter course of Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad with my wife and went halves on Crumbed Veal Rump, Chicory & Anchovy and Calf’’s Liver & Beetroot. Our server commended us on ordering what she considered her favorite items, and, upon our dinner’s arrival, we soon congratulated each other on a meal well chosen.

Open well over a decade, St. John Smithfield (they have another location at Spitalfield) exceeds at providing understated elegance of a quintessentially British nature. Appropriate attire ranges from suit-and-tie to t-shirt-and-trainers. Main courses range from £13.50-20.50. Reservations are highly recommended.

Offal good.

Which is to say, this is a great restaurant with a clever meaty ethos (eating the whole animal) and a great bakery that produces fresh cakes all day long, located in a clinical-white but rough ex-abattoir.

The restaurant is tucked away above a fairly lively bar and seems at first to be quite cold and stark. However the service is warm and friendly, and the food AMAZING!
Typical dishes include teal, bone marrow, tongue salad and eel, and the menu is updated twice daily on the website (for lunch and dinner) so you can prepare yourself in advance if you're not used to such traditional cuts of meat.
We went for a birthday celebration expecting it to be very pricey and I was secretly dreading trying the offal but it was really delicious and came in at under £80 for two of us, with wine, having two courses each plus a shared dessert.
Definitely somewhere to try if it's a special occasion and you want something a bit different.

I like the bar here; the restaurant can be a bit stuffy but its easy to relax in the bar and enjoy a bite to eat and some drinks with friends. Informal yet always with some of the curious concoctions that only St Johs would offer - there's always the devilled kidney and some thing offally but how about pigs ear and dandelion salad... keeps you on your toes and trying new things!

Simply great! :-)