What is it? Top Floor at Smith of Smithfield is one of the four eating places in this gastro-complex. It is a restaurant, as opposed to the brasserie on the floor below, though I can't really tell the difference as neither have bread plates. Eating in Clerkenwell is always an interesting experience - because it is such a transient place: as my friend and I arrived in the evening, there were still loads of people wondering around the area moving from pub to pub, but by the time we left, the queue for Fabric (dance club that attracts a young-ish crowd) had already formed. Yet during the week, it's a business district where many marketing and design agencies are located. Of course, at 4AM we have all the huge lorries turning up with meat for the London meat and poultry market.
What was enjoyable? A laid back restaurant with a half decent view of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. Well cooked food without being too gimmicky.
What was not enjoyable? While the Top Floor has a door that insulates itself from the rest of the complex, the noise from the main bar and cocktail lounge downstairs still vibrated through to under my feet. Not much the restaurant could do but that took away some of that tranquillity that it tries to offer.
This is a revival of Charles Edwards (design) / David McVicar (director) production of Gounod Faust. Visually, it is still exciting to watch with the ever changing stage sets of this fantasy. In this production, Erwin Schrott was Méphistophélès - who had style and poise as this devilish character. Michael Fabiano did a good job at portraying Faust - especially in the first act when he had to start off as an old man before turning into an energetic youngster. Irina Lungu had the right French voice type for Marguerite - somewhat vulnerable with sufficient warmth for the romantic scenes. Dan Ettinger in the pit kept the pace going, and the chorus did magnificently in those big numbers.
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