Hospitality and events with Smith & Wollensky

Despite only opening in summer 2015, the quintessential New York steakhouse restaurant Smith & Wollensky has already established itself on the high-end dining scene in London. However, it has also attracted a wealth of different event organisers seeking to take advantage of the art-deco styling and location within The Strand’s grade II listed Adelphi Building. In an exclusive one-on-one chat with the Talking Events podcast, the restaurant’s Operations Director Nathan Evans discusses the subject of hospitality and how it differs from fixed operations and temporary ones often found at events. He talks about both the hospitality extended to customers, and also the way that staff working in the hospitality sector are trained, developed and treated. Looking at the venue itself, Nathan also talked about the scepticism among some organisers as to whether a restaurant can be utilised as a temporary event space. He also points out the way the restaurant was conceived as somewhere that could be adaptable. “We’ve had events that have brought in dance floor, celebrity DJ’s, LED screens and more. Flexibility is so important. Within London there are not many restaurants of this scale. We have 15,000 square feet available, so throughout the design process I constantly had ideas and questions relating to its use.” One of these ideas related to the private dining rooms within the restaurant. These are found in most high-end eateries, but in this case some careful planning went into the design and layout. “On the whole, if private dining rooms are not booked they are losing vital revenue. At Smith & Wollensky, London, both of the private dining rooms that are annexed from the main restaurant have huge doors that fold completely back, allowing them to be extensions to the restaurant or events space rather than them being separate entities.”