Smith & McKenzie (Chophouse)
Cuisine: Family, New Zealand, Steakhouse, A La Carte
Hours:
- Mon – Fri 11am – Late
- Sat – Sun 10am – Late
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Facilities/Features:
- Business Dining
- Children's Menu
- Conference Facilities
- Live Music
- Out Catering
- Private Dining Room
- Private Functions
- Private Parties
- Romantic Dining
- Payment Types: EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Diners
- Price Range: Spendy, $25 - $35
- Dress Code: Smart casual
- Alcohol: Beer, Wine, Spirits, Cocktails
- Seating for: 150
- BYO/Corkage: No BYO
- Parking: Free Off-Street
- Good For Groups: Yes
- Good For Children: Yes
- Takeaways: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Dietary Restrictions: Vegetarian, Dairy-free, Gluten-free
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Meals: Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Late Night, Dessert
Smith & McKenzie is a cutting edge New York style Steakhouse located in Chartwell, Hamilton.
Decor at Smith and McKenzie Chophouse includes design elements that were inspired by an old butchery, along with steakhouses in the traditional New York style. You will find this stylish yet unpretentious establishment will suit all occasions – whether you’re after a casual after-work drink, a long casual lunch, or a full evening dining experience.
The venue contains a 150 seat restaurant, with a locals bar, restaurant bar and 2 garden bar areas. We offer the exclusive McKenzie Room as a seperate self contained function area on the first floor.
Smith & McKenzie is open for brunch, lunch and dinner. While we specialise in steak we also cater for all tastes with a large selection of salads, pasta, vegetarian options and classics.
Smith & McKenzie dry age all of their steak right on the premises. We offer a signature dish which is a 500gm rib eye slow cooked at 58 degrees for 16 hours producing unparrelled texture and flavour – an experience not to be missed! Preordering this dish is advised as we only have a limited number available every evening.
The bar boasts Hamiltons most extensive wine list, also offering the Heineken Star draught range on tap – which include Heineken, Tiger, Erdinger and Montieths beers.
Smith & McKenzie (Chophouse) have taken out the Supreme Award, nationwide, in the 2011 Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence!
Announced on 3 Nov 2011, Smith & McKenzie ALSO took out the prize for Best Restaurant.
25 Reviews for Smith & McKenzie (Chophouse)
One of Smith & McKenzie (Chophouse)'s Favourite Reviews What's This?
17
1st time for us won’t be the last!
4 meals & 4 VERY happy customers! Shock horror as i always find fault!
Heather the waitress was friendly & helpful…these days thats hard to find!
Loved the open kitchen so you can watch the chef work her magic!
Great wine & drinks list!
Hassle free parking always a bonus!
Sooooo much choice for everyone on the menu!
Attention to detail A+
Presentation of meal 5 star
Portion size of meals BIG but had to also try the award winning cheesecake…. just DIVINE!
1
1
2
18
Pretty good …. Just not excellent. Would go again but wouldnt make it a priority.
6
46
If you are not too budget conscious – go!
9
2
12
The service was excellent apart from a small drinks mishap. The atmosphere was good, nice and busy! The steak was yum enough but I just can’t see how they justify their prices.
23
1
10
Also BEST steak I’ve had ever in the Tron!
i have been here more then once and keep going back for more
i love the layout, love the food, and the friendly staff top it off. i think the food is at a very fair price and you should leave having had a good experience.
I had the Fish and Chips, they were alright although the fish wasn’t the nicest, it was a bit smelly too. I enjoyed my salad with it though.
My partner had the Steak, Eggs and Chips, his Steak was grisly and not the nicest cut, his eggs were done perfectly and he absolutely loved the gravy that came with it!
And my son had the French Toast, it was ok, definitely different than other french toasts we have tried, the yogurt that came with it was AMAZING.
Our water was disgusting and even my son (who is 4) said it tasted like paint which it did!! That was gross but the waitress was quick to bring us new glasses and water.
The service was all good. The first time i came here with a friend, our waiter was amazing, the food and everything was exceptional and i had raved about it to my partner! It was a real let down.
Everything was just average, we spent like 60 odd dollars, we could have spent less going somewhere else for brunch and actually felt satisfied. I don’t think we will be returning in a hurry.
9
Have visited on several occasions and am never disappointed. Beautiful food and great service every time.
A steak is a must when visiting and although steak prices are all in the thirties, absolutely delicious.
Can be busy so make sure you book, especially on the weekend.
A much better restaurant than its cousin Iguana.
1
I was trying to decide on what to order and the waiter suggested I taste the blue cheese sauce on the steak that I was contemplating on, but was unsure about the sauce.
He brought out a little sample for me to try- a little thing to do but made a big impact on our dining experience. (and the sauce was AMAZING)
The garlic bread was also top-notch!
The staff were extremely friendly and helpful- which made the difference!
Will definitely go back
6
6
the atmosphere and the decor are really good.
like the straightener in girls toilet idea.
the downfall was my meals. just overall bland.
biggest disappointment was my drinks.
ordered a apple martini off their menu.
wasn’t the greatest, thought they should know how to make something on their menu ya know? but though i would keep trying.
ordered some drink that had a mint garnish.
drink came with what looked like an entire mint tree in the glass.
we ordered altogether about 6 drinks.none of which were finished and i actually sent one back.
not once did the waitress ask about the drinks or meal or apologise when i told her to take drink away.
all in all unsatisfied especially after hearing all the awesome reviews.
Food selection was good, food well presented and full of taste and well propositioned. Open kitchen which made for an interesting perspective and you can watch your meal being created.
We had a issue while we were there and the professional manner this was dealt with was outstanding by both the duty manager and our waitress 10/10.. We will be going back
3
First impressions – good accessible parking, within two minute’s walking distance of the restaurant / bar, and quite distinct from Hamilton’s other restaurants in the city. On this basis alone, it’s worth the trip.
On entering, it is not clear where to wait for a table, and the wait time was a little too long – it appears the restaurant has one host to seat customers, and she was rather busy, as it was a busy night when I went along.
Eventually I was ushered to the bar – there were no tables immediately available to me, even though I’d called ahead.
I felt a little lost, as there were a couple of fairly large bar areas – was I lost and forgotten?
But no, eventually I was seated, and ordered a very nice vegetarian starter and aged eye fillet.
It should be said that Smith and McKenzie’s has a particularly good wine list, possibly the best in Hamilton, and a very good selection of food items, all reasonably priced.
The food came out in good time, the seating was comfortable, good quality fittings, and the starter was quite divine – particularly the smell!
The main was – well, average, to be honest. Wait staff informed me there were only roast potatoes with the main so I ordered mushrooms alongside – and they were quite literally both alongside, with both individually plated.
Presentation was good for the eye fillet, and cooked to my liking (blue) but was tough and sinewy, which was odd, given the claim that the meat had been aged for 28 days.
Desert was very nice – I had chocolate explosion, a tasty chocolate mudcake, icecream and whipped cream.
Coffee and cheeseboard – again, very nice, a good coffee and a good sized cheese and crackers portion, with dried fruit alongside.
But as always, my pet hate – one choice of cheese on a platter – again, no smaller multi-portioned cheese offerings; when will reMorestaurants learn, customers want more than one cheese to eat with crackers!
Music was set at a comfortable level throughout, with a good range of romantically themed low-key blues / rock numbers.
Temperature was about right, and staff were courteous, prompt, and efficient.
My overall impression – quite a big place to come and dine, not that intimate, but well-spaced tables help with that; a good mix of high and low tables, nicely appointed and attractive bar areas, professional staff and reasonably priced food.
I would say Smith and McKenzie’s is great for groups, with the speed of service and the quite extensive wine and food menu, and the reasonable pricing – but I was unimpressed with their eye fillet, which lacked flavour and was a bit tough.
nzreporter.com
2
1
We returned at 7pm. The band in the bar was a bit loud so we moved around to the restaurant side where it was possible to talk. As promised we were found a table within 15 minutes. One of the features of the restaurant is you can see the kitchen and the food being prepared. There were plenty of staff working and all were friendly even though they were busy. You could not fault the service.
The menu is mainly steak orientated with various cuts. We had a large loaf to start with. My wife went for the seafood while I chose the pork. I think I must have been given half a roast. The food was beautifully cooked and you are given very large portions. As a result we did not sample the desserts. The meals were reasonably priced and definitely value for money. I would have rated a 5 if the music wasn’t so loud.
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