I was pleased to be able to make reservations for a 6pm meal preceding our 7:30 concert at the Frauenthal Theater. Being located downstairs in the same building, this is a great advantage to eating elsewhere and then having to scurry to the 'Frau' to...find parking and then get seated before any performance. But, that's where the advantage ended.
When we arrived there were only two other parties in the nicely decorated and lighted restaurant. One of the features of the online website I used to make the reservations was a "Special Requests" section wherein I requested "seating away from the bar"...this due to several comments as to how noisy it was NEAR the bar. When we arrived our reservation was ready...at the table CLOSEST to the bar. The hostess happily relocated us, but...
Our server was very pleasant but needed to return TWICE to re-affirm our orders and make corrections or give further explanation to menu items. One of our party [of four] ordered a steak and realized after the server had left that she had never asked how he wanted it cooked. Again, though there were very few customers when we ordered, it took about half an hour for our meals to arrive.
The food was good, serving size generous and prices reasonable. Besides the steak, we ordered two pasta dishes: chicken marsala and a mushroom/spinach combo. All seemed a bit short on seasoning and the marsala was served with a breaded [?] chicken breast laid on top of the noodles and not well incorporated into the dish; the sauce was also in short supply.
As more people arrived, the noise level did, indeed, become such as to make conversation difficult. The piped-in music did not help matters nor did it add to the ambience.
I think the main 'draw' of SMASH is as an after-work, cocktail/wine venue...note the full name...rather than as a fine dining restaurant. Nevertheless, because of the convenience factor, I would consider going to SMASH again but would prefer trying to allow adequate time to eat elsewhere and still arrive early enough to get good parking at the Frau.
NOTE: We received a 1/2 off coupon with our Theater tickets which was greatly appreciated. Not sure if this is standard practice but encouraged our SMASH visit.More