Pollen Street Social

Came here for lunch and loved it. Food was spectacular and service was amazing. I would highly recommend for lunch or dinner.

We had a wonderful dinner and experience with our two guests (from the US) who we were meeting for the first time "in the flesh" and also needed to discuss some possible business collaborations and se we much appreciated two things - the quiet, welcoming atmosphere and the fact that we were not rushed in any way - even though we spent 3 hours together at the table. We all have different things from the menu and everyone truly enjoyed what they were served (starters, fish dishes and desserts) - and commenting on it. I guess a Michelin star really does mean something!

Usually I take pictures of the food but it was business - so not this time. Do try it yourselves folks - highly recommended!!

Simple chic and intimate dining experience. Perfect service and beautiful food. The wine Stewart almost upsold me a bottle of French white but I know French wines extremely well, so I declined. He wasn't offended. And I didn't take offence. All in all, perfect lunch.

amazing service and good interactive staff we met the chef best experience that I've had went above and beyond an amazing introduction to Michelin dining

We had a perfect meal at Pollen Street, including the beef, fish entrees and the starters, the onion tart and langoustine. We had a very nice chocolate dessert. Service was excellent. Prices were fair and worth every pense.

A polished excellent restaurant - second time and just as good as the first! The 4 course menu felt good value.

I have eaten at Pollen Street Social twice. Once for a business lunch and once for a personal dinner. The most recent being the personal dinner.

The verdict? I would not eat here again unless substantial changes are made. I expect more from a Michelin Star restaurant charging top dollar/pound for their food/service.

Two tasting menus and wine parings cost us just over £400 (~$551), which did not feel worth it at the end. My biggest problem with PSS is that their plant-focused tasting menu is vegetarian and can be made vegan by excluding ingredients. Why not be creative and add different ingredients, or offer a vegan menu altogether?

Most of the items on the tasting menu repeated ingredients and tastes from previous courses. A lot of the flavoring used was a sour lemon taste. The only memorable course for me was the pea risotto...which might have been amazing if they replaced the excluded ingredients with something else. The lack of creativity for vegan dishes was disappointing.

We were bored by the food and actually pretty bored the whole time, as the dinner took 4 HOURS, leaving us begging for the bill so we could leave at the end.

Finally, the person I was dining with did not get the vegan menu and the first serving was an "afternoon tea". Irritatingly, the restaurant put both the non-vegan and vegan items on the same serving platter. I had a huge problem with this but they insisted it was fine. One of the items served with the afternoon tea was identical to the non-vegan version and these clowns who told me everything was fine were completely WRONG. My dining partner luckily ate the item from his side first and flagged he had the wrong one and that they put the non-vegan on my side. The staff were not receptive to us when we told them they messed up and put the non-vegan item on my side and the vegan item on the other--no apologies from the restaurant. This was irritating because I'm allergic to dairy. That said, I recommend you request your food to be separated if you're dining with a non-vegan here.

Lunch in January 2020 - The vegan tasting menu for lunch was much smaller, but the service still took a while. Same deal with exclusion of ingredients for vegan versions. Hopefully they'll get with the times given veganism is huge in London.

The food and wine pairings were spectacular. The staff was the perfect combination of warmth and professionalism. The ambiance was modern, fresh and bright.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Went here for a special occasion and got to enjoy the tasting menu and fine wine pairing, cannot recommend enough.

Food: truly superb mix of London classics with an upscale twist. Some dishes defined by simple elegance, others with a playfulness (see photos for more)

Drink: the fine wine pairing was really special, very unique selections expertly paired to the tasting. For cocktails, the famous Dill or No Dill did not dissapoint

Ambience: elegant, but casual. You feel that you are some space special, but not that it is stuffy.

Service: excellent. Each dish is explained along with the wine pairing

Pro tip: get the cheese course. They come out with a huge selection to try from paired with amazing crackers (possibly fried, don't quote me on that though).

Probably more like a 3.5, but my crab salad was really quite poor. I just can't forgive that sort of thing for a Michelin star restaurant.

The braised shoulder mashed potatoes that came with the lamb dish were the highlight of the meal. Really flavorful and delicious. Lamb was pretty good.

Gluten free bread didn't seem homemade. Butter was delicious.

Dessert intermezzo candies/cookie were alright.

Husband reports the soufflé was exceptionally delicious.

Staff wrote us a lovely card for celebrating a special occasion.

It could just be what I ordered, but I kept feeling like I was tasting the same thing? There seemed to be citrus notes in everything.

Pollen Street Social may be somewhat of a mainstay on London's fine dining circuit, and we found it generally deserves the accolades. From the moment you step into the refined space, there is a sense of confident luxe. The dining room may be streamlined and posh, though it is not sedate, particularly as the night progresses. Jason Atherton's menu leans toward familiar flavor profiles, but his approach is not at all banal. Cuisine is executed with precision and finesse. The wine list contains an interesting array of options, with some highly rated gems. Service is top notch and professional. Overall, we really enjoyed our experience and think it warrants the Michelin star. Look forward to trying Chef Atherton's NYC outpost - The Clocktower.

Atmosphere
- Sleek and modern; a minimalist luxe that still felt approachable.
- Some white table cloth formality, but the approach is not stale.
- Pleasant din; neither noisy or too quiet.

Food
Jason Atherton's cuisine is clean, and a pleasant blend of classic flavor profiles with a refreshed viewpoint. It would be nice to have some additional vegetarian and meat courses on offer for the first course. The weak point in our experience was clearly the dessert course, as the Brogdale Pear lacked both heft and interest. We enjoyed:

- Raw Orkney Sea Scallop (pickled kohlrabi, nashi pear, black olive, jalapeño granité - £22): Even as a non-seafood eater, I enjoyed this dish. It was very delicate and refreshing, though still flavorful; the granité was especially interesting. Nice, clean dish to start with.

- Whole Roasted Goosnargh Duck (braised swede, quince, pesto served with a salad of duck leg in Moroccan spices - £79 for two): Loved it! Deeply flavorful, and the salad was interesting in and of itself. Wish the fat had been rendered slightly more; but near perfect.

- Brogdale Pear (goat's milk ice cream, honey & bee pollen - £13): Least enjoyable dish; it came as a tiny slice of pear. Flavors were basic. Needs more than the bee pollen gimmick.

Beverage
Wine list is extensive at Pollen Street Social, though some areas could use additional options across a variety of price ranges (e.g. Burgundy). There is a nicely curated list of by-the-glass options. We selected the 2013 Domaine des Lises (Maxime Graillot) Cornas (£135) from Rhône to enjoy with our duck. While the wine had pleasant aromas, it was rather tightly wound and tannic. Would have really appreciated if the wine had been decanted to soften things up; surprised about this oversight, as it sat in the bottle the entire evening. With dessert, the 1996 Château Coutet Sauternes (£15) is a nice option.

Service
- Very hospitable and attentive, making good recommendations when asked.
- Not overly mechanical or impersonal.
- Failed to decant wine, which was unfortunate as it could have benefited from such.
- 12.5% service charge automatically included.