A lot to love at Pollen Street Social

The first of Jason Atherton’s restaurants, Pollen Street Social earned its first Michelin Star within six months of opening back in 2011. Over a decade later, it’s still considered to be one of London’s top restaurants.

Pollen Street Social’s approach is fine-dining without the formal pomp. Of course, there’s an element of fancy to the place – there’s a caviar course for an extra sixty quid, for instance. But, the atmosphere is as relaxed as any favourite neighbourhood spot. It’s full of laughter, chatter and bloody good food.

Fittingly onto the food, the restaurant places its focus on seasonal British produce. From cultured butter from Oxfordshire to lamb from the Lake District, the team has developed long-standing relationships with homegrown suppliers to deliver the best of Britain across Pollen Street Social’s menus.

Opting for the lunchtime tasting menu, to start was their take on afternoon tea followed by Hampshire trout two ways – both of which were beautifully presented and even better tasting.

Next was a wonderfully fresh Orkney Sea scallop dish, begging to be photographed with its pops of colour placed delicately across the plate. The scallops came with tomato water, lemon and apple, frozen Dashi with wasabi, ponzu and dill oil. There was a lot going on and even more to love. Smoked bone ‘Chawanmushi’ came next with native lobster, some remarkably sweet teardrop peas – known as the caviar of vegetables – Ibérico ham and a warming lobster tea. Unsurprisingly, I loved the mix of flavours here too.

The main fish course was roasted Newlyn turbot with Loire Valley asparagus and a deliciously rich warm roe butter sauce oozing over the top. A simple but brilliant dish, demonstrated through the restrained beauty of its presentation.

Onto the final savoury course, roasted Creedy Carver duck which was cooked perfectly with duxelles between the meat and skin. This came with orange pickled chicory, a cauliflower and koji puree, some Wye Valley asparagus and fragrant orange oil.

For dessert, first came a bowl of gariguettes (a type of strawberry from France, small in taste but strong in flavour) with a scoop of goat’s cheese ice cream (I could’ve eaten a whole tub) and geranium oil. Then, a light-as-air Japanese citrus parfait with yoghurt sorbet and a citrus sauce. The balance of both desserts was perfect – sweet enough to satisfy a sweet-toothed diner like myself, but delicate too.

To circle back to the start, my lunch at Pollen Street Social proved exactly why this restaurant was awarded its first star within six months… and, more importantly, why it’s still so loved.