Pollen Street Social

Excellent - extremely good service (attentive but not pushy) and superb food. Really enjoyed the evening. I agree with other comments that the acoustics are bad - sometimes finding it hard to hear the person I was eating with and the tables feel quite close together. Generally. however a great experience from being greeted at the door to leaving at the end of the night.

Not a nice experience. We went this past Saturday and had the set Lunch. We were seated in the bar area, which was a nice place to sit, probably not as noisy as the main room. The food was really just ok and even though the set Lunch isn't expensive it felt like too much. My salmon with water cress soup had an overwhelming salty taste of 'fish' and none of cress… The lamb as a main had an overall pleasant taste, but the texture of the rump was far too chewy. I could not even finish it. And for the service: uninterested, slow and uninformed. Maybe the interest was focused on the busy dining room, but we spent a long time waiting between courses. One member of the staff was somewhat thrown by a question of whether the mint pesto contained Pine nuts and insisted on there being Peanuts in it. As a consequence of his insecurity he only poured the sauce for the lamb on my companions plate and left me without. His senior colleague fixed this promptly when asked and also confirmed that of course no Peanuts but Pine nuts were in the Pesto. I left the restaurant with a bad feeling and would really hesitate to recommend it. The overall feeling was 'Nice cocktail bar', not for eating. I was really surprised to learn they had a Michelin star.

Went here on a whim for the Saturday set lunch (three courses for £25). As we hadn't booked we ate at the bar. It was faultless - delicious food and very good portions for a set lunch plus charming extras (olives and a salt cod dip; a palate cleanser of grapefruit granita and delicious petit fours). The staff were charming, easy going and attentive without being stuffy. It was one of the best dining experiences I have had in a long time. Am already booking another trip back in a few weeks. Well done Jason Atherton!

An honest review - why do most people write a review? in my opinion it's because they've either had an amazing or amazingly awful experience... I had neither! My group of 5 were booked in on the day which I did not expect was going to be achievable and upon entry at 18:30hrs we were greeted by friendly and helpful staff. We were seated and tended to attentively as you would expect from a restaurant that I'm sure are striving for a Michelin star or two... we ordered from the main menu (I wanted the attractive looking taster menu but was voted out). I had the full English to start (slightly different to The Maze dish), nice but the tomato base overpowered the rest of the ingredients. Duck for main was perfect, cooked two ways and compared to the lamb and beef was by far the best dish. Our pleasant experience started to drop, the restaurant itself is nearly all made of hard material and therefore noise bounces all over the place making it very hard to hear the person opposite to you without shouting. That was a minor thing sadly however the increased lack of attention/forgetfulness of the staff increased as the restaurant began to fill. They're passed opening teething problems now so I can't really explain it, staff were asked three/four times for drinks orders and sparkling water was topped up with a jug of tap water. You could argue that I'm being petty but I refer back to the Michelin star and Jason Atherton, having eaten at the Maze several times and been lucky enough to have met the Chef I know this is not what he had in mind when he opened the restaurant. The bill was less than £100pp which was a nice surprise. In summary over all lovely food, staff lack the finishing touch and make sure you sit close if you go. I have no doubt Chef Atherton will gain his Michelin star and afterwards the prices may rise so get in quick but prepare for a few disappointments along the way. Oh and get the Apple 'puff' desert if you've got room... awesome!!

hidden away just of of Regent Street, this is a little gem. We arrived a little early, however the staff were friendly and welcoming. The bar has a comfortable seating area where we enjoyed a pre dinner drink. Decor remindec me of the seventies, and tables a little too close for anyone wanting an intimate setting. Well designed menu, food excellent, wine list mostly Italian, perhaps a little pricey but we found an excellent red. Full marks. Highly recommended. Will definitely return.

Came for lunch today. Everything was superb. Our starters were served by Mr A himself whilst explaining all the ingredients.Great wines with each course recommended by the sommelier. Although we had been before in the evening when everything was served at the table, I assumed the invitation to the dessert bar was to free up our table. This was not the case as our table remained free in a busy service. It was a lovely surprise to be given sorbets, grenaches with mousses and chocolates in addition to our chosen desserts. Fantastic value

I don't understand the bad reviews here at all. I eat out several times a week, and easily put Pollen Street up there with my best ever meals. The service was perfect, efficient, understated. The ambience is one of relaxed refinement, and it's clear that a lot of thought and money has gone into the interior, which on a cold winter's day was like a welcome into a luxury log cabin. Even the girls on the cloakroom were sweet and charming. The food...well...what to say? The salt-cod brandade with divine warm bread was a nice touch... my starter of cauliflower and squid was simple, yet with interesting textures and taste combinations. My lamb with artichokes and spiced aubergine was perfectly cooked and also, a really generous size portion, not tiny plates as sometimes happens. We were given a pre-dessert, followed by ordering a selection of the most delicate beautiful desserts....white chocolate parfait with lychee 'clouds', dark chocolate pave with mango and PBJ-peanut butter and Jelly given a whole new twist...the meal was finished by some cute little madeleine type cakes, and even a wave and thank you from Jason Atherton on the pass. I admire him for being in his own kitchen unlike so many of the 'celeb chefs', even at a lunch service. Yes it was expensive but each dish clearly had many processes, and you pay for the skill, time and effort of the chef. I'm looking for another excuse to go back and sample more of the menu......

I can honestly say this restaurant was absolutely hideous. It was completely overpriced, terrible serivce and a menu that is trying too hard. The whole atmosphere was horrible and the food extremely dissapointing. It definitely did not stack up to expectation, the only thing worthwhile was the cocktail menu and you needed a fair few of those to get over the rest of the experiece!

I went for dinner a couple of weeks ago with a friend. We started off with a drink in the bar area and then moved next door for dinner. We both had 3 courses and coud not stop smiling from beginning to end - the food was outstanding. Every mouthful a delight. The staff were excellent - efficient, friendly and helpful. The sommelier was excellent. For what is a pricier end restaurant in central London it is not at all stuffy. We were even given a little goody bag of breakfast muffins when we left - delicious. We will definitely return and have been recommending to others.

Went there for my birthday in December.. brilliantly presented and prepared food, pudding and service. Will return (I'm from New York City :)