Pollen Street Social

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 :)

The food here continues to be superb after several visits, and the service is absolutely charming. A superb sommelier "Laure" - also from Maze - completes the pleasure. Our new favourite restaurant in the UK, France, the US, or Spain!

Staff was quite nice; professional and tried very hard. There were a few messups (missing cutlery, dishes to the wrong person, but that's just part and parcel of human error, and they were rectified quickly.

The food was decent. I had the deer/beetroot starter which didn't really seem like deer to me, but it was presented well and tasted nice. I then went for the ribeye steak (8oz). It was really tender (more tender than Gaucho), but didn't taste chargrilled and was slightly underseasoned. For dessert, I had the chocolate pave with mango sorbet. The chocolate pave was really rich, but the mango sorbet helped cut through it (the mango cubes on the side also helped make it less rich).

All in all. I wasn't bowled over by it but I think I may have been expecting too much. Food was lovely, but not overtly novel (although I think it may be a bit too harsh to compare to the likes of Heston's Dinner).

Some hilariously bonkers comments here. Went for lunch and it was super - great food and phenomonal value for money. Only gripe is that the hitherto well-oiled machine of service came completely unstuck when we decided to have our coffees in the bar area, at which point the (charming) waiting staff essentially forgot about us, but otherwise, great. Duncan's comment about the staff being 'mendacious' just reads like blabberings of some bitter rival.

Best restaurant in town, excellent food, extremely helpful and friendly service. Simply cannot understand why you would rate this 1 *. You must have been eating in a different restaurant.

Amazed by the poor comments here. The food was excellent, in particular the squid and ox cheek mentioned above, and the scallop ceviche and puddings. The wine was interesting, different and well priced. I found the service helpful and friendly without being stuffy, though in truth I would have liked a bit more support from the sommelier, who could have given us more support given the 12 different dishes we ended up eating...Luckliy our favourite choices matched the food well.

In Summary, the food here is novel, beautifully prepared and presented, and very tasty. For the price, it's not quite up to the standard of the ledbury or hibiscus, but the dining experience isn't anywhere near as farty, which for me is worth a lot.

If you go, go because you want to taste food you can't even consider cooking yourself, not to be seen or be cool. The rest will take care of itself

I had a feeling in my bones that the Pollen Street Social would be the 'meal of a lifetime'. Indeed, it was - the worst.

What a truly horrendous place. The staff were surly, ignorant and incompetent and the food was overcooked. My starter (escabesche of quail) gave my teeth their most serious test since I was a schoolkid chewing on gobstoppers in the playground. As my molars struggled to cut through each tough line of sinew, i wondered whether the experience would improve. To my amazement, it got WORSE. My main course (rack of cotswold lamb) was dry, tasteless and bland. I had no idea that farming conditions had deteriorated so much in the Cotswolds. Change your suppliers!!

When i left this place, i did so without my soul. And my wallet - this place is a rip off.

If you want to be in the 'in crowd', come here. If you want food that actually tastes nice, don't.

Never. Ever. Again.

ps - why is there no option to give no stars?

What an appalling experience. The staff are unhelpful, mendacious and supercilious. Steer well clear - there are plenty of good restauarants nearby who treat their customers as human beings.

THE best food I have had other than a two star michelin restaurant in the south of France. Jason Atherton is a genius!

has anyone been here lately? This review and the menu on their website read like 2 different restaurants. Thoughts?

What a place perfect from start to finish, time out never get it wrong. You have to go!!!!!!!!!