Pollen Street Social

Pollen Street Social opened in April 2011 and is Jason Atherton’s first UK venture since leaving the Gordon Ramsay empire where he was Executive Chef at Maze. Under his leadership, Maze specialised in small plates where the menu gave little hint of what would actually turn up on the plate. The menu at Pollen Street Social started out with a similar approach to Maze by featuring smaller tasting plates but has evolved to a more conventional appetiser/main approach. 

Bread was delivered to the table accompanied by a smoked cod brandade which was delicious (no picture). 

The appetiser of choice was listed on the menu as Cauliflower and Squid, clear roasted squid juice. The dish is an apparent risotto-type dish with shavings of cauliflower and surrounded by black discs resembling truffle. The "grain" of the risotto is actually finely diced squid and the "truffle" is squid ink-dyed cauliflower. The clear-roasted squid juice is poured on the dish at the table. The visual trickery may sound superfluous but the squid and cauliflower flavours complement each other perfectly so the overall effect is quite sensational. This ranks as one of my favourite dishes of the year. 

Before the main came out,  a taster of a new Pollen Street Social dish was delivered to the table. The Full English breakfast had been on the menu since the restaurant opening where a slow-cooked egg was combined with bacon shavings, croutons and a tomato confit. I loved the concept of the Full English but found that the tomato overpowered the other ingredients. The new dish was described as the Full Spanish and it is a winner. In the updated version the slow cooked egg was still the core of the dish but now it was supplemented with chorizo, potato foam and the tomato. The changes really helped the dish because the stronger flavour of the chorizo stood up to the tomato much better. When the egg yolk was burst into the tomato and eaten with the chorizo slices it gave a really satisfying mix of tastes.. 

My chosen main was described as “Roasted West Coast Hake, Smoked Mussels, Cabbage, Cod Cheeks, Potatoes in Seaweed  and sounded very interesting. This was a risky choice because I've never found hake that satisfying.  I’m still in two minds about this dish. It turned up at the table in two parts – a very green & white dish with the hake and cabbage, with the boiled potatoes in seaweed separately. Far and away the best part was the cod cheeks that were absolutely delicious. The smoked mussels were also really good but seemed too strong for the other components. Potatoes were good and although I expected the seaweed to be more integrated, overall they were a really nice addition. Biggest problem – the dish’s core element. Hake just doesn't convince me. Faint praise but this is the best hake dish I've had. 

At this point the meal took a very interesting turn when the maitre d’suggested I might want to move from my table to sit at the dessert bar. This gives the opportunity to watch the preparation of desserts by the chefs. And the best seat is at the end of the bar, closest to the glass-fronted kitchen so you can also observe goings on in the main kitchen with Jason Atherton in the lead. It is fascinating. Watching both kitchens in action it's easy to come to the conclusion that Pollen Street Social is a very, very well drilled machine. 

As soon as I sat down, a wonderfully refreshing lime & fromage frais sorbet and a dessert menu were placed in front of me.   

Then it was time to sit back and watch desserts being prepared. The amount of food already eaten called for a light dessert and one was being prepared that looked very tempting. Just as I was about to ask what it was, it was placed in front of me and it was time for another additional course. This was described as a lemon cream with blackberry granita and sangria foam and it was delightful.  

The dessert actually ordered was compressed fig, served with poached pear, honey and milk ice cream and plum soup and turned out to be a very satisfying end to the meal. 

As a postscript, Jason Atherton came out of the kitchen to talk to the dessert bar staff. He stopped for a chat and I took advantage of the opportunity to ask about the one main that I had strongly considered apart from the hake. This was listed as Cotswold rack of lamb & shoulder, “Neeps & Tatties”, Haggis. While sitting at the dessert bar, I'd watched numerous portions of it plated and thought I had a sense of how it came together, particularly the haggis part. The lamb was balanced on mash – don’t know if the potatoes and turnips were separate or mashed together – a question for another time. However, Jason confirmed that the gravy spooned over the lamb was actually previously cooked haggis shredded & in a red wine jus. I was absolutely gutted I’d passed over the lamb for the hake. Hey ho.

Overall verdict 
The menu takes definite risks so there’s no guarantee that everything will work for everyone. However, I have had two very positive visits and the good items far outweigh the less good.

Would I revisit Pollen Street Social?
Yes, two lunchtime visits have both been really satisfying experiences. The proximity of Pollen Street Social to shopping areas makes it the ideal venue for lunch during quick trips back to London. No idea if the lamb dish will stay on the menu but would so love to try it. 

Overall Rating - 4/5