“I just love dining like this. It’s fabulous isn’t it?”
Yes, Mum, isn’t it? I do hope she remembers quite how much she enjoyed it. The venue was Pollen Street Social and she was referring to the tasting menu.
“I love that it just comes and you just don’t have to think about it. And everything is so well thought through.”
Yes, I quite agree. Hold on, aren’t I supposed to be writing the review?
For our birthdays my dearest Dad let us choose a restaurant in London to spoil ourselves in. I sent him a list of suggestions in various price ranges and was pleasantly surprised when he responded with this:
“I had a look at the Pollen Street Social site. It has some very good drinking to be had for under 50 quids a bottle. I didn't think it looked too pretentious and the tasting menu at 80q's sounded OK. I don't know how it compares with the others you mentioned … so go for whatever floats your boat.”
Permission to do the tasting menu and a £50 per bottle budget for wine. Sold! To the salivating girl on cloud nine.
Like Mum, what I love about the tasting menu is that you don’t have to think about it. The chef has done all the thinking for you. It encourages you to taste dishes you wouldn’t usually order and discover new and exciting combinations.
In fact, one of my favourite dishes sounded like one of the least interesting on paper; roasted Cornish turbot, bulgur wheat, turnip, pear and cardamom purée. When it came I found it to be perfectly balanced, delicate and refined. The turbot was soft and supple, in contrast with the bulgar wheat which was studded with crunchy nuts and seeds. The pickled turnip added more crunch and some acidity, the puree a little sweetness with just a hint of cardamom.
Another dish that surprised me was the roasted Dorset monkfish, cauliflower, dehydrated grapes, apple and curry, spiced caramel. Again, not something I would have chosen, but actually it was the parts of the dish that turned me off – curry, apple and caramel – that made it special. The contrast of spice and sweet worked in the same way as salted caramel does, but with more emphasis on the savoury so that it complemented the fish.
The mushroom tea, a mushroom consommé served in a coffee pot and poured over parmesan foam, proved the maxim that the simplest things are often best. It was exactly how a perfect consommé should be, distilling the essence of its central ingredient in liquid form. Earthy, umami rich and deeply savoury. I don’t think I have ever tried anything that tasted quite so intensely of mushroom. Not even a mushroom.
I was less taken with one of their signature dishes, the English breakfast. It was a fun and quirky deconstruction with mushroom puree, tomato fondant, scrambled eggs and crunchy bacon bits layered in an eggshell, but in terms of flavours it lacked the wow factor of the other dishes. I suppose that is to be expected; a good English breakfast is always delicious, but never extraordinary.
Our favourite of the meat courses was the Lake District rack of lamb, braised shoulder, fregola in basil, olive powder, artichoke and smoked tomato chutney. The perfectly pink lamb cutlet was well balanced with the rich and tender braised shoulder. Crispy fried artichoke was a novel touch, the tomato chutney added a touch of sweetness and Mediterranean flavours lightened the load.
Lake District rack of lamb, braised shoulder...
Creedy Carver Devon duck, honey & spiced turnips, beetroots, pickled pear
I am the sort of person who chooses cheese over sweets, so my favourite of the desserts might not please everyone. The only really sweet component in the caramel popcorn and sweetcorn cream was the caramel popcorn (which was actually was more like hokey pokey). The sweetcorn puree was exactly that, and so more savoury than sweet. I thought it worked really well. Mum thought it was weird.
The only dish I was unsure about was the Orkney sea scallop carpaccio, kohlrabi, frozen pink grapefruit, lemon skin purée, black olive and samphire. It’s a pity because without the frozen pink grapefruit it probably would have been my favourite dish. I am sure the contrast with the warm scallops was exactly the effect they were going for, but freezing cold was too extreme and with the bitterness of the fruit it overwhelmed all the other elements of the dish.
Before grapefruit (Wish they'd left it like this)
After grapefruit
One great thing about doing a tasting menu in a pair is that you get to try all of the optional courses. I tried 10 dishes in total and the scallop dish was the only one I wouldn’t order again. Every aspect of every dish had been carefully considered and executed with skill and finesse.
I also love the theatre and performance that goes with the tasting menu. I don’t just mean the presentation of the food, but the service too. A good restaurant will only send their best staff when you’ve ordered the tasting menu because they have to be able to talk you through every course and to answer any questions you might have (which is lots in my case). We were served by one of the head waiters, Gabor, who was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and courteous, not to mention patient.
Since we were not having matching wines we wanted to find a white and a red that went with a range of dishes. The sommeliers gave us two winning recommendations: the Quinta do Ameal 2011, Loureiro from Ponte de Lima in Portugal, a light, fresh and zesty white for the fish dishes and the Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico 2010, Nero D’Avola and Frappatto, a smooth yet robust red for our meat courses.
With 3 restaurants in London and several in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, Jason Atherton is building his own little empire. I am not sure if he has achieved his mission of “deformalising fine dining” and making Pollen Street Social accessible “for simple everyday affairs”. But then if he had, we wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun.
Pollen St Social: 8-10 Pollen St, London, W1S 1NQ; 020 7290 7600;
reservations@pollenstreetsocial.com
Mon-Sat: Lunch 12-2.30pm, Dinner 6-10.30pm
Entrees from £13.50 to £19.50; Mains from £29.50 to £34.50
Tasting menu £65 (6 courses) or £85 (8 courses)