On Thursday, a couple of friends
and I went to check out one of Jason Atherton’s restaurants on Pollen Street.
Little Social is a lovely “little” upmarket brasserie just off Hanover Square
and directly opposite its sister restaurant, the Michelin starred Pollen Street
Social.
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The atmosphere is buzzy and busy,
but not too loud. We were greeted by an extremely friendly maître d who walked us
passed the speakeasy style mahogany bar and down to our spacious red leather
booth. The restaurant is surprisingly
casual, an interesting contrast to the gourmet food.
My fellow diners and I ordered
some custom-made mocktails. We were asked to provide the waitress with our
favourite flavours and we were all given our own personalised drinks which made
us feel a bit special! One of my friends wasn’t too happy with hers and it was
gladly replaced.
To start, we ordered the Scallops
with Dashi Jelly, Shiso, Wasabi & Avocado Puree. It may sound odd, but I am
always sceptical about ordering scallops in non-Japanese restaurants. Nevertheless,
I was thoroughly pleased with our choice and this scallop starter was the best
scallop dish I have ever tasted. They were cooked to perfection and
presented beautifully. The Japanese influence suited the dish perfectly and I
would highly recommend it to anyone visiting this restaurant.
For our mains, we went for the
Aged Scottish Beef Burger with Bacon, Cheese, Caramelised Onions and Pickles…
The Tagliatelle with Mushroom a
la Crème and Parmesan Foam….
And finally, the Rack, Shoulder
and Shank of Lamb with Potatoes, Morels, Wild Garlic, Rosemary Mayonnaise, Baby
Onions and Hot Lamb Jus that was poured over the dish at the table.
All three mains were exquisite.
My friend described the Tagliatelle as the best she had ever tasted and the Burger
was succulent and juicy. The Lamb was in a league of its own – I don’t really
know where to begin. It was cooked exactly as requested and I enjoyed the textures of each different cut of meat. The potatoes were SO
buttery and rich and the jus was light and flavoursome. I could continue go on about the
mains…but I won’t.
The desserts were a tease. We
witnessed dessert after dessert go passed our table and were completely
indecisive when it came to making a choice. The maître d recommended the Maple
Glazed Cinnamon Doughnuts but we were tempted by the Hot Chocolate Moelleux
with Sea Salt and Almond Ice-cream.
It was good, but not great. The
salty ice-cream complimented the sweet chocolate well but on my next visit, I’m definitely going for those doughnuts.
We experienced excellent service
at Little Social – right from our arrival to the very end. It is something that has set this restaurant apart from others that I have visited recently. We had a thoroughly
enjoyable evening which led to me booking a table for my parents for a
pre-theatre dinner the very next day. Needless to say, they loved it too – and they
got those doughnuts! The restaurant was also kind enough to bring out a
birthday card and individual celebration cake for my father – it’s small
touches like these that make all the difference.
I can’t wait to visit Little
Social again and I’m also keen to check out the others by Jason Atherton:
- Pollen Street Social
- Social Eating House
- Berners Tavern – in the London Edition Hotel
- City Social – the newly opened restaurant in Tower 42
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