What can you tell us about Little Social?
It's Jason Atherton's first restaurant since Pollen Street Social - but it wasn't always intended to be. The Social Eating House in Soho was originally announced as his follow-up but he snuck this in when the previous restaurant ion this site (5 Pollen St) closed down. Requiring less of a refurb than Social Eating house - fittings, paintings and decor are new, but there are no structural changes, he's been able to open this earlier. Little Social is also aiming for a different vibe to PSS, styled after a French bistro (although there are some distinct American influences too, we think). The prices are cheaper than the bigger restaurant across the road too.
Where is it?
Literally right across from the original Pollen Street Social - just off Regent Street and about two minutes from Oxford Circus tube station. It's currently unmarked apart from a menu on the door - but easy enough to find on the tiny street.
And where should we meet for a drink?
The most obvious place is across the street in the Pollen Street Social bar (we're real fans of their Negronis) although be warned that the cocktail prices can be high (although worth it). Alternatively, if the bar at Little Social is available - grab a stool there. It's for drinks only and is not very long, but worth checking for space if you're walking past.
Alternatively, there are a number of decent pubs in nearby Kingly Street (we've always been rather fond of The Clachan) or you can grab a glass of wine in Wright's.
And where should we sit?
The prime tables are at the front of the restaurant - the three booths opposite the bar (and probably the only place you'll be able to get a phone signal). Alternatively there's another larger booth hidden at the back if you're after some privacy (that'll be the star-spot table, we reckon) - but anywhere else throughout is fine too. We were on a table near the back and it certainly didn't feel like we were crammed in. The full length mirror down one wall also opens things up too.
Is there bread?
We haven't put this in our Test Drives for a while - but yes there is! Perfectly fine sourdough or French bread (well, it is a French bistro).
And what should we order?
Little Social has a small, seasonal menu. When we visited in Spring there was a lot of rhubarb on the menu (and we're entirely in favour of that). We were expecting something more paired down than the food in Pollen Street Social, and to an extent that's what we got, but the quality of its forebearer really shines through.
There's a set menu that's available at lunch Monday - Saturday which is a steal at £25.50 for three courses. You can see the menu for that at the Little Social website, but expect lunch to be a hot ticket in the coming weeks.
For dinner, there's the á la carte with some notable dishes. For instance, there's a Little Social burger, which sees Atherton throwing his chef's hat into the ring to compete with London's burger scene. We didn't order this - but eyeballed it on the neighbouring table - and size-wise at least it compares with Boulud's burgers - but it is a pricey £17 (and you can add foie gras for an extra £10). We're pretty certain you'll be reading about that on London's burger blogs before too long.
Of the á la carte - for starters we had the cauliflower and crayfish risotto at £9.50 (deemed "great" although with some annoyance at unadvertised mushrooms of which our dining companion was not a fan) and a pretty fantastic pig's head and foie gras terrine (£11.50). The latter which we'd happily have again and wouldn't be out of place on the menu at PSS.
For mains we veered onto the specials menu - heading for the steak frites. It's perhaps a slightly odd thing to have as a special, but the sirloin was clearly high quality and cooked exactly to order (medium rare). At £23.50 for a very good steak and chips we thought it well worth a punt.
Back on the main menu, we also tried the braised Irish ox cheek with roast marrow bone and sourdough crumb, carrot and horseradish mash. We've since realised that we always seem to go for ox cheek from Atherton's menus - but he does it so very well and it's hard to resist. Finally, we also grabbed some cheddar, jalapeno and chorizo poutine from the specials (£6.50). Nice and hot, with a real kick, but we did feel the cheese could have melted through a little more.
It's worth mentioning that the portions here are generous - something that continued with desserts of goats milk rice pudding with rhubarb and ginger jam and the rhubarb Eton mess with rhubarb sorbet (both £7). You certainly won't leave Little Social hungry, but you might need to roll out the door.
And what about drinks?
Pollen Street Social is famed for some pretty special cocktails, and the bar at Little Social keeps up the quality (although ever so slightly cheaper at around the £12.50 mark). We had the Corner Collins (with rhubarb jam - there's that rhubarb again!) and the Au Pear (ginger liqueur, pear puree, lemon juice and champagne).
As for wines - bottles start around the £25 mark (£6 for a 175mil glass) but we went with the Pollen Street Social house white at £34 - something we always tend to have at PSS and it's never let us down.
Overall?
It may be smaller than both Pollen Street Social and the upcoming Social Eating House and have been delivered with much less fanfare, but Little Social is destined to be the sleeper hit of Spring. Very high quality French bistro food delivered at mid-range prices (with a great value prix fixe) this deserves to be a winner. Atherton's proved that he's still at the top of his game and the expectation for Social Eating House ought to dramatically increase as a result.
Little Social, 5 Pollen Street, London W1S 1NQ. To book call 0207 870 3730 or visit the Little Social website.
Prices were correct at time of writing. Hot Dinners were invited to eat at Little Social.
