Located on Pollen Street, near Regent Street in London, the restaurant will serve a more informal style of cuisine than Atherton was previously used to in his position as executive chef for Maze, which he left in May this year.
Describing his food as ‘having one foot in the past and the other in the future’, Atherton will divide his a la carte menu into hot, cold, meat and fish sections, with an additional daily meat and fish option available.
Pollen Street Social will also serve a three-course lunch menu for £26 plus a five-course tasting menu, with a vegetarian version also available.
Informal dining
Atherton, who recently launched his first solo venture at The Waterhouse at South Bund Hotel in Shanghai, later renamed as Table No 1 by Jason Atherton, said he had planned to open his own restaurant for the past 20 years.
“Pollen Street Social is my chance to create exactly the sort of restaurant I would love to eat, drink and socialize at. Not just somewhere for special occasions, but a place for people to come for all sorts of reasons and can’t wait to return to.”
Set to open in January 2011, three months later than originally planned, the 60-cover restaurant will also feature a 45-cover bar designed by Shanghai designers Neri and Hu, which will serve its own all-day tapas-style menu, plus London’s first dessert bar, where diners can watch their dishes being made.
Pollen Street Social will also feature two private dining rooms with a team of 16 looking after front of house and 22 to 23 in the kitchen brigade (the same amount as at Maze).
To view an exclusive video interview with Atherton on his project, click here.