Mon 10th August 2015

I have always been a fan of Jason Atherton, ever since experiencing his extravagantly indulgent Signature 5-Course Chef’s Tasting Menu (with a kitchen tour as an added bonus) at Maze. When Chef Atherton left Gordon Ramsay Holdings to launch his own restaurant group, The Social Company, our loyalty followed him and his expeditiously growing success. Little Social was our second visit to a Social Company restaurant and believe it or not, in a way we had managed to stumbled on it unintentionally.

A few days before our wedding anniversary, I received a rather cryptic calendar entry from my husband, titled “Anniversary dinner surprise”, location read “It’s a surprise!” and a message saying: “Meet me at Piccadilly tube station at 18:30 x” Oh this is exciting! Where are we going? I eagerly awaited our mystery dinner date and diligently rendezvoused with my husband (aka chief surprise organiser) as planned. Whilst being led to our mystery location, we approached Pollen Street, and he casually said: “Pollen Street Social seemed to have renames themselves to Little Social.” I responded: “Isn’t Little Social the ‘little’ one opposite Pollen Street Social..?”, equally conversational. “Oh…” was all he could say, his face a picture. I immediately thought to myself “Oh I think I know where we are heading… Oops he booked the wrong place…” It turned out our mystery dinner became a bit of a surprise for both of us (ha!)…

First impression was fantastic (yep, a very good surprise as it turned out – well done to my husband)! Traditional decor, vintage picture frames and charming waiting staff – a perfect marriage of old-school “Parisian bistro” charm with a casually intimate setting. It was instantly welcoming!

Aperitif

I opted for a freshingly delicious Southern Ginger, while my husband chose an equally refreshingly yummy Elderflower Spritz (yes, we are both big elderflower fans)…

Southern Ginger £13.-

Diplomatico Anejo rum, Grand Marnier, lime juice, elderflower and ginger cordial, ginger beer. Served long.

Elderflower Spritz £14.-

St-Germain liqueur, Amontillado sherry, served spritz style with Prosecco.

Starter

Roasted quail breast with confit leg, sautéed foie gras, cherry compote & young almonds  £16.50

They say picture is worth a thousand words… My starter was simply stunning! Succulent little meaty quail pieces, luxuriously generous piece of foie gras that melts in your mouth – even the memory of the taste makes my mouth water! The sharpness of the litre cherry compote nicely cut through the richness of the meats. And don’t forget the crunchy young almonds which provide just the right amount of texture to offset the softness of the meats.

Main Course

For the main, we went for a sharer option from the charcoal grill:

35-day aged Herefordshire rib-eye on the bone £79.00 for two to share, served with Béarnaise or peppercorn sauce, chips & salad

This was perhaps a little bit overambitious after the extravagantly rich starter. It was however very nicely paired with a glass (or two) of Chilean Carmenère, a cheaper option than the old world alternatives – yum and won’t break the bank!

Dessert

For dessert, we shared a perfectly made chocolate lava cake. Why not?! Might as well start rich and finish richer. What can I say… we are greedy and this was an anniversary celebration dinner. This was totally worth the 15-minute (pre-warned) wait! Exceptionally rich moelleux with a hint of cardamon, nicely balanced by the saltiness from the velvety smooth ice cream, and accompanied by a cup of fresh mint tea – perfect.

Hot chocolate & cardamon caramel moelleux, Maldon sea salt & roasted almond ice-cream £7.50