Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton has made the decision to cut menu prices at his flagship Mayfair restaurant Pollen Street Social. The move comes as a bid to make West End dining more accessible with price of eating out continuing to soar.
Most restaurants across the UK are having to significantly increase the price of their menus due to rocketing costs, but Jason and his team have decided to go the other way in an attempt to encourage more people to eat out.
The chef told the Evening Standard that customers are feeling increasingly ‘alienated’ by the rocketing cost of dining out, especially when they’re already having to make cuts across other areas of spending.
The price of the set lunch menu at Pollen Street Social has been cut from £75 to £49.50, which Jason reported led to a rapid influx of new bookings. While the tasting menu, which is usually priced at £185 per person, has been reduced to £145. The menu currently features eight courses with dishes including roasted turbot with white asparagus and warm roe butter sauce; and sake washed monkfish with preserved lemon, celery and chilled winter truffle dashi.
On the drinks front, the price of cocktails has been reduced from £19 to £14, while the wine list now includes options by the glass starting from £7.50. There are now more than 20 options under £15.
It’s not just his high-end Mayfair restaurant that’s had its prices cut. The chef’s counter experience at the Social Eating House has been reduced from £110 to £95, while Little Social Bistro is offering steaks for less than £30 (previously they were between £30 and £40).
Jason Atherton had this to say: 'We, like many operators, have been having to increase our prices slowly since Covid but as that’s happened people are feeling squeezed out of the London restaurant market and being able to dine out on a regular basis.
'So we’ve taken the decision to go the other way and rather than raise prices we’re going to lower them to encourage guests to use our restaurants more often.'
Looking for more places to eat out in the area? Take a look at the best restaurants in Mayfair.