Little Social

Little Social | Jason Atherton Restaurants

Shortly thereafter he moved to London, where he first worked for Gordon Ramsay as Senior Chef de Partie at the Michelin-starred Maze.

In 2007 Cary became the Senior Chef de Partie at Zuma.

In 2008 he moved to join the brigade as Junior Sous Chef under Head Chef Clare Smyth at the three Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

This was followed by a position as Senior Sous Chef at Indigo Restaurant.

Then 2011 he grabbed the reins as Head Chef of the much-loved Chelsea bistro Foxtrot Oscar.

http://www.littlesocial.co.uk

Little Social review: Pollen Street's classy and cosy Parisian-themed ...

The pocket-sized little sister of Jason Atherton’s flagship Pollen Street restaurant, Little Social is a Parisian-themed bistro bedecked in dark wood and red leather banquettes, with homely wallpaper that’s barely visible behind a collection of Gallic tchotchkes and period French tourism posters.

A sophisticated hideaway just off Regent’s Street, Little Social is near enough to Pollen Street Social that you could hurl your starter across the road and have it land all over table two.

Head chef Cary Docherty runs this operation, having worked under Little Social’s owner, the Michelin starred Jason Atherton, as well as popular swearing man from the television Gordon Ramsay.

Little Social’s intimate booths provide the perfect setting for discreet lunchtime conversation.

Little Social doesn’t get its name from its cavernous interiors and tables fill up quickly at lunchtime.

Review: Little Social, 5 Pollen Street, London W1 | The Independent

Little Social is the younger brother of Pollen Street Social across the road, the Michelin-starred brainchild of Jason Atherton, one of my favourite chefs.

Angie's Seared Tuna Niçoise was a beautiful sight, roundels of tuna studded with gems of olive, slices of egg, both overlaid with bright silver anchovies, criss-crossed with haricots and served with radicchio Castelfranco, a cream-coloured lettuce flecked with lipstick-pink.

Angie went for a similarly earthy dish of Toulouse sausage with mash, greens and onion gravy.

Out of interest we ordered a side-dish called 'Putine' which the Canadian chef seems to have brought with him: a meal-in-one mess of French fries, chorizo, cheese, jalapeno peppers and gravy.

It's not every day you can give a restaurant five stars for design and atmosphere, but Little Social's intimate room is irresistible.

Review of French Restaurant Little Social in London by Andy Hayler ...

The long, narrow dining rom has a low ceiling and wooden floor, with half a dozen tightly-packed seats at the bar in addition to the main dining area.

I guess the designer was trying for some hint of French art film chic, but in the movie the sign demonstrates the sinister Orwellian atmosphere of Alphaville, a city controlled by a computer, which seems rather at odds with the ambience that the restaurant is presumably trying for.

Fortunately the friendly staff at Little Social are much more welcoming than the sign might suggest.

The fairly short, almost entirely French, wine list had selections such as Mourgues du Gres les Galet Rouges Costieres de Nimes 2011 at £33 for a wine that you can find in the high street for £8, Domaine Cosse Maison Neuve Fa Fagge Cahors 2009 at £56 for a wine that retails at £15, and Fanny Sabre Beaune 2010 at £75 for a wine that will set you back around £39 in a shop.

This had fresh crab, some unannounced apple providing a nice balance of acidity for the crab, the beetroot adding an earthy flavour, though the radish was sliced so thin its taste was rather lost.

Review: Little Social, 5 Pollen Street, London W1 | The Independent

Little Social is the younger brother of Pollen Street Social across the road, the Michelin-starred brainchild of Jason Atherton, one of my favourite chefs.

Angie's Seared Tuna Niçoise was a beautiful sight, roundels of tuna studded with gems of olive, slices of egg, both overlaid with bright silver anchovies, criss-crossed with haricots and served with radicchio Castelfranco, a cream-coloured lettuce flecked with lipstick-pink.

Angie went for a similarly earthy dish of Toulouse sausage with mash, greens and onion gravy.

Out of interest we ordered a side-dish called 'Putine' which the Canadian chef seems to have brought with him: a meal-in-one mess of French fries, chorizo, cheese, jalapeno peppers and gravy.

It's not every day you can give a restaurant five stars for design and atmosphere, but Little Social's intimate room is irresistible.

Grace Dent reviews Little Social | London Evening Standard

Little Social is a French-influenced bistro.

Little Social is the little sister, the spin-off show, the bijoux residence of chef Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social, which sits just across the lane.

In fact, the diners at Pollen Street can watch you smoking a cigarette outside Little Social.

On further investigation, post visit, I heard of delights such as French fries with jalapenos, chorizo and cheddar, so next time I shall be more bolshy.

Little Social is a perfectly jocund way to spend a lunchtime but I can’t help feeling that, although I might pop in and flirt with it now and again, there are other, better brasseries that, currently, have won my heart.

Little Social - restaurant review | London Evening Standard

Almost exactly two years ago, Atherton launched Pollen Street Social off Hanover Square.

While attentive restaurant critics were waiting for the opening of Atherton’s Social Eating House in Poland Street, Soho (due April 19) where Paul Hood will be head chef, busy bee Jason took over 5 Pollen Street, where a restaurant of that name had stumbled and fallen, and last week launched what is not a French brasserie although it has been described as such.

Cannily, atavistic buttons connected to surroundings, soundtrack and service have all been pressed, making customers of Little Social feel immediately at home with the sight of ox-blood leather banquettes, bentwood bistro chairs, lamps that might illuminate a Paris Metro station and an enigmatic neon artwork cautioning, “Silence, Logique, Securité, Prudence”.

Add to this a specials board listing steak tartare, oysters and various manifestations of steak-frites — priced from £15 for bavette to £77 for shared côte de boeuf — to augment a list of stylish assemblies with a nod to Asia and you have a fairly compelling formula.

The elements mix and match effortlessly, a great look and taste only arguably upstaged by another choice of cauliflower and crayfish risotto, where the femininity of the two main ingredients is challenged by potent juices from roasted meat.

Social Eating House, London: restaurant review | Life and style | The ...

Atherton's first solo venture in Mayfair, Pollen Street Social, gathered a devoted fan base and now, a few years later, come two more: a bistro called Little Social, which opened in March opposite the mother ship, and the more recent Social Eating House in Soho.

A salad of crab, lettuce and tomato – a little cringingly called a CLT – displayed that most virtuous of cheffy skills: the ability to make ingredients taste intensely of themselves, in this case the tomatoes.

Both the mains were grand notions – a tranche of hake with an Indian-spiced crust alongside roasted cauliflower; a piece of lamb's neck with potatoes whipped to within an inch of their lives, and spun through with ricotta alongside lots of garlic and parsley.

Desserts were mostly whipped things: a take on a brandy Alexander, with crisp bits of this and that beaten into the boozy cream and sugar; a chocolate mousse with a tidy little chocolate éclair filled with salted-caramel ice cream.

But the Social Eating House needs more than a little tuning to become the brilliant showcase it could be for a great cook's food.

Little Social | Restaurants in Mayfair, London

Jason Atherton's super-bistro pays homage to both Paris and Manhattan: sit near the back for ultra-discreet seating and wallow in the rich French-style cooking.

But proper French cooking is too good to ever go away.

This year, the bistro and the brasserie are back, with luminary venues such as Balthazar and Brasserie Chavot now joined by Little Social.

We’ve been huge fans of chef Jason Atherton’s cooking for years, from restaurants such as Maze to his current flagship, Pollen Street Social.

The French staff were charming, the atmosphere intimate, the cooking first-rate, the wines by the glass desirable – and, with set lunches at £25.50 for three courses, a meal here needn’t be rapaciously priced.