A baby restaurant in the Jason Atherton Empire, vitually opposite his flagship & Michlelin starred Pollen St Social, serving good bites

A very pleasing set of flavours and choices to have in a venue that provides warm service. The familiar Atherton themes of counter dining, comfortable dining booths (with a bar that was almost a mini-version of that in Berners Tavern), cheery and smiley hospitality with food that simply creates a smile is becoming all the more familiar to me – Mr Atherton’s track record of ensuring that the food never forgets to please the mouth and not just the eyes is proving to be very good now.

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First things first, I have to say that the smoked salt butter was one of the nicest butters I have ever had. The glass of white that was recommended by the sommelier (Carignon Blanc) had an almost creamy, coconut quality and went down extremely well with the cod.

The cod brandade (like the texture of mashed potato) with crutons and ham was refreshing and light and the braised beef with cheese in a sandwich with was fun and the ghurkin ensured that the stickiness of the filling was balanced well. However the star of the show was the lightly coated doghnuts filled with port, with apple and cinnamon jam, crème Anglaise and cinnamon sugar dessert – without doubt the most enjoyable dessert I have ever had on any set menu in the world.

There’s always a downside to any equation or place, but thankfully in the case of Little Social it is a minor issue – the size of the interior does not lend itself to ever being a place suitable for a special occasion. The narrowness of the interior makes the design of the interior one dimensional and the tables for two are very close together as a result at the far end, so I recommend going in a minimum of three to gain a more separate or booth table.

However, the lasting impression I have from this visit is a very pleasing lunch at a reasonable price in a cosy and comfortable environment.

Food Grade: 69%