Jason Atherton’s former Mayfair flagship, Pollen Street Social, reopened without advance publicity this week as Motcomb’s Tavern, the latest incarnation of the long-running establishment that closed in Belgravia earlier this year.
The move ends Jason’s association with the site where he launched his stellar career as a restaurateur in his own right, after leaving Gordon Ramsay’s empire – PSS was one of the most notable restaurants of the early 2010s, and led a fleet of 14 venues around the world.
Motcombs is a much older institution, the bistro/bar having traded for 42 years in Motcomb Street before making its first foray elsewhere in November last year, with the opening of a second branch in St John’s Wood. The new Tavern means the brand retains a central London presence, in what is probably a busier part of town than Belgravia.
Said to be modelled on the historic taverns of London & New York, it promises ‘a refined tavern style menu celebrating traditional British & global fare including Scottish beef, dry aged in house, fresh fish & lobster as well as our beloved Motcombs classics’. There is a raw bar, and red meat is cooked over a wood fire.
Jason, meanwhile, has switched his main focus in London to three new ventures: Sael in St James’s, fine-dining Row on 5 in Savile Row and Three Darlings in Chelsea. He closed Pollen Street Social a year ago, replacing it with grill restaurant Mary’s, which lasted less than a year. His cocktail bar the Blind Pig, which shared the premises, has now moved up to the first floor, while Little Social keeps his flag flying on the other side of Pollen Street (for the time being, at least).
Jason commented: “Mary’s has been well received by guests and we were fortunate enough to receive amazing reviews from Grace Dent and Tom Parker-Bowles. However, we have decided the time is right to let go of this much-loved site, accepting an offer from Motcombs Restaurants as we focus on the next chapter of The Social Company.”
Perhaps not coincidentally, a new restaurant is set open in Motcomb Street next week: Alfie’s, an upstairs dining room at the Alfred Tennyson pub, part of the Cubitt House Group, which will serve British and French classics.
