Social Eating House

Social eating fun

Part of Jason Atherton's ever growing restaurant empire and one of the one star winners in the latest Michelin guide, Social Eating House on Poland Street is his third London restaurant after his flagship Pollen Street Social and Little Social. As the name suggested, Social Eating House is all about top quality serving in a fun and casual setting. This is actually my second visit to SEH, having eaten there when it was newly opened, I felt there was a bit of ironing out required and I wondered how much they have improved so I dragged a friend to come along.

To make a direct comparison from my first visit, I went for the lunch menu again and ordered a pisco sour to start off with from upstairs bar The Blind Pig, SEH has one of the best restaurant bars in London for its creative and elegant touch, it is well worth a visit if you are a cocktail lover.  

pisco sour

bread

The starters, iron bark pumpkin and parmesan soup had a soft and smooth texture and not overly creamy like most pumpkin soups out there, the slowed cooked egg was done to the perfect level with the egg yolk still runny inside. The toasted cob nut and pumpkin seed grandola had multi layers of crunchy and nutty flavours and overall I was very impressed with the soup. The rolled smoked ham knuckle, leeks in embers and onion was a classic French dish at its finest, not overly complicated, using top notch ingredients with some good cooking skills to produce this fine plate of food.

slowed cooked egg, toasted cob nut and
pumpkin seed grandola....

....with iron bark pumkin and parmesan soup

rolled smoked ham knuckle, leeks in embers and onion

For our mains: The Cumbrian veal leg Holstein, fried Braddock white egg, smoked anchovies, bright light chard again showcased using British ingredients producing some classic French food, the veal was flavoursome and well seasoned, great texture on the anchovies and the whole plate was full of robust flavours. The roasted coast plaice was a rare chance I get to see a whole fish present on a dish, once again it had lovely seasoning, the sea lettuce butter carried a lot of earthy flavours with the salt and vinegar dressing working well with the soft texture of the fish.

Cumbrian veal leg Holstein, fried Braddock white egg,
smoked anchovies, bright light chard

roasted coast plaice, sea lettuce butter,
salt and vinegar dressing

To sum it up, I found the cooking was better than my first visit but still no way near to the level of both Pollen Street Social and Little Social. But the major plus about SEH is its lovely relaxing and casual atmosphere with high quality cooking which is a trend that is developing rapidly in London. SEH is a great place for friends to catch up that seek good cocktails and fine food in an informal setting in Soho, well worth a try.

Food 3/5

Executive chef: 
Paul Hood

What I paid: 
£26 per head with a cocktail

Average cost without drinks and services:
£23 lunch menu
£45 dinner menu


58 Poland St, London W1F 7NR

http://www.socialeatinghouse.com/