I was disappointed when Pollen Street Social closed. I have fond memories of the place - the food was great, and it wasn’t super uptight and fancy - no multi-course tasting menus, no waiters in tailcoats, no jacket and tie dress code. It was a good place for a casual gathering of friends over simple, but well-executed British classics. When I heard Jason Atherton was opening a new restaurant in London, I decided I’d give it a try.
Something seemed off though. No cancellations a month before the reservation date, three different supplement selections? This wasn’t the Pollen Street Social I was used to. Nonetheless, I gambled with my flight being on time, and made a lunch reservation for a few hours after I landed in Heathrow.
Fortunately, my plane was punctual and I managed to beat the morning rush into London. I was in for a treat! In fact, it took me nearly a month writing this post before I felt like I could do the experience justice!
Row on 5 is a fine dining restaurant in Mayfair, opened in late 2024 as a collaboration between renowned chef Jason Atherton and executive chef Spencer Metzger. The name "Row" stands for "Refinement of Work," reflecting its focus on meticulously crafted, seasonal British gastronomy in a luxurious, bespoke setting that draws inspiration from the tailoring heritage of Savile Row. It features a 15-course tasting menu, structured in three acts across multiple spaces within the restaurant, emphasizing peak-season British produce. The venue quickly earned one Michelin star for its high-quality cooking, with reviewers often predicting it could achieve two or three in the future.
Spencer Metzger serves as the executive chef, leading the kitchen with a style that enhances outstanding British ingredients through skillful techniques and depth of flavor. Born in Essex in 1993, Metzger discovered his passion for cooking at age 15 during a two-week work experience at The Ritz in London. He later joined The Ritz full-time, rising to head chef by his mid-20s, where he helped maintain its Michelin star. His career includes stints at prestigious venues like the three-Michelin-starred L'Enclume in Cumbria and Frantzén in Stockholm. Metzger won the Roux Scholarship and triumphed in the 2022 series of Great British Menu, showcasing his technical prowess. In 2023, he left The Ritz to collaborate with Jason Atherton, first at Row on 45 in Dubai, before heading the team at Row on 5. His approach emphasizes precision, innovation, and storytelling through dishes.
Chef Metzger took some inspiration from his past experiences when designing the experience at Row on 5, and similar to Zen and Frantzen, the meal involves moving around to different floors as part of the dining experience. The meal began in the basement of 5 Savile Row, where we were greeted and led into the parlour.
The parlour featured an open show kitchen, where patrons sit in the middle of the action, surrounded by the chefs working at their stations, intricately assembling dishes from the perfectly placed mise en place.
The menu, which was revealed later in the meal. The first three and a half courses were served in the parlour, the next five and a half in the main dining room, and the final six back downstairs in the transformed parlour.
The meal began with a the Cheese and Onion: two supremely crispy onion wafers stuffed with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, an onion jam and a jelly made with Périgord truffle. A strong hit of funkiness of pungency to start the meal.
The experience then took us around the British coastline, highlighting some locally caught seafood in the next four canapes.
A play on Thomas Keller's famous oyster dish - with a bubble of oyster cream, a layer of caviar, a cucumber jelly on a crispy meringue biscuit. Really interesting combination of textures and flavours - brininess from the oyster cream, crisp freshness from the cucumber, crispiness from the meringue. An explosion of flavours in the mouth.
Moving north we had a single Barra Cockle, topped with sake reduction, grapefruit and white kampot pepper. Simple, but I could taste every ingredient - bitter from grapefruit, kick from the pepper, meatiness from the cockle, and could tell exactly why each ingredient was there. The only improvement I could think of, would be having a few more, because this was delicious!
Next up, a Bluefin tuna otoro, with caramelized crema, English wasabi, on yuzu cracker tart. A hit of decadent fattiness, but served cold.
The first half of the next course the Inverness langoustine served as a tartare with a bitter jelly made from the innards on top. Really neat, kind of custardy and a really fun dish.
After finishing the canapes, we were brought upstairs to the main dining hall, with nearly all the diners arranged in counter seating surrounding the massive open show kitchen. Again, intense precision with every chef at his or her station, every piece of mise en place in its proper place. I rarely get to watch this level of mastery, but this kitchen worked like a well-oiled machine. No yelling or screaming, and near silence from the kitchen as each team member played their role to perfection.
The second preparation of the Langoustine, poached for 6-8 seconds, smoked gently and served with a rich sabayon and curry oil with finger lime. Another big hit.
Before preparing the scallop course, I was presented with the 10-year old giant Orkney scallop. This course was presented with a surprise, a pair of chopsticks with my name engraved on it, with which to eat the course! I would be later presented with the chopsticks to take home.
The scallop was precisely cooked to 38*, pulled apart by hand , and served on top of a fresh herbal shizo oil. A bit of pungency in contrast to the soft sweetness of the scallop. One of the biggest hits of the meal, and absolutely perfectly done.
One of the optional supplements was a course of locally grown potato mash with golden oscietra caviar.. I imagine the mash was about half butter as this dish was a decadent explosion of richness. I remarked that the dish reminded me a iconic Core by Clare Smyth dish, and the waiter responded that the expediter on the line that day had spent seven years working at Core.
It was at this point in the meal I started understanding the theme at Row on 5 - highlighting exceptional (primarily British) produce, but using inspiration for their dishes from all over the world. It finally dawned on me as a Scottish native lobster came with a white miso chili crab sauce, with obvious Singaporean inspiration. The lobster dish was served together with the bread course, which was the perfect complement to soak up the delicious chili crab sauce.
For the bread, they used a Japanese Shokupan milk bread. Ultra soft, super fluffy and light, perfect for soaking in the rich chili crab sauce, and served with a puck of honey butter. Absolutely delicious and another big hit.
Starting to move forward the heavier mains, a sea bass “au poivre” dish with sea cabbage and lovage sauce, and a kampot pepper and caviar sauce, topped with thin slices of cabbage. A bit of peppery kick to a herbal and complex dish.
Another optional supplement - the British game. In this case, a wild grouse, smoked in pine needles.
The grouse was carved, sauced with a thick black truffle sauce and served with a whipped potato mash. This one was a bit neat - the mash was more a more a light foam than a mash, while I prefer my mash rich, chunky and heavy. The grouse was interesting - not my favourite game, but great execution nonetheless.
The main was a Sika deer, prepared in two ways. First, the loin, aged 15 days, served in a beetroot sauce with pickled artichoke with what appeared to be leaves of sorrel on top.
The second preparation of the Sika deer, in a Cantonese dim sum style. Wrapped in a thick layer of mashed taro paste, deep fried and served with a red vinegar dipping sauce. Reminds me of Hong Kong.
Around this time, the sommelier started pushing around a cart around the dining hall with a single giant bottle of wine. I was told it is was a rare dessert wine, a Château d’Yquem. Well, I’m a huge fan of dessert wine, so I decided to indulge - amber, honey, a bit syrupy and intensely sweet. Really, really amazing, and I made a mental note to get a bottle later on.
Looking it up, I gasped at the price for a bottle. Apparently, an 1811 bottle was the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold, and the tiny winery and high standards result in a very limited and pricey production every year. Well maybe a small bottle then, for a special occasion.
Instead of the traditional cheese course, they had a lighter cheese tart, featuring a Stilton cheese in an light oat tart shell topped with white chocolate and an apple gel. Not a combination I would’ve thought of, but there was no hiding the funkiness and the umami of the stilton.
The predessert highlighted some French Sollies figs. A fig granita over cream and a fig leaf oolong ice cream. Mix of textures between the grainy granita, and creaminess of the ice cream. A refreshing palate cleanser before the final course in the main dining hall.
Dessert was a blackberries coulis, with a yoghurt disc, a thin layer of white chocolate and a lemon verbena sake sorbet. The yoghurt puck was dense and tangy, with a texture a bit like goat cheese. In fact, this would’ve been pretty decent as the cheese course if served without the sorbet.
After finishing dessert I was invited back downstairs to the parlour where a heavily loaded liquor cart was waiting for me. The jet lag was starting to kick in, so I decided to pass, and move on to the tea and cakes.
The tea and cake course had a bit of a east meets west theme. A glass of cold brewed genmaicha tea brewed with a bit of popcorn to add a bit of nuttiness. Two hazelnut tea cakes, served with two creams for dipping - the “east” was a oolong vanilla tonka bean infused cream, and the “west” was the classic British earl grey flavoured cream.
Finishing off the meal with the petit four, a rich chocolate tart topped with maldon salt flakes and smoked olive oil, the smoky bitterness adding a bit of complexity to the tart.
Finally, a selection of petit four. Being completely stuffed at this point, I went with very few that intrigued me - a few jellies, a lemon tart and a mini-macaroon.
Overall, this was an absolutely amazing experience. I knew of Jason Atherton from his last restaurant and I wasn’t sure what to expect from Row on 5. This absolutely blew me away - it will easily take the trophy for the best experience I’ve had this year, and likely will top the charts in terms of best experiences had in any year. As far as I’m concerned, this is a three star restaurant that only has a single star right now. The precision, relentless focus, absolute attention to detail here was amazing, and I believe it embodies the description Michelin has for three starred restaurants: “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special trip.”
Total damage: 485 GBP/1 person
Looks fantastic. #1 on my must-visit UK spots next year.