Find out what we loved about celebrating at Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social
Our first experience of dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant
My hubby (Suraj) and I haven't eaten at a Michelin-starred restaurant before. Sometimes experiencing something like this for the first time can be intimidating or scary. It was strange. It was new to us, yet it felt easy.
Having a reason to celebrate
2016 has been very full and quite difficult. Even the positive moments felt dulled by other things that were going on and that didn't feel right. There were things to celebrate and I thought it was worth doing, even if it was some time after the event itself.
How I chose which restaurant to dine at
Suraj and I had met up with some friends who had recently treated themselves a meal at Pollen Street Social. They were telling us about how amazing their taster menu is, and that got me thinking.
I wanted to book somewhere soon, and because I started contacting restaurants during the Christmas holidays, many were closed or too short-staffed to reply to email queries.
Pollen Street Social's website is so easy and clear to use. They have a tab labelled vegan and within that, you can view their range of vegan menus. So all I needed to do was book a table, whereas with others, I needed some time to find out if they have vegan options, or if they would create a vegan tasting menu and so on. A couple of other restaurants replied quickly but didn't have the availability, so I've bookmarked them for later.
The Pollen Street Social experience
Let me set the scene for you.
The restaurant was a short walk from Oxford Circus Station. We were approaching the restaurant when someone saw us and hurried to open the doors for us. We were seated and the waiter was about to give us all the menu when he said that he had noticed that we were here for the vegan dishes, so he gave us the menus we needed. Another person brought a stand for us to put our bags on. I thought it was a nice touch. Our bags would be in one place, away from our feet and off the floor.
After that we decided to go for the 5 course tasting menu. The waiting staff were great. They delivered the food, explained what it was was, and managed to notice everything without us realising that they were even watching. They knew when our glasses needed topping up or one of us had left the table, and would then come and discretely fold the napkin and place it on the table for us.
The portions were great and the pace that the food was served was perfect. Our experience was relaxing, and exciting at the same time.
I'm sure that Suraj won't mind me telling you that he absolutely loved the Sea buckthorn sorbet and coconut. He went into a trance with every mouthful. It was so lovely to watch how much he enjoyed the entire experience.
Would we dine at Michelin-starred restaurant again?
Suraj and I would love to eat at other restaurants and expose ourselves to more experiences like these. It's expensive but worth it. I think it's definitely worth saving it for a celebration of some sort.
Related content
Can vegans enjoy fine dining?
Eating vegan in London
Vegan eats around the globe
Is it worth asking a restaurant that doesn't cater for vegans, if they can?
“It’s upsetting to me that so many people think of themselves as environmentalists and still eat meat and dairy products. I think it’s something people should be considering given the emergency situation we’re in regarding water supplies, global warming, and the destruction of ecosystems. There’s a lot of overlap between animal rights and the environment.”