A Michelin-starred restaurant in central London is offering cut-price meals in a bid to attract customers through its doors.

The much-acclaimed Pollen Street Social in Mayfair has been one of the go-to eateries of the West End, but the cost of living crisis has forced Chef Patron Jason Atherton into rethinking his pricing policy.

While operating costs for the restaurant have gone up, Atherton has decided on drastic action to encourage more visitors to enjoy the food that the Michelin guide described as “cleverly constructed, modern dishes that retain a classic heart and yield bold, punchy flavours”.

“We, like many operators, have been having to increase our prices slowly since Covid but as that’s happened people are feeling squeezed out of the London restaurant market and being able to dine out on a regular basis,” said Atherton, speaking to the Evening Standard. “So, we’ve taken the decision to go the other way and rather than raise prices we’re going to lower them to encourage guests to use our restaurants more often.”

The new pricing sees the three-course set lunch menu going down from £75 to £49.50, with dishes including a starter of Pressed confit Rabbit Leg, Smoked Ham hock & Foie, Umeboshi Rhubarb, Pickled mustard seeds, Toasted Sourdough; lunchtime mains include Roasted Cotswold chicken, morel mushrooms & wild garlic, Provence asparagus, pomme Aligot. The tasting menu that includes 65-day aged beef fillet, Duck liver, Kohlrabi roasted in beef fat, parsnip cream, morels stuffed with veal sweetbread has also decreased in price, down from £185 to £145.

Atherton started out in the business working alongside chefs including Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White and Nico Ladenis, as well as working in Spain with Ferran Adrià at El Bulli, before joining Gordon Ramsay Holdings in 2001. He opened Pollen Street Social in April 2011 and now runs 16 restaurants internationally.