Chez Rose, a new French-style restaurant on Pollen Street in Mayfair, has quickly become one of the dining highlights of 2026, according to a recent review. The restaurant, which opened just weeks ago, offers a nostalgic yet vibrant take on everyday French dining, complete with vintage mirrors, doilies, and a menu that includes Crepes Suzette and 70% chocolate souffle.
A Tribute to Family and French Cuisine
The restaurant is the brainchild of Spencer Metzger, whose culinary pedigree includes stints at The Ritz and Row on 5. Chez Rose is a tribute to his late grandmother, Rosemary, with framed family photos and personal items adorning the room. Despite neither Metzger nor his grandmother being French, the food transports diners straight to France, with dishes like red prawn and tomato crostini and poulet rôti with vin jaune and morels.
Head chef Mark Catchpole, whose CV includes Roganic, Attica, and The Fat Duck, oversees the day-to-day cooking. The menu is a single sheet listing temptations such as wild mushroom persillade, Orkney scallop with Café de Paris butter, and a T-bone steak for two at £145.
A Lively Friday Lunch
On a Friday lunchtime, just weeks after opening, Chez Rose is already bustling. The meal begins with snacks like Cantabrian anchovies on young curd, which the reviewer describes as 'fat, glossy, smooth, salty; totally addictive.' A plate of Vesuvius tomatoes with peach and stracciatella follows, praised as 'the sweetest, ripest tomatoes we’ve tasted this summer.'
A stuffed courgette flower with ricotta and sauce vierge is hailed as 'utterly marvellous,' a far cry from the poor versions found in the south of France. The reviewer notes, 'A courgette flower is always delicious,' though their French companion, Charles, takes umbrage at any suggestion otherwise.
Classic Dishes and a Showstopping Dessert
An entire john dory on the bone arrives with pommes puree, described as 'half butter, half spud' and 'more like love/future coronary problems in a bowl.' Simple podded peas and a zingily dressed mound of fresh lettuce round out the savoury courses, with the latter being something only French cuisine truly nails.
The dessert menu offers mousse au chocolat and creme caramel, but the 70% chocolate souffle, which must be pre-ordered, is the unmissable showstopper. The reviewer declares it 'one of the dining highlights of 2026' and suggests, 'Ask the kitchen to bake an engagement ring into one – there’s no way any sane person could refuse you after that.'
Hospitality That Feels Centuries Old
The wine list is weighty, with the sommelier offering detailed facts on each listing. Glasses of Domaine de la Bégude Bandol rosé 2024 arrive in tiny, single-glass jugs. The overall experience offers 'a sort of hospitality that feels centuries old, but when done well, will never be old hat.'
Chez Rose is located at 5 Pollen Street, London W1S 1NE, and is open all week. Lunch service runs from noon to 2.30pm (3.30pm on Sundays), and dinner from 5.30pm (6.30pm on Sundays) to 9.15pm for the last seating. Expect to pay about £90 per head à la carte, with Sunday lunch priced at £49 for two courses and £59 for three, plus drinks and service.
