After deciding that it was time for Pollen Street to float away on the wind, Jason Atherton has rebranded the space as Mary’s - a grill house that takes heavy inspiration from New York’s iconic steakhouses (Gallagher’s, Peter Luger’s et al).
The name over the door may have changed, but inside Mary’s looks much the same as Pollen Street, which was about due a refurb when it closed. Though the interiors are very cosy, the room doesn’t quite have the fizz of New York’s great steakhouses. It’s more traditional, serene, made cheerful by lovely, enthusiastic staff. Tables are well-spaced and Mary’s makes an excellent all-rounder for all sorts of occasions, but as a result it does feel lacking in a bit of pizazz. A complete refurb is promised in 2025, which will help breathe some new life into this old stager.
There are big changes afoot on the menu, though. Gone are the pretensions of Pollen Street and instead, we have a hulk of a menu that includes 15 small plates as well as another 10 options from the grill. Mary’s feels like two restaurants rolled into one, in a way that leaves it slightly muddled and top heavy. The sharing plates cover a lot of ground - there are duck croquettes with satay sauce, monkfish tempura bites in warm tartare sauce, and lyonnaise onion agnolotti in chive beurre blanc and cheese custard, all cohabiting the same menu. Functionally it doesn’t quite make sense, but the cooking is excellent - that duck croquette is a star in the making, dressed in ribbons of pickled cucumber and a silky satay sauce, and we’re deeply enamoured by a plate of gurnard ceviche with kaffir lime. The starters alone could have their own restaurant, and a very good one at that (in fact, it probably was until the closure of Social Eating House in the summer).
The grill section is Mary’s beating heart, and offers plenty more choice, ranging from cote de boeuf and tomahawk steaks to roast chicken, pork t-bone steaks and fish cooked on the bone. Again the cooking is excellent, particularly on a blushing, dry-aged slab of sirloin. That Cumbrian beef burger is also juicy and delicious - another sign that on the food front, Mary’s has something good going on. If by some miracle you still have some room left, the desserts are typically hazardous to your beach bod goals, the most indulgent of which is a warm, boozy apple and calvados doughnut.
We think Mary is trying to do too many things at the moment, but despite that we’re sold on the quality of the cooking here, and the restaurant clearly has all the requisite parts to be successful. With a new look and a bit of streamlining, Mary could yet fill Pollen Street’s shoes.