Spencer Metzger 'honoured' to open his first restaurant Chez Rose
Spencer Metzger felt the opportunity to take over Jason Atherton’s Little Social site was simply too good to miss.
The 2019 winner of The Roux Scholarship currently works as executive chef at Row on 5 on Savile Row, which this year earned two Michelin stars.
That restaurant is a culmination of a career at the top of the UK food scene by chef patron Jason, whose portfolio also spreads across Dubai, Switzerland and Italy, under his group The Social Company.
Jason decided it was the end for Little Social in Mayfair, after 14 years, and was ready to let the site go.
However, Spencer intervened and, with backing from Jason, will now launch Chez Rose in a redesigned space next month.
Explaining how it all came about, Spencer told The Staff Canteen: “Jason has had Little Social for 14 years. He was umming and ahhing about what to do with it, and he got made an offer to sell it.
“He was telling me about it, I went home that night and I was like: why are you selling it? I’ll do it.
“It’s just such a beautiful restaurant. It’s got so much character to it, so much history. It opened a year after Pollen Street, which is like a legacy.
“I don’t know what came over me, I just thought it would be great (to take it over).”
Spencer then came up with a business plan and concept to present to Jason and his wife and business partner Irha, who “loved” the idea, which put the wheels firmly in motion.
Why the name Chez Rose?
Concept and menu ideas decided, now came the big challenge for Spencer.
He explained: “Jason said: what are you going to call the restaurant? I said: I have no idea, Jason. How do you name a restaurant?
“He was like: it’s got to mean something to you, because otherwise it’s just pointless. It’s your first ever thing on your own, it has to have some sort of meaning to you.
“It took me a couple of weeks and then I said to him: I’d love to name it after my grandma.
“Her name was Rosemary. She passed away a couple of years ago.
“As a kid growing up, my mum was working and she brought us up on her own, basically. My grandparents looked after us, so they picked us up from school every day. They cooked for us in the evening. We would spend summers and weekends with them.
“My grandma used to cook us amazing food - just humble, wholesome food. We’re from a very working-class family. It was nothing special, but the time that we spent together, it was always sat at the table, no phones and we’d have dinner for two or three hours talking, and they’d tell stories. They’re very, very special people to me.
“When I was coming up with this idea of what this restaurant is, it is about quality, it’s about giving, it’s about people spending time together, it’s about the generosity of wine and food.
“Most importantly, when you work in an open kitchen like we do at Row, it’s amazing to see people celebrate these milestones, or they don’t have much time together. It is creating that space.
“She always celebrated every moment, so I thought it would be really nice to celebrate her in the name of the restaurant.”
Spencer continued: “In the menu, we’ve got things that are inspired by her. Every Sunday we’d always go around there for roast chicken. So we’re going to do ‘Rosemary’s roast chicken’.
“Every dessert was always apple strudel or crumble and custard. So, for someone’s birthday or celebration, we’re going to do ‘Rose’s apples’. It’s always going to be a play on the flavours of strudel for celebrations and just a little nod to her.
“I don’t want it to all be like ‘this is from her’, because it just sounds cheesy. It’s just real, genuine memories.
“It is a meaningful restaurant, but we want it to be super relaxed. The dress code is going to be really chilled for the staff. We’ll have good music, great food.
“We’ve got white tablecloths and silver candles, beautiful interiors, a really cool bar and an awesome wine list.
“We’ve got beautiful little tables outside where you can sit in the summer, which is going to be nice. We just want to have a bit of fun with it.”
Contrast of styles
Spencer has spent his career working at the high end of British gastronomy, firstly at The Ritz, and more recently at Row on 5.
Asked why he has now taken the decision to open a restaurant aimed at a different audience, Spencer said: “It’s not going to be anything like Row. We’re not in a position where we want to invest loads of money. It’s not about that. It’s about creating something that’s humble and genuine.
“It would be amazing if I could create a restaurant on a budget, without spending billions of pounds which you’re never going to get back.
“It’s got the bones of a great restaurant already, so let’s be clever about it.
“It’s under the umbrella of The Social Company, but it’s a way for me to have a major stake in a restaurant and to keep growing the partnership together.
“I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t with Jason.
“It’s two separate concepts. The similarities are always going to be the hospitality, the product, the ingredient, the wine list, all those things that are so important to guests.
“It’s not built for winning loads of accolades. It will hopefully achieve them by default and in its own way.
“It’s a fun way to cook a different style of food. In London, at the moment, you’ve got the top, top fine dining restaurants, in the two and three-star category, where you go for a very special experience, a special journey.
“Then the restaurants that excite me are Lita, Dorian and Mountain, places like that where chefs from Michelin-star backgrounds are now cooking more accessible food, but done with the same skill.
“I think that’s the direction that we’re going. We just want to be produce-led.
“It’s going to have a big French feel and theme, because I trained at The Ritz for 12 years and cooked classic French food. That food’s always been in my blood and I love it.”
He added: “I left The Ritz for a reason. Number one, to open Row and to see how far we could push Row on 5, and how we can refine our work and give the guests the ultimate experience if we put our minds together.
“But also what I wanted to learn was how to run a restaurant. I wanted to learn the business side of it. I wanted to learn the real day-to-day hard decisions that restaurant owners take.
“Jason’s been amazing. I’ve been completely exposed to everything. He takes me to every meeting, explains a lot of things and gives me a lot of freedom to make decisions at Row, with guidance.
“For me, what I’ve learned not only about food in the last year, but what I’ve also learned about running a restaurant, are lifelong lessons.
“When I decided to leave The Ritz, it was a big decision for me because I almost had my future set out for me. Everyone kind of assumed what I was going to do and what my future was, but I knew deep down that I wanted to do this and be able to do it independently.
“When I looked around, the chefs in the country that I thought were the best restaurateurs, there was only one person for me that I looked up to and that I admire. That was a really important decision.
“It’s still so dynamic and business savvy. It’s a different world, and that world excites me. It’s exhilarating in some ways.”
He added: “I didn’t think it (opening a new restaurant) would happen so quick.
“We spoke about maybe doing something else three or four years down the line of Row opening, but it was never set in stone. I never had this burning desire to do it, but when the opportunity came up, it was almost like fate and time.
“It was like: why not? It’s amazing to be doing it with Jason and Irha and within the group, because we run everything through head office. It keeps our partnership super strong, if not stronger.
“It’s amazing that they’ve allowed me to have a platform to be able to open a restaurant under my name, but within the company.
“It’s a new thing for Jason to be in that position to do that for someone. I’m super grateful and honoured to be in that role.”
Balancing his time
Jason is continuing to strive for more at Row on 5, so how will Spencer’s time be balanced between his role there and Chez Rose?
“At Row, I’ll always be here for service,” Spencer insisted.
“The team here is rock solid at the moment and they’re doing a really good job. So it allows me to have a little bit of time to focus my mornings and lunch services at Chez Rose, and then in the evening I come back to Row.
“The other fortunate thing for me is I can walk from one restaurant to the other in three minutes. If it was a restaurant that was 20 or 30 minutes away, I probably would never have come up with the idea.
“It’s only because I can literally run down the road and be there within two minutes, it works for me.
“We’ve got an amazing head chef, Mark Catchpole, who’s going to run Chez Rose.
“He worked with Simon Rogan in Hong Kong for a long time. He has also worked at Dinner by Heston and The Fat Duck, and did a bit of time out in Australia.”
A fitting tribute to grandma Rose
Chez Rose will be open seven days a week, with an ever-changing specials menu, based on what produce is available on the day.
While his grandma will never get to experience in person the restaurant which bears her name, Spencer explained the big role she had in making this a reality.
Asked what she made of him becoming a professional chef, Spencer said: “She loved it. Unfortunately, she never got to see Row on 5, but she was with me for the whole journey of the design and me deciding to leave The Ritz.
“She was the one actually that said to me: Spencer, you should leave and do that, take the risk. So I did it.
“Everything’s going amazing. We’re very fortunate, very grateful for the position we’re in at Row. We’ve still got a long way to go.
“This is a new chapter and a new exciting project.”
He added: “Pollen Street obviously meant a lot to Jason. That was his first restaurant. Even guests that come to Row today, they all reminisce about Pollen Street.
“To do that on that street, I think it’s almost like the passing on of the baton, like he says, which is a massive responsibility.
“With the right team and the right focus and the right drive, we can achieve a fun new restaurant that’s cooking excellent food and where people enjoy it.
“We don’t want it to be any more than that. All I want to see is it busy, people enjoying themselves, people coming once a month, maybe once a week.
“It’s a nice new thing for the street. Then you’ve got Trèsind opening on the corner and it looks like maybe someone has taken on the old Pollen Street site.
“It’d be good if that whole street now is very vibrant. It’s all pedestrianised. It’s like a little hidden gem of Mayfair.”
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Spencer Metzger 'honoured' to open his first restaurant Chez Rose
