'Our job isn’t done until guests are speechless' – Inside Row on 5
The phrase ‘refinement of work’ expertly sums up Jason Atherton’s philosophy when it comes to running restaurants.
Multi-award-winning Jason, who has a portfolio of restaurants across the world, is also known for his own cooking shows on television. Last year he launched his most ambitious project yet – Row on 5 on London’s iconic Savile Row.
Within months of launching, Row on 5, an acronym for ‘refinement of work’, was awarded a Michelin star, following in the footsteps of his Row on 45 restaurant in Dubai, which now holds two stars.
Alongside Jason throughout this journey, as executive chef, is 2019 Roux Scholarship winner Spencer Metzger, formerly of The Ritz.
Why Savile Row? The Story Behind London’s First Restaurant on the Row
Discussing how Row on 5 came to be, Jason explained: “Why would we choose Savile Row for a project of this magnitude? Is the timing correct? No. Does it make financial sense? No.
“If it was a normal businessman or restaurateur, everything we've built here makes no sense.
“But it was never about making sense.
“Before COVID happened, I was cooking at Pollen Street, a five AA Rosette restaurant, one Michelin star, won wonderful awards. But it was a busy restaurant.
“We were doing 90 to 100 for lunch, 120 for dinner, four or different menus. I was pushing the restaurant really hard, pushing the team hard, pushing myself hard and really taking the customers on a journey a restaurant that big didn't really have the right to do.
“As you get older, you get more tired, you get a little bit more mature in your thinking. I just went back to Irha, my wife and my business partner, and said, I just can't do the covers anymore. I'm not standing on that pass doing that many covers trying to get that much quality right day in, day out, for that many people.
“I wanted to buy a smaller restaurant.
“In the history of Savile Row, 295 years since the Row was born, there has never been a restaurant. So this is the very first one.
“I've loved the street ever since I've started to be able to pay myself a better wage. I’ve had my shirts made here, I've had my trousers made here, my suits. I like the whole process of bespoke clothing.
“I got a call from the landlord of Pollen Estate, who said he might potentially have a site on Savile Row for a restaurant. I said, well, I'll be there in 10 minutes. I literally took my apron off and came down the street.”
A Three-Act Dining Experience Like No Other
The dream looked like quickly being scuppered as the national lockdown hit in early 2020, but Jason continued planning for what he could potentially create in the former tailor shop.
Eventually, the dream became reality. What he has created is an offering like no other in London - a ‘three act’ dining experience in different spots around the restaurant, spread across 15 courses.
Part of the experience includes guests being offered dry cleaning services on arrival, as well as entering a lift between acts, accompanied by The Clash’s hit song London’s Calling.
“The type of service is very homely,” general manager Nicolas Poinsot explained.
“It’s still a fine dining type of experience, but we want to have personalisation of the items, like you have been invited to someone’s house for dinner.”
Shortlist to join Jason at Row on 5
Jason initially planned for chef Dale Bainbridge to move across from Pollen Street Social with him to Row on 5, before the pair opted to go separate ways.
“I thought, I really need to do this with somebody who can throw their whole life into it alongside me,” said Jason.
“I made a shortlist of five cooks I want to speak to in this country. Spencer was number one on my list.
“I was very worried about approaching him because of my relationship with John (Williams), who was a friend and a fellow Royal Academy chair.
“But at the same time, I know Spencer's going to go to the top. I know Spencer is extremely talented and I want to work with talented people. Why wouldn't I?
“We must have had 20 coffee meetings before Spencer decided, ‘you know what, I'm going to do it’.”
Why Spencer Metzger joined Row on 5
“When Jason approached me about possibly doing this project, I was a little bit taken aback,” Spencer admitted.
“We got on really well, we spoke about what I wanted in my career, what he wanted for the group and wanted to achieve. He had the site at Savile Row and it all kind of went from there.”
Explaining the food and dining offering at Row on 5, Spencer explained: “We’ve got quite a high Japanese influence on the menu, from product to methods to the culture of Japan.
“The mix of British cuisine with a little bit of Japanese influence really works.
“The chefs serve all of the food, so it's been a really interesting process to train them all how to talk to guests. Now, you honestly can't keep them away from the table.
“It's amazing when you read the reviews that every single guest will mention a different chef, because they're connected in a different way.
“The menu really is product driven. It's all about the products, what we can do to it to enhance it, but not manipulate it in too many ways.”
Asked what it is like working with Jason, Spencer said: “The way Jason operates as a restaurateur, it’s quite amazing.
“Jason's philosophy is everything's very precise. From being on the outside of the restaurant, are the windows clean? Is the floor clean? Are the toilets clean?
“He's constantly trying to be better, trying to be as perfect as you can.
“We talk every day, about everything. It's a really good working relationship.”
'Wine as important as food'
Executive head sommelier Roxane Dupuy also plays a huge role in the success at Row on 5, with the restaurant boasting a collection of more than 2,400 wine menu offerings.
“I'm one of the few chefs who is absolutely crazy about wine,” said Jason.
“The wine has to play the same role as the food. I want people to come here and maybe it's not about the food for them, maybe it's just about the wine, which happens. For wine lovers, this is paradise.
“We just wanted to build what I believe can be a world-class restaurant.”
He added: “Row on 5 is refinement of work, the acronym, which means our work’s never done.
“Very much like a tailor shop where if you're having a suit made, every stitch has got to be thought about, every piece of material, the lining, you have several fittings.
“It takes nine months to make a suit. But that's why you pay a lot of money for it. It's the same thing here.
“It is over the top, absolutely. But dining at this level is over the top. The point is it's a sensory overload.
“You're coming here to eat some of the best ingredients, with mine and Spencer's touch to them to give that magic, with Roxane's team, Nicolas's team. It's your special time.
“It's like transporting people on a mini holiday for three-and-a-half hours.
“We make it really special for people.”
He added: “I said to Spencer, our job in both Rows is not done until I get that same feeling of when I left Frantzén in Stockholm, I was literally speechless how good it was.
“That’s the feeling I want our guests to have, because I know how transformative it is to your soul.
“When you leave a restaurant of that magnitude and you go, oh my goodness, wow, that was really special, then you've got magic.
“I wanted to create that.”
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