Green’s in the City opened in 2009 and represents the second restaurant bearing the Green’s name, the first of which is on Duke Street, St James’s. Aristocratic backing of the venue (original owners are Simon Parker Bowles, Lord Daresbury and Lord Vesty) has ensured plenty of press coverage with, for example, their two year anniversary party featuring in Tatler magazine on account of the Lords and Ladies attending. Located opposite the Bank of England however, for most weekday lunches you should expect to find yourself more in the company of bankers and accountants rather than Lords, with food bloggers an equally rare sight.
The banking connection doesn't end with the clientèle for the restaurant is set in the old Lloyds Bank headquarters where the ground was floor previously occupied by tellers and the upstairs by management. Now, the ground floor houses a champagne bar (The Runner at Greens) in a cathedral like space while you need to ascend the grand staircase to access the main restaurant, the precisely named ‘Upstairs at 14 Cornhill’. The ‘runners’ noted in the downstairs bar refer to a horse racing theme that is evident throughout the bar which is a principal occupation of the owners. While a little out of place here, it's mostly unobtrusive and Lloyds Bank did of course have the black horse as a symbol (one that remains celebrated in an original floor mosaic). Upstairs, the jockeys outfits from below give way to dark green leather booths as the City branch replicates the St James’s original.
In terms of food style, the brand is carried as ‘Restaurant & Oyster Bar’ with ‘Green’s classic’ starters listed as potted shrimps, smoked salmon (with or without scrambled eggs), salmon fishcake, and split pea & smoked ham hock soup. There’s West Mersea Oysters of course and some additional dishes. For main courses, there’s more ‘Green’s Classics’: Plaice fish & chips, Smoked haddock Parker Bowles and Calves liver & bacon, as well as four grill dishes and four other mains.
The banking connection doesn't end with the clientèle for the restaurant is set in the old Lloyds Bank headquarters where the ground was floor previously occupied by tellers and the upstairs by management. Now, the ground floor houses a champagne bar (The Runner at Greens) in a cathedral like space while you need to ascend the grand staircase to access the main restaurant, the precisely named ‘Upstairs at 14 Cornhill’. The ‘runners’ noted in the downstairs bar refer to a horse racing theme that is evident throughout the bar which is a principal occupation of the owners. While a little out of place here, it's mostly unobtrusive and Lloyds Bank did of course have the black horse as a symbol (one that remains celebrated in an original floor mosaic). Upstairs, the jockeys outfits from below give way to dark green leather booths as the City branch replicates the St James’s original.
In terms of food style, the brand is carried as ‘Restaurant & Oyster Bar’ with ‘Green’s classic’ starters listed as potted shrimps, smoked salmon (with or without scrambled eggs), salmon fishcake, and split pea & smoked ham hock soup. There’s West Mersea Oysters of course and some additional dishes. For main courses, there’s more ‘Green’s Classics’: Plaice fish & chips, Smoked haddock Parker Bowles and Calves liver & bacon, as well as four grill dishes and four other mains.
Prices aren’t cheap, the two vegetarian mains are priced at £15.50, the classics £18, with meat or fish from the grill from £28. Sides are all priced at £4. What’s more, the menu small print informs you there is an additional £2.50 per person cover charge, something we wholeheartedly disapprove of, for in our view, food and drink should already be priced to cover running costs. We asked the question and they replied it covered the cost of bread, napkins and was tradition. Service of 12.5% is also added to the bill. A quick shout out on Twitter suggests others feel the same way as we do about a cover charge, and for those who care to participate, we include a survey on the right side where you too can vote on the inclusion of such things. This is not a cheap restaurant to begin with, and it is not as if they provide entertainment causing people to linger at their table. What's more, for anyone just seeking a lunchtime main course and a drink, the cover charge could add a full and additional 10% on to the final bill. In that sense, we view it as a stealth charge and one designed solely to make the food look cheaper than it really is. We in fact declined the bread and later, when presented with the bill, the cover charge was absent. |
Coming on then to our food choices, nothing on the menu really excited us, and for starters we chose the salmon fish cake with champagne sauce, and the Split pea and ham hock soup. The salmon fish cake was nicely done and creditably, was 100% salmon inside. The soup contained a generous amount of ham hock and again, was err, nice.
The Runner Bar at Green's
Salmon fishcake with champagne sauce
Split pea and ham hock soup
When the mains came they seemed a little basic: the chicken with root vegetables, pearl barley casserole, curly kale and thyme jus (£18.50) was competently cooked but just a little ordinary and presented like a home cooked dish. The other main, Smoked haddock Parker Bowles was also competently done but as the picture shows, was a whole lot of mashed potato and very little fish - yes, that's the fish on the bottom, almost hiding. At £18, this seems a somewhat miserly portion of a relatively inexpensive fish and just made the meal seem like a big bowl of mash with a poached egg.
chicken with root vegetables, pearl barley casserole, curly kale and thyme jus
Smoked haddock Parker Bowles
Green's in the City as a restaurant is, in our view, 'stuck in the middle'. Food is neither best in class nor the best value for money so the proposition that they offer becomes fuzzy. While the City can't rival the West End for the overall quality of restaurants, there are gems: Coq d'Argent just yards away does first class fine dining at similar prices, new steak houses Goodman City and Hawksmoor Guild Hall are always packed due to the quality of their offering, and Bistrot Bruno Loubet on the edge of the City serves food that is exciting and packed with flavour but where all but one main course is £18 or less, the starting price of Green's fish or meat courses.
In short, everything today was competent but nothing was special.
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Reader Survey Page
related links
Green's website
In short, everything today was competent but nothing was special.
Return to homepage
Reader Survey Page
related links
Green's website
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