WHAT? Lunch with an old friend for an overdue catch-up on the gossip.
WHERE? The Greenberry Cafe, Morfudd Richards’s all day cafe-restaurant, which opened amongst unsolicited brouhaha last November in the unit previously occupied by Trojka, aka the Russian Tea Rooms. Since opening, however, The Greenberry has firmly established itself as a favourite Primrose Hill destination for informal dining.
VIBE? The Greenberry is a fresh, buzzing space. A huge glass window at the front and expanses of white walls ensure a light, airy atmosphere; chalk-boards, exposed brick, a mixture of wooden and encaustic-tiled floors and the becomingly mis-matched furniture add quirky charm. A metropolitan-looking bar brings a dash of sophistication. Clientele tends to be a mixture of well-heeled, casual-chic locals and visitors; ladies who lunch mix happily cheek by jowl with writers and entrepreneurs making the most of the wifi. All of this creates the kind of happy hubbub that encourages private conversations and gossipy dirt-dishing.
FOOD? We both chose from the specials board. Neither of us could resist the figs with goats’ cheese and pancetta. The jammy figs and tangy cheese were a match made in heaven, but we could have done without the pancetta, which was a bit hard to cut through.
Mains were mussels in a thyme and cider sauce – the plumply luscious mussels enhanced but not overwhelmed by the other flavours – and the chicken, avocado and pumpkin seed salad, with its healthy but not pious appeal.
DRINK? The sun wasn’t over the yard-arm for us, so we abstained from the wine-list – although I can recommend the English sparkling wines from previous visits. We stuck to sparkling water and finished with a cappuccino and a double espresso respectively.
SERVICE? Charming, friendly and helpful, although we were left to our own devices with the menus just a little bit too long. A gold star for taking great care over my egg allergy, which I appreciated enormously.
HOW MUCH? All in for £42.47 including an optional and perfectly reasonable service charge of £4.72.
101 Regent’s Park Road, NW1 8UR
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