Delicious Delights of the Green Room. Calm Oasis in City Centre

Delicious Delights of the Green Room

Calm Oasis in City Centre

Seafood Crepe

Beth and Harold, who made so many friends in their time at Dockland (Club Brasserie before that), are back up and running in The Green Room at the Crawford Art Gallery.

Polpette di Pane

That didn’t take long, did it? Especially after the devastating task of closing the Dockland when their lunch time business vanished during Covid. Their lunchtime customers were now working from home and so the duo had to face all those empty tables. But as anyone who knows Beth and Harold, they weren’t going to be twirling their thumbs for long and you can now enjoy his cooking and her smiling welcome once again in the Green Room.

And they brought something else with them! Remember those large white globes that distinguished Dockland. Well now they hang from the Green Room ceiling, throwing a soft light on the scene below, full of plants, plus more greenery in the paintings that adorn the walls of this lovely room. Green also on the chair covers and on the banquettes. And, as they serve dinner on Friday and Saturday from 5.00pm, a calm settles in the beautiful room as twilight descends outside. Calm but not silence as there is a lovely buzz while the various groups settle down to read the menu and catch up on their various news around town.

We made a most enjoyable “excursion” there last Friday evening, blown away by the room itself and later well satisfied with the lovely dishes from the kitchen. Another touch from Dockland remains as the menu is not divided into starters and mains but you can easily make out what is small, smallish and bigger!

Mediterranean Market Plate

After a warm welcome from Beth, we were soon seated and sipping our wines as we studied the menu. Wines by the way were a Moreau Sauvignon Blanc from the south west of France (typically fresh gooseberry-fruited, dry white) and a Monopolie Pinot Grigio from Italy (citrus notes, lively acidity and refreshing).

Service was calm and friendly throughout and our starters were not long in coming and one was a complete surprise. We partly knew what to expect of the Spiced Cauliflower Fritters (right). Cauliflower lends itself to this kind of treatment and the sauce provided made for an excellent starter. 

But we weren't too sure about the Polpette di Pane. We asked a few questions and were told it was a peasant dish from Italy. No problem there as quite a few peasant dishes have made it to royal tables! I’m not going to tell you what the main ingredient is (again there’s a smashing sauce). It is not anything "disgusting" like intestines or testicles or anything in that league. I would heartily recommend that you order it! We did and enjoyed every little bit, including the surprise reveal.

So on we go to the star of the show: the Seafood Crepe. This comes in two sizes, small and large. The full description is Baked Seafood Crepe (mussels, salmon, cod, monkfish, cream, white wine, tarragon, parsley and parmesan). It is indeed a superb combination, a special treat in a special room.

CL was the lucky one there but there was a lot of sharing going on through all three courses and there was plenty to share in my Mediterranean Market Plate, packed with butterbean and sundried tomato salad, roasted marinated artichokes, roasted peppers, leaves, marinated olives, tapenade, roasted harissa oil and toasted sourdough. (Ingredients in this kind of plate may have the odd change from time to time). Ours was just perfect, great flavours and textures and no shortage of anything. Quite a plateful and vegetarian as well.

Time now for a sweet ending! We were about to share a dessert but such was Beth’s description of a second one (she mentioned booze!) that we went for that as well. More happy sharing here as we spooned our way through the Boozy chocolate Mousse and the (also boozy!) Zabaglione Semifreddo. Time for a rest after that, that sleepy feeling encouraged by the tame Fulham v Wolves game on TV.