Restaurants

Green’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar

36 Duke Street,  London,  SW1Y 6DF
0207 930 4566  / www.greens.org.uk / view map

Surveyed 11/02/2011
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About this restaurant

Green’s has the look and feel of a British institution which has been around for centuries. In fact it was established in Duke Street in London’s posh club area of St. James’s in 1982 by Simon Parker-Bowles, brother of Andrew whose ex-wife Camilla is now the wife of the Prince of Wales. Originally at No.36 Duke Street, Green’s expanded when next door became available to accommodate a full service dining room.

In 2009 a new branch was opened at Cornhill in the City of London in the Grade II listed former Lloyd’s Bank building. This beautiful building has been kitted out with dark green leather half-moon booths, an oyster bar, upstairs restaurant, and a whisky and a champagne bar.

Green’s has been described as a gentleman’s club without the stuffiness serving comfort food for toffs. The comfort food remains – fish and chips, rump of lamb, bacon-rolled sausages and sticky toffee pudding to follow - but these days it is much more egalitarian attracting customers from a wide variety of backgrounds. And it is not impossibly expensive. Two lunch courses will cost about £30 and dinner about £50.

Four stars on Google.

They say...

Welcome to the Green’s restaurants and oyster bars, the home of fine dining, fresh seafood and exceptional wines, whiskies and champagnes.

We say...

Green’s chef Luke Underhill was refreshingly well-informed about the seafood he offers his customers: farmed halibut from Norway, cod from Iceland, Loch Duart farmed salmon and line-caught haddock, also from Iceland, alongside native lobster and oysters. The restaurant has dealt with some suppliers for many years and has built up a mutually advantageous relationship based on trust.

Green’s is clearly working very hard at obtaining its fish and seafood from sustainable sources and deserves credit. We do feel, however, that it could help its customers by printing more information on its menu and stating clearly whether a fish is farmed or wild caught. We don’t think that either the skate or the beam-trawled sea bass should be on the menu and this has pulled down their score. Even so, one Blue Fish is a big improvement on their previous two Red Fish score and we are sure they will do even better in the future.

Baron van Dedem says:

do you serve dishes of warm native oysters?

October 19 2012