The Greenwich Union - Sunday 17 April 2011

I have to say that I  was rather surprised by about 12 noon the streets of Greenwich were clear of all the runners and the spectators had moved on too.  The photo above is from about 10.30am over the next hour or the streets cleared.

The numbers that were left were just the usual for a regular sunny Sunday in Greenwich. However having learned from last week we set out early about 1pm to search for our Greenwich Sunday Lunch date. We decided to head straight to the Royal Hill area of Greenwich. If you have only spent some time near the market area of Greenwich make sure you head to Royal Hilll next time you are in Greenwich. Lots of pubs, a 'proper' butchers, cheesehop and organic veg shop and lots of gorgeous Georgian houses.


On the way...


The pub we decided to settle in for lunch was The Greenwich Union. The Greenwich Union is one of four pubs along Royal Hill - they are all pretty much in a row, but most if not all do great business and each seems to have its own vibe and particular atmosphere - there is something for everyone.

The Greenwich Union

In any case before we tackle the roast lets go back to the pub itself, its housed in what looks like a traditional pub and inside is also very traditional with lots of wood however the back part of the pub opens out into a light and airey conservatory with booth seats, further on is the beer garden.  The music going on in the back ground is just at the right level for you to be aware of it and to hum along to your fav tunes but not too loud that you cant hear yourself or anyone else speak.

It wasnt too busy which was great, though was largely because we went quite early it would soon fill up.  We sat in one of the booth seats.

On offer was a Vege option and Beef, Lamb and Pork the cost of each was £12.20 (the Vege option was cheaper).  I love it when a pub separates out its roast menu - it makes it feel a little more special and shows that on a week on week basis it could change depending on whats available.

I settled for the Beef and my other half on the Pork.  Before I could get to the bar to order one of the staff came up and asked if we wanted anything and were keen to please always a good sign. 

Inside...

The food arrived really quickly - probably within 10 minutes if that - maybe a little soon for my liking, surely some of the joy in eating food is the anticipation of it.....anyway

So once it arrived what did we get for our money:

Meat:  Beef in slices a generous portion \ Pork was the same in slices with cracking but a generous portion

Veg:  A large roasted carrot, green beans and red cabbage (a nice and different touch!)

Potatoes:  Roasted 2 large

Other:  Large yorkshire pudding, Gravy (made with Meantimes own London Stout), horseraddish sauce for the Beef and Apple sauce for the Pork in a separate dish.

Heres the roast...

It was very attractively presented and hot, I loved the fact their yorkshire puddings were home made and werent some uniformed Aunt Bessies - though it was a little too crunchy for my liking.  On the reverse the potatoes were large but not quite crispy enough.  The red cabbage was a nice touch - always nice to see different veg, and being lightly pickled it added a different taste sensation when combined with the meat or the potatoes. The gravy was rich and using London Stout again brought it to a different level - would have been nice to have more of it though!

All in all a nice roast - it goes to the top of the leader board.

Here are the ratings

Meat 4.5/5
Veg 4/5
Potatoes 3/5
Gravy 4/5
Other (ie yorkshire pudds) 3/5
Service 4/5
Value for money 3.5/5 (possibly just a little overpriced)

Total 26/35




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