Southsea brew pub The Greenwich to reopen with new £16,000 kitchen and flame grilled menu

The Greenwich Brewpub in Osborne Road is set to reopen tomorrow after being closed for more than four weeks November due the national lockdown.

The pub’s kitchen has undergone a £16,000 revamp, with a new charcoal fire centre-piece offering flame-cooked meats from the Grate Fire Kitchen catering company.

Giles Babb, who is co-running the pub with business partner Mark Hogan, said: ‘They are exactly what we have been looking for.

‘They use a local butchers, eggs from Hayling Island – high welfare ingredients that should be able to help the local economy.

‘The kitchen benefits from a viewing window where you can witness the food being cooked over hot coals.

‘Even the charcoal and wood we use on our fire pit comes from managed woodlands within Hampshire.’

The pub plans to host meat-and-beer pairing nights with ales brewed by onsite Makemake Brewing Company, as well as hosting butchery lessons once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Norman Mooney, the founder of Grate Fire Kitchen, said: ‘We tend to not go with your prime cuts of meat - we have pork belly cooked for 24 hours, and that's one of our most popular dishes.

'We think it’s really exciting - it’s something you don't really get around here.

'We originally started off as outdoor catering, but with this year, pretty much everything we did as a business was cancelled.’

A tumultuous year means there has been no reopening for landlord Giles’s two other businesses – The Star and Garter in East Dean and The Blue Bell in Emsworth – which are both now set to offer ready-meal delivery and collection services.

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Speaking about the Covid-19 restrictions that have come in throughout the year, Giles said: ‘It’s like trying to play golf with your arms tied behind your back.

‘This whole scotch egg saga – as much as it’s been used as a bit of a joke, it isn’t.

‘There are wet-led pubs up and down the country where as soon as you take away your revenue from your drink side, it makes it unviable to trade.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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