We went to the Greggs ‘fine dining’ Valentine’s meal to see what all the fuss is about

Way back in 2012, comedian (or should that be clairvoyant) Nick Frost tweeted of his wish that there were ‘posh Greggs with waiters’ on our high streets. Funny quip it may have been at the time, but fast forward six years and everyone’s favourite warm (well, occasionally) pastry purveyor has come up with the goods.

Last week, Greggs announced that anyone partial to palm-sized lattice bakes could book in for a ‘four-course fine dining’ experience at their Stockwell branch for Valentine’s Day and treat their beloved to a romantic meal. Turns out this was on a lot of your wish lists too, as the whole thing sold out in just 20 minutes. Well, we were all over it like flaky pastry on a lukewarm cylinder of sausage meat, so we went along to the preview night to find out what all the fuss was about. Here’s what we found out.

Greggs can really scrub up well

The fridges may still have been humming, the strip lighting still shining and the chill counters still chilling luridly coloured cupcakes, but add a few candles and some heart-shaped balloons to the mix and Greggs can rival any Jamie’s Italian, it turns out. After stepping through the automatic doors we were shown to our white-cloth-covered table by some friendly aproned wait-staff and treated to a glass of prosecco. There was even a cellist playing love songs in the corner. Stevie Wonder, Adele, Clean Bandit, she whipped out all the classics. 

Sausage rolls look good when they’re cut up and put on a slate

Sure, we were sceptical about the four-course menu too, especially the elusively named ‘Mexican chicken chipotle spoon’. But, it turns out that if you cut a honey and ham square into triangles and angle them nicely on a trendy slate, or put pastry hearts on a sausage and bean melt, it actually looks pretty fantastic. Although, even the addition of fancy skewers and chocolate writing doesn’t stop the mini doughnuts from tasting a tiny bit stale. Nevertheless, we were stuffed and happy when we left.  

Posh Greggs is actually pretty rad

Snazzy Greggs is pretty much everything you could wish of a dining experience. Friendly atmosphere, well-presented, decently priced grub (the meal is just £15 a head) and Greggarious waiters (see what we did there). The food might not knock your socks off, but as you chomp your way through an elaborately decorated steak bake with a sun-dried tomato garnish, you can’t help but be humbled by the fact that you’re sitting in a north-east pie shop done good. Cheers Greggs, we approve.

Fried chicken more your thing, check out the Morley’s three-course Valentine’s Day meal.

See more events happening on Valentine’s Day in London