Please note, Green's Restaurant & Oyster Bar has now closed. Time Out Food editors, FEBRUARY 2020.
Green’s has been feeding and watering well-heeled gents and ladies in St James's since 1982, but it is so old-fashioned (in a uniquely English way) that it's essentially timeless. Much on the menu would have been familiar on the menu of a gentleman's club a century or more ago. Owner Simon Parker Bowles spotted the deep-seated need for old-fashioned comfort food and has been meeting ever since. Though the place might look club-like, however, with green-leather booths and staff attired in waistcoats and ties, it is a welcoming and un-stuck-up place. And the food can be excellent. Fish and crustacea are the draw, although you’ll also find some meat dishes and even something to cater for vegetarians. Smoked haddock Parker Bowles (the signature dish) is a slab of fish and creamy mash topped with a poached egg, and meats are all of impeccable provenance. The wine list has a handful of 'fine' bottles, but most of it is surprisingly reasonable for a restaurant of this type, and the cocktail list is also comparatively inexpensive.