Lunch at The Greenwich Pensioner

Many of you will have attended some of the excellent lunches that Persephone has organised for us over the last few years.  Now she has bought her own historic public house, and undertaken extensive renovations to bring it up to today’s standards.  She has just reopened as a gastro pub and would like to invite us to join her for a very special lunch.  She has a wonderful menu for us, based upon fresh locally sourced food from Mersea Island, where she lives, with a champagne aperitif and matched wines with each course.

Amuse Bouche – smoked salmon and chicken liver pate canapés
Champagne Lanvin Brut

Starter – local lobster cocktail  – lettuce, Marie rose sauce made with cream, Persephone will cook the lobsters herself.
Alta Vista Estate, Premium Chardonnay, Mendoza, Chile.

Main – Lamb chop hazelnut crust, broad bean houmous, crispy capers, pesto, Hasselback back new potatoes, selection of vegetables.
Chateau Jacques-Noir, St Emilion, Bordeaux 

Dessert – poached pears, marsala wine, maple mascarpone, sugar tuile
Rag and Bone Australian Riesling

Coffee with home-made mulberry liqueur chocolates, and mulberry or damson vodka liqueur.

Please let Persephone know when booking if you have any particular dietary requirements.

The Greenwich Pensioner was built in 1827 and it is fast approaching it’s 200 year anniversary.

Now a Grade II listed building and part of the All Saints Conservation Area together with All Saints Church and many of the surrounding Victorian properties. Bow Lane (now Bazley Street) was heavily bombed during WW2 and the pub was the only building left in the terrace.

Much like The Chelsea Pensioners who were retired army veterans, always seen in their distinctive scarlet coats, the original Greenwich pensioners lived at the Royal Hospital for Seamen in Greenwich, now the Old Royal Naval College, described as ‘the poshest pensioners home that ever was’. The first pensioners arrived in 1705 and by the end of the century there were more than 2,000 living there.

Starting in 1766 Greenwich Pensioners famously held one-legged vs. one-armed cricket matches which were hugely popular amongst the gambling gentry from the mid 18th century onwards. The first match was won by the ‘one-armed’ pensioners and by the second match, the stake had reached 1000 guineas for this 2 day event. The 1796 match had to be stopped before the end of the first day because a crowd of would-be spectators tried to break in, causing the collapse of a building. Half a mile from Canary Wharf this pub was a half way house for these army and navy veterans.

The last pensioner left the Greenwich Hospital in 1869, but remains to this day as a charitable organisation helping children of seafarers with education bursaries and providing sheltered housing for former Royal Navy servicemen.
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The Greenwich Pensioner,  28 Bazely Street, London, E14 0ES
Nearest Tube:  Blackwall and All Saints, DLR
Mobility Rating  1 – No steps, facilities also on the ground floor
Time:            12.30 for 1.00pm sit down
Dress:             Smart Casual
Price p/person:      Members £75,  Guests £80.
Organiser:     Persephone Lewin  Tel: 07775 268 304
Email: persephonelewin@tiscali.co.uk