Rescued but at a cost
Tourism is the peacetime equivalent of the neutron bomb, leaving the fabric of buildings intact while destroying all intelligent life within them. My own area, "World Heritage" Greenwich, has long suffered from the problem in its shops, and now it has a culinary equivalent.
As well as the usual Pizza Express and Café Rouge, the tightly wedged streets of central Greenwich still hold what looks to a visitor like a large number of independent pubs and restaurants — the Trafalgar Tavern, where Dickens ate white-bait, the Admiral Hardy and the Coach & Horses in the market, the Bar du Musée, the George café-delicatessen, the pub opposite the entrance to the park.
All these, and several more, are in fact part of one of London’s newer culinary phenomena — the stealth chain. Over the past 10 years an American named Frank Dowling has gone on a spending spree in Greenwich. His company, Inc Group, now controls seven of the town centre’s 15 pubs and bars.
None of them is exactly bad. The fabric has usually been more or less preserved, even given a brush-up. But all are somehow dispiriting.
The food is not disastrous, but it is bland. Both it and the staff, in their uniform black shirts, seem inter-changeable between "outlets".
Not many Greenwich residents I know would spend time in an Inc Group establishment. So when Dowling took over the Spread Eagle, one of our only three decent restaurants, there was a sharp intake of breath. Would the service be down to normal Inc Group standards?
The Spread, an old coaching inn, has a 350-year history; Dan Leno, Houdini and Marie Lloyd used to stay there when performing at the Greenwich Theatre.
The new Spread is a curious mixture of destruction and improvement. In the first room, Dowling has ripped out the splendid cubicles and private snugs enjoyed by generations of diners. But the rear room, once rather dingy, has been extended into the next-door shop and brightened with a marvellous array of sea paintings.
On a sunny Sunday lunchtime, the restaurant was less than half full. Our drink orders were taken, but not brought. Our waiters’ English was not good enough to understand a request for sauté potatoes. The menu was considerably more ambitious than the Inc Group average and so was the execution.
The dishes were of a much higher standard than in any of the other Dowling outlets, but the essential Inc Group DNA was clearly detectable. They were mostly fine, without being in any way exciting. Scallops were over-sauced. Beef was a little better than fine, but surrounded and overwhelmed by unidentifiable puréed vegetables. Portions were small.
One of my companions had the foie gras, which was very good, and the chicken, again suffering from the restaurant’s curious fondness for mystery purées. French apple tart for pudding was excellent, but the whole experience left us underwhelmed — and, given the size of the portions, somewhat underfed. The prices, at £15.95 for two courses, are reasonable.
Before its reincarnation, this was arguably a place in decline. Dowling has halted that. He has spent generously, and to some effect, but something important has still been lost here.
Spread Eagle
Stockwell Street, London, SE10 9JN
