Greenberry Café

Time Out says

Thu Jan 3 2013

A sign above the hand basins in Greenberry Café apologises for the incomplete refurbishment. On this notice a customer had hand-written: ‘We don’t mind, we are just so pleased you chose to open here.’ When the cooking’s this adventurous and the atmosphere so welcoming, you might feel moved to graffiti too.

Greenberry’s simple breakfast menu is served until 3pm, but at noon it segues into a lunch and dinner menu of South American, Indian, Japanese and European dishes. This might sound like fusion too far, but this globalisation is handled with care. The Japanese dish called nasu dengaku was made with small baked aubergines, glazed with white miso, garnished with chopped peanuts (not the more usual sesame), and served with a smoked aubergine relish; East meets West at its best.

Sashimi-like sea bream had been drizzled with passionfruit pulp, micro herbs and a tiny dab of mashed avocado – a ceviche that was a picture on a plate, and a dish that wouldn’t be out of place in the capital’s growing number of dedicated Peruvian-style ceviche bars.

Kitchari is a lentil and rice dish from southern India which has many variations; Anglo-Indian kedgeree arose from it. The kitchari here is more faithful to the Indian version, a lentil and courgette porridge (no fish) topped with dry-fried okra to vary the texture, a clever technique that’s not uncommon in south Indian cooking.

The kitchen seems just at home with European dishes. A tarte tatin was perfectly baked, the apples perfectly caramelised and served with a scoop of cinnamon ice-cream.

Be warned that Greenberry suffers rather than benefits from its prime location on the main approach road to Primrose Hill. On our lunchtime visit, Bugaboo-wielding mothers were using the café like a parking lot, their children mistaking it for a créche. Time your visit after child tucking-in time if you’re sensitive to juvenile high jinks.