The Greenhouse

Press, 30 July 1986, Page 26

The Greenhouse

663 a Colombo Street Phone 68-524 8.Y.0.

(By JENNY CLARK) Garry and Joanne Hill took over as owners and chefs of the Greenhouse about 18 months ago. Although we had enjoyed a breakfast there since then, we wondered if there had been many changes. Fans of the Greenhouse from days gone by need not worry — it is in safe hands. Although the interior is basically the same, small improvements to the green decor have kept it looking fresh and healthy. It is unfailingly restful and soothing which is an important

criteria for hassled, office-bound workers. Whoever chose the Bach violin concerto as background music should take a bow. If anything will aid digestion, that will. The pot plants, and shelves of bottled fruit and recipe books create a Channing and relaxing atmosphere, to which the escapee from inner-city bustle is only too glad to retreat.

AU this would count for nothing if the food was

disappointing. It was not. Martin had a tomato juice ($1.20) which was very peppery and tingly, thanks to the chilli and tabasco sauces. I had a Sangria (fruit and wine punch, ($1.90), which is ideal for lunch time indulgence. The homemade bread rolls were the least excit-

ing part of the entire menu (and the butter was far too solid to spread), but then I have come to the conclusion that we are fussy about bread rolls. I like mine to behave as I suspect clouds would if we could touch them. These were just a little too solid and unyielding for us.

The two soups at $3.50 each were smooth and creamy. Martin’s standard test piece is a pumpkin soup. This had the addition of kumara, and the additional sweetness imparted a unique flavour.

The Turkish lamb wedding soup is a fine example of the restaurant’s regional cuisine, as interpreted by the chef. The sharp lemon base mingled with the vegetable puree and used as a marinade in which to steep the’ lamb, is deftly seasoned with paprika and cayenne pepper to give it zing. We had to by-pass the mushroom and chicken liver pate at $9; and seafood and avocado salad at $9.80. The vegetarian section

appealed instantly: vegetable and cottage cheese strudel; mushroom and broccoli Stroganoff and hot pot of vegetables with peanut sauce, all $9. We moved on, however, to try the “stodge” test on the mains. After all, office workers have to combat automatic siesta yearnings as it is, without help from stodgy food.

Grilled fillets of fish with kiwifruit and tamarillo at $10.20 sounded an interesting return to days of Ye Olde Cuisine when there was no distinction between sweet and savoury. Panfried medallions of pork with tomato, basil and sweet peppers at $9.90, and spaghetti bolognaise at $9.50 tempted us. Finally Martin, the “man with the mania for mushrooms” bowed to the inevitable and ordered sauteed escalopes of beef with mushrooms ($9.60). The meat was tender and lean, covered with a delicate sauce of thyme and cream. A gentle sauce was the right thing after the myriads of spices which had gone before. My devilled Chicken Dijionaise ($9.60), could not be faulted. The light mustard sauce went well with the bed of saffron rice, and the crisp, crumbed coating was not like tough sackcloth to plough through. The meat itself was easily removed from the bone. The salads at the Greenhouse are, for us, its strength. There is a great sense of exited anticipation before they arrive, because, just as the menu changes daily, so does the constitution of the salads. Even in winter months

when leafy greens are expensive, these still appear.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are not overpowered by dressings or mayonnaises. Small cubes of kumara were a welcome addition, but potatoes and other more cloying vegetables were deliberately avoided to make it a light menu.

The daily menu change can lead to mix-ups. Our copy showed a list of desserts which rated high on the drool scale. At $3.50 they all promised much, especially, we thought, the Swiss ice cream gateau with apricot brandy sauce. The desserts displayed and available were quite different, but equally impressive. Things like boysenberry meringue roll, orange and rum tropicana, and persimmon and fresh pineapple cheesecake are good examples. We “eeny-miney-mo’d” to settle for a chocolate mousse for Martin and a pile of Caramel and Banana Paris Nrest for me. The latter was extemely sweet

but light, in spite of the cream. The chocolate mousse was also a feathery texture with more of the bitter chocolate taste. We had to miss the coffee ($l, or $3.50 for coffee liqueur). The staff gave friendly, helpful service throughout A small point: we found that the photocopied menues slightly too faint to read easily. If it is to be handwritten, which has an appeal of its own, then perhaps it should be made extra bold, so that foreigners, who may not be at ease with English anyway, do not have to struggle to read the print. The hours of opening are unusual: a special breakfast menu from 7 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. It is open for lunch, but the only evening session is on Friday, for High Tea, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. At a cost of $39.60 for two, that was an expensive lunch. But we had been eating as much as possible to try to cover the range of dishes offered by this very special little restaurnat.