The Green Man pub in Grantchester to reopen after three years
The Green Man pub in Grantchester will reopen in January following a three-year closure and a £500,000 refurbishment.
Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars, with chef patron Barry Vera and his partners Joe Scarborough and Christopher Webb, are creating 20 new jobs with the changes.
The investment will transform the pub’s exterior, with the grade II-listed building due to be repainted in cream with olive green window fascias, sills and front door. There will be a covered terrace and new signage and lighting, and the rear garden is also being overhauled with wooden benches and freestanding tables and chairs for 260 people.
There will be festoon lighting, hanging plants and panelled walls in the covered area, new fencing for the garden and, in spring, an outdoor bar, barbecue and wood-burning fire will be added. The dining room will be given an overhaul and there will be two private dining rooms for six and 10 upstairs for leisure and business gatherings.
Barry, an accomplished chef, author and television and radio presenter, has also worked in Canada, South Africa and Australia, and had three TV series on the Discovery Channel and SBS Australia. He promises to use local produce on the menu, along with culinary influences from around the world.
Barry said: “As well as being keen to showcase local suppliers, we will be hosting speciality evenings with well-known names in music and sports giving talks and co-hosting dinners. In the summer we will put on summer events to celebrate occasions like Ascot and Wimbledon and in time intend to make the garden an all-year place in which to relax.”
The pub will serve food from 12pm each day. Barry said: “We want to attract weekly diners, not just those celebrating special occasions, so our menu needs to have a broad appeal. I love researching and cooking food, so we’ll also offer new takes on historic dishes.
“One I am keen to introduce is the traditional shooter sandwich. It dates back to Edwardian times and consists of a round scooped-out bloomer loaf filled with steak and sautéed mushrooms, English mustard and horseradish and covered with a bread lid. It is pressed overnight, cut into a cake and fried in beef dripping.
“Chris, Joe and I all believe in excellence and simplicity delivered well. It’s the care in the cooking and the serving that makes all the difference.”
[Read more: City pub The Ship set to open doors after two years]
Dan Hayward, Star Pubs & Bars area manager, said: “The Green Man is a great pub in a fantastic village. Situated near the banks of the River Cam, its garden backs onto the main footpath into Cambridge. It is sad that it has been closed for so long, but it was important that the right operators with vision take it forward. We’re delighted to be investing alongside Barry, Joe and Christopher to give Grantchester a pub they can be proud of.”
