Green Park Brasserie, Green Park Road, Bath

I love Green Park Brasserie.

Okay, that’s hardly an original thought; the lively, multi-faceted restaurant, bar and live music merrymaking zone situated on the buzzing Green Park Road/James Street West intersection opened its doors in Bath back in 1992, around the same time I too made a home for myself in the city.

While GPB was busy establishing a nest in an atmospheric former Victorian railway station (that’ll be Green Park Station, then), I was attempting to settle down in far less grander surroundings: an eccentric, crumbling garret in the rafters of a house in Oldfield Park, which I’d just moved in to but was planning on moving on from in less than a year.

Some three decades later, and we’re both still here. But unlike me, GPB has skilfully moved with the times while still retaining all its original charms. Menus have never stood still, little sister operation the Bath Pizza Co supplemented the good times vibe in 2016, the building (including the massive terraces to the front and rear of the restaurant/bar areas) has undergone various refurbishments and the dual storms of Covid-19 and a recent fire in the almost-adjoining Green Park Station market to the rear of the building have been weathered with ostensible aplomb.

But still, GPB feels young for its age. While most of the new openings that have popped up around it in recent years attempt to flaunt a USP that complies with ‘the shock of the new’ (“hey, look: we serve seafood!”; “hey, look: we do Street Food!”; “hey, look: we’re another Italian restaurant!”), Green Park Brasserie proves that dedication to a family-run, independent business, skilful adaptation and well-considered diversification will always prove to be the cornerstones of that elusive, restaurant-world X Factor success.

It feels a bit odd posting a restaurant review at Christmas time, when set menus, big party groups and, for many of us, a vow to totally avoid the city centre between now and the start of next year dictates the overall eating out vibe. But hey, this too shall pass; soon enough, it’ll be January, or April, or August 2024. There’ll be birthdays, anniversaries and achievements to celebrate, and drinks on a sunny terrace days-to-come. There’ll be plenty of those “we just want to go out for dinner, just because…” times too. And when all those moments and more roll around, Green Park Brasserie is there for you.

The Braz was there for us a couple of weeks ago, just before an unexpected call to arms in Liverpool struck. We didn’t know that comfort food would be a necessary bolster against the difficulties (fortunately now mostly sorted out) yet to come. But then again, who needs dire circumstances to inspire a craving for comforting classics?

There’s all kinds of everything for all kinds of people on the menu here; from pretty much all-day cocktails, light bites, sharers, seasonal specials and perfect pizzas to brilliant brunches at the weekend and rollickin’ roasts on Sundays, it’s an easygoing selection served in convivial, easygoing surroundings. Local sourcing is pushed to the fore at every turn; prices make you feel at home rather than wanting to make a bolt for the door.

And so it came to pass that we feasted on succulent buttermilk chicken with a punchy chilli jam and a rich ranch dip, and crispy calamari with lashings of garlic mayo. I had a burger, because – well, because Deluxe Truffle, with blue cheese and portobello mushroom and crispy shallots. He had a massive Newton Farm sirloin steak drenched in garlic butter. We ‘drank our dessert’: Salted Caramel Espresso Martini – a wake-up call to the nightcap scene. It was all everything we wanted, and more. And when I say that service is just lovely here, there’s no throwaway obligation going on: the friendly, serene efficiency of the front of house team is a testament to the behind-the-scenes modus operandi – this is clearly a happy place to work in.

The band played on (there’s live music at GPB Wednesday-Saturday every week, generally around a jazz/swing/soul theme), the mellow mood wrapped itself around us like a cashmere shawl and suddenly I had one of those moments that just have to happen because such a moment can never be forced: sitting at a table sipping what must surely have been (but probably wasn’t) my last glass of red wine of the night, having eaten the kind of dinner that at once comforts, satisfied and excites, leaving me bathed in an ‘all’s right with the world’ glow.

Those moments don’t come around very often, but they’ve come around, for me, at Green Park Brasserie on multiple occasions: boisterous parties and quiet moments, with friends and solo, on dates, off dates… in a way, GPB and I have grown up in Bath together, both of us learning how to fit in but stand out, and keep on keeping on through good times and bad.

Lest ye forget (‘cos I never will): Green Park Brasserie is for life, not just for Christmas.