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A Greggs fan with the name to match made a pre-dawn start to try out the bakery chain’s new ‘fine dining’ experience.
Gregg Rathbone dyed his hair blue and wore a smart shirt for breakfast with his son John at the Fenwick department store bistro.
Crowning 15 years of loyalty to the sausage roll purveyors, the 53-year-old ordered a Greggs Benedict and a Pink Jammie cocktail via table service.
The father and son set off from their home in Dereham, Norfolk, at 5am for the mid-morning booking at the 80-cover restaurant.
’We loved it,’ Gregg said of the visit on December 15.
‘I booked a few weeks before and we’d really been looking forward to it.
‘It was a long drive up but it was good food and a lovely little location.
‘I said to the waitress I’d been waiting 53 years to order a Greggs Benedict and John had the full English.
‘The ambience of the place was really nice and it felt like there was a bit of electricity about the atmosphere as everyone was so excited to be there.
‘You’re essentially in the middle of a shopping centre but it’s fine dining and everyone is dressed up for it.
‘I’ve got the Greggs jumper but I thought I’d dye my hair Greggs blue and look a little bit more sophisticated.’
Bistro Greggs opened at the start of this month after Fenwick’s chefs came up with fancy takes on the chain’s staples.
The Greggs Benedict consists of the food-on-the-go retailer’s trademark sausage roll and a bean and cheese melt with smoked ham, poached Cacklebean eggs and Hollandaise sauce.
The full English comes with the bakers’ famous sausage roll together with grilled bacon, portobello mushroom, roasted tomato, baked beans and a choice of scrambled, fried or poached eggs.
Created by cocktail bar Mother Mercy, the signature fizz is a nod to Greggs’ Pink Jammie doughnut, with raspberry, apple and fresh dough flavours topped with prosecco.
With John having two mint mochas, the pair spent around £40.
Gregg, an IT consultant, first entered through the blue and yellow doors 15 years ago and during a spell working abroad would make the store one of his first ports of call when returning home.
‘It was the name that first got me through the door and it’s just felt right ever since,’ he said. ‘It’s comfort food and there’s always something there that I want. It’s usually the steak bake for me, you can’t beat it can you?
‘After visiting the restaurant we’ve even come up with a new word — Greggs-cellent!’
The fans made another pilgrimage to the bakers’ first store in nearby Gosforth before heading home.
John, 28, also sung the praises of the all-day restaurant, which opened to much fanfare on December 1.
‘It was great and a bit posh,’ he said.
‘The main difference is the cutlery. It’s weird how different it feels to sit down to a Greggs meal with a knife and fork and to have the mocha in a glass rather than a takeout cup.
‘Overall I’d give it five stars.’
Lunchtime diners can have a similarly elevated experience, with the reimagined menu including a Greggs Festive Bake, which consists of duck fat roasties, smoked pancetta and chestnut and sprouts and a caramel shortbread mess in the form of meringue with crème chantilly.
There is also high tea for two and a wine list, with the most expensive item being a £55 bottle of Gremillet Champagne from France.
Launching the restaurant, Greggs said the concept was a ‘watershed moment’ offering ‘classic French-inspired fine dining’.
Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk
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