Alfresco Dining at The Arbor Restaurant

There’s nothing like having some new outdoor furniture out on the lawn for putting us in the mood for a spot of alfresco dining.

Here at The Green House’s Arbor Restaurant, our new summer lunch menu is chock full of fresh seasonal ingredients. With everything from fabulous salads to fruity, creamy desserts, it’s the perfect location for long, lazy afternoons where the only thing that’s busy are the bees in our rooftop hives.

At Arbor, we believe the best alfresco dishes are fresh, colourful and full of texture. Some of our favourites are Salmon with spiced lentils and coconut foam, Truffled gnocchi with peas and a creamy-yet-sharp Feta, or a simple crunchy Caesar. Finger food always seems to taste better in the great outdoors too, whether it’s a homemade steak baguette with onion rings, or an elegant Club (just begs for a G&T or a Pimms doesn’t it?) Alternatively, Arbor’s signature twist on the classic Chinese crispy duck pancake, made with Breast of Lamb and Apricot Puree, is a great summer lunch option too. It’s just how we roll!

As you’d expect from the UK’s greenest hotel, with our summer lunch menu as with all our dishes, sustainability comes second only to taste. It’s why the Feta we serve comes from the Mendips, not the Mediterranean, and why the chicken in our warm salad is local, corn-fed and organic. It’s also why our summer pasta seafood dish may change from one lunchtime to the next. Here in sunny Bournemouth, we’re lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the finest seafood on the planet, so at Arbor we like to choose the best and the freshest from the day’s catch, whether that’s langoustine, mussels or Poole crab.

And then of course, there are the strawberries. No lunch on The Green House lawn would be complete without New Forest strawberries on the menu. Here in Bournemouth, we really are in the ideal location for growing the sweetest, juiciest summer strawberries to be found anywhere in the UK – heck, in the world. After the fifth warmest winter on record, followed by a balmy spring and a dry hot start to the summer, the berries have been extra sweet and juicy this year. They are just perfect perched on top of a creamy vanilla pastry with a little cool vanilla ice cream.

Could it get any better? It seems that it could. The Ancient Romans thought strawberries had medicinal powers and it turns out they may not have been far wrong. Strawberries are believed to help reduce the risk of heart disease and cancers and to increase blood and oxygen flow to the muscles; they are low in calories, and high in, among other things, vitamins C, B6 and K, potassium and amino acids. They may even help keep your brain sharp in old age, according to recent studies. So, quite the superfood then. You’re welcome.

To book in for an al fresco dining experience, call us on 01202 498900.