Discover Nelson via America

In this year of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, a visit to Greenwich should be on the agenda. It was in Greenwich that the body of Admiral Lord Nelson was laid in state.

His funeral procession is being re-enacted on the Thames on 16 September and at the National Maritime Museum there is (until 13 November) an exhibition based on two great leaders and adversaries, Horatio Nelson and Napoleon Bonaparte.

All stirring stuff, but where to eat? Greenwich is not famed for its restaurants, a state of affairs all too common in tourist destinations but one that in Greenwich is slowly changing for the better.

The latest manifestation is Greenwich Park Bar & Grill - another operation from the company Greenwich Inc, which has improved and expanded the Bar du Musée, nurtured the Spread Eagle and stopped you being penalised by the food for the exceptional view from The Trafalgar Tavern, among other food-centred activities.

What was, apparently, a rough, gay pub opposite the St Mary's Gate to Greenwich Park has had the dainty hand of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Associates applied. The result is an easygoing downstairs bar with a small, secluded terrace at one side and upstairs a light, bright dining room with minty green walls and twiggy lampshades made of white-painted tangles of wire.

A mural of flowering branches on which painted birds perch has diamanté sparkles at the heart of the blooms. You wouldn't want it in your bedroom but it works for a place in which to spend a couple of hours. The view takes in a statue of King William IV who, in the early 19th century, ruled briefly and ineptly and gave his name to the phrase Silly-Billy.

Frank Dowling, the eccentric entrepreneur, collector and property developer who is the guiding spirit of Greenwich Inc, is an American. It is presumably for this reason that the menu is American-themed. We started our Sunday lunch with crispy Cajun mussels, chowder and crusty bread, and Maryland crab scallionsand baby squid salad. Breadcrumbs were a feature of both dishes, smothering some large mussels and playing too prominent a part in the crab cakes. The actual chowder and the wilted salad with baby squid were good.

In the main course honey-roasted baby back ribs with new-potato-and-pimento dip had that totally pliant quality that comes from being steamed. Ribs are better, I think, when it takes a little effort to pry lacquered meat from the bones. Traditional Little Italy meatballs, olive-infused linguine and Parmesan cheese was like the real thing: dense balls of minced beef in a thick, reduced tomato sauce on pasta. The Sopranos might have preferred spaghetti, but the linguine was perfectly cooked.

Desserts, unfortunately listed under the heading of The Finish Line, include a trio of American classics, which are baby banana split, fruit parfait and chocolate brownie with fudge sauce. They were well enough done to make me optimistic about the bar menu, which includes authentic Americana such as eggs Benedict, French cinnamon toast with berries and maple syrup, taco salad with chilli con carne and ranch dressing, gourmet hot dog with sauerkraut and shoestring fries, and key lime pie.

All good before or after a climb up to the observatory. Service in the restaurant is a bit slow and disorganised, an observation borne out by critical customer reviews on the net.

Greenwich Park Bar & Grill
1 King William Walk, SE10 9JY