Gruel Britannia Opens 2nd Spot in Westport With Events + Pop Ups Coming Soon

Karen Hubrich isn’t shy about telling anyone she’s a late bloomer.

After a long career cooking in country clubs and as a private chef for Michael Bolton, she emerged on the Connecticut food scene in 2019 when she opened her Fairfield flagship, Gruel Britannia.

Now a young 69-years-old, she’s opted for a second helping of Gruel, not too far away from the original, in Westport’s Coleytown neighborhood that debuted last July.

Westport’s version of Gruel may have similarities to Fairfield in its cuisine, but there’s more on the way in terms of events and pop ups. Keep reading…

And if you’re wondering about Hubrich’s thinking with a name like Gruel, it’s simple:

“Gruel is basically oatmeal or anything you add liquid to expand it,” she says. “Britannia is the Latin name for Britain and Rule Britannia is a famous song. It’s a play on words.”

Gruel’s customers should expect the shelves to be loaded with British goodies and for the freezers and fridges to be stocked with grab-and-go grub.

“I looked at this location 14 years ago when it was an old greasy spoon country store, but I didn’t have the money to do renovations,” Hubrich says. “It was Chef’s Table, then The Porch at Christie’s. I drive past it a lot since I live like five minutes away.”

But what it took to open a second iteration of Gruel Britannia was meeting Westport local, Scott Rochlin, who’s in the construction business, but someone who’s no stranger to the hospitality industry as he owned Henry’s Place where Tarantino Restaurant is now.

Loaded scone with clotted cream and strawberries

Afternoon tea, or tea any time you want it, is a thing at both spots. But if you’re doing coffee, it comes from Canaan, Connecticut’s Ilse Coffee, co-owned by her son, Lucas Smith, and daughter-in-law Rebecca Grossman.

“I had never met him before,” Hubrich says. “He came into Gruel as a customer because he said he always saw the parking lot was mobbed and had wanted to come in for a while. He loved it and came back a few days later. He wanted to get back into the business, but that he couldn’t do it alone or his wife would kill him, and I couldn’t do another location without a partner.”

Gruel’s sequel came together almost seamlessly and Hubrich quickly found herself rounding up all the British products that her restaurant displays and sells; the malt vinegar, Marmite, and a vast selection of unique chocolates like Mars Bars and Cadbury Eggs. With a turnaround time of roughly a few months, much like in Fairfield, Westport was open seven days per week serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, afternoon tea, pastries, beer, wine, and cocktails full steam ahead.

Thai chicken meatballs in a laksa curry sauce with jasmine rice and sautéed spinach. That flavor pop in the meatballs? Hubrich tells us that’s from the ginger, garlic, scallions, and star anise.

Coronation chicken salad is still going strong at both Gruels seven years later.

And all of Hubrich’s popular dishes have made the 10-minute trip over from Fairfield to Westport, too, including the loaded scone, English breakfast, both bacon butties, and comfort foods in Shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, and meatloaf.

“There’s lots of leeway with British food,” Hubrich says. “The coronation chicken from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation lunch in 1953 (and some Indian dishes, chicken tikka masala) are a nod to the British-Indian relationship.”

And of course, there’s Gruel’s famous fish & chips, a dish that wasn’t supposed to make their menu in the first place, and she’s not taking full credit for it.

“My friend Patrick worked for The Dorchester and The Savoy, and I’ve hired him and fired him in the past, he opened A Salt & Battery in New York City,” she explains. “I wasn’t even gonna do fish & chips, but I was in London visiting him, and then decided I was going to do it. He taught me how—there’s no beer in the batter—and it took a while to get it right. He had actually forgotten how, how to scale it up and down, so it was a mess. There was flour everywhere.”

Every Sunday, there’s an abbreviated dinner menu, with this prime rib being the focal point. Make a reservation, maybe even get there early, as there’s a chance it could be 86’d if you procrastinate.

And then there’s the Sunday prime rib special that’s a hefty plate consisting of a thick cut slab of beef with a rich au jus, roasted veggies, cheddar broccoli and cauliflower, potatoes that are lightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, Yorkshire pudding (or popover, if you prefer that term) for wiping your plate clean, and extra au jus and creamy horseradish sauce on the side.

Sunday roasts in both Britain and Ireland have a lot of meaning and history that dates back to the 15th Century. Along the way, it became a common supper to enjoy after church or at a pub. Hubrich, though, has another bit to add about the history to add to the several that are out there about the British and roasted meats on Sundays.

“In Northern England, it’s predominantly more working class; there’s coal mines, it’s more industrial,” Hubrich shares. “For Sunday roast, you would have a tiny piece of beef. A coal miner might have a lot of children and they would cook the Yorkshire pudding in beef drippings and the children got that first, with gravy, to fill them up, and if there was anything left after the dad and elders have their dinner, the kids would get some roast meat. It could be leg of lamb, ham, turkey. We cook ours very simple. There’s no secrets really. It’s seasoned and roasted in the oven. We use beef tallow for our popovers and equal amounts of everything else; eggs, flour. People sometimes ask for jam with popovers, but it’s meant to wipe up the gravy.”

Homemade key lime pie

And of course…the most savory, salty, sweet sticky toffee pudding is amongst traditional English desserts like Eton mess and spotted dick.

Photo credit: Lauren Mozian

Soon, Hubrich is excited to launch something that’s just starting to trend in the U.S. It’s a popular pub snack and post-drinking necessity from across the pond called a spice bag. In short, it’s bastardized Chinese food consisting of a bag full of fried chicken (usually strips or chunks), fries, peppers, and onions with Chinese spices. Rip open the bag to dig in and there should be a side of curry sauce for dipping. At Gruel, expect it, she says, on their new trivia night, so look out for that announcement on Instagram.

But there’s more. In Westport, Hubrich and Rochlin have noticeably more parking and space, so they’re planning to host classic car shows, lobster bakes, BBQ pop ups, and bourbon and cigar nights.

“We’d like to have a private dining room in the back after some minor renovations that will be slightly separated for more formal dining,” she says. “Most people my age are thinking about retiring. I’m just getting started. I didn’t want to have any regrets wishing I’d done it. It’s challenging, but I’m glad I did it.”

161 Cross Highway, Westport
203.293.4310, gruelbritannia.com