Unhappily having starter of spinach (4)
I believe the answer is:
alas
'unhappily' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'starter of spinach' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'starter' could be 'l' (as in a learner driver with L-plates on their car) and 'l' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'aas' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'having' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alas that I've seen before include "Expression of regret" , "By bad luck" , "More's the pity" , "I'm sorry to say" , "What a shame!" .)