Farmacy is the most talked about vegan restaurant at present unfortunately not for the best reasons. Marina O’Loughlin (Food Critic for the Guardian) rated the value for money as 1/10 and categorised the food as ‘bulls***’ slating the diners as ‘creatures of luminous beauty’ and ‘the disciples of clean eating’. So I decided to check it out myself!

Saturday 19th November 2016 I thought what better way to spend a crisp winter afternoon catching up with a friend whilst playing devil’s advocate all at the same time. So here we were in the heart of London’s Notting Hill bracing ourselves, as we were not sure of what to expect. On arrival the queue was out the door, filled with a diversity of people with accents ranging from American to Iranian all eager to taste the vegan delicacies.After a five-minute wait we were finally greeted with eye contact from a member of staff stating the wait for a table for two would be 30 minutes. Fortunately our wait wasn’t more than ten minutes, as I had explained to the members of staff that I was a blogger and I had called yesterday and had spoken to the manager in regards to having a table for two for 2pm (even though they do not take bookings and/or reservations).

 

The cleanliness of the restaurant struck me; decorated from top to bottom in white and green ‘Farmacy’ exuberated freshness and life; it was buzzing with people from a high calibre coming from their yoga workout for brunch. As soon as we were seated our glasses were topped up with cucumber water and our waitress took our order. I ordered the sweet potato falafel, ‘Farmacy’ burger, O.M.G syringe shot and a high on C cold pressed juice.

Sweet Potato Falafel – £7

These are a mix of 4 sweet potato and quinoa patties topped with mixed sprouts. I personally wouldn’t have classified them as ‘falafel’ as they didn’t posses any of the traditional ingredients. The flavours were subtle and went with the natural theme of restaurant.

Farmacy Burger – £15

Presentation wise very appealing, however I was disappointed with only being served with ten chips! The burger was tasty enough and needs to be eaten with a knife and fork to avoid it falling apart.

O.M.G Syringe Shot – £8

This has to be the highlight of my meal. Although it tasted horrendous and I only was left with ¾ of the shot because it exploded everywhere apart from my shot glass! The experience did make me leave with a smile on my face. Click here to watch.

High on C Cold Pressed Juice – £ 7

Categorized on the menu as a ‘natural pick me up’ I ordered it with high expectations. Mixed with carrots, lime and ginger I cannot lie to you the juice was very refreshing; however not worth £7.
Overall I believe ‘Farmacy’ does produce dishes that are boosted with nutritional benefits, and I definitely did not leave feeling bloated. However as a fellow vegan in terms of taste I believe they could be more daring. I enjoy spicy food rich in flavour and I did find the food a bit bland. Sometimes it can be tricky to find the balance between a creative flare and tasty food and although ‘Farmacy’ cannot be criticised for its creativity, I believe their flavours could be enhanced.