'Forget jaw-ache-inducing blandness in grubby, worthy surrounds'

Farmacy

Open daily breakfast 9am–11am, lunch midday–3pm, dinner 6pm–11pm

The blurb

Farmacy-with-an-F as it has become known to avoid confusion with Damien Hirst’s new Pharmacy, which also opened a few months ago, is the fancy vegan restaurant on Westbourne Grove brought to us by Camilla Fayed, daughter of Harrods’ former owner Mohamed. Having turned her back on a career in fashion, Camilla says Farmacy will be ‘a destination to share my philosophy that putting nutrition first does not compromise good food and good times…’ She aims ‘to deliver a piece of health and vitality through the expansion of the Farmacy brand in Express “grab and go” outlets initially across London.’

The style

It’s hard to imagine that a dark and moody branch of dim sum restaurant Ping Pong previously occupied this spot. With its green and white striped awning, it resembles a chemist from the outside while bamboo and brushed gold dominates the light and smart interior, which features a central bar and some pretty greenery. Seated at a spacious green booth, our waitress Naomi was so lovely that I suspected she knew I was reviewing the experience, but no – it was only when I asked her name at the end of the meal that she twigged.

The crowd

We spotted only two men in a room full of slim, healthy-looking women during our weekday lunchtime visit. This is where mothers and daughters, and girlfriends catch up while pregnant ladies are assured they’ll be eating clean. I brought a girlfriend who is trying to conceive.

The food

Produce is sourced from UK organic farms and everything, from the flatbreads to the ice-cream, is made in-house. We started with a ‘Syringe Shot’, which you’re meant to inject into your mouth or a shot glass rather than your arm. It might be a little gimmicky (my friend got her iPhone out immediately to photograph it) but what the heck. We both had a ginger, turmeric, cayenne and lemon Fire Starter (£5) which was so intense we needed to gulp down water. It would certainly kill any throat infections.

Next we shared a ‘Mezze Feast’ (£13) – a pretty plate of smoky, creamy baba ganoush, rather bland sprouted houmous, which was improved by the olives, pickles, crispy zatar crackers and sourdough spelt bread. A ‘Chef’s Clean Curry’ aka a Thai red curry served with probiotic rice (£14) was ‘better than the usual,’ according to my friend while I had a very good Asian salad (£12), doused in ginger miso dressing. We weren’t sure how satisfying a vegan and refined sugar-free dessert could be. Our ‘Nice Cream Brownie Sundae’ (£10) was presented like a knickerbocker glory topped with berries. The brownie, raw cacao and housemade maca caramel tasted naughty enough. The ice-cream had that slightly nutty taint that’s hard to avoid in the non-dairy variety.

The drink

There’s no need to ask for juices without ice or added sugars here. Our ‘High on C’ (carrot, lime and ginger; £7) and ‘Witches Brew’ (beetroot, lemon, parsley, cucumber; £7) were fresh and flavoursome.

In a nutshell

Forget jaw-ache-inducing blandness in grubby, worthy surrounds. Farmacy manages to find the perfect balance of health, flavour, style and approachability. Next time, I’ll be bringing a committed carnivorous male friend.

Farmacy, 74 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH; farmacylondon.com; 020 7221 0705

If you would like to stay up to date with our restaurant reviews, subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter.

Restaurants | , ,