UPDATE: I heard some not so great news about this spot recently, so will have to retract my recommendation for now
KANNDID SNAPSHOT
Vegeterian / Vegan | NR | £££
Some people have accused Farmacy of being outrageously priced and it’s hard to argue with that when they’re charging 15 quid for a vegan burger – even if it is organic, that is steep. Also, it’s not like they are exactly ‘cooking’ complex dishes. However, for me all the dishes I had delivered on flavour; it’s a lovely comfortable and chic setting and the service is really warm (albeit a little slow) so I actually don’t mind parting with my hard earned cash.
BASIC OR BOUGIE? Ba-Bou
SERVICE IS Sleek, Casual, Friendly
TRY The Artichoke Pizzetta
GOOD FOR People Watching, Pram Pushers
GROUPS Up to 6 ppl
74 Westbourne Grove, W2 5SH
Website | Instagram
Open Mon-Sun
+44 (0) 20 7221 0705
THE FULL SHEBANG
LOCATION
Farmacy is in Westbourne Grove opposite fancy furniture design shop SCP and about 50 metres from Space NK (for all you Space NK addicts out there like myself 😉 )
THE SPACE
It’s a fairly large space with chic light green seating booths on the outer edge of the room and a lovely bar taking central position. Towards the back is a separate room which is used as their private dining space but which they can open up should it get busy and the space hasn’t been booked. There’s an abundance of foliage here and throughout the restaurant – it’s a look I adore in restaurants from Chiltern Firehouse to Blixen and across the pond in Paris at Alcazar. I just won’t ever get bored of this style.
Central Bar
FOOD & SERVICE
I’d describe Farmacy as an all day dining organic restaurant serving up veggie / vegan comfort food with dishes like ‘Nachos’ and ‘Pizza’ on the menu. When we went, on a Saturday around 3pm, they were serving a truncated brunch menu, so I didn’t get a chance to try their curry which I had peeped on their instagram page and was keen to try.
My sister was the one who suggested it as she’d been here a few weeks before with her newborn and thought the food was decent and it was pram friendly. I doubt I would have come here of my own accord – just not that girl that’s into ‘healthy’ fast food – it’s kind of bullshit and is the sentiment KFC have leveraged for their new ad. Have you seen it? It basically takes the piss out of the wellness movement that has grown massively in the last few years, where food wise everything is spiralized and cauliflower is an ‘IT’ vegetable. Yes, Farmacy may fall into this bucket, with their nut ‘cheese’, gluten free options and all that kind of stuff but you know what? It tastes good and ultimately that’s what I care about.
To start with, we got the Artichoke Pizzetta (£11) and Nachos (£12). The vegan Pizzetta is served on housemade sourdough with a tomato and artichoke sauce, macadamia cheese, olives, capers, spinach & cherry tomatoes – it was of medium crispiness and just delightful – I only got one slice as I shared with a table of 4 – next time I’m gonna get a whole one to myself.
The Nachos comprised corn chips, the most delicious guacamole, frijoles with salsa and ‘sour cream’ made from cashews – another really enjoyable plate.
We ordered some drinks – I got a sparkling wine …
…and my mum got a gin cocktail with cucumber, apple and lime juice – I had several sips of this – refreshing, simple and gorgeous – I’d definitely order this when I revisit.
Then I shared 2 mains with my sister – The Farmacy Burger and Mexican Bowl.
The vegan burger was made up of millet, black beans and mushroom, served with garlic aioli, goji ketchup, avocado, pickles, tomato; we went for the gluten free bread option over the sourdough vegan bun which in hindsight was an error – it was toasted bread and really quite difficult to eat. My mum went for the normal bun and hers seemed more compact and manageable. I thought the burger was decent but not amazing – I’ve had better non-meat burgers. They’d run out of sweet potato fries, so we went with the standard potato chips which were soggy but yummy.
The Mexican Bowl was basically a blinged up burrito bowl – sprouted coriander rice, romaine, guacamole, frijoles, tomato ceviche, salsa and ‘sour cream’ topped with purple tomato mash (Yass Lawd!), corn chips and & chipotle mayo. The tomatoes were everything – it’s hard to get this type of juicy, flavoursome tomatoes in the UK, so I appreciate them when they cross my path. It had a lot of the same ingredients as the nachos, so kind of more of the same – I wish I’d maybe tried something else – so personally I’d recommend not getting these two dishes together.
We were S.T.U.F.F.E.D by the end of this – I tried to order dessert and my family gave me a filthy look, like calm down you glutton. To be fair, there’s no way I could have squeezed one in – I’m still full as I’m writing this… the morning after. I heard their sticky toffee pudding is the business though – so if you have room, get that. Service was really warm but it can be a little slow and sometimes hard to get the attention of staff.
VIBE
It was absolutely pumping when we went at 3pm on Saturday – jam packed with young model-esque girls and boys. I can only imagine it’s heaving around 11am/Noon. It’s West London ‘cool’ if you know what I mean and just a really chilled relaxing spot. We went with my sister’s new baby and the booth next door also had a baby – both babies were angels and didn’t cry once! A great choice for new parents that actually want to eat decent food in a stylish environment.
MOOLAH
Not cheap for what is essentially a plant based comfort food restaurant. Everyone knows organic produce is expensive but so is quality meat and when you go to a gourmet burger restaurant, the max you’ll generally pay is £12 – at Farmacy it’s £15. Expect to part with about £40 for a starter, main and a drink or two.
THE TAKE OUT
Some people have accused Farmacy of being outrageously priced and it’s hard to argue with that when they’re charging 15 quid for a vegan burger – even if it is organic, that is steep. Also, it’s not like they are exactly ‘cooking’ complex dishes. However, for me all the dishes I had delivered on flavour; it’s a lovely comfortable and chic setting and the service is really warm (albeit a little slow) so I actually don’t mind parting with my hard earned cash.
K A N N D I D 
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