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Sunday brunch

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    Farmacy

    Brunch! The most basic habitat of a basic girl. Unsurprisingly, I love finding new brunch places, so when my friend invited me to Farmacy (not to be confused with Damien Hirst’s Notting Hill restaurant, Pharmacy, which closed in 2003) in Notting Hill on Sunday, I was intrigued. Is it brunch at a former pharmacy location, clever marketing for farm fresh food, or are we just going to go get the morning after pill and a green juice?

    Turns out, it was just a good name. This tasty vegetarian spot on the corner of Westbourne Grove opened in late April. I do wonder why they haven’t branded themselves as fully vegan as there’s only one item on the menu that isn’t, and it’s only because it contains an optional egg. Normally, I roll my eyes at vegan places or those that proclaim themselves to be, gluten, dairy and meat free because, not only does it have the potential to bring the most annoying people in the world together, what do they serve? Usually, very expensive carrot sticks. However, I was pleased to see Farmacy has plenty of (still expensive) options and it was all very flavourful.

    We ordered a bunch of stuff to share, which I recommend in order to try the large variety they offer. Farmacy has everything from pasta and pizza to ‘earth bowls’ (think quinoa and veggies) and ‘syringes’ containing cannabis oil, which I sadly didn’t try. But, I’m glad the pharmaceutical theme found it’s way into the menu without being creepy.

    Opened by Camilla Al-Fayad, the daughter of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al–Fayed, Farmacy is, according to their web site, “not just another food and beverage play. It’s a game changing lifestyle brand. A positive lifestyle choice which connects people to source, self and community through healthy and holistic eating”. I don’t know what that means, but they have plant-based burgers and nachos that are ‘healthy’. Even the coffee came with a vegan twist, only offered with almond milk and coconut sugar. Because everything coconut is healthy, right?

    Many of the ingredients had quotes around them, which made me wonder what was actually in it. Not enough to ask, mind you. I didn’t want to be the ravenous carnivore at the table and offend anyone. Although, delicious, it did make me think twice while digging into the ‘sour cream’ on my nachos.

    The nachos were really tasty, if a little sparse to share and low on toppings. Insiders tip: dip the remaining tortilla chips in a side of hummus.

    The hummus! No exaggeration, it was probably the best I’ve ever had. It came plain, so, had we not ordered the mixed potato sticks (more on that on a second), I’m not entirely sure how we were supposed to eat it.

    So, what made me giggle the most was ordering the mixed potato sticks with aoli. I knew some quinoa and beetroot wasn’t going to fill me up, so I was looking for a heavy carb fix and the mixed potato sticks was my contribution to the group order. Then it arrived….

    Chips. I’d ordered chips. Sniffing out the only unhealthy thing on the menu is pretty much the most me thing I could have done at a healthy vegan restaurant. They were good.

    We ordered 3 earth bowls: the green eggs bowl (which actually came with a single egg) reminded me of Dr Seuss which is why I suggested it. It contained kale, broccoli, avocado and a poached egg. From my understanding, they ran out of eggs as I heard someone else was unable to order it so I’m not sure if it was supposed to come with just one.

    The middle east bowl (above) was probably my favourite. The baba ganoush was fantastic, although I’m not sure exactly what an ‘activated seed’ is.

    Which also brings me to the ‘activated quinoa’ in the macro bowl. I couldn’t tell the difference between the macro bowl quinoa and the green eggs bowl quinoa, which was apparently not activated.

    What to wear: I came from Yoga (that basic lyfe) so my hair looked like ass and I was wearing ripped jeans. But to be fair, a lot of people in there looked like they’d come straight from yoga.

    I’m definitely going to make my way back to this place. Be warned though, it’s quite pricy (£20/girl for brunch with no booze) and there is a bit of a wait list. We put our names down and went to have a juice for 40 minutes while we waited, so I recommend making a reservation. It’s surprisingly good for a veggie/vegan haunt. If they can figure out eggs benedict like The Good Life Eatery has (more about that here) and combine that with the nacho offering, Farmacy would be my new favourite healthy brunch place!

    Farmacy

    74 Westbourne Grove

    London

    W2 5SH

    020 7221 0705

    farmacylondon.com

     

    Farmacy Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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    Food

    The Delaunay

    BRUNCH!!! My favourite meal. Ever.  It’s breakfast, but you don’t have to get up stupid early to eat and it’s not only expected that you drink, but the drink should be sparkly or contain vodka.  Best thing ever in life.  So, it has been my mission to become an expert on brunches wherever I go.  The reason there aren’t many brunch posts on this blog is because, if I’m honest, most of the time I scarf down my food and forget to take pictures.  You’ll just have to trust me on this, I’ve had brunch pretty much everywhere.

    So, where does The Delaunay rank?  Well, it’s not bad actually. I have two rules when it comes to brunch:  Order Eggs Benedict/Florentine/Royale/Whatever they decide to call eggs on a muffin covered in hollandaise sauce and accompany that with prosecco/Champagne.

    I met a group of my girlfriends on a snowy Sunday and I have to say, I love the location of the Delaunay.  It’s not too close to Covent Garden to be annoying and full of tourists, but it’s close enough to still have that busy hub vibe.  I also walked by this awesome place on my way, so it got extra points.

    Happy Go Lucky Funeral Parlor   Seriously.

    The bubbles were great, but let’s be honest, it’s not hard to get decent Champagne in London so i’ll move on.

    The girls ordered lobster rolls which I am never eating again unless it’s at Burger and Lobster and we were having brunch so I had to stick to my rules.

    I felt that I needed some iron after a relatively late night out, so I went for the Florentine.  If you want eggs Royale, they call it Arlington at The Delaunay.  I don’t know why and when I asked, they just explained what it was, not why they decided to change the name from the accepted convention.  I didn’t order it, so that’s all I can really comment on.

    My Florentine  however, was actually quite good.  not too soggy (which can happen due to the wilted spinach) but I will say the hollandaise wasn’t quite tangy enough for me.  to much buttery, not enough tang.  It was also a little thick for my personal preferences   But to each his own.  I still ate the whole thing.

    I also had an excellent cappuccino props to the person who made it, excellent presentation.

    My only criticism would be that it’s a little stuffy in there.  The atmosphere isn’t super welcoming and it felt like they were putting on airs as if they were The Woseley   They aren’t, although they are owned by the same group who also do Colbert in Sloane Square.  They also make an excellent Florentine.  But If I had to rank out of this group, it would be The Woseley, Colbert (amazing Atmosphere) and finally The Delaunay.

    The Delaunay is about the same price as the Woseley, so I would go to the latter if you have a choice, but either way, both are going to cost you about £30/head with a drink.

    If you’re interested in The Delaunay you can book through their website:  www.thedelaunay.com
    The Delaunay on Urbanspoon

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    Food

    Red Dog Saloon / Pizza East

    So, I was going to write an amazing post all about Red Dog Saloon and their BBQ. But then I went all the f’ing way to Shoreditch and it was closed for some reason. My boyfriend thinks that everyone who worked there ditched work because it was so nice out. But, I did take a picture of the sign to prove I was there:

    So, we walked (in my super cute strawberry print wedges, ASOS sale £12) to Pizza East.

    Anyway, I had the salami, mozzarella and chilli flakes pizza. It was good but a little hard to eat (sauce to cheese to topping ratio was way off). And to be honest, I used to live in New York and really, once you have a slice of Bleeker Street pizza, everything else doesn’t stand a chance.

    Here is said pizza anyway:

    Highlight of the meal was the nice rose my boyfriend picked out (his job is to select the wine, mine is to drink it). I actually liked drinking out of the regular cup. Sometimes I think wine glasses try too hard.

    Location: Pizza East. 56 Shoreditch High Street, London
    Cost: About £12 for a pizza. £30 for nice wine.
    Look out for: Actually, this is a listen out for. They had some great music playing a little too quietly including Johnny Cash and Bob Marley. Pizza East on Urbanspoon

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