Farm Girl Cafe - Various Locations

Health focused Aussie venue 'Farm Girl Cafe' isn't vegan but has plenty of options. It has branches in Notting Hill, Soho, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge. I visited their Soho branch, which is above 'Sweaty Betty' in Carnaby Street.

It's set up in a trendy canteen style, with modern furniture, vines everywhere, and a chair swing in the corner, which can only be designed for Instagram.

Service was okay but interactions with staff are pretty minimal since you go up to the counter and order, they have a quick turnover so staff seem to be quick, efficient and pleasant rather than overly friendly.

They are very 'working cafe' friendly and there were a lot of people there with laptops, there's plug sockets around and the wifi password is on every table. It's actually a really lovely work environment because of this, you sort of get working companions, quietly together. There's also plenty of small groups, and because the place is relatively noisy, no one seems to disturb each other.

Vegan Options:

Breakfast:

ACAI BOWL

Amazonian berries with banana & almond milk topped with fruit, chia seeds, coconut shavings, and almond butter (GF)

DRAGON BOWL

Dragon bowl - banana, pitaya and almond milk sprinkled with hemp seeds, and seasonal toppings (GF)

DAISY BOWL

frozen mango, coconut, banana, turmeric, vanilla and coconut milk sprinkled with seasonal toppings (GF)

AVOCADO TOAST

smashed avocado with grapefruit zest & juice, watermelon radish, sichuan pepper & chervil on wholemeal sourdough

ALMOND AND BANANA TOAST

almond butter, banana, blueberries, date syrup and cacao nibs on sourdough

Lunch:

JACK TACOS

Jackfruit, homemade BBQ sauce, guacamole egg free mayo, lettuce & Chinese cabbage on soft corn tortillas (GF)

COCONUT BLT SANDWICH

homemade coconut bacon, beetroot cashew cream, lettuce, grated carrot, dill pickles & plum tomato on wholemeal sourdough

ABC BOWL

carrot, alfalfa sprouts, flaked almonds, sweet potato, avocado beetroot, tomato, broccoli and beetroot hummus (GF)

ALOHA BOWL

buckwheat noodles, marinated cucumbers, fermented plums jackfruit, mangetout, pineapple, sesame seeds and mango dressing (GF)

BUD BOWL

quinoa, kale, tomato, pumpkin seeds, sweetcorn peas, tofu & pickled shiitake mushrooms with a ginger and sesame dressing (GF)

I was there for breakfast, and am a bit of a sucker for a frozen smoothie bowl, and so got a 'Daisy Bowl'. Look how pretty it is!

I love the heavy effect stone style bowl that it came in, the whole presentation was so beautiful, with all the toppings and edible flowers on top. The toppings are pretty generous too with plenty of seeds, pistachios, banana and coconut.

Underneath all the toppings, the frozen smoothie section was also delicious, perfect texture (I find some can be over melted and sloppy) and perfect mango/vanilla mix. I took a deconstructed photo to illustrate what the actual smoothie section was like.

This is the type of healthy, and simple meal that you could make at home easily (possibly without the edible flowers, which if you're curious didn't really taste of anything much). However, people go out because of the social side, or because they want to work in a nice cafe, and it's lovely to have a tasty, healthy option.

One thing that wasn't so good about the venue was the lack of seating and the way that the seating was laid out. There were too many tables set up for 4 or more people which generally had a lone worker on them. People were hanging around waiting for tables when it got to peak times when there were plenty of seats around and staff didn't really seem to be managing that.

It's also pretty expensive for what it was, at £8 for a smoothie bowl. However, if you're using it further as a working venue for a few hours this might be worth the price as it really is a lovely place to do that in.

Overall Ratings:

Staff: 3/5

Setting: 4/5

Taste: 4/5

Food Presentation: 5/5

Cost: 2/5

Ideal for: Working Lunch

Number of Vegan Mains: 5

Negatives: Lack of Tables/Noise

Would Revisit: Yes

Address: 1 Carnaby Street, London, W1F 9QG

Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 0800 - 1900; Saturday 0930 - 1900; Sunday 1000 - 1800

As always, these posts are based on places I've visited on www.myveganradar.com - the London Vegan Food Map, based on tube stop, and are my own opinion.