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Home / Lifestyle

Is this the most scathing cafe review ever? Farm Girl Cafe slammed

By Benedict Brook
news.com.auΒ·
13 Mar, 2018 07:20 PM4 mins to read

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A selection of food available at Farm Girl cafe in London. Photo / Instagram

A selection of food available at Farm Girl cafe in London. Photo / Instagram

Australian cuisine has, generally, gone down rather well in London.

No wonder really, given Britain's capital is stuffed with about 100,000 Australians, all of whom likely crave an avo smash and a half decent long black.

Coffee shop Flat White, which opened in the heart of Soho in 2005, introduced Brits to the milky drink which is now ubiquitous in the motherland. While celeb chef Bill Granger's casual dining destinations have seduced trendy Londoners.

But a hilariously awful evaluation of another Australian inspired eatery has shown that the love for all things Antipodean has its limit.

Read more:
β€’ Is this the best food court in NZ?

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Farm Girl cafe will rue the day The Guardian's Jay Rayner headed in for a feed. His excruciating review of the establishment, that describes itself as "a holistic yet comfortingly simple approach to Australian cafe culture," will win it no new customers.

Rayner was so underwhelmed, he said a nearby Yorkshire terrier might be more appetising.

"We don't stay for dessert, we've suffered enough," he said.

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The cafe cum restaurant's website states that the original "Farm Girl" was called "Rose". Her "childhood spent on an Australian farm means she's hardier than she looks and appreciates simple country living."

View this post on Instagram

Dinner never looked so fun πŸ‘†πŸ». We now take bookings for DINNER only. Link in bio. Get in my belly.

A post shared by Farm Girl Cafe (@farmgirlcafe) on Feb 15, 2018 at 7:57am PST

A globe artichoke has been "boiled until it as soft and rank as Grandma's cabbage, only with less glamour". A bowl of "Market Veggies" has a "carrot hummus" smear that looks, "like someone had an intimate accident and decided to close the loo door and run away".

Surely, you can't go wrong with a schnitzel? Guess again. "The meat is overcooked and has the texture of something Timpson's (a shoe shop) might one day think about using to resole my brogues." Unforgivably, the breadcrumbs are soggy.

Then a vegetable curry. "It would be regarded as an utter, shameful travesty by many in South-East Asia, but it's not actively unpleasant," The Guardian reviewer wrote, damning the joint with the faintest of praise.

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"It's not just the dismal cooking that pains me here. It's the squandering of ingredients and of people's time and the tiresome narrative of 'wellness' with which it's been flogged.

"I find myself eyeing the Yorkshire terrier, greedily. Just hand him over, give me access to the grill, and five minutes."

It's by no means the first time Rayner has done such an elegant job of eviscerating a restaurant, seemingly taking great joy in dumping its disgorged reputation on the footpath on the way out.

View this post on Instagram

What a beautiful snowy morning in London😍 Who else loves the snow?πŸ™‹πŸΌβ€β™€οΈπŸ™‹πŸ½β€β™‚οΈ

A post shared by Farm Girl Cafe (@farmgirlcafe) on Feb 28, 2018 at 1:27am PST

Last year, he tore into Paris' La Cinq, a restaurant with three Michelin stars and a rating of 4.5 stars on Trip Advisor.

Diners pay through the nose for the privilege of eating in its high-ceiling dining room, which Rayner described as "the scene of the crime" where thick carpets "muffle the screams".

Dishes cost between $70 to $200 each.

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While in his Observer review, Rayner did attempt to compliment some aspects of the meal, a "compelling flaky brioche" for instance, the rest he found risible.

Read more:
β€’ Does this restaurant have the best service in Auckland?

He described a canape that consisted of a transparent ball on a spoon, as looking like a "Barbie-sized silicone breast implant", which released stale air when eaten.

Another amuse-bouche filled with passionfruit and watercress puree was so bitter, "My lips purse, like a cat's arse that's brushed against nettles".

Frozen mousse cigars wrapped in tuile which had an elastic flap of mild skin draped over it, was "like something that's fallen off a burns victim".

View this post on Instagram

@twoohungryhoes can I please have your insta name?! Thank you for this yummy pic.

A post shared by Farm Girl Cafe (@farmgirlcafe) on Mar 5, 2018 at 11:34pm PST

As for his review of the Australian cafe in London, Rayner said he headed straight off to the nearest burger restaurant for some proper food.

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His latest target, however, seemed unperturbed by the carve-up.

Replying to a Facebook post on Farm Girl's page pointing to the review, founder Rose Mann hinted she had taken it in good humour.

"We think it's a very entertaining piece and rather enjoyed reading it," she wrote.

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