I remember coming here once with my previous employer and the kids. I ordered a juice and I remember I liked it. Also I remember my dad said their coffee was really good. Though I don’t drink coffee myself, I thought they might be good in general. So I thought, let’s go here and see what else they have to offer vegans! It’s always busy here and people tend to love it, so I was curious what they would have. When I came in, one of the first things I saw was a vegan wrap in the fridge section. This was very hopeful I thought. Then I looked at the menu signs, to be a little disappointed. I could see lots of different ways to have your eggs, but no vegan options at all.
I went to the counter and introduced myself and straight away the girl walked away and the manager took her place. What was a little odd as she didn’t say anything. I asked for the vegan options, but she said she was sorry to not really have any. I was a little shocked. I haven’t been in many places where they don’t have anything. So I mentioned the wrap and she said that was the only thing. Then she started about all the vegetarian options, but that wasn’t really in any of my interest. They do a vegetarian breakfast, where you could leave out the egg, but then she wasn’t sure about the sausages. She said she also couldn’t check if they were vegan. I think this was very bad as they should always be exactly aware of what the offer.
I ordered a juice (the Cleanse) and the wrap though, to see if at least that was nice. I didn’t really like that the wrap had sugar in it, but I must say it was a very tasty wrap. I especially liked the aubergine in there. The juice was nice, but it still had a lot of pulp, coming from the ginger. It kept blocking my straw. They don’t use water or anything other than fruit in their juices, what I really like though. I also like the interior. They have many different corners and cosy seats, with sofa’s, tables to work on and many other seats. You can also sit outside. But I won’t come here again.. apart from maybe a take away juice. I think they should work on their vegan options as they are a little behind on other places.
WHO? Kitchen & Pantry.
WHERE? 14 Elgin Crescent, W11 2HX.
CUISINE? Diverse (breakfast/lunch).
VEGAN? No! (omni)
OVERALL? 5 (Nice seats, nice juices, but almost no options and bad informed staff.)
Did you already know Kitchen&Pantry? What was your experience? Or are you planning to go here now? Please tell me about it! You can do this by leaving a comment below, but you can also show me by tagging me on Instagram or by using #PlanetManel. Thank you! X
I thought I was kind of a Portobello Road expert, as I spend many many many days on this road. But when I was flying back home from Mallorca and a friend pointed out an article where the Farm Girl Cafe was mentioned, I had no idea. It turned out to be on the bit of Portobello Road I almost never go to. You have to cross a street for this bit and I actually always turn around before. Later I did guess where it was as I remember a hidden cafe when I went to a dance class with the kids I look after. I didn’t know the name anymore, but that was the only place I could think of. And when I got there, I was right. That was the cafe. Funny that I knew about it for so long, without knowing it.. if that makes sense?! Haha!
At the Farm Girl Cafe they do serve meat, but they also have a fair choice of vegan options. It was a lovely sunny morning and after a little wait (it’s a very popular place), I was able to sit outside. Their menu is on point, with a ‘V’ behind everything that is vegan. Super handy if restaurants do this. I saw crazy good smashed avocado toast passing by (a lot!), but as I always try to limit my bread intake, I chose the acai bowl. I heard it was good. I asked for a chai latte, but they are not vegan as they use honey. So the waiter suggested to have chai tea, with milk on the side. They have coconut milk, almond milk and hazelnut milk, all from Rude Health. I chose coconut. The acai came in a lovely coconut bowl, but I was a little disappointed with the presentation. They just threw everything in there.. such a shame, because you can really make it look nice with all these toppings (banana, coconut, seeds, granola, almond butter). The tea was super delicious btw, the best chai tea I’ve had! They also do a very famous charcoal latte, but I was afraid I was going to be too full. So I will come back for this for sure. They have 4 vegan all day breakfast options and 3 lunch options (from 11:00). I think that is pretty good! I have to come here more often.
What I really like about the Farm Girl Cafe is that it’s hidden. You don’t expect a cafe, but going through a porch, suddenly there is the most beautiful cafe. Lots of plants, white walls, seats outside, truly lovely. Inside it’s quite spectacular too, with the petrol coloured tiles, high ceiling and the opportunity to sit on a long table, up stairs, overlooking the cafe. There is lots of fresh fruit and veggies near the counter and that looks super nice against the tiles. They created a very unique atmosphere. The service was a little slow at times, but the staff was very friendly though. Something I didn’t like were the prices. It is pretty expensive! My acai bowl was nice, but not he best I’ve had and it lacked presentation. Still all together (acai bowl, chai tea) it was £17,50. This is a little outrageous if you ask me.
When my mum came to visit me in the beginning of June, we were in the bus and we saw a place what was going to be an ice cream bar soon: Unico! It said it was going to have vegan options too, so I straight away made note in my phone. In the end of July, I had finally found some time to go and I was super excited. First of all, it looked super nice, very new, bright and fresh! There were some people before me, so I took this time to take some pictures and to look at the menu. There are quite a lot of seats, because you can also sit down stairs and they don’t only offer ice cream, but also: cake, sandwiches, tea and coffee. What a lovely shop!
The guy who served me knew a lot and he was very kind and super helpful. Very much appreciated! They have over 10 different vegan flavours, but there are only 3-4 flavours available a day. Today that was strawberry, mango and dark chocolate. This is because they make their ice cream fresh every day and they don’t want to throw away too much. Their ice cream is low in fat, high in fiber, protein and vitamins. What is an exciting thing! He let me taste the chocolate when I said that I loved the fact that there was a chocolate available. Mango was one of his favourites and so he let me taste that one too. Both of them were very delicious! I’m very sorry for all the other ice cream shops I’ve been to, but this was the best chocolate and mango ice cream I’ve ever had. I did like the chocolate a little bit better than the mango, but that is just because it’s chocolate. It was just so creamy and full of rich chocolate flavour. It’s like eating cold chocolate fudge. I ordered these 2 flavours, because I wanted more of course. I got it served in this super cute cup, but he told me that soon there will be vegan cones too. Yay! (I’ll be back!)
Like I said, there is more than just ice cream. The little sandwiched they have, are called ‘bubbles’. They are super cute to see, like little wrapped ‘bubbles’. They are small filled buns and they make them warm for you. I had the Genova and it’s with potatoes, green beans and pesto sauce. There is also one with seasonal vegetables. The bubbles are the only thing they don’t make in the shop itself, but they let them come over from Italy. I’ve never seen them before, but it was very tasty. Now the cake. They have a lot of different cakes, but only one vegan one. Hopefully there will be more soon. The one they offered was a raw chocolate and cashew one.. so even though it was the only option, it was surely a good one. I didn’t taste it, but I’m sure it was delicious. It looked amazing. Maybe a next time.
Notting Hill is great. For a lot of reasons.. but one of the reasons is definitely the restaurant ‘Farmacy’. A few times I saw Farmacy popping up on Instagram and when I checked what it was, of course I needed to go there. Now it happened to be that I got a temporary job last December, just for a week. The job was only a 2 minutes walk from Farmacy, how perfect?! So after my first work day, I went straight there and I was so impressed. What a fancy restaurant! This is definitely a good place for a more formal lunch, but also perfect for dates or to celebrate a special occasion. I’m just thinking now, I might actually go here on my birthday!
At Farmacy they, as the name implies, serve healthy food. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” They get their products from local, organic farms from the UK. This doesn’t only make it taste amazing, it also makes sure you’ll get the maximum of all the nutritional benefits the food offers. Their whole menu is vegetarian, but looking at it, you’ll actually see that most of it is vegan too. Yay! I got the (of course) the burger (Farmacy Burger) with sweet potato chips. They do have lots of other very nice things on the menu. What do you think of ‘sweet potato falafels’ and ‘Tagliatelle ai Funghi’? Or you 
can choose 1 of the 3 vegan pizza’s.. These are only a few options, they got salads, soups and very nice desserts. I was too full to try a dessert, but I’ll make sure I’ll have some the next time I go. It will be very hard to choose though.. they have lots of dessert options for vegans and it’s totally different from a ‘sorbet’ or a ‘fruit platter’.. these are real desserts! Mouth-watering.. So as you can read, there is lots of good food, but they also do incredible juices and shots. All sorts of very amazing drinks. They’re all made right in front of you, at the bar in the middle.
Farmacy is located at Westbourne Grove, a street full of nice, quite exclusive shops and quite a lot of restaurants. Perfect location I would say and in a beautiful building. I also really like the interior. Very light and very green with lots of plants. In the front are very nice round benches, which I think are the best seats. There are also normal tables and chairs or you can eat at the bar. If you’re planning to go at a busy time and you’re going with 2 or more people, I do recommend you to make a reservation. It’s a very busy restaurants. Waiting to get seated is very normal. A lot of people like it here, what is only very positive though. I have to make a compliment about the staff, they’re very friendly and professional, what is very pleasant. The only down side about Farmacy is that it’s quite expensive. Though, to be fair, the food is really good! So in comparison it’s probably not that bad. Check out the 
When I don’t feel like going all the way to the Whole Foods Market just for a few things there is this great other little shop, which is close to my work, where I can get most of the things I want. It’s a great shop, with a lot of vegan products. A lot of times I get my cheese there, my mayonnaise, some vegan treat and I can’t resist to get a space bar when I’m there.
raw bars and if you’re lucky they have some vegan snickers too, which are define! This is only the beginning, because then the section with vegan goodies (sausages, cheese, mayo, bars, yogurt etc.), plant based milk, juices, bread, biscuits and oats(you can get really big bags). They also have quite a nice selection of teas. Then there is sauces, pasta’s and rice + the babyfood. The last aisle is with nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, chocolate spread agave nectar, soaps + personal hygiene and cleaning products. Oh and behind the till there are also supplements and all sorts of remedies they offer. These are just some main things, but they have a lot of surprising products you really don’t want to miss.
‘Portobello Wholefoods’ is 100% vegetarian and has a lot of organic products. They’re located on Portobello Road, literally under the Westway bridge. It’s easy to get to from Ladbroke Grove. If you keep walking under the Westway, it’ll be right in front of you. Even if you’re just strolling down Portobello road, it’s always nice to pop in. I’m sure you’ll walk outiside with something nice. They’re open every day from 9:30-18:00 and on Sundays from 11:00-5:00.
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