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The Farm Restaurant, 3 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland (very close to Trinity College Dublin, Nassau Street gate)
What: Modern looking restaurant which claims that they try to serve as much organic and local food as they can — whatever that means.
Prices: Above average and when the ingredients are taken into account it seems patently overpriced.
Vegetarian menu: Uninspired. €17.95 for risotto, €15.95 for roast stuffed peppers, €15.50 for mixed salad, €16.95 baked vegetarian cake homemade daily using beetroot & a selection of fresh Irish vegetables & herbs & spices, lightly coated in fresh bread crumbs and baked until golden brown served with homemade greek yoghurt, spices & cucumber sauce &salad…. The menu states that sides are served with a main only (so vegetarians/vegans who are used to assembling a number of side dishes to make up a meal should beware).
Drinks: Wines, beers, soft drinks, (€5.95 for 750ml sparkling water) and some more.
Service: The waiter was friendly on this visit, but when we requested that the chef make the beetroot bake vegan (as he/she had done for us only a few nights previous) the waiter came back and informed us that the chef was too busy to cook for us. A chef who is too busy to cook — that’s a new one. Therefore, we asked to pay and were presented with the bill for the water we had ordered (€5.95 for 750ml — compare this to the price of petrol and then buy the petrol and drive to a restaurant where the chef is not too busy to cook — one should be able to reach within a 35 mile radius in a moderately fuel efficient vehicle). This reviewer cannot believe that we were charged for the water after being told that the chef was not prepared to cook for us. The restaurant alleges that it draws upon quality ingredients, yet the chef is evidently unable or unwilling to assemble them to order. One wonders then if they actually cook the food fresh or reheat it?
On past attempted visits, prior to a more recent successful one, the Dublin Vegetarian Reviewer has been perplexed by the fact that this establishment pays someone to stand on the corner of Nassau Street and Dawson Street with a sign pointing passersby to the restaurant, only to find this encouragement countered by waiting staff who indicated that tables were not available without reservations. We conclude that contradictory messages are rife here.
Comfortable? The restaurant is nice and bright. Tables near the door suffer from the cold wind that blows in when the door is opened. The chairs are not comfortable and the tables should be bigger, but at least they didn’t wobble.
Was the food good? Everything here apart from the beetroot bake is very dull. The vegetarian beetroot bake (made vegan the first evening) is tasty and was the reason for the return visit. This reviewer doesn’t understand a business model which offers almost the same thing (risotto, stuffed peppers) as many restaurants in a three block radius but which charges far more for the food than those restaurants. We witnessed the stuffed peppers arriving at a nearby table; the assembly appeared to lack structural integrity, and the dish might have been more aptly called “couscous with pepper”. €17.50 for a dull risotto? I don’t think so.
Toilets: Adequate.
My advice to the chef: The vegetarian menu is far less than inspired and needs a major overhaul. Telling customers that you will not cook for them is unforgivable.
My advice to the manager: I wouldn’t employ a chef who would be the cause of loss of custom. All good will was lost when we were charged €5.95 for 750ml of water after being told that a dish we had eaten a few days earlier would not be prepared for us that evening.
Overall: A very negative experience. One can easily get risotto elsewhere and pay far less for it. This reviewer will never set foot in this restaurant again, and we can state this without reservations.
Best not order drinks until your order has been confirmed --- all we got at this restaurant was some water and the message that their chef was too busy to make the vegetarian bake vegan (which wasn't a problem only a few nights previous)
The Farm Restaurant, 3 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
What? Trying to be slick and modern looking restaurant.
Prices: Way, way overpriced. These people are living on memories of rip-off Ireland. Vegetarian mains are around €15-16 (for vegetables!!!), aubergine hummus appetizer €7.95, caprese salad €8.65, veggie sides €4.45. Possibly the most expensive vegetarian mains in the city centre. Goat’s cheese tartlet as a main costs €16.95. Compare this to Cafe Novo in the Westbury—their goat’s cheese tart costs €11.95, also as a main.
Vegetarian menu: They have a separate section for vegetarian mains which offers 8 different meals. A definite attempt to cater for vegetarians is being made here.
Drinks: Beer, wine, juices, etc. The sparkling water comes in a charming blue bottle.
Service: Not great. Stroppy waiter who gave the impression that we were lucky to be let in. We chose the restaurant based on the menu displayed outside and found that the menu inside differed and they did not offer the meal that attracted us in. We pointed this out to the stroppy waiter, who was not in the least apologetic, and seemed to think that we were strange because we expected the menu to be as displayed outside.
Comfortable? The people who bought the chairs did not have the comfort of their guests in mind. I kept sliding down in the seat and it wasn’t big enough, even for a small person like me. The table for two was small, which meant that we needed to play tetris to fit all the dishes. It’s bright and without really loud music, which is good.
Was the food good? I had a special which was basically butternut squash stuffed with a creamy risotto. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it (in fact, it was quite okay), but I felt very ripped-off—around €16 for what was essentially risotto (why do so many Dublin chefs think that this is a creative vegetarian option? I make risotto when I can’t be bothered to go out or put much effort into cooking). The vegetable sides were well done, still with a good bit of bite in them, but again, overpriced. My friend was disappointed with the caprese salad: in most of the Western world this involves sliced tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and black pepper; here it is your standard purple leaf garnish with chopped tomatoes. Potato sides were nice.
Toilets: Not yet tested.
My advice to the chef: Given that the veg mains are so dear compared to the rest of the city centre I expect something which tastes superior and is beautifully presented. This kitchen fails in both respects.
My advice to the manager: Train the waiters to be more respectful to customers. Buy more comfortable chairs—people do two things in restaurants: sit and eat. The chairs must be comfortable. It is surprisingly offensive to be asked upon entry if one has a reservation for dinner having passed a few meters away on the way in a person paid to hold a post with a sign attached pointing potential diners towards The Farm. Which message do you wish to convey: that you are desperate to attract customers in or that you have all and only the customers you need already?
Overall: I would eat here more often if it were significantly less expensive or if the meal matched the price tag. In short, you can get better, cheaper vegetarian meals elsewhere.
Note: Management were asked to respond to this review.
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