Firstly, we arrive and we are asked "if we have reservations". Not sure why you would ask that when the restaurant only has 3 parties in it but I digress. I would say food is quite high end and pretentious (not a bad thing if that is to your liking, I guess it just isn't mine.
We started with the pork liver starter. My wife asked me to consume it quickly as it "smelt bad". It didn't really taste much better either but I think the idea was to have an aged flavour rather than any seasoning. That was more farmer butcher and lacking chef but, understandable considering the theme of highlighting and celebrating the meat rather than adding flavors but this dish really could do with some flavor added to it. Since I have been a culinary teacher in the US I would not do the Chef the disservice of salting their end product and at this level, instead enjoying or rather not enjoying as the Chef intended. I would probably skip this dish unless you like the flavour of aged liver. I have never had a liver dish I had not enjoyed but this one was "taken for the team" as my wife asked me to consume it quickly because of the odour. Almost forgot to mention the large platter we were brought with 3 slices of bread on it. Obviously we only took two since the platter was so large it looked like it was for taking around the room. Though one piece of bread was not really enough for the starter I ate and was never asked if additional required.
Next up was the slow cooked beef with a horseradish potato. We also ordered a side of cauliflower cheese which we were told was "large enough for two". The cauliflower cheese sauce was a little more watery than I would have liked. I only had a small taste as if I had eaten half I do not believe there would have been enough left for my wife. The beef seemed to be of good quality just in my opinion poorly executed. My beef had a chemically taste that I could not but my finger on but I would guess an additive to the charcoal or something used to light the charcoal. For me this overtook the highlight which should have been the flavour of the beef. I did however find the horseradish potato to be delectable and could have quite easily polished off a large bowl of it.
I found service to be haphazard and awkward. I think our waitress was a trainee. I found it awkward that we were not serviced just by our waitress, seemed we were brought different things by different people, this made it quite impersonable from my perspective. I missed the feeling of having one person responsible for leading us through a culinary journey. Given the level that I believe this establishment appears to want to be at, though I understand the jeans of the waitstaff, I think proper trousers may be a better fit as the jeans give off the vibe that the establishment does not know what it is or its clientele. The waitstaff seem to congregate around the maître d'hôtel's area when not busy which made uncomfortable as if I was being watched. Would not have minded so much if they had taken note of little thinks like the lack of bread or not trying to take my cider before I was finished.
Oh, If you order the slow cooked beef, make sure you have dental floss and a toothpick for later as some will undoubtedly end up stuck in your teeth (advice not a fault of the restaurant)
There are some people that made complaints about price. I think the pricing is spot on and the drink prices reflect the clientele they want to attract so spot on there.
Would I go back? No, never in a million years. Pretentious does not sit well with me. The name "Farmer Butcher Chef" conjures ideas of simplicity, celebrating meat in a farm to fork arrangement. Simplicity seemed to be missing instead replaced with undertones of elitism.
One last thing and this will cost anyone a star in one of my reviews. Service charge was pre-added. I would like to know if this is given to staff on top of their regular wages? Is this a tip or a service charge in my mind they are two different things. A service charge in most U.K. restaurants is built in the the pricing model then you can reward good service with a tip beyond that. Anyway, whenever I experience an added service charge I do not tip, I see it as them selecting their own tip so nothing additional is required for me to do. So waitstaff may be missing out on an opportunity to earn more. I also feel it is in really bad taste. I know they say "we will remove at request" but really who is going to ask them to do that unless they ruin your clothing or something unforgivable, it is easier to be miffed and vote with your feet by never returning.
It is a shame, I love the idea I just don't think it is executed very well. Though with some tweaks it could be excellent. The quality of the meat is very good as you would expect. read more
