Farmstand
UPDATE: PERMANENTLY CLOSED
Location: Covent Garden, London
Address: 42 Drury Ln, London WC2B 5AJ
Food: healthy fast food | build-your-own lunch box, breakfasts and ready to go options
Gluten free status: 100% gluten free
Bonus: dairy free + vegan options
Nearest tube stations: Covent Garden + Holborn
Opening times: Monday to Friday – 7:30am to 9pm, Saturday – 9am to 9pm, Sunday – 10am to 5pm
I stumbled on this little gluten free gem today while wandering around Covent Garden and totally fell in love with it. It’s the perfect place to grab a quick meal on the go and honestly it’s suprising people don’t talk about it more in the gluten free community. According to a quick google search, it appears Farmstand has been around for two years already and yet it’s only now I heard of it!
What is it? Basically fast food, but refreshingly healthy for a change. They have a build-your-own lunch box concept where you get to pick a meat (or vegan option) along with two or three sides with plenty to choose from, including extra toppings. And everything is gluten free which eliminates the fear of cross-contamination. That’s always a big plus in my books!
The food is clean and simple, but really tasty; made using high quality fresh ingredients. They state on their website that the meat and fish are ethically sourced and all ingredients come from local UK based suppliers which is a nice bonus. And on top of avoiding gluten, their food is also free from dairy and added sugar.
I also like the fact that they don’t sell bottled water. So many restaurants use that as a sneaky way to bring up the bill, but instead Farmstand has a still and sparkling water tap that customers can use for free as they wish.
I went for the Harissa chicken with broccoli and brown rice pasta and also got to snatch some of my boyfriend’s beef brisket with lentils and quinoa. We both really enjoyed everything. The meat is high quality, tender and so juicy, but the beef brisket is especially delicious – definitely a winner!
And I really liked the brown rice pasta. The texture is quite different from the average gluten free pasta and almost feels like the real thing in comparison. You know when you bite into something that tastes too good to be gluten free? And you suddenly feel uneasy wondering if you just accidentally ate wheat? That’s how I felt for a second. I had to re-read the big sign that says “our food is free from gluten…’ to reassure myself. haha No mushy pasta here, oh no siree.
Then for dessert we had brownies which were so good, the best I’ve had in ages. So soft, moist and not sickly sweet.
And for the many Coeliacs that are sick to death of brownies – which I understand is totally overdone as a gluten free option – well there’s a handful of other treats to choose from. Blondies and three kinds of muffins (including one savoury) among other things.
Besides that, they also have a breakfast menu (that I can’t wait to try – hello shakshuka!) and a fridge with ready to go options including little pots of pasta (just like the good old days hehe).
Lastly I have to add that although Farmstand focusses on fast food, it’s still a place where you can sit down, relax and enjoy your meal. It has a nice cosy cafe vibe where you can easily hang out with a book or laptop, if you know what I mean. It doesn’t feel like an in and out kind of fast food place.
For more info and to see their full menu, check out there website {here}.
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