#blahvsfood goes to Farm Lore

I went to the much spoken and much written about Farm Lore and came back quite impressed with what they are attempting as well as their courage. I felt the food is a work in progress but it’s imaginative and ambitious as well as philosophically coherent. 

The place itself is stunning. You enter the gates and walk into an oasis of green. The dining room is stunning, with a giant mural representing Karnataka covering an entire wall, big glass window walls giving you a view of the green all around, a roof made of solar panels, a sleek, modern open kitchen as well as the option to sit at the pass like a sort of chef’s table. The team of 3 chefs is able to come and introduce all the courses at each table in this intimate 18 seater room. 

The food was also good and shows the potential to be great. I would get rid of the yoghurt sphere, because from El Bulli to Gaggan to Vineet Bhatia, it has been imitated so often over the last decade that it really has no place in such a progressive restaurant. I also felt that the seasoning could be a bit more consistent. The main course, a nicely conceived short grain rice with bannur goat was so over seasoned that I just couldn’t eat it. To be fair most of the guests ate it happily, dunking their entire bowl of yoghurt into the rice to create a biryani and raita or curd rice with meat kind of dish and cutting the saltiness, but I’m guessing that’s not the objective in a restaurant where form gets as much attention as substance. Maybe my seasoning threshold is low because I did find the warmer amuse bouche slightly over seasoned as well, but then again, I found the yoghurt sphere under seasoned so who knows?! 

I would still recommend the place because when they get it right, they get it very right. The broth course with ragi mudde came with a wonderful moilee like broth, deep in flavour, smooth in texture, complex and harmonious. The fish was also perfectly cooked with a tart sauce, like an Andhra chepala pulusu with its lovely tamarind sourness. The dessert was the highlight, with ingredients that really shouldn’t work but somehow do from turmeric ice cream to caramelised onions and potatoes! 

Like most places that try to do something new and brave and original, it takes time to hit its stride and find its voice. I remember the early days of Masque for example and how it evolved from a place that served great dishes to one of the world’s great restaurants. I hope that Farm Lore can take inspiration and walk down the same path, that they push themselves to keep improving, and as they do,  they seek their truest inspiration and allow it to find expression in every dish.