Farmacy Kitchen is New York’s Newest Hotspot For Environmentally Conscious It-Girls

About eight years ago, after a string of health issues, Camilla Fayed knew something needed to change. So she started with the facet so many turn to first as a means of self-improvement: her diet.

First, she cut out dairy. After noticeable transformation—she was sleeping better, feeling better—she stopped eating meat. Soon, she was vegan. “I was just feeling more alive,” Fayed says.

And she was inspired. In 2016, Fayed opened her first restaurant, Farmacy, in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood. The name came from the Hippocratic quote: “food is medicine.” Farmacy served up plant-based dishes free of refined sugars and chemicals, with ingredients sourced from a local biodynamic farm in Kent. While it sounds like that might skew a bit lean, Farmacy’s food was in the comfort category: think artichoke pizzetta on sourdough, mac n’ cheese made with rice pasta, earth bowls dolloped with guacamole or sweet potato, cups of vegan hot chocolate. Soon, Fayed recalls, she had a bona fide hotspot on her hands. “We had queues outside the door.”

Now, three years later, she’s bringing her vision to New York City.

This Friday, the newest outpost of Farmacy—Farmacy Kitchen—opens in Soho. Rather than a permanent space, it’s a pop-up at the rotating restaurant space Chefs Club Counter, but it is a litmus test of Farmacy’s stateside appeal: as Fayed puts it, “If you make it here, you can make it anywhere.”

New York’s Farmacy is literally (and figuratively) a chic green space: the banquettes are swathed in a plush forest shade, and leafy plants and fragrant florals are bursting from every corner. Tables are topped with green glass candles, and the walls covered in ivy-print wallpaper. The menu is essentially the same as the London location—friendly food aimed at a global palette. Except here, the ingredients come from a biodynamic farm in upstate New York. They also offer an extensive natural wine list. At the front, there’s a grab-and-go-counter that offers superfood smoothies, cold pressed juices and, yes, several drinks with matcha.

Fittingly, food isn’t the only thing that’s done sustainably at Farmacy. The tables are made of reclaimed wood, the cleaning products are chemical free, and (sorry for the unsexy reference here), even the toilet paper is composed of recycled materials. “Sustainability is at the bare bones of what we do. It’s not a buzzword for us,” Fayed says.

She’s got a rapt audience, at a time when Americans are becoming increasingly aware about the impact of their food—where it comes from, how it was raised, and the environmental toll it takes. And as meat-substitutes go mainstream—this year Burger King started offering their signature Whopper with an Impossible meat patty—it’s never been easier, and more delicious, to be less meaty. “This is food you can eat every single day,” Fayed stresses of her menu. So go ahead, order her nachos with guacamole, Mexican frijoles with marinara salsa, or warm chocolate chip cookie with almond milk. Your body will feel great afterwards, and your conscience will too.

Below, take a look inside the new Farmacy restaurant.