The Farm Collective

Clamped in the fray that is Farringdon's (dis)array of lunchtime pitstops and coffee shops, this newcomer makes a statement with its careful sourcing of ingredients (the majority from small farms, thus the name) and commitment to turning said produce into fresh, delicious grub for the area's hungry drones.

It sounds like a tired story, but there's an honesty about The Farm (as it calls itself on the shop front) - aided no doubt by the fresh-faced staff with smiles that go on for miles - that we like a lot. The tiny space is not a place to linger, with a few choice spots by the window where one can people-watch while digging into sustainable-fishcakes (salmon and haddock), say, or having a perfectly pulled Square Mile Coffee Roasters espresso on the way back to the office.

The grub is kept simple, being a lunch spot, with good solid options that easily sated our hunger pangs. The big, proper sausage rolls would please any meat-lover, with a high meat-to-pastry ratio, while our Moroccan lamb pie with mash and mushy peas and gravy was just right, the golden pastry encasing tender meat (imbued with cumin) and moreish chickpeas. Sandwiches and salads combine simply good ingredients - though they are a bit of a faff to read, with all the farm names proudly displayed across their packaging (Roebuck farm red ruby beef with horseradish, Keens of Somerset mature cheddar with Westmoreland chutney). But beneath it all, it's good food - which is what really matters.