It was a challenge that I was more than happy to accept at Farzi, described as a “modern interpretation of traditional Indian” food, in the heart of London.
While the restaurant opened its doors in Haymarket in 2019, Farzi has now launched a new vibrant all-you-can-eat feast at its bottomless brunch.
Running every Sunday from midday to 5pm, diners can tuck in to their heart’s content ranging from buffet starters, live food stations offering a street food experience, and a selection of delicious mains.
Just within moments of walking in, I felt my mouth salivating as I scanned the two-storey venue which had starters and live stations on the top floor, with mains and desserts on the bottom.
I just knew I had to try a bit of everything at the Michelin-recognised restaurant.
At first, I excitedly rushed to the starter buffet table and began to assemble my first plate.
The Tamatar Dhaniya Shorba – a tomato and coriander soup – was indeed my favourite thing from the assortment of foods, and that comes from someone who normally does not gravitate to a soup dish.
My plate was also stacked with a Banjara chicken tikka, Amritsari machi, a paneer tikka, crispy spicy potatoes, a dhokla and a small salad.
All of which packed strong flavours and were delicious, but I could not help but feel a lot of these buffet starters had been left out for a while and would have been more enjoyable at a warmer temperature.
Although the soup was notably hearty and warm, eating lukewarm chicken was sadly a bit disappointing – but these things admittedly can be hard to control in a buffet.
Fortunately, this problem did not repeat itself outside of the buffet table.
I made my way to the live station and tried out the Punjabi samosa chaat – crushed samosa mixed with yogurt, chutney and spices.
The mix of the cool refreshing yogurt blended beautifully with the sweet flavours of the chutney.
Our server also gave me a golgappa filled with spicy and tangy water along with mashed potatoes.
“Eat it all in one,” the server said, as I tried squeezing the hollow semolina ball into my mouth.
As the shell cracked, there was an explosion of the liquid that was quite exciting to eat.
Later on I had a paneer bhurji bun which was delightfully light after stuffing myself with the rest of the menu, along with a stuffed cauliflower paratha.
Both were made freshly in front of me, replicating that street food market experience from a stall in India.
Finally, I made my way to the mains section, which ranged from a chickpea curry, a paneer butter masala, a butter chicken and a slow cooked mutton curry.
Unfortunately, as enjoyable as each dish was, there was some confusion as these were meant to be served with either steamed rice, naan or roti.
While I already had the curries set out on my plate, I had to request to a waitress to bring over the rice and naan – so that by the time these sides were prepared my main curries had already cooled down.
It would have made more sense had these side dishes been laid out on the buffet table along with the mains, as ordering and waiting for the rice and bread counteracted the point of a bottomless buffet.
I must emphasise that I still did really enjoy the curries, but I can’t help but think I would’ve preferred to have ordered a freshly cooked meal outside of its bottomless hours.
Nevertheless, the experience of getting to eat as much as you want is quite undefeated – particularly when paired with entertaining singing performances and a magician.
For £37 per adult and half the price for kids under 10, Farzi’s bottomless brunch buffet is definitely worth a visit and you’re guaranteed to walk out with a full stomach.
