RESTAURANT REVIEW: Barnyard Take Two

Cornbread

Wild boar toad in the hole

Roast beef on toast

Chicken wings

Corn on the cob

Cauliflower cheese

Triple cooked chips

Popcorn ice cream with smoked fudge sauce (happy birthday Steve)

Apple and cloudberry crumble

Have you ever been for a meal where it was so delicious that you couldn't wait to return, but on your second visit it just didn't live up to your previous memories? Well that's how I feel about Barnyard in Fitrozia. I visited Barnyard last year and had the most incredible dinner and decided to return for Steve's birthday to try all the things that we'd been unable to eat the first time. We ordered a few favourites (cornbread, chicken wings and corn on the cob) with an assortment of 'new' dishes (roast beef, toad in the hole, cauliflower cheese and chips).

The first thing I noticed was that everything felt a little cold. Now, this could have been my fault as I was faffing around taking photos but usually I don't take that long getting snap happy and I've never felt like it's impacted the temperature of the food before. Otherwise it could have been due to the fan we were sitting directly under, either way it was pretty annoying.

The cornbread with just as I'd remembered, a huge portion with four big chunks, incredibly dense yet still crumbly. The corn on the cob was just as delicious as I'd recalled, smothered in meadowsalt and butter this dish really is next level corn. The chips were great, crunchy on the outside and fluffy like a cloud on the inside. I also loved the melt in the mouth roast beef on toast, cooked perfectly rare, on top of a crunchy slice of bread with a generous serving of horseradish and watercress. The cauliflower cheese could not have been more divine, thick cheese sauce made this truly indulgent and completely heavenly.

But my issues came with the toad in the hole and the chicken wings. On my previous visited I had preached about the chicken wings and how they were some of the best in London. This time round they failed to amaze me. I felt like they were maybe a little overcooked and lacked a bit of punch in the spice department. The wild boar sausage tasted tough and the batter was too dense. Plus there wasn't enough gravy to adequately conceal the dryness of the dish. It was definitely my least favourite and to be even pickier I was a little annoyed that the sausages were bunched up to one side instead of being evenly cooked in the middle.

We ordered the same desserts as last time and I can not fault them. The popcorn soft serve ice cream is one of my favourites and whilst the smoked fudge sauce edges the line of being too smoky I really do enjoy the tasty. 

Our meal at Barnyard was a mixed bag. Some of the dishes were great (roast beef, corn, cauliflower cheese, ice cream) but a couple really left me feeling regretful. I would visit again but next time I think I'd like to try brunch instead.

Follow me on: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin'