Eating out in Dublin: The Farm, Dawson St., Dublin 2

Eating out in Dublin has improved considerably since I arrived in the city over 20 years ago. In those days it was Hugo's Pizzeria in Temple Bar (long since gone, alas) or Burger King. Dublin was a wasteland, a miserable experience for those who love food. Since then things have changed almost out of all recognition, but I still think that the city is grossly overpriced and unreliable. The Farm in Dawson Street, over the road from Trinity, is a good example. It looks great. It advertises green food (eco-friendly rather than mouldly in the old Dublin style). And the menu includes burgers, pizzas, focaccia bread, organic bangers and mash with onion gravy, and other good things. It augurs well, but my meal last Sunday, 4 May, was lousy. I opted for a Mexican pizza with onions instead of sweetcorn. It arrived without either, which wasn't a good start, but I couldn't be bothered to send it back (I was too hungry). My next mistake was to try to cut a piece off. Not a good move. I almost injured my arm doing battle with the tough old base. When I finally managed to transfer a section to my mouth I found it doughy, uninteresting in flavour, and simply lifeless; poor ingredients might be to blame. It was a very dull, badly cooked pizza. My wife fared better: she enjoyed her burger with cheese and bacon, so it may not be all bad.

However, it wasn't just the pizza I disliked. The staff were charming and highly efficient. The man I took to be the owner or manager, on the other hand, was distinctly not to my taste. Within hearing of our table he kept on dressing his staff down in the most demeaning way. 'You can't just be standing around like that when the tables over there haven't been cleared.' And so it went on. It was embarrassing. It's certainly not the way to motivate your staff or warm the hearts of your customers.

I have no great desire to return to The Farm, though I like the decor and the changing colours of the lighting. The menu, conceptually, is appealling too, but I don't want to have to work through dishes in the hope I'll find one they do well. If they offer pizza they should know how to cook it. Basta!