The clientele is young, casual and looked just about ready to hit the bars and clubs.

Dining chairs are futuristic; white leather and designed as single pieces rather than a traditional chair with legs. The staff was more cosmopolitan than a pink drink in a martini glass; our (I think Polish) waiter listed Nicaraguan, Zimbabwean, Polish, Italian, Chinese and a Brazilian working there.

Music was soft yet audible and the tunes were pretty eclectic, with Neil Young, Elvis, Stevie Wonder, Massive Attack adding to the feeling that we had reached a strange confluence of cultural customs and styles with this restaurant.

On the menu we discovered that The Farm's schtick is 'we're funkily green and organically hip' . . . "Our lights are Low Voltage and Low Heat", "Prosecco is so Hip right now it's Scary", and so on. The Farm has the conscience of an eco-warrior and is as up to the minute as a hep cat baby!

Another thing on the menu that peaked my pedantic antennae were the ingredients of the Caprese salad: beef tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar served with an organic tomato and rosemary bread.

The last time I checked, Insalata Caprese did not have balsamic vinegar as an ingredient. A Caprese is supposed to represent the colours of the Italian flag, but not the colour of the flag pole. I ordered the Caprese just to see how the balsamic worked . . . it wasn't too scary. In Capri they use greenish tomatoes which add their own tartness to the dish; the beef tomatoes used here had none of that tartness, so the addition of balsamic vinegar was forgiveable.

The real head-scratcher with this dish was that instead of tasting olive oil, I was tasting sesame seed oil. I asked the manager as he passed what kind of oil was being used. He in turn asked the chef and the chef said "olive oil". I said that this tasted like sesame seed oil. The manager then insisted that it was olive oil. The difference between these two oils is like the difference between an orange segment and a glass of milk.

There is no way anyone could convince you that one was the other.

I brought the dish over to the chef, asked him to taste it, "You're right, it's definitely sesame seed oil." So there had been a mixup, which can happen, no big deal. Incidentally, the Caprese was also sprinkled with parsley, which didn't quite work either. We weren't charged for the Caprese salad. I was offered a new one but at this stage the Ketchup Connouisseur had finished her organic cocktail sausages, served with a worthy but dull organic cider and apple sauce (and a sprinkling of parsley). She had asked for some ketchup on the side, which was reportedly excellent.

The two glasses of Prosecco with our starters were not so hip it was scary. They lacked the expected gassy chutzpah.

For mains, KC ordered the organic 10oz sirloin steak served with homemade gravy and fries (and a sprinkling of parsley). The organic steak was great; the fries, not so much.

I accompanied my main of roasted free-range garlic and rosemary chicken supreme (and a sprinkling of parsley) with a glass of Dave Llewelyn's fantastic organic cider from Lusk, Co Dublin, which I highly recommend. The chicken supreme did what it should have, it tasted wintery and the roasted root vegetables packed a flavoursome punch.

As we were quite full at this stage, we didn't order desserts, which were a selection of organic ice-creams, pies and cakes. We also feared that if we had ordered one, it might come out with a sprinkling of parsley. Service throughout was friendly and smiling.

The Farm 3 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01 671 8654

THE BILL
Caprese Salad FOC
Cocktail Sausages 5.95
Chicken Supreme 13.95
Organic Steak 22.95
2 Prosecco 14.00
Organic Cider FOC

TOTAL 56.85