I'm sad to end up giving a rating of two stars because it had so much promise. I like to wander around the Square Mile, walk down roads for the first time and try new lunch spots. Euphorium looked awesome! I had thought it was just a bakery, but there was a carvery with roast meats and a lively atmosphere. When I noticed the pork belly roll option, I cemented my decision and joined the queue.
It quickly became clear that they were the proponent of time and motion studies famous from scientific management theory. There was a team of people, each member responsible for a very specific task. The bread lady asked me which type I wanted, when I hadn't even reached the counter. I felt a bit pressured. I think I chose a brioche bun (I could confirm later that it was). Then the meat guy pressed me to choose a filling. He filled the bun in seconds, from a pile of meat which was ready cut, then slid the roll over to a queue of half-made lunches in what looked like the bottleneck in the process. To be fair, this is where you had the most choice. I could take a breath here. It was disappointing that there was no more apple sauce, which is the obvious companion for pork. I had a salsa verde and courgettes as a substitute.
As I was feeling a bit gluttonous, I also got a nice-looking slice of apple pie.
I ate my lunch back at the office. The pork bun was huge, but was disproportionately brioche v pork and a bit dry. It was ok though. The apple pie was the big disappointment: it was difficult to eat from the box and each bite had apple core and some pips in it. I can't understand how they had made it like that intentionally. I had to abandon it in the bin and go back to my desk to grumble.
It was a good example to represent the whole. Looks great from the outside, but the experience was soured by an over-zealous focus on efficiency. read more