I freaking love everything about this place!
Went here on New Year's Eve and the entire table ordered the special of the night: a local trout dish. Â Food that would remind me of hearty meals growing up if my mother could cook nearly as well as the chef here. Â Healthy, local, sustainable and tasty. Â
The brunch here is amazing! Â Mimosas not to miss and got to love the poached eggs with smoked meats. Â To die for! Â
Great beer and wine selections. Â Lots of fun to come during a soccer game. Â
Not the cheapest prices in town but here, you definitely get what you pay for.
Another place I really want to like, I just can't. The food prices are a bit high for the value. Â One full piece of fried cod and chips is $15. Should be $9.99. Pint glasses are on the small side. Â Service is varied wildly depending on the bad luck of the draw. The place looks very cluttered most of the time. Â Sit over on the right side of the restaurant when you walk in, to avoid the cluttered mess.
Beer/Ale, selection is nice. Only place in the Midwest that I have found that serves my favorite pint on tap, Speckled Hen. Â Normally only available in a can.
This restaurant is a nice idea and I wholeheartedly applaud the concept of a farm to table anything in the rural Midwest. But I'm afraid execution wasn't keeping up with concept on my visit. The sliders were okay, and the Cornish pasty mediocre, but the cottage pie was horribly overcooked, and salad greens bought in bulk from Costco would have more freshness and flavor. Service & decor good, beer selection great so overall I'd come again, just with much lower expectations for the food, and I'd stick to the basics (fish & chips, burgers).
Review Source:Came here for lunch yesterday with the bf because Grad School was closed (he says that place has the best burgers in Springfield...so I was disappointed we had to get burgers somewhere else). They still had their brunch menu out, but we asked if we could try the Stilton Burger (thanks to all the great yelp reviews!) and they were totally cool with that...so that's what my bf ended up getting.  I decided to try the Farmhouse burger with fries with some cheese on it (50 cents more...but the waitress first told me it was an additional $2). They pride themselves on having fresh local beef for their burgers and they should! It was delicious!! The meat tasted so fresh it was incredible! My only problem was that they didn't really flavor the meat.....but I guess you don't really need to so that you can appreciate that natural beef flavor. And I don't know if it was just me or what, but my burger vaguely reminded me of tasting like seafood.....so that was a little off putting at first.....My burger and fries came out to a total of $11.50 and my bf's Stilton burger (which really looked amazing  and he confirmed that it was) for $15. I like healthy and fresh burgers....but I think if I am going to spend that much for them in the future....I want a burger that is going to be hearty and so big that I have to take it home.
Pros:
- Nice little outside patio that you can sit and enjoy your meal
- Tasty, fresh beef patties...never really tasted anything like it before and it was great!
Cons:
- It's a little pricey for me.......they may be gourmet burgers.......but I want to be either so stuffed you need to carry me to the car or I want to be able to have them as another meal for the next day
Why I gave it a 3.....
The burger is the freshest and healthiest tasting burger I have ever had.....just wish I didn't have that weird seafood taste in my mouth after the first couple of bites. The fries were your standard fare and it was lovely to sit outside and enjoy our lunch on their patio. Just wish the burgers were bigger for the price we paid for them.
Been there twice. Definitely will return.
Food came fast enough. Not so fast that you think, "Hey, was this in a microwave?" Not so slow that you think, "Did they have to toss a line a lake and wait for the fish to bite before we could eat this fish?"
I like the food and so does my picky spouse.
Servers kept my coffee cup full the two times I've been there. Some restaurants that have a full bar unintentionally overlook the coffee drinkers.
I wouldn't give this place five stars in most cities, but I'm giving it five stars in Springfield because it's the best option I've found locally (and seriously, Outback Steakhouse is one of the top ten rated restaurants on Yelp?). Â The beer selection is good, the pub food is decent (not great), and the atmosphere is nice. Â The nicer side of the restaurant (only open on weekends, I think) seems to have better food than the pub side. Â I'm a vegetarian, and this is one of the few restaurants in Springfield that seems to even know what that means. Â I hope they keep improving the beer selection (more taps would be nice) and work on bringing the food on the pub side up to the standard set by the restaurant.
Review Source:I'm not sure how this is not the top-rated restaurant in Springfield. I have been there four times now and I don't live in Springfield! The cottage pie was absolutely phenomenal, the fish & chips were authentic to say the least, and the stilton burger was amazing.
I didn't love the vegetable curry, but I think it's because I was in the mood for cottage pie but was trying to be "good!" Learned my lesson. The veggies in the curry were still beautifully cooked.
Went on a Friday night and was treated to an Irish trio fiddling for us into the late hours!
I have no idea what previous reviewers were talking about.
THIS PLACE IS PHENOMENAL.
Maybe they have never had real British Food? Â My husband is from England, and I can tell you - this place has the best fish n chips outside of England. (I just wish they had Brown Sauce) Â The Creme Brulee is so good that I almost wish I hadn't gone vegan!
Now that we are vegan we tend to get the falafel burger, which is also delicious. Or the hummus which is also very very good.
We would still eat here all the time (had previously gone as many as 3x in one week) if there were more vegan options.
Oh, and try the pear cider. *drool*
Sometimes they are super busy... and guess what, servers are people too and sometimes get over loaded. Â The atmosphere here is great, kick back and enjoy it.
The owner is a common visitor to tables to check on guests and its personal touches like that which make us love the place even more. :-)
I've been back to Gastropub once since my last review. I didn't eat, just went to grab a quick drink before a movie. They don't have any kind of drink list but do have a martini list written behind the bar (without descriptions). I asked the bartender what the "Cajun martini" was (I mean...what IS that?) and he said "I don't know. Don't order it--if you do I'll just make something up." Thanks, buddy!
Review Source:I was really hoping to want to give this place 5 stars. After all the hoopla about the organic, sustainable...blah blah blah, and the fact that it was named in The Telegraph as the best UK restaurant outside of the UK (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fexpat%2Fexpatlife%2F9053953%2FBest-of-British-competition-the-winners.html&s=81118f14bc07646a3753abcb6f93417c9e2c9596f421e202a818d357f1b13e61" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.telegraph.co.…</a> ) I was prepared to be wow'ed.
Perhaps that was my first mistake.
A group of 8 friends met here for brunch/lunch and while we did enjoy the lovely patio, we were forced to wait over an hour for our food.
Once it finally arrived I was pretty disappointed in my meal. I had a bacon and egg sandwich w/ potatoes and everything was pretty bland. I was underwhelmed to say the least. Nobody at the table raved about their meal, either. When asked, those who had fish n chips or a burger just responded that it was good, not great.
I'm thinking The Telegraph didn't look very hard for a UK restaurant outside of the UK.
With that said, I think it has amazing potential and is perhaps a much better location for dinner or drinks. The owner did come out to say hello and make sure everyone was happy, so that was rather impressive. Still, I was disappointed overall.
I'm sure I'll go back for something other than brunch another time to try and improve my opinion. Until then, hopefully they work out all the kinks.
My first experience at Farmers Gastropub was just OK. Â We went for Sunday brunch with a group of 8. Â We sat out back on the large patio, which was very pleasant. Â I'd also like to note that the inside of the restaurant is very large - lots of seating and bar space. Â At one point, the chef came out to each table to say hello, which I thought was a thoughtful gesture.
The downside of our visit here was that the service was SO SLOW! Â And it wasn't because we had 8 people (which wouldn't have been much of an excuse anyway). Â Half of our group got there first, and it took me 10 minutes just to get sweetener for my iced tea. Â It also took about 45 minutes to get our food. Â I'm all about "easy like Sunday morning" and having a relaxing experience, but 45 minutes is way too long to wait for brunch food.
I got the eggs Benedict, which were tasty but nothing to write home about. Â One of my friends got the same and agreed with me. Â Both of our "poached" eggs were practically hard-boiled. Â No runny yolks to soften the overly chewy English muffins, which made them quite difficult to cut. Â However, other friends seemed very pleased with their burgers and fish and chips.
While I think it's great that they make an effort to use sustainable and local products, I feel like the brunch menu lacked variety and ingenuity. Â I understand that this is a British pub and so obviously you're going to have classic fare like fish and chips, but the menu as a whole was a bit dull.
All things considered, I would probably come back with a group of friends, to give the place a second chance. Â It has potential.
An outstanding meal and memorable experience!
Deciding where to go for Valentine's Day dinner is an annual quandry with seemingly few exciting options. Most restaurants offer the "prixe fixe" menu which, more often than not, results in mass produced, uninspired and overpriced offerings from the kitchen. Luckily for us this year, Farmers Gastropub provided a welcome surprise; a fresh, delicious and creative meal!
The standard menu at Farmers is full of excellent farm to table choices yet we opted to choose from the special Valentine's Menu. We started with the Prince Edward Oysters Rockefeller and Winter Vegetable Minestrone soup. The oysters were beautifully presented and tasted amazing. I've eaten Oysters Rockefeller at restaurants across the country and can honestly say these were some of the best I've ever had; the accompanying glass of champagne was an added bonus! The soup was hearty and full of flavor, a delicious combination of locally harvested winter vegetables. Our meal was off to an amazing start!
For the second course, we chose the Shrimp and Scallop stuffed Barramundi and house made Garganelli Pasta with Organic Mushroom Sauce. The Barramundi, a sustainably raised fish similar to sea bass in texture and flavor, was perfectly grilled and stuffed with a combination of shrimp and scallops. Organic Brussels spouts and orzo complimented this wonderful dish. The portion size was quite generous and we were extremely impressed with the taste and freshness of the ingredients.
The house made Garganelli pasta was absolutely delicious. The pasta was expertly prepared and cooked al dente, topped with a superb organic mushroom sauce. Â Accompanied by a perfectly crusty baguette, this dish is simple but had outstanding flavor and stands up admirably to what one would expect in an authentic, Italian trattoria.
For dessert, we opted for the chocolate souffle and lemon curd tart. The souffle incorporated locally sourced, Askinosie chocolate and was cooked perfectly. Souffles can be fickle and are notoriously difficult to prepare, but this one was sublime; soft and airy but full of bold, chocolate flavor. Bravo, Chef James!
The lemon curd was made with organic, Meyer lemons and paired with a locally grown blueberry compote. The combination of the tart Meyer lemon, sweet blueberry and crisp, buttery crust made this the ideal culmination of an outstanding meal.
Farmers Gastropub serves seriously good food in a fun, relaxed environment. The pub feel and emphasis on fresh, local, quality ingredients makes it a regular stop for us. Our Valentine's Dinner experience was one to remember and we will undoubtedly be there next year!
I love the idea.....the execution needs a little more pizzazz.
This place has one of the best ideas around. Serve organic food from local growers and make it delicious. We started with the rice balls and moved to the cottage pie and the fish and chips and ending with the red velvet cheesecake. The rice balls are like most things we had, a great idea and the execution was a little drab. It could have used a bit of herbs in the mix. The cottage pie was good but just a little plain. The crisped mash was done well. The haddock fish and chips were average. The red velvet cheesecake was a bright shining star in an otherwise mediocre experience. The cheesecake was out of this world with a white chocolate ganache and a tasty crust. The crust was a little thick in the corners as  we needed a wedge and hammer to break it apart. But I am willing to overlook that little bit of masonry because of the cheesecake itself.
The service was tops, they were a little short staffed but they never complained about it they just moved along and did what needed to be done. The server was always attentive and kept us in the loop to where our food was.
As a wrap up, we will be going back and we will be trying to find the main course and the appetizer that match the desert we had in flavor. I am looking for someone in this city in this to be inspired with their menu and wow me. I thought this place was it but alas (yes I really did use that word. I am bringing it back and I don't care what you say) I was wrong. So my quest continues for the meal that takes me away to a place where all is right with the world.
FINALLY! A restaurant in Springfield that serves organic, sustainable, local food! I have waited a long time for this, and did not find this spot until this visit to my hometown. Everything is organic (including the salt and pepper!) and is from local farms.
Megan, our ridiculously knowledgable server, shared all kinds of information about the farmers, the sources for fish, the homemade sauces -- she was fantastic and very passionate about the restaturant, its food and its overall mission.
Ron, our bartender, was just as knowledgable as Megan for their beers -- he seems to be a microbrew expert and lets us sample the beers, gave recommendations, answered questions -- he was great.
Okay - the food...delish! We had the guac and the tempura zuchhini that was served with housemade aioli (all sauces are housemade -- from the salad dressings to the mayo to the ketchup to the tarter sauce --- nothing from a jar -- dig it!). Both appetizers were amazing. Then, we shared the large fish and chips and some smashed peas. My sister doesn't even like (she may have said "I can't stand peas") and she RAVED about these peas, as did I. They tasted fresh of the vine. We also had side salads. YUM -- fresh greens, black olives, onions and a little cheese with two of their dressings.
This place gets four thumbs up (from me and my sister) -- we loved it. And, hello you cheapskates complaining about the prices -- this is REAL FOOD grown locally WITHOUT CHEMICALS. Do you want to pay a little more for your health now, or later in the hospital? You decide.
THANK YOU to the owners for bringing this to Springfield -- I will see you on my next visit!
The food was wonderful and the service was great! Can't ask for anything better than that. The menu was quite extensive and the food came out quick and fresh. We really appreciated the wonderful attentive service. The chef even came out to ask our opinions on the food. Everyone there seemed to really care about the food they were serving. A wonderful addition to Springfield's selection of restaurants.
Review Source:The frustrating thing about Farmer's Gastropub is that it has so much potential, I just can't see any evidence that anyone on the staff is super interested in trying. At all. They ignore you when they're busy. They ignore you when they're not. And I applaud their consistency, but I worked in a restaurant for more than a decade. As it turns out, a huge part of working in a restaurant is acknowledging your guests and bringing them food.
I want to like this place. I really do. It's a good concept and I'm a huge believer in local food (like to the point where I grow and grind my own flour as much as possible) , but my experiences in this restaurant have ranged from mediocre to complete dumpster fire. The patio is a great space and the interior is decent, it's just that they're just not that great at making food or serving it to people. So, in summary: Nice chairs! Love your potted herbs! Wait, what is this crap on my plate? Can I get some more water? No? Neat. I'll probably go ahead and give up on this place, which I should have done after the first visit.
This place has quickly become my local haunt. I was raised on English dishes and this place definitely caters to me...they even have Yorkshire Pudding (for those of you that don't know, I recommend you find out...it will change your life). I'm also a huge beer fan and they've just recently expanded their draft selection to 20 beers! Add to this the dartboards and you have yourself set for a great evening, and with the warm weather upon us, I can't wait to spend some time on their patio, which is the best in Springfield because of it's size, misting fans, herb garden and general glory!
Review Source:I ordered the fish and chips. It was nicely tempura battered but it needed it really lacked seasoning. Steak Frites was on the menu, but at $22 I was a little reluctant. Most of the food seemed on the higher priced end for what it was. The restaurant offers daily food specials depending on the day of the week. Saturday is curry day and my wife ordered the lamb curry. I thought it was pretty good. Monday is meatloaf, I wish I knew if it was available on other days, because it sounded good. Our waitress was nice, but the service was lame. It was probably a 15-20 minute wait from the time I was done until we payed and left. The worst part was while I was waiting I realized they are serving beer from a new brewery here and town. I have been wanting to try the beer bad but I wasn't about to wait around for it. I'll give it a reluctant 3 stars just cause they had good beer selection.
Review Source:The decor and furniture is great, and the outdoor patio is perfect (other than an uneven floor). Food is different (which I like).
I ordered fish and chips and asked the waitress what kind of fish was in the fish and chips. "Haddock" she told me, "a type of salmon" (one of the funniest moments of my time in Springfield).
They have a variety of fresh desserts. I tried the key lime pie. Meh, I'll pass next time. I haven't gone back.
This was definitely my best Missouri experience. This is the perfect dining, drinking, and working place. And it is such a great atmosphere. If a European pub and an indoor farmer's market cafe were to mate, they would produce this place - and it is fantastic.
I love and have major respect for the concept of the menu. I dined here on a Wednesday, which is apparently German night - the special is an authentic German dish. Now, I can never get the name of this dish right, but I fell in love with it while I was in Germany for a summer years ago. Needless to say, when the bartender / server described it, I knew I was ordering it. And, a bit to my surprise, it definitely lived up to what I experienced in Germany. Huge props for that.
The beer list, while not as long as other places I've patronized, is quite fantastic. For me, seeing a beer list where there are several beers I have never heard of, is well, unheard of. But that is just what happened here. And the bartender / server knew his stuff and helped guide me through the choices. I definitely appreciate it when a bartender / server knows, and is helpful with, both the food and beer menus.
And did I mention the free wifi? Any place with free wifi and good beer is my kind of place. Add in the atmosphere and food, and this is totally a 5-star place. Plus, the owner came over and introduced himself - gotta appreciate that.
I run a soccer website in Springfield and when I approached owner Bill Griffiths about showing World Cup games in his pub during the World Cup, he enthusiastically agreed. Â The result? Â We went from a couple dozen during the early games to well over 100 folks every time the USA played. Â The NY Times pointed to our video of the celebration following Donovan's goal against Algeria which led to ESPN using a few seconds in their pre-game video before the Ghana match. Â
The point? Â If you are a fan of futbol, rugby or other international sports, this is a warm, comfortable place to enjoy them as well as get a quality meal supplemented by a unique set of beers and wine. Â Bill's also got one of the best outdoor patios in the area, shaded in the evenings and cooled by fans and misters. Â
You'll enjoy your visit to the Pub.
I decided to change my post to more adequately reflect my feelings and experience with this place.
Locally grown food as ingredients. Woo. That's about it. That's the fuss. That's the noise. That's the "you don't know what you're talking about" crap people tell me when I naysay this place. Listen up, you Green Army yuppies: it doesn't matter where the food comes from; if you can't cook it and your servers suck, then your restaurant sucks!
I was willing to give it a try. The name about scared me off because I was afraid that "Gastropub" translated into "intestinal beer" or something that would result in my wallowing on the porcelain throne for most of the night after dining.
I ordered a Red Velvet house beer, which was tasty on first sip, but disgusting thereafter. I forgot what is in it, so don't ask. I also ordered the equivalent to Shepherd's Pie, which was not very good nor filling. How can you screw up Shepherd's Pie? Seriously--how can you do it? It was a small serving. The mashed potatoes were stiff. The meat was dry. Not to mention, the idiot who walked in, put on apron, and called himself our waiter was a lying douche. I counted the tables he oversaw (four) and wondered how he could systematically only perform one minute task at a time. (Someone would order a water while the bar was flagging him down to collect his orders, but he would walk past the other three thirsty tables and the bartender, fill one glass with water, and walk back with the one glass in nearly both hands to drop it off, then go to the back and disappear for ten minutes.) Even so, he would constantly blame everyone else for his downfalls, even when he tried to give each person the wrong orders.
We arrived when it was slow. We left when it was busy. (5pm to 7:30pm) I'm confident that the apologetic host of our small party left a death threat on the bill.
This place is not special. The other food I sampled was nothing to hold up to holy light from the heavens, but artsy yuppie food meant to be spoon-fed to the chic culture of know-it-all college kids.
I won't go again, but I don't think this place deserves anything less than a two star rating because they had Shepherd's Pie, which has always been a long-time favorite comfort food for me, even if it tasted like something scraped off of the shepherd's boots.
As much as I think "gastropub" is a really silly word, I have to admit they've got some seriously good food here, at least from what little I tried. I was here last night for the Springfield Bloggers meetup, and found it quite an improvement over the Patton Alley Pub where the last meetup I attended took place.
I must admit that I never actually set foot inside the pub, and will have to update this review when and if I do--the meeting was already in progress on the patio when I arrived, and a waitress was coming around taking orders so I looked at the menu and ordered from there.
The menu had quite a number of microbrewed beers available, including some fairly obscure ones, but I just went with water (especially as I'd just had a tall glass at the Springfield Brewing Company a few minutes before). But if I'd been in the mood for a beer, the selections they offered would have been at least palatable. They had an extensive wine list, too.
Even though the survey shows two dollar signs for this venue, it is quite possible to eat for under $10 per person. I had the "English hot dog" which was a sausage in a bun with sautéed onions on top, accompanied by "chips" (fries), for $7. Both sausage and fries were delicious, and I added a slice of apple tart for $4.50 which was also good. Alas, they didn't have Yorkshire Pudding or Toad-in-the-Hole on the menu; I should ask if they could add those.
While expensive enough I wouldn't want to eat there every day, I found the atmosphere enjoyable, the service top-notch (the waitress was often by to see if there was anything I needed), and there was also free wi-fi available which is always a plus in my book. I hope the Springfield bloggers hold future meetings there.
Had dinner at the Farmers Gastropub last night with the lady. Â Overall, it was a wonderful time. Â We walked in at about 8 pm on a Friday night, and the place was lively but not overly crowded. Â Within 15 seconds we were greeted warmly by the hostess as well as Bill, the owner. Â We wanted to choose from the bistro menu and proceeded to the bistro section, but upon sitting decided that we liked the warmth and atmosphere of the pub. Â The waiter said they would be happy to serve us the bistro menu in the pub, so they gladly moved us to a nice booth in the pub.
The server was extremely nice and very attentive, without being overbearing. Â Their 3 course menu was fairly limited as far as selections go (2 apps, 3 entree, 2 desserts to choose from), but a number of the items looked very good so no complaints here. Â We both started out with the cream of mushroom soup, which was delicate and extremely tasty, particularly when soaked up with some the artisan sourdough bread that they brought to the table. Â The soup was a big hit.
We then both had the duck, which again was outstanding. Â Perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside, juicy and fatty on the inside. Â The sauteed potatoes and asparagus were a very nice compliment. Â Again, a big hit. Â
We finished up with the desserts, which were less memorable than the other two dishes, but quite good nonetheless.
At $36 per person, we thought this was a great deal for the quality and quantity of food, particularly in light of the fact that the food is locally sourced, in season, organic, and very fresh.
The best part of the experience was probably the decor and atmosphere of the pub, followed closely by the extreme friendliness of the staff and the proprietor himself. Â Bill stopped by the table, talked to us for a few minutes, shook my hand, and made it feel like a very familial dining experience. Â I wish more restaurants were like this.
And, of course, I have to mention the excellent and unique beer selection. Â I am a bit of a beer snob, and it was great to have some of the eclectic microbrew selections you rarely see at the local bars.
Superb place, I will definitely be back for food and for drinks.
Whether you approach the Gastropub from the north entrance or more likely the south entrance, you will notice that the exterior is pretty unassuming. You are strolling along through a recessed sidewalk, and then you stumble upon their modest entrance. But once you enter, the expectation is set quite high with the very spacious lodge like dinning area. It is cozy, and trendy and certainly makes you feel more classy sitting at their tall tables and bar even if you showed up in jeans and chucks. Note that this review pertains only to the pub side of things. I would gladly dine in the bistro if I had 50 bucks lying around, but for now I admire it from a distance.
This place is so close to being really awesome, but it's just not quite there yet. It is a pioneer in a number of areas that I consider to be really important. For instance, they select foods that are locally grown in a more sustainable, and health conscious manner. As far as I know, the Gastropub might be the only one of its' kind around, and I can appreciate that.
The highlight of this place for me was hands down their diverse and eclectic beer selections. They carry several European beers, and their tap selection offers some seriously unique (bordering on unheard of) stuff. My best experience of this place has come from sitting at the bar drinking the rare New Belgium Dark Heather Saison. The bar tenders are also very knowledgeable and actually like talking about their beer with you!
I have eaten a few of the items from their ever-evolving menu. It seems they have a standard more regular pub fare, and then a number of features that rotate frequently. The features are listed on a board in the dinning room, but it is really frustrating that prices aren't listed for these items. Sure I could ask, but I feel like that might be committing some sort of social crime.
I've had the "slider" burgers. The high point of this meal was the perfectly toasted brioche bun. It is almost a religious experience to eat a burger where the bun retains its' integrity through the entire consumption. However, the burgers were lacking some pizzaz. I am not talking about your basic mayo or mustard. I desperately wanted a sauce with some personality. How about goat cheese and red onions cooked in balsamic vinegar/brown sugar topping the burger? This is just a suggestion, but I really wanted something more than a lonely piece of cheddar cheese. I've had some of their German food too. I remember a refreshingly tender and juicy schnitzel, but it rested on a bed of pretty bland and unmemorable noodles. It wasn't terrible by any means, it just left me feeling a little let-down.
Overall though, this place is still pretty cool. Its inviting atmosphere is perfect for drinkers of elitist beer or those just wanting to broaden their palettes. Given that the Gastropub is still a fairly new venture, I have the inclination that the menu and their system will improve. I am actually looking forward to eating there this summer when more local foods will be in their prime. For now stick to the beers, and carefully consider the menu before ordering.
I've spent a few Friday evenings here and I am really starting to enjoy aspects of this place. One in particular? This place is and probably will continue to be beer-snob heaven. They have absolutely lovely beers on tap you can't get around town (although it is starting to improve). For one, they have New Belguim's Lips of Faith ON DRAFT, including the seasonal and ON DRAFT ONLY Dark Heather Saison-which was the first reason I came here. They also have a Boulevard Smokestack (Tank 7) on draft-which is way cool considering how awesome those beers are. In addition to nice domestics, they have some awesome imported Belgian beers. The Friday night bar tenders are cool guys and do a good job. As for the other servers, well...there are a ton of them, especially if you go during happy hour and they are not doing much. Not sure why having a lot of servers around bugs me, but it does.
Ambiance, just like every one says, is excellent.
Food. Eh. So far I could leave it. Their philosophy is cool and all-with the locally grown food and rotating menu, but the things I've had just turned out kind of bland. I've sampled the Chicken Liver Patte, which I did not care for, mostly for textural reasons. It did have a nice pear salsa topping which was very tasty. I have also tried their Schnitzel and Spaetzle. The schnitzel was tender and nicely sized, but bland-defintiely needed salted and peppered. The spaetzle was a bit gritty, but had a nice flavor. Not sure if its supposed to be that way or not, it was my first time trying it. The little sausage roll things are pretty rustic and decent, but I don't think I'd spend the money for them. Finally, the cheeseburger sliders are made with a nice meat, and have good moisture. They come on these neat little bread pieces that are similar to a pretzel role. There are gourmet points to be awarded here, but the bun is too much for the burger, which needs some kind of sauce to keep up (and no, I'm not using ketchup to make up that difference). Oh! I did have their chocolate torte once upon a time as well. That was decadent and extremely tasty. Try this. Â
I haven't been to the Bistro yet, but maybe if I get an extra $35 per person or so, I'll give it a shot. Until then, think I'll skip the food and go for the beer and for that reason, I'll keep it at 3 stars.
If anything else, this place's decor is incredible. It's not your cliche "memorabilia-hanging-on-the-wall" pub. There's some of that but there's more. It's got your "semi-wealthy-friend's-living-room-and-kitchen" feel to it. While we were there (from 5pm to 6pm) they even dimmed the lights a little bit and placed votive candles on all the tables.
We were seated next to the fireplace in what had to be the coziest corner of the pub. I had a Guiness Draft (always a sure winner) and Laura had the house Chardonnay. Our drinks were promptly served, and we ordered our food. I ordered the bangers and mash (as I ordered I had flashbacks to Arrested Development) and Laura ordered a roasted red pepper hummus panini. Great bar food, to be sure, but I wouldn't intend to make a meal of it. The portions were decent, and the prices weren't too bad. In fact, for less than $10 a plate, we were served well-made, locally grown food that actually filled us up. We ordered the crème brûlée for dessert and it was rather nicely done, too.
It's probably not a place I'd go if I were looking for a dinner feast (the bistro in the back may be more suited towards that purpose; we'll have to revisit soon and eat in the bistro), but the Farmers Gastropub is an excellent place to meet friends for a few drinks and some great side food. The ambiance got 5 stars as soon as I walked in the door; service and food were 4 stars as well. I'd definitely visit this place again.
This is a great concept - all of the ingredients are bought fresh every day from local farmers and ranchers and then the menu is created from that. So you end up with delicious and fresh recipes - like what you'd find in a great English Gastropub.
Portions are small, and I don't know that I'd want to eat here every week - but certainly it's a fun and interesting place to check out from time to time.
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