11/09/09

Do not use for a private party! Overpriced, average food!

by PhoodPhan

The FOAF owner needs to be schooled in how to deal with customers interested in booking a private party. I feel as though I was scammed with the old "bait and switch"-- the manager I was dealing with to book a private dinner for 50 people quoted me a certain amount per person and three options for the guests to choose from, as well as the ability to bring in my own wine for a corkage fee. After expressing my interest in signing a contract, the manager did not produce one but instead left town for an extended period of time, and when I tried to explain the options I was previously given to the owner by one of her managers, she was incredibly rude, spitefully hiking the price per person and taking away some options. Not only was she unapologetic, but she seemed to not believe me when I described everything that her manager had promised. I will badmouth this rotten place to everyone I know. And the food is nothing to write home about. AQnd the interior is shabby, and I dont' mean shabby chic, just plain old shabby.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Horrible management and no customer service skills

10/24/09

Poor service, overpriced

by LAnon

Went at a slow time (late afternoon) and had to ask to have our order taken, our order checked on, and still waited about an hour to be served.

Food is overpriced, based on portion size and quality of food.

Definitely do not recommend this place.

• Cons: very slow wait service; overpriced mediocre quality food

07/28/09

Never to return!

by swets

I've never seen such terrible customer service. I live and work in the neighborhood and have frequented often. However, my lunch today was TERRIBLE. The serivce was AWFUL! It took 20 minutes to take our order and 45 minutes to get the food (we only ordered salads). In the middle of lunch, they began sawing downstairs. When I complained to the owner she denied that they were sawing and said they just started. Absurd! This regular customer will not return!

• Pros: home cooking
• Cons: Terrible Service!

05/26/09

Food is good, service is so-so

by tnfoodie

What is going on? You would think that the service would be impeccable at a good restaurant, one that puts so much attention on the food and the decor. I asked for the salmon without any sauce. It came with the sauce. As the waiter put it down, I commented that it wasn't supposed to have sauce. He said, "Well, would you like us to start over and cook it without the sauce?" Give me a break. You're the one that screwed up, not me. The waitress came up all apologetic, but that was it. Of course I'm not going to send it back because I'm with other people, but come on. The manager didn't come over, no offer for coffee or dessert. I hate when fresh fish is covered in sauce, especially when I don't know the restaurant. Still, I gave her 20 percent. I blame it on the management. They need to step it up and train their staff. There are too many other great restaurants in NYC.

• Pros: Food is good
• Cons: Service appears to not be trained like they should

01/24/08

Good Food and Great Atmosphere Marred by Indifferent, Sexist Service

by bloomville

You can't beat a roaring fire in winter?so it's a treat to find that in this pretty farmhouse-style eatery. Unfortunately, the warm fire was not matched by warm and gracious service.

Food was fine, but the aloof waiter took a bit too long to take our order and pretty much ignored us until the time came to deliver the bill.

I was annoyed?twice?by the fact that when the time came to pay, the bill was handed to my male dining companion. As it happens, I, a woman, was buying lunch. This ridiculousness was repeated when, having paid for lunch with my credit card, my card and invoice to sign was once again handed to my friend. Here's a radical thought?why not simply place the bill in the middle of the table and let whoever is paying take it? It's 2008, not 1942, right?

"Farmhouse" dining should inclue a warm and friendly tone to match the warm, friendly fire and decor. A bit of brains when it comes to gender roles would be a nice twist, too.

08/09/07

A Better Experience Than I Expected

by delphica

I had heard mixed reviews of this restaurant, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I went there for lunch, and both my friend and I were very pleased with our meals. There were a lot of salad offerings, and the salmon salad ended up having a very generous portion of fish. The quiche also came in a substantial portion, and was served with fresh fruit salad on the side which was a nice touch. My only disappointment in terms of the food was the cheese on the quiche - it seemed very average, and based on the other menu items, I was expecting more of an artisan-type cheese, something that stood out. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just bland. The service was maybe a little on the slow side of average, but the waitperson was friendly about it and because it was a social get-together we were happy enough to have a leisurely lunch. I would be a little concerned about this if it was a business lunch where I had to keep to a strict time schedule. The country decor is a bit over the top, but because it's relatively unusual in NYC, I enjoyed it just because it's different.

This is one of those restaurants where I feel the price level is exactly right for what you are getting. Nothing too fancy or outrageous, with a nicer environment than a diner and a more substantial menu than a cafe.

I would definitely return, but based on the restaurant's small size, I would plan to avoid the brunch crowds. Also related to size, you are sitting very close to other customers, so this would be an issue to anyone who is bothered by this in general (although really, welcome to New York).

• Pros: Cute decor, friendly service, menu variety
• Cons: Very small size, somewhat slow (but not offensively so) service

06/11/07

Slow, indifferent service. Poor value.

by peadah

On this recent Sunday afternoon, the restaurant wasn't really very busy. Which made it all the more annoying when the service turned out to be slow, indifferent, inattentive and uncaring.

Specifically: the wait to order was way too long, once we (a party of two) ordered the food took about 20 minutes (if I err, I'm erring on the side of the restaurant), the food came out on iron plates that were not even warm to the touch and, when my girlfried complained that the muffin on her eggs benedict was totally uncooked/toasted, the waiter, unconcerned, replied "well that's how we serve it. If you want it toasted you have to ask." THEN, he walks away (after she pushes the untouched plate to the side in an obvious indication that she would like the dish taken back to the kitchen.) When he does come back, he says "So, do you want the muffin toasted?" Once the dish was returned, it was obvious that they just heated up the entire skillet, not toasting the muffin separately.

At no point did our water get refilled, I had to ask for coffee refills and the waiter, not terribly busy from what I could see, never came back until I asked for the check.

My pancakes were OK. Not served piping hot, they were not a big portion (four inch cakes) and left me hungrey for more. I love pancakes and blueberry pancakes are my favorite. Even if the service was great, I wouldn't return for the 'cakes.

This is not my, or my girlfriend's first time eating here, but it had been years since we were last here. And that's for a reason, we didn't like it years ago and had no desire to go but we figured we'd give the place a chance. No dice. This place is overrated and bad value. Your local coffee shop has better breakfast food and service.

• Pros: Ambience a step up from a coffee shop
• Cons: Poor service, food nothing special.

06/05/07

Maybe it's better for Brunch

by epicurean17

I was at Friend of a Farmer the other day and my review is terribly mixed. We were a group of three and elected to sit outside. Rather than putting two two-tops together to make seating for three, all of us were put at a two person table. That would not have been so bad if our third wasn't made to sit on the sidewalk. I should mention that we were the only people out there at the time. There was no reason for it. When we moved our table a few inches toward the restaurant, so our third could avoid getting wet during a passing shower, we were told that that space needed to be clear for when another diner came. Since there are seven other tables out there, none of which were occupied, I thought that was a little weird, and very rude. Obviously, if there were other people there waiting for a table, we would slide back over, assuming that the shower let up.

It took us a while to order, since it was a combination late lunch/early dinner and business meeting. I can understand that this would be annoying to the restaurant, but we arrived at 4:30, before their dinner menu opened, so it wasn't as though we could have ordered even if we wanted to. (We had indicated when we came in that we would like to wait for the dinner menu and would be happy to have some wine and salad while waiting, which we were told was fine)

We ordered the food. I had the crabcake, which was not lumpy at all> When I ordered, I asked if it was lumpy because i am particular about crab cakes. In all honesty, it tasted a bit like a breaded, broiled tuna salad patty. The accompanying roasted corn salad was very very tasty, though. My table mate ordered turkey meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Perhaps it's because I am not a huge fan of turkey meatloaf, but to my eye and mouth, it looked and tasted a lot like cat food. Fancy Feast to be sure, but cat food all the same. The mashed potatoes were highly offensive. They were clearly reconstituted potatoes of some type, with a slurry-like consistency and taste.

• Pros: Nice location, interior is okay
• Cons: The food is pretty terrible

05/31/07

Slow service

by msanyal

The ambience is nice but the service is not great. When we got to the restaurant, it was not too busy. We ordered as soon as we were seated. We then had to wait over 45 minutes for our food. No one apologized for the delay and the waitress didn't bother to ask us if we wanted another drink. The food was mediocore - the fish had less salt and the meatloaf was so-so.

03/17/07

Behold: New York's Brunch Natsi

by tonyuzan

The Brunch Natsi!!! With the other negative reviews I found on CitySearch and the experience I had this afternoon, I think I?ve discovered New York?s very own Brunch Natsi. This manager/host always barks at you when waiting to be seated. I?ve been there four times, and each time he draws a line on the sidewalk in chalk to represent the front of the line and tells you not to pass it unless he calls you. For some reason, people put up with this (including me until today). But today, he went too far. He actually told us we were sitting at the table too long. All in all, we were at the table for about an hour and 15 mins. Not only was he out of line for asking us to leave when he did, but he also did it very rudely. Further before he even came by, after only 30 minutes the bus-boy was trying to take my girlfriends food away when she still had nearly half left. I?m convinced that the bus-boy was instructed by the Natsi to take plates away whenever he can.

This Restaurant gets way too much business. Much more than it deserves. Zagats rates them near the bottom in NYC for food and even worse for service. The food is below avg., and sometimes poor; the tables cramped, and the wait staff unfriendly. On top of this, it?s run by someone who is truly in the wrong line of work. He clearly does not like people. WHY DO PEOPLE LINE UP FOR THIS PLACE? Please don?t go back to this dump. There are much better choices in the area.

Finally, don?t look at the fact that this place has a score of ?9? on CitySearch. Anyone can write a good review on their own restaurant as many times as they want (and read the good reviews here; one says the staff is good looking; I wonder who wrote that????) . Instead, focus on the bad reviews this place gets, especially about the Brunch Natsi. Also don?t forget that Zagats rates them near the bottom for food, decor, and service.

• Pros: The portions are very small, the serivce very rude.
• Cons: See Pros