Farm Cafe

Farm Café is a Portland staple in the foodie scene, however, it has taken me almost two years to make it here. Located in an adorable old farmhouse in the lively close-in NE Burnside area, it offers a wonderful ambiance. It is small and quaint, roughly 10-15 tables. The dark colored walls, mahogany wood furniture, and local artwork all combine beautifully to give a truly Portland vibe. The vintage chandeliers provide dim light throughout, providing one of the most effortless romantic interiors I have experienced in Portland dining.

Service…oh how this can make or break a fantastic restaurant. We arrived at 7pm on a Friday night, and were told there was roughly a two hour wait. Not uncharacteristic and not a big deal if we could have waited here and ordered drinks/appetizers. The hostess, however, NEVER mentioned that there was an adorable bar/seating area in the rear of the restaurant! Even after we told her we were going to walk (in the rain) to another establishment to wait and to call us for our table, she still NEVER thought to suggest her own bar as the perfect warm, dry place to wait it out. This was the biggest miss in service I have yet to incur in Portland. Only after we were seated later in the night did I venture to the bathroom and discover the rest of the restaurant – I was more than disappointed. It gets better….we realized after sitting down there was only one waiter for the entire dining room, so we waited another 15 minutes to be welcomed. By the time we ordered we were starving, and knew exactly what we wanted. We order all courses at once, and told the waiter to deliver in order. Armando did eventually tell the waiter about the hostess situation, as it severely impacted our evening. He was apologetic (said they were in training?), and did “comp” our desert ($7). Nice gesture, but ultimately not enough to make up for the lack of awareness. In the end, we tipped well and were happy with our table service.

One thing to note, do NOT sit by the front door if you can avoid it. It is constantly left open and lets in a horrible draft!

Menu…It changes often and is seasonally based, ensuring the freshest ingredients. It is short and vegetarian focused, but created with true culinary craftsmanship.

Drinks – They have an extensive wine list, with affordable options (white starting at $20, red starting at $29). They also offer desert wines, absinthe, cordials and various coffee choices. We chose the Anne Amie Pinot Noir, and it was pleasantly smooth with a sweet aftertaste.

Food –
Apps: We started with the Williams Baked Brie based on Yelp user reviews (Slice of brie served warm with toasted sugar, roasted hazelnuts, seasonal fruit, and Ken’s baguette. Please allow 10 minutes as we bake this to order). Served piping hot, the combinations of sweet and salty were amazing, and the portion was just enough for two people. My dinner notes said “cheesy, ooey, gooey…happiness in a bite.”

Salad: We ordered the Beet Carpaccio (Thinly sliced beets with fresh goat chevre, mint, chives and walnut oil vinaigrette). Loved the thinly sliced beets, and the herbs tasted like they just picked them from the garden. Small in portion (and in goat chevre), but large in flavor.

We ordered two fish dishes for entrees, as it seemed from Farm’s website these may be their specialty. I ordered the Flame-grilled Halibut (Fresh halibut fillet flame-grilled with roasted Brussels sprouts, French lentil salad and fire roasted tomato-caper concasse). This was a dream dish for me, as the ingredients are some of my favorite foods. The fire roasted tomato topping gave it the kick it needed (the Halibut would have been a bit flavorless alone), and the lentils were cooked to the perfect consistency.

Armando ordered the Pan-Fried Idaho Trout (Whole boneless trout dusted with coarse sea salt, pan-fried and served with seasonal vegetables). This was one of the lightest and well-done breadings I have had, and the seasonal vegetables here almost stole the dish. Chunky cubes of tender squash were the highlight.

Desert – The sunken chocolate soufflé with coffee ice cream (a dense, dark chocolate with a molten center, served with coffee ice cream on top) was literally pure seduction. We ordered two Stumptown coffees (I love that they offered Stevia sweetener and real cream as condiments) to compliment the dish, and it was one of the best endings to a meal I can remember.

The draw of Farm Café is that they serve the freshest, farm to table dishes, at some of the most affordable prices in the city. I left feeling perfectly content, not overly stuffed, and happy that I had experienced this restaurant. For food, they are indeed 5 stars. The overall experience as detailed above, unfortunately, can only receive 3 stars.

Although we will pass on returning because of the service issues, I do highly recommend Farm Café for an affordable, romantic evening.

*Jayne