| Venue name: | Friend of a Farmer | Contact: |
|---|---|
| Address: |
77 Irving Pl New York 10003 |
Cross street: | between 18th and 19th Sts |
| Opening hours: | Mon–Thu 8am–10pm; Fri 8am–11pm; Sat 9:30am–11pm; Sun 9:30am–9:30pm |
| Transport: | Subway: L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St–Union Sq |
| Price: | Average main course: $16. AmEx, DC, Disc, MC, V |
| Do you own this business? |
Average User Rating
3.8 / 5
Rating Breakdown
- 5 star:1
- 4 star:1
- 3 star:2
- 2 star:0
- 1 star:0
Transports you immediately out of the city and directly to a distant farm estate with the most authentic and farm-fresh comfort food. Left me wanting to cuddle up and spend the night.
This really feels like an oasis outside the city. For what is it (farm fresh, local comfort food with a sort of Southern vibe), it's honestly just standard. Everything is fine, just not something to write home about. The line outside is also super annoying - given the quality of the food - and the staff are not attentive when you're waiting in line or to be served (or if you need salt or pepper once you've gotten your food!!)
So damn close to being a really great restaurant. The food at Friend of a Farmer is very solid. Nothing you'll see countless blog posts on, or in articles on Eater/Grub Street, but it's definitely satisfying.
As you can expect, the menu relies on local ingredients, and the cuisine would probably identify as "comfort food". Think: chicken pot pie, short ribs, crab cakes. The stuff your dad would order. And the decor matches the theme as well. Super rustic, super cozy. Appropriate for date night as well as dinner with the 'rents.
Where it falls short, though, is in both focus and service. The menu is a little too long to truly support its "everything fresh and local" ethos, and the pasta section just seems out of place.
Also, the wait staff is less than attentive. We were there on a Tuesday night, so the place was just past 50% capacity. And still, getting the attention of any of the servers required us to nearly jump on the table and do a tribal dance.
There's always a line outside during breakfast/brunch time so we decided to check it out to see what all the hype was about. I had the apple pancakes which were great but my boyfriend had the boomer special, and I have to say the eggs and bacon were pretty standard. It's a cute space with reasonable prices, but not worth a 1-1.5 hour. I'm guessing the NYU crowd accounts for most of the people in the restaurant so if you want to check it out visit when it's really early or during the week!
