Urban Farmhouse Market & Cafe

Reviews 3

GE

George Kaufmann

My girlfriend and I, along with another couple, went to the Urban Farmhouse on March 11, 2017 for a quick bite to eat. It was about 9:30 in the morning, and the place was about ½ full. There were only a few people in line before us. My girlfriend ordered our sandwiches, which were the Virginia Ham & Egg breakfast sandwiches, to be served on Croissants. She paid, and the wait began. The couple with us ordered a bacon and egg sandwich, also on a croissant, and waited at the table with us. Approximately 20 minutes later, my girlfriend went to the counter, anticipating that surely our food must be getting close to being ready. It was not. The person behind the counter asked her what she wanted, and my girlfriend stated that she was looking for our sandwiches. Well, apparently, there was a problem that they hadn’t gotten around to sharing with us yet. So, it would seem that the farm to table Virginia ham was not available. Why? Because it was still…wait for it…FROZEN. Yep, frozen solid. No longer an option. But they would be happy to replace it with bacon. At this point, we just wanted to eat…we’d already invested too much time here, and wanted food. So, we agreed to the bacon replacement. Another 10 minutes go by and our sandwiches were “ready”. My girlfriend was a bit surprised as she picked up our order and noticed that the croissants we ordered had been substituted with bagels. She went back to the counter to inquire about it, and they said that she hadn’t ordered croissants. She held her ground and stated that she most certainly had, and was told that the croissants weren’t big enough for the sandwiches anyway, and that we should just take the bagels. Now, at 30 minutes into this excursion, I’m livid. The bacon was burnt, the bagels were stale, and we didn’t have anything remotely close to the sandwiches we ordered and paid for, save for the seemingly microwaved eggs. The part that I found most upsetting was that there was not so much as an apology from the staff…rather a smug, “take it or leave it” attitude, with total disregard to customer service. Now that we had our food, we waited for the other couple we were with to get their food, so as not to be rude. Theirs came about 7 or 8 minutes later. The bacon sandwich that they ordered on a croissant was served to them on bread. He took the sandwich up and said that it, too, was wrong, and was told that they had not ordered a croissant. He stated that he most assuredly did order a croissant and was told that they could remake the sandwich with a croissant, but that there would be an upcharge for the croissant! No apology for making it wrong in the first place, no regard for the length of time that we’d spent there so far, only a smug concern about a $1 upcharge for a croissant. Not wanting to belabor the point and spend any more time in the establishment than we had to, we all ate our wrong orders and left…never to return. I’m very disappointed in the experience. What could have been a quaint dining experience, featuring local farm to table foods, was ultimately ruined by really one person who apparently has not learned that the lifeblood of any business is their customers…and if you don’t treat the customers with at least a little bit of respect, you can’t possibly expect that they’ll come back, or recommend the place to any of their friends. We certainly won’t be.

A

A Private User

Had some friends in from out of town and wanted to share the experience of going to this place for the 1st time with them. BIG MISTAKE! I wont EVER go there again. It was a Sunday morning and we wanted breakfast which their menu clearly stated they had. When we got there (9:30ish), one of the three people working told us they were OUT of eggs! Out of eggs at 9:30 a.m.?! Did they have a rush of customers and only 1 dozen eggs when they opened?? How do you run a business when you are out of a main course for breakfast??? And nothing was stated about "they are going to get some and it will be about 10 minutes" or the usual response you would expect from a restaurant that early in the morning. So I ordered the lox and my friends ordered some pastries along with our 3 coffees. While waiting I remembered the coffee shop around the corner "Shockoe Espresso" and wondered if they had eggs...my girlfriend and I left her husband and baby at the table and walked around the corner and sure enough THEY had eggs!! We ordered 2 egg sandwiches to go. By the time we got back we thought for sure our coffee would be ready. NOPE! We had to ask about our coffee and realized they were making coffee for other folks that had come in after us. Hmmmm. After a few minutes they brought 2 of the 3 coffees and I had to ask AGAIN about the 3rd?! Sure enough they had forgotten about the 3rd coffee. When they finally brought the 3rd coffee over we inquired about the pastries that were ordered (that didnt need to be baked or warmed since they were in the glass case) and they asked which ones wed ordered. Are you kidding me? Wow. By this time I was less than pleased with the service and knew I would never return or recommend this place to anyone I know...not to mention the sky high prices we paid for coffee and pastries that we almost didnt get. Its too bad because I was really looking forward to it opening and to enjoying it. I sure hope they have learned to stock up on eggs if they are going to offer breakfast. Shockoe Espresso is fabulous and MUCH cheaper. Do yourself a favor, walk around the corner to eat/drink and save some money!

WA

Walter Macalma

Having already been to Citizen twice this week I decided to nurse my hangover with a more traditional breakfast. I was drawn in by the location which looks much brighter and more inviting in the day time. I fully expected a bakery and/or a coffee house and/or a café, but really got a little of each. Jack of all trades, master of none. My Green tea soy latte was steeped and not with macha powder which slightly disappointed me, but the drink itself was no latte and a prime example of places trying to do too much. It was warm water with a splash of milk and a tea bag. Forgettable and I did not finish. Breakfast I was fully expecting a wonderful play on local, artisanal culinary work that came up short. Overcooked eggs in the scramble, overcooked Virginia had because Virginia ham is just delicious. Not much in the way of seasoning I went against using ketchup and opted for the Asian Thai hot sauce which was a good idea. The toast was soft and barely buttered. The actual service was pleasant as was the furniture and decorations. I almost bought the cycling jerseys they sell, but they had no mens Large and the jerseys were to casual. Were not race or Italian cut/sized. I also wanted a full kit and not just a jersey. Bathrooms are actually really nice, but the speakers blare as if they are in the bathroom and its just annoying. I dig the compost, recyclables and trash bins and didnt mind cleaning up after myself even though I think they were overstaffed and could easily offer this service. The water fountain was strange. So much to like, yet so much they drop the ball on.