The Farmers Arms — Restaurant in Queensland

We had a very enjoyable experience yesterday evening, and felt it appropriate to share my thanks and thoughts.

There are a couple of venues laying claim to being the oldest remaining pub in Queensland - but in either case this is a very old building oozing charm. Walking in the front door you're greeted by the functional fireplace, restaurant on the right with the (small) bottle shop and counter to the left. There's also a public bar further to the left at the southern side of the building.

Service was great. There was a young barmaid/waitress in black jeans with a white ribbon in her hair - her short term memory was outstanding. Bear in mind she was simultaneously serving the restaurant and bar - so often darting back and forth. Remembered our order perfectly despite leaving to serve at the bar. There was also a bloke named Thor buzzing about serving and engaging with patrons - he didn't look like a stereotypical Viking with a beard but more like myself - jeans, brown belt and likes a great hairstyle (none present, best way to go!). Appeared to be the manager or owner.

Non alcoholic drinks are a bit on the steep side ($5 for a can of Coke) but wine pricing is quite reasonable - with a choice of three different Shiraz by the glass (unusual for a country pub). There is a card surcharge (displayed at the counter) of 1.6-1.9% but can be avoided by paying cash.

Food - a different concept to most venues. You pay for your main - either steak, chicken etc - and then load up on sides from a self serve bain marie. A couple of dishes are excluded from self serve (from memory lamb shanks and rissoles, explained at time of ordering). The bain marie contained roast vegetables, steamed vegetables, what appeared to be a broccoli bake and chips. Special note here - they were crisp despite being in a steamy environment and tasted great.

An adjacent salad bar was provided with your choice of garden or noodle salad. Multiple sauces and dressings on offer. Cold bottled water and self serve coffee are also available.

Right, onto the mains. I was pleasantly surprised to see eye fillet on offer as a steak choice - especially at a country pub. My wife had a chicken schnitzel (not pictured), whilst we had deep fried Camembert nuggets for starters with what appeared to be a chilli and lime dipping sauce. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her main, and my steak was cooked perfectly - I'll normally tolerate one grade either side but this was spot on medium rare. Sauces were above average - not the standard black gloop you receive at most Toowoomba pubs. Our friends ordered their dishes, along with those for their kids.

I'm not sure how some other reviewers have ascertained this venue isn't kid friendly - kids meals arrived quickly and prams accommodated without fuss. Our friend instructed her children to clean up the toys but before leaving which when she went to verify, noticed that the aforementioned waitress had already tidied them up.

Constructive criticism - we were offered the incorrect food twice (rectified quickly). I noticed when the waitress was keying orders the table map on screen appeared to lack numbers and she was craning her head around the fireplace to determine which table was what. Perhaps a tweak to the POS system would be beneficial?

We'll...

One star for being open for meals Wednesday night - which they arent 7 days a week. As a local, like to support local businesses. Food here is consistent - always bad. Every 12-18 months we give their meals another try. For at least the last 6 years we have always regretted the decision - just when you think it cant get worse, it does. Any local you ask turns up their nose. On this occasion 2 of our party of 4 had rissoles & mash, 1 an eye fillet steak, and the other 1 bangers and mash. Any one of the following issues on their own would be excusable but, in combination, made for a totally disappointing experience. 2 of us asked for the side of steamed veges. These were disgusting and tasted like they had been soaked in vinegar water - maybe to stop them discolouring.... 2 of us opted for senior meals (with a 10% discount). Nowhere on the menu does it mention that senior meals are considerably smaller than full price - one rissole or one sausage instead of two does not equate to a good deal at 10% discount. The eye fillet steak was definitely not eye fillet, maybe rib or sirloin. All the meals, apart from the steak were obviously not freshly cooked and clearly microwaved. The young man delivering meals to tables clearly had had no direction regards customer service (not his fault) and should not be in this position. Is the licensee of this establishment serving these appalling excuses for meals as part of the conditions of his license? Or is it a tax writeoff? It is almost inconceivable a "restaurant" could unintentionally be run so badly. If not, why not bite the bullet and get a real chef, reinstigate fresh food, advertise the fact, and enjoy local support - passing trade will get you nowhere in the current environment. Where are you Gordon Ramsay?

In summary, this business is an untapped goldmine. In its semi-rural but growing residential area it is prime for repeat local business - within walking distance...

Absolutely horrible service. We ordered our meals and the older lady (who I assume is the owner) incorrectly took our order. When we asked where are other main meal was, she was extremely rude, sarcastic and unprofessional. Honestly would not recommend this pub. Very disappointed as we had travelled specifically to have dinner here.

Reply: Considering your a pub with keno, You would assume someone would be interested in playing ??!

You state in your reply that he ordered 2 entrees and a burger ? However that meal that we ‘never’ ordered or received was the burger? Our order was an eye fillet steak , a burger and a calamari entree. We got all except the burger you speak of ? Just to clarify, My order was ordered correctly and brought out to me( however with the incorrect steak, which was then swapped for the eye fillet I actually ordered). In regard to the order that was taken incorrectly, the younger girl behind the bar had actually informed us that we ordered the meals correctly and it would be fixed for us. It wasn’t until 5 minutes later that you came over to us and informed us that we never actually order the meal after we had just been told we had ?, Either way extremely unprofessional to continue to blame your mistake on a customer and their...