Farmer and the Fishmonger — Restaurant in Apple Valley

Hello can everyone! So I was browsing and Facebook events and came across this event of a seafood boil. My excitement shot through the roof and thought this was going to be a wonderful and great experience seeing that I've always wanted to do one of these. Though the true experience is definitely to go down south preferably Louisiana and join in one of these festivities, but in the meantime this restaurant definitely came through and with their rendition of a seafood boil.

So I will say there are some pros and cons and I will say this:

The atmosphere absolutely amazing, the food amazing, the drinks different and outstanding!

The downside:

What you see pictured for the seafood boil is supposed to be for two people for $60. I brought my son with me and we both looked at it thinking there's another one coming out and the wait staff never came back with another plate 🤣🤣😭! We had to actually ask if the special that was advertised if this was for two people or did they have another one coming out and they said no, this is the special. So we actually ended up ordering another plate because this right here for what you see pictured is not for seafood lovers to actually share. The crab legs that you see are small compared to most places I've been to and if I'm having to share this with somebody I would be extremely disappointed knowing that I'm only getting two legs and now we have to fight over who's going to get the leg with the claw haha!

Now don't get me wrong The food was flavorful from the sausage which looked very homemade, probably more potatoes then I would have cared for, they definitely did not disappoint on the amount of shrimp that they gave you and the corn was succulent No complaints there. But I will just definitely say that if you're going to advertise a seafood boil and for people who love seafood I would have expected more food than what we got. So I would say this is the equivalent to a small platter and definitely only for one person. Unless you had other appetizers that you were going to add with it or maybe you just wanted a taste and this was just kind of an in-between or late night meal then sure I can see sharing this, but for dinner you're definitely going to spend some money.

The other downside that I saw with this is, on the event page that said to call or Make reservations for this as they are limited. They open at 4:00 p.m. everyday, so I went to the website to try to make a reservation and it would not allow me to. I tried calling to maybe leave a message for somebody to get back to me and there's no greeting of what restaurants you're calling it's a very generic phone system, so I would definitely suggest to the owners to have some type of a welcome greeting. I did send out an email and I did get a very quick response back from Riley which I very much appreciated! And he or she did put my reservation in, so I did have to wait until 4:00 to get confirmed an hour and a half away from the restaurant it would have been nice to know early on so I can have made other arrangements to be closer. Been nonetheless we got in and it wasn't as busy as I thought it was going to be. And we went on a Saturday at 6:30 p.m. .

So again don't get me wrong on this post once we got there everything was wonderful and the service and the bartender were amazing! So I want you to go and see my girl Cara she'll be the one with the southern accent and exuding for Southern hospitality charm from beginning to end! And working the bar was our girl Skye (I'm not sure if it's with an "e" or without an "E" but that's what we're going to go with 😋😁) I honestly can't remember what I had but it was with mezcal and it was one of the cocktails in the menu and it was lovely! I honestly wasn't thinking drink wise because I would have probably got mad with a burger or something smoked versus seafood, just my personal preference. But I can definitely say she knows what she is doing behind that bar!

So overall, go check them out and Apple valley and dress however you like but be prepared to be filled up! don't...

Edited: I ordered a second time. I’m not sure I will order again. I got the same fish. This time it had an extremely heavy herb crust and must have thyme or something in it because it kept reminding me a Turkey for thanksgiving. In other words, not so good. It was also greasy and held a fishy taste that was not present the first time. Also, the carrots were pretty plain. Not the honey butter like the first time. I was sad and recooked them myself with the honey and butter. The potatoes were still good but not as good. It was clear this was a different chef and they are not as good as the first one.

After reading reviews I’ve come to the conclusion that this place is very inconsistent. It’s like a craps shoot as to if you will get the good chef or the not so good one. I’m not sure I will take the chance and spend the money to be disappointed again. Too bad. So much potential.

Original review: I ordered to go tonight. This is my first time eating here.

I was pleasantly surprised with the herb crusted salmon. Cooked perfectly and a beautiful cut. It was crusted on the top and super juicy and melted in my mouth. I did need to add some salt to it tho.

I am really into the setup of a dish. So for me the sides matter as much if not more than the main part. The mashed potatoes were a total surprise. They are not really mashed more smushed but blended with cheese and cream making them dance in my mouth. Maybe an Gruyère cheese or something similar. Simply mouth watering. I ate all of them. And oh wow, the honey butter carrots were fantastic. Cooked to perfection, not over done or over seasoned. I only wish there had been more of those carrots but next time I will get an additional side of them. Just yum! A total delight. I tried the Parmesan risotto also. It had a nice creamy texture and a light parm and butter flavor. The Caesar salad was also fantastic with a beautiful creamy smooth Caesar dressing. Not too strong of a flavor like some dressings.

The reason for the four stars is the dessert. I give the Italian Cream Cake a 👎. I was totally looking forward to this delight. Dreaming of the coconut and pecans and the crumbly butter cake and almond flavors and cream cheese frosting. Instead I was smacked with something SUPER sweet and a kind of mushy cake more like pound cake. No coconut and no pecans and nothing tasted like almond. I’m not a fan of overly sweet anything. I prefer savory. They served it with this amazing raspberry sauce. I’m sure they could use this on something better and sadly a little tiny thing of whipped cream that had separated and was kinda gross. I tossed that out.

All in all The Farmer and the Fishmonger was amazing. I’m sad about the dessert but I have an amazing recipe and will definitely be making it myself now that it’s on my mind.

The staff was nice when I arrived and got my food quickly. I wonder if they do bread and butter or something when you eat there. I didn’t get anything like that which was a little bummer. I imagine if they do their bread would be amazing.

The cost was a bit more because I ordered through Chow Now and they inflate prices about a buck or two for each item. I will absolutely be returning. I would like to eat in house for breakfast sometime. It’s a beautiful place tho...

Our experience was one that we won't forget. Unfortunately for the wrong reasons. My wife and I ordered the "Baller Seafood Platter" which is the most expensive item on them menu. According to the menu for $180 you get 8 oysters, 6 butter poached shrimp, 4 Jonah crab claws and a 1/2lb lobster. My wife and I were excited because neither of us have had Jonah crab claws before and we both love seafood. We asked that our oysters be brought out with all of our other friends appetizers and the rest of the order be brought out with the main courses. Our server said that wouldn't be a problem. When our oysters and all the other appetizers came out we noticed that two other servers brought out 2 other large plates but then were waived off by our server and she said "not yet". We assumed that thay accidentally made and brought out our whole order at once, not separately as we requested. Which I guess isn't a big deal, mistakes happen. The 8 oysters we received were the only thing we enjoyed. They were fresh and delicious. When the main courses came out we were extremely disappointed in what we received. Instead of 8 butter poached shrimp we received 6 cocktail shrimp, instead of 4 Jonah crab claws we received 2 snow crab clusters and instead of a 1/2 lobster we received lobster claw pieces in a small bowl. This was not what was listed on the menu and we initially thought that we may have received the wrong order. When I inquired on the lobster and crab I was told that yes that was the lobster and that they "upgraded" us to the snow crab because it was "more meat" than Jonah crab claws. Huh?!? Upgraded?! Um thanks, but no thanks. I'd prefer to just get what I ordered. And the lobster I assumed was just the meat they use for their lobster roll and they just put some in a bowl for us. Annoyed by her answer I said well we only got 6 shrimp and the menu said 8. She said she would inquired with the kitchen. Once we started to eat the dinner we didn't order we were less than impressed. Both the snow crab and lobster were ice cold, most likely because they made everything at once and it sat in the kitchen while we ate our oysters. Which made sense since we remembered them bring out the extra plates with the oysters and then being waived off. When our server came back she said they only included 6 instead of 8 shrimp because "they were larger than normal". Huh?! You brought me less food because they were larger than normal? Has anyone else heard of this reasoning before? The server could probably tell from the look on my face I was not impressed. A few minutes later she brought out 6 additional shrimp that appeared to be butter poached and seasoned with some Cajun season to make up for our order. I appreciated the effort to remedy everything but our meal definitely fell short of our expectations. Overall I can not recommend this place to anyone. Both my wife and I feel like we were victims of a bait and switch. We ordered what we believed to be their creme de la creme and received nothing close to it. If they didn't have the items listed on the menu they should disclosed that to us when we ordered instead of serving us 2 cold snow crab clusters and some lobster claw...