Farm Bell Kitchen — Restaurant in Charlottesville

6 girlfriends and I went to Farm Bell for brunch. We had a 10:30am reservation. Our waiter, Carson, came fairly quickly with our menus and waters for everyone. He took our drink orders, 1 Bloody Mary, 2 Peach Bellinis, 2 cappuccinos with almond milk, and one Irish Coffee. It took about 10 minutes for the Bloody Mary and 2 Peach Bellinis to come out, another 10 minutes for one cappuccino to arrive, another 20 minutes for the second one, and after a number of reminders, the Irish Coffee came out about 20 minutes later. The reason for the delay on the second cappuccino was that they ran out of almond milk (who runs out of almond milk at brunch on a Sunday morning before 11am?!). Our food order was pretty simple- 5 meals straight off the menu, and 2 orders of tacos, vegan style, for the bride and maid-of-honor, who are both strong vegans (this option was one of the biggest reasons we were eating at Farm Bell). 2 meals and tacos came out fairly quickly, however, the vegan tacos both had cheese on them (not vegan!) so we had to send those back. At this point, we did not see Carson again at our table the rest of our meal (he was still serving other tables near us, but did not come back to check on us at all). While we waited for the tacos to come back, the other meals came out. Over an hour later, there were still NO tacos, even though we had asked 4 different people. One of our party finally hunted down the woman who was managing and hostessing . She was able to get some English muffins out to our vegans, and then it took another 5-10 minutes to get their vegan tacos out. She told our group that the ladies would not be charged for their meals or beverages as her way of making things right and apologized profusely for the mess. It was extremely clear that whoever took the tacos back to have them remade never told anyone in the kitchen because they were still sitting on a random table downstairs and new ones did not arrive for over an hour. The rest of us were completely done with our meals and our plates cleared before anyone sorted out the missing tacos. Then things got worse! We were beyond ready to head out- several of us needed to drive 5 hours home and we had been there for 2 hours- but no one wanted to get us our checks! Our server was nowhere to be found, we asked several waiters to assist, and still nothing. We seriously contemplated walking out without paying because it had been 2 hours of awful experience and no one seemed to care if we paid. One woman in our group went inside, asked 3 different people to help us with our checks, each said they would, and then nothing! Finally the woman who had helped with the taco situation was found and was able to assist us. After about 10 minutes of trying to get individual checks and pay, only one person was able to pay for her meal, the bills were all completely wrong, the beverages for the two vegans were still showing up (we had been assured they would be comped), and it was mass confusion among the entire staff. We will never go back and do not recommend it to anyone. The food was decent, but absolutely nothing will make the terrible service experience worth it to return. The one saving grace was the manager trying to make things right- she did apologize, got the food to our table herself, and just took care of the bill at the end because it was embarrassing...

I just left a lunch meeting at Farm Bell and had the rudest experience with a server I’ve ever had in Charlottesville. The atmosphere at Farm Bell seemed great, and the hash browns and vegan sausage that I was able to eat before departing were tasty and seasoned well, but the server was so incredibly rude that I’ll never eat there again. I mentioned that I had seen vegan options on their online menu and inquired whether vegan options were available. Our server confirmed that there were menu items that could be made vegan.

I ordered the tacos that were to be made vegan, vegan sausage, and the poached pear salad for the pears, but noted that I’d also like it to be made vegan - (removing any meat & dairy - nonvegan items). Our server confidently took the orders. When our food finally came out, the salad had meat, and the tacos had cheese. The person who brought the food said they were never told that any of the items would be made vegan. Our server then admitted that she didn’t know what being a vegan meant. When I tried to explain it to her to get our order right the second time, she cut me off and tried to state the items that should be included in my order. When I asked if I could finish my explanation, since she cut me off, she explained that she was very busy. I told her that, given her response, I no longer wanted the salad, and she took it back.

My colleague and I processed her approach and were confused as to why someone who said they didn’t know what veganism was wouldn't permit me to explain it in an effort to get my order correct. Our server returned and said she had corrected the taco order and would have that out shortly. By this time, my colleague and I were frustrated with the previous exchange, and I stated that I no longer wanted the tacos, given how rude her interaction was with us. She attempted to argue with us that she hadn’t been rude at all. We ultimately were not charged for our meals, but my colleague and I left saying we’d never eat there again. I hope that Farm Bell Management will consider mandating customer service and interpersonal skills training so that future visitors to their restaurant don’t have the same experience that my colleague and I did. I rarely leave reviews, but I felt compelled to express my dissatisfaction after this...

My partner and I stopped in on Friday for a late brunch, there was no wait, so we were greeted and seated quickly (once we realized the host stand is past the cute little coffee section 😂).

Our server, Amy, came out to us quickly and was very knowledgeable. She was funny, nice, and super attentive. We ordered a bunch of apps, and they all came out pretty fast and were all good. The kitchen staff brought stuff out to us as soon as it was ready, which was super!

Cappuccino: *I got a hot cappuccino with snickerdoodle flavor, and it was very good! Sweet, but delicious. It was worth the wait (the barista was a busy bee!)

Fried green tomatoes: *Not too oily *I loved the salty capers on top *The breading came off, but they were still good

Pork belly biscuits: *These were my partner's favorite! We requested additional pickles and pickled onions, and they really hit the spot

Banana beignets: *My favorite *Sweet, fresh, and piping hot *I would have loved more fresh bananas, but dang, these were good

Biscuit board: *4 biscuits *3 sauces/toppings *Side of ham *The only thing my partner wished was that the butter was warmed

Baked brie: *Lots of sweetness on top. Make sure you mix everything up before dipping to make sure you get all of the flavor *It was a little difficult to get the cheese onto the bread, but it was still good

Other thoughts: *Parking sucks because you have to find street parking or go into the parking garage. The parking garage we used only cost us about $4, and it seemed to have plenty of spots. It just stunk we had to pay for parking. *Nice ambiance *Cute decor *Nice music *Reasonable prices *There is one single occupancy bathroom on the main floor. There's one downstairs too somewhere, but I didn't go adventuring to find it.

Overall, I'm glad we chose this place as we were passing through. If we are ever in the area again, I hope to stop back in and check out the bed and...