The Farmhouse Coffee & Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Downingtown

The Farmhouse is a delightful upscale coffee shop with huge potential overall. In its third week, I checked it out around 9 am on a Thursday, and the vibe was calm and studious, with a few patrons on their laptops working quietly, and a couple of tables with people cheerfully meeting over coffee and muffins. The space is very wide open, and could easily fit more tables if needed, or be converted to a performance space for an unplugged musician. The acoustics are hollow due to the high ceilings and hard surfaces; the hardwood floors are as beautiful as the tables and barista station. There's a conference/party room with a presentation system and seating for perhaps 12-15 people. The coffee I tried was a regular roast, black coffee. It was as good as you might expect, on par with what you'd expect at a good restaurant after dinner. I look forward to my second cup on another day to check for consistency, which I feel is better hallmark for good coffee and the establishment it's served in. I brought their chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies to work and both received rave reviews. The only other selection for food items appeared to be muffins, which I'll have to try next time. At over $2 per cookie, I think they were worth it, but it would have been nice to get a discount for quantity, or more options of baked goods. With that said, the venue is very "Main Line", where one might expect prices to accompany accordingly. The service was good, although clearly in a training cycle. I love having more options to pay with, and not even the award-winning Station Taproom up the street uses Apple Pay, so kudos for pioneering something in a town that needs it. In time, I hope the hours expand. It's Sunday as I write this, and while it might be nice to walk the kids out and grab a cup of coffee, I'll have to go to Turkey Hill (in desperation) or the Downingtown diner (ok coffee) for it, as the farmhouse does not have Sunday hours. Evening musical venues would also be nice addition to the borough, especially for those people and kids who might want to get out somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol. I think the farmhouse could pull that off. I can't wait to see how they do Christmas! Lastly, I have heard rumors that there building next door might become a bakery. That's great. I pray they can do something this area doesn't have: bagels and/or donuts. We don't need more cookies and cupcakes in this area, and I can't think of better accoutrements to coffee for a place that closes at 2pm. My 5th star is reserved for when things settle down a bit, and when Farmhouse figures out just what they are. Right now, it's darn close to perfection in a town that needs it. Updated 4/2018 This place is the real deal. They're on QVC now! The staff is really great, and obviously have pride in their work. Since I wrote my review, they expanded their hours and have begun advertising ice cream next door. If I can only get my kids to behave enough to...

I am new to downingtown, and am missing the Gryphon cafe in Wayne; I did some research, some reconnaissance, read some reviews , and thought I might be in luck for a local replacement to the Gryphon's standards at the Farmhouse.

On Tuesday, I finally visited the Farmhouse, expressly to try a dark roast with a shot added, my 'go-to' at the Gryphon - I arrived during a second morning rush [ right before 9 am ] , and was encouraged to see many cars lined up at the drive through.

I parked, and went inside, to experience the ambiance; the Farmhouse is spacious, delightfully minimalist and warm.

I was impressed with the calm demeanor of the cafe host taking both drive through and inside orders simultaneously without missing a beat, though I was a bit startled when, upon taking my order, she asked, "Do you have a name?"

Wow. I have never been asked that; I truly had to think - Yes ! My parents did , in fact, name me ! Thank goodness ! I mean, after I left the Farmhouse, I did wonder just how long it took my parents to name me -

The moment of truth - A very expeditious fulfillment of my order - a dark roast with an extra shot and some half and half ...

... and to vastly disappointment upon my first sip - remarkably watery , considering the extra espresso shot added , and then bitter - a high bitter, right as I sipped - and zero depth - just ...watery.

I had been eyeing the donuts , and pastries in general, as I awaited the order; they do look very tempting - I note the review of an individual who loves the donuts - they truly beckoned me, and were not too big, not too small -

Hmmm.

I thought maybe I was over reacting to the absolute watery, rinsed out taste; the next day, I actually went to the Evil Death Star Starbucks, and ordered the exact same thing, to compare - I so wanted to like the Farmhouse, but even Starbucks delivered in a basic way the clarity of depth a dark roast and shot should give over to the palate .

I managed approximately four sips, and then retired the cup. I honestly could not drink any more - just too flavorless .

I will go back, but not for coffee; I will quietly observe their brewing technique, and try to figure out why Farmhouse produces such a slight cup, even as I am biting into their very intriguing donut offerings -

Some years ago, I had the remarkable fortune to live in Princeton when the singular coffeehouse Small World opened - a revelation to experience; their Forte is divinely inspired - I would think the owner of the Farmhouse might benefit from a quick trip to their mecca of roasting ; in the very least to Wayne's Gryphon ...

I will hope the Farmhouse's donuts can sustain me [ I will follow up once I have tried them ] - 'course , it is not proper to bring a cup of my home pour over to drink while trying them -...

TLDR: Coffee is good and the glazed donuts are amazing. If you’re looking for a QUICK cup of coffee go somewhere else.

This place has some of the best coffee and donuts around. My husband and I are “coffee snobs” and this place has consistently been our go to for years. Unfortunately, the service here is terrible unless you come on a weekday during a slow time. We typically go on Sundays and there have been times we have waited for 40+ minutes in the drive through line. There must be some customers who order a truckload of stuff because once we get to the window our order is taken and we are on our way in 2-5 minutes - maybe they should have some designated spots for those with large orders to pull into so that the line can move faster.

As a side note the parking lot is terribly designed for a drive through and during busy times you may get stuck in the drive through line when you’re trying to park because they share an entry point.

We decided to try to use their online ordering system to see if that would speed things up at all - huge mistake. The online order receipt said the order would be ready in 25 min and we arrived 10 min after placing the order. Waited in the car for 10 more minutes (assuming that they were making our order and to get us closer to the time the site told us it would be ready) and then went inside and stood there while they served all other customers and then stood around after the rush died down. After about 20 minutes we got a text our order was ready, but still didn’t see our order and couldn’t get anyone’s attention. No one asked what we were waiting for, or even really noticed our presence even though at this point we were some of the only people standing at the pickup area and had been there for 20-30 min. When we finally caught someone to ask about our order they rudely told us we had to ASK THEM to prep our order. Why would you have an online ordering system if they don’t start the order until you get there and announce your arrival? That makes absolutely no sense, and during busy times it’s basically impossible to flag an employee down to even tell them you’re there. They might as well just get rid of the mobile ordering. By the time we left between the time we placed our order and when we received it was over an hour.

We’ve been loyal customers for over 2 years and we’ve always justified the long wait because we only go once a week and we are relatively patient people but waiting for over an hour for a cup of coffee and a donut is ridiculous. There are other options in the area we will be...