Farm Neck Cafe — Restaurant in Oak Bluffs

This was going to be the first brunch outing my husband and I participated in post-pandemic. Since breakfast is personally my favorite meal of the day, I was especially looking forward to this reservation. We have been to the Farm Neck Cafe many times over the years, each new experience serving us better than our memories. So we felt confident in our choice of restaurant to re-engage with professionally executed breakfast cuisine.

We booked our reservation through Open Table. A 10:30 am seating was the latest availability for that morning. Although some, including myself, might call that early for Sunday brunch, we were just happy to be going out again and didn't mind adjusting our schedule to accommodate this timeframe.

Unfortunately, despite booking our table days in advance, our arrival at Farm Neck contained nothing but disappointment. We walked into the restaurant and met the hostess at the entrance. She looked kind of worried when she saw us walk in, and we said we had a reservation for two at 10:30. She looked at the computer, said she saw our reservation but that, unfortunately, Open Table did not yet reflect their new times. She proceeded to inform us that breakfast ended at 10 am and lunch began at 11 am. She said the courtesy "I'm sorry" s that felt more insincere than ever, and we left without extending the conversation further.

In summary, the table we booked didn't even exist within the restaurant's dining timeframe. If there is a discrepancy between your actual and advertised hours, which you are aware of, why wouldn't you follow up to clarify the reservation details of a booking request you've received outside of current dining hours? Would that not be a clear indication that something has gone amiss? Is it typical for restaurants to be unaware of upcoming reservations until after the people walk through the door? Former experiences with calls ahead to confirm attendance would prove this otherwise. It also seems unrealistic that a restaurant and club that caters to the creme de la creme of this country would be incapable of performing such simple administrative tasks.

Instead, today we fell prey to the inefficiency of this year's staff. And our Sunday morning was sacrificed to this mistake. If, say, we had received a call yesterday, we could have planned ahead and tried to make reservations elsewhere or maybe made entirely different plans for our morning. But as we pull away from the restaurant at 10:45 am, leading right into what should be prime brunch hours precisely when the island season has officially begun, and it's impossible to find tables anywhere last minute, we walk away acknowledging that one of our few Sunday mornings on the island has been completely wasted, and our time disrespected.

For clarity, we do not doubt that the food here is probably excellent as always. We have frequented the Cafe many times over the past few years and had nothing but positive experiences. We realize that these issues are probably due to staffing shortages the entire island seems to be experiencing. Unfortunately, these facts do not make our experience today any less disrespectful or any less true. This rating is only regarding the issues...

First time at this first class restaurant. Restaurant sits on world renown golf course. Translation: Famous people have played here.

Sat outside on the netted and covered patio. Tables are amply set apart for those who have covid concerns. Warm greetings at the entry. Service was attentive and timely. We came for lunch. My meal was delicious and filling. Had a hamburger; cooked to specification($22.) You can taste that the meat is prime. Others in our party had different items and no complaints from anyone. No room for dessert. Prices are as you expect at a country club restaurant. Menu with prices online. Dress Casual but not grungy.

Do you know where the restaurant got its name? I didn't but someone at our table guessed correctly! I will leave it to you to find out...

We loved this restaurant. The power salad with salmon was perfect. Very light but enough sustenance to get through the day. Our waiter, Forest, was not very friendly and he didn't remove the items requested from the burger nor did he order the correct side. But the other staff we encountered were very nice and very helpful. They had great customer service. The salmon and cod sandwich (the day's special) was amazing! The bathroom was nice and clean. The location was overall beautiful. We would absolutely...