the urban Farmhouse market & café (Shockoe Slip) — Restaurant in Richmond

My girlfriend and I, along with another couple, went to the Urban Farmhouse on March 11, 2017 for a quick bite to eat. It was about 9:30 in the morning, and the place was about ½ full. There were only a few people in line before us. My girlfriend ordered our sandwiches, which were the Virginia Ham & Egg breakfast sandwiches, to be served on Croissants. She paid, and the wait began. The couple with us ordered a bacon and egg sandwich, also on a croissant, and waited at the table with us.

Approximately 20 minutes later, my girlfriend went to the counter, anticipating that surely our food must be getting close to being ready. It was not. The person behind the counter asked her what she wanted, and my girlfriend stated that she was looking for our sandwiches. Well, apparently, there was a problem that they hadn’t gotten around to sharing with us yet. So, it would seem that the farm to table Virginia ham was not available. Why? Because it was still…wait for it…FROZEN. Yep, frozen solid. No longer an option. But they would be happy to replace it with bacon. At this point, we just wanted to eat…we’d already invested too much time here, and wanted food. So, we agreed to the bacon replacement.

Another 10 minutes go by and our sandwiches were “ready”. My girlfriend was a bit surprised as she picked up our order and noticed that the croissants we ordered had been substituted with bagels. She went back to the counter to inquire about it, and they said that she hadn’t ordered croissants. She held her ground and stated that she most certainly had, and was told that the croissants weren’t big enough for the sandwiches anyway, and that we should just take the bagels. Now, at 30 minutes into this excursion, I’m livid. The bacon was burnt, the bagels were stale, and we didn’t have anything remotely close to the sandwiches we ordered and paid for, save for the seemingly microwaved eggs. The part that I found most upsetting was that there was not so much as an apology from the staff…rather a smug, “take it or leave it” attitude, with total disregard to customer service.

Now that we had our food, we waited for the other couple we were with to get their food, so as not to be rude. Theirs came about 7 or 8 minutes later. The bacon sandwich that they ordered on a croissant was served to them on bread. He took the sandwich up and said that it, too, was wrong, and was told that they had not ordered a croissant. He stated that he most assuredly did order a croissant and was told that they could remake the sandwich with a croissant, but that there would be an upcharge for the croissant! No apology for making it wrong in the first place, no regard for the length of time that we’d spent there so far, only a smug concern about a $1 upcharge for a croissant. Not wanting to belabor the point and spend any more time in the establishment than we had to, we all ate our wrong orders and left…never to return.

I’m very disappointed in the experience. What could have been a quaint dining experience, featuring local farm to table foods, was ultimately ruined by really one person who apparently has not learned that the lifeblood of any business is their customers…and if you don’t treat the customers with at least a little bit of respect, you can’t possibly expect that they’ll come back, or recommend the place to any of their friends. We...

Having already been to Citizen twice this week I decided to nurse my hangover with a more traditional breakfast.

I was drawn in by the location which looks much brighter and more inviting in the day time. I fully expected a bakery and/or a coffee house and/or a café, but really got a little of each. Jack of all trades, master of none.

My Green tea soy latte was steeped and not with macha powder which slightly disappointed me, but the drink itself was no latte and a prime example of places trying to do too much. It was warm water with a splash of milk and a tea bag. Forgettable and I did not finish.

Breakfast I was fully expecting a wonderful play on local, artisanal culinary work that came up short. Overcooked eggs in the scramble, overcooked Virginia had because Virginia ham is just delicious. Not much in the way of seasoning I went against using ketchup and opted for the Asian Thai hot sauce which was a good idea. The toast was soft and barely buttered.

The actual service was pleasant as was the furniture and decorations. I almost bought the cycling jersey's they sell, but they had no mens Large and the jerseys were to casual. We're not race or Italian cut/sized. I also wanted a full kit and not just a jersey.

Bathrooms are actually really nice, but the speakers blare as if they are in the bathroom and it's just annoying.

I dig the compost, recyclables and trash bins and didn't mind cleaning up after myself even though I think they were overstaffed and could easily offer this service. The water fountain was strange.

So much to like, yet so much they drop...

Tourist trap.

I found the staff to be low on energy and not inviting at all - feels like they do you a favour for being there.

I have not tried the food but from what I could see it looked pre-made low on nutrients beige type of stuff.

Their double espresso is okay, hence the one star, but they use Costco own oat milk as an alternative - considering the prices they could at least use some quality vegetable milk.

Their fruits are pretty sad looking. They also sale these European delicacies which are overpriced and pretty much not delicacies back home.

They open the “farmhouse” at 07:00 so one morning I was at their door at 06:55. The woman that takes the order was in, she saw me, turned to a guy and started talking to each other w/ me waiting at the door. No “hey, we are not open yet” or “sorry, we will open in 10mins”. Just blank faces, no emotions. Then 07:00 came and nothing. I waved, maybe they will realise they can open the door but nothing. So awkward. I waited another 7ish mins, I tried the door again. Them both were looking at me like I was from another planet. Fine by me, if you don’t want my money. Your loss, not mine. That was the last time I went there.

If I ever visit Richmond again, I would rather go to Starbucks for a double espresso and a matcha w/o any added sugar/syrups/ice/powders/etc.

Overall, nothing remarkable about this place. It’s just an overpriced, overcrowded, not very clean and sad “farmhouse...