Farm and Craft Scottsdale — Restaurant in Scottsdale

Used to LOVE this place, but they keep getting rid of everything on their menu… Menu just keeps getting smaller too as they aren’t replacing these items w/ anything. They basically want ppl to pay like $40-$50 for a bowl of tahini, 3 pineapple chunks, & some farro… Nothing even really cooked or prepared, & yes, you have to pay extra to add protein… Having gotten rid of everything on their menu but the really crappy flatbreads you can get ANYWHERE else & the not very good ‘bowls’ they have that don’t come with any protein & are a little too bold on the exploratory flavor profiles, of which you can also find better elsewhere for cheaper. Why would I go to farm & craft for this when EVERYONE has ‘bowls’ & ‘flat breads’ & they’re going to be cheaper, BETTER MADE, & taste better virtually anywhere else? One of the things that I used to 1200 calories a day diet…. Lol. It doesn’t have to taste like crap to be acceptably ‘healthy’. I mean, if I just wanted to eat a handful of raw carrots or something like I wouldn’t need to go to farming craft and spend a bunch of money… I could easily just bring some in a sandwich bag with me to work and pay like a couple of cents for those 4 baby carrots, lol… So yea… It’s just incredibly disappointing to find they’ve now apparently just deleted probably the last item left on their menu I still come to Farm & Craft to get, despite the fact I’ve really had to TRY to find anything else there I can eat that doesn’t taste like eating dirt, to go along W/ the one last item /side dish there I still really liked & often crave, so that way I don’t have to order from 2-3 diff restaurants just to put together a halfway fresh/decent meal… lol. A 1/2 a sandwich/soup cup from Panera, a small bite of kale Caesar & a 1/4 cup side of farro mac from Farm & Craft, && maybe I can make my 30min lunch break work! Lol… Idk.. It’s just disappointing & a little ridiculous that like all things in this country these days, even our dietary situation has become one of extremism… With no food really avail. to those who just wanna eat a normal diet… Everything either being Massively fattening & gluttonous grease trap absolute garbage-monster food… Or the alternative being you can live off of a couple of seeds and nuts and like raw vegetables with no sauces, toppings, or flavors, and just like live like an insect for the rest of your life… So yeah I mean you’re either eating so incredibly skim It’s borderline food disordered… OR you can be a fat ass glutton if dining out in this country. Lol, I guess THOSE are your only two options… Sad… Sad that ppl don’t know how to properly balance their eating habits & intake & are apparently so ignorant as to their own self care that the only way they know how to control themselves & not be gluttons, is to apparently totally starve themselves cuz I guess just moderating their freaking intake is too much work/effort…

So yea, they already did away with Lasagna, the farro steak wrap, the grass fed burger, lol the whole darn menu… Now if they’ve also even gotten rid of the freaking side dishes too… The ONLY freaking ‘good’ food still left on their menu (these very nicely made creative little side dishes with flavor profiles that actually make sense such as maple bacon & sprouts, farro mac, pesto shrooms, etc.), then yea, I’m DEF done with this place & unfortunately have to grieve the loss of yet ANOTHER one of my favorite Scottsdale restaurants… Cuz yea, I won’t be gracing this place with my business anymore.. There won’t be any reason left to ever come here, sadly.. I hope that’s not the case, but I gotta say… This place has REALLY gone downhill with the food & service & atmosphere ever since they started changing virtually everything about the place…. && I wish I could say it’s not more disappointing than if they were never on my radar...

If I had to rate the overall experience at Farm and Craft, I’d have to give it 3 stars, but I’ll rate it on three main components separately: 1) Ambiance, 2) Service, 3) Food.

1. Ambiance - The restaurant has a trendy vibe and reminded me of eating at places throughout LA. The lights were bright enough. The layout of the restaurant accommodated patrons that wanted to eat inside and outside. Unfortunately, I came on a night where it was close to 40 degrees, so it was pretty cold outside. The staff kept doors to the restaurant open, so even though my group ate inside, it was as if we were eating outside. Throughout the night, a member of our table personally closed a sliding door 8 times, only for the staff to leave it wide open each time they saw it close, which was unnecessary. I personally froze, so if you come on a cold night, expect to wear your jacket indoors, if you even bring the jacket. This cut into the mood at my table as we spent majority of the meal shivering through each bite.

2. Service - We had an 8pm reservation and showed up a couple minutes before. Usually after checking in at the front, a host or hostess usually would greet you and tell you your table will be ready shortly. On three separate occasions, the hostess ignored our group instead of greeting us and telling us she’d be with us for a minute before seating us. While waiting, there were a couple servers that also ignored us, until our eventually server told us that the hostess would be right with us. At 8pm on a Friday night, the restaurant was busy, but it seemed understaffed. It took 10 minutes for our server to take out drink orders after we’d been seated and an additional 10 minutes just to be served waters afterward. Once the crowd began to die down, we got a bit more attention, however this wasn’t until the entrees were served. Our server Lisa was very kind, attentive (when her busy night would allow), and knowledgeable on the menu. Overall the staff seemed scattered and not happy to be at the restaurant (aside from Lisa), which cut into the service we received.

3. Food - The food at Farm and Craft was solid. Two of us ordered cocktails and wine, which were enjoyable, while the other two ordered lemonade, which contained the right amount of sweetness. For an appetizer we enjoyed the nachos, which were the perfect amount of cheesy and spicy, and perfect for a table of four. Overall, the entrees steered toward the healthier side of the scale. I ordered the chicken fried rice, which was a brown rice, overcome by its accompanying soy sauce covering. While still salty, I did manage to finish the whole dish. Other dishes at our table included the veggie tacos, Farro mac and cheese, and lasagna, each of which were enjoyable. For dessert, our table ordered the dairy free ice cream and the tiramisu. The ice cream was coconut based and very refreshing with a blueberry lavender taste. The tiramisu has a heavy chocolatey taste, which overcame any rum flavoring it had.

Overall, Farm and Craft was mediocre at best in its full experience. If there are better restaurants on your list to choose from, I would suggest...

We only had drinks and a side of mac and cheese, so I can't weigh in too heavily on the food. Drinks were good, but both food and drinks came with some unexpected price increases. We were upcharged for substituting penne pasta with the mac and cheese, per the recommendation of some patrons sitting next to us. Pasta is cheap, and it all costs about the same, so this didn't seem justifiable. Also, when we ordered a martini and were asked what kind of Vodka we wanted, we chose Titos. We were charged $12 for the martini, PLUS another $4.00 for Titos, which is a relatively cheap vodka (you can buy a whole bottle for roughly $20 retail). In both cases of the upcharges, I feel the servers had an obligation to let the guests know ahead of time. I don't like surprises like that. That said, the place had a cool vibe and Juan, the bartender was great, so we'd probably give it a second try. I had to give service a 3 though because the hostess that greeted us when we got there (I didn't catch her name but it was a young African American girl working on 3/1/24) was SOOO rude! I was just healing from a broken ankle surgery, so I asked if we could sit at one of the empty booths outside so I could put my leg up, as it was swelling quite a bit. She had us wait until she came back with an answer that it would be a 45 minute wait for that table. The bar was half empty at this time, so I was pretty steamed, especially considering that I had shared my medical condition with her. What made me even more ticked off though was that no one ever sat at that table the whole time we were there. Unacceptable! If the table was reserved, I have no problem with being told we can only sit for an hour or whatever, before the reservation comes in, but why was it a 45 minute wait?? The hostess was just plain rude and unwilling to accommodate. She should not be working in the service...