The Farmhouse Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Spearfish

3 strike and you’re out! I really, really wanted to see this place impress just one time. Now having dined here 3 times it appears that it’s just not in the card for this place. The previous 2 times if dining at the Farm House in Spearfish, SD something has always fallen short. The first the service was inattentive with so many basics of service being missed, (no refills on waters, not checking in on how the food was tasting, not much knowledge of the menu, etc.) The food was ok. Cooking techniques were executed correctly and seasoning were in line. On our second trip the server was much more personable, friendly and was very much more “in tune” to the flow of our party. The food on the other was missing the mark all over the place. Wilted and slimy greens on the lettuce, duck wing appetizer that were so overcooked you may as well chewed on a bone. Fried green tomatoes that were undercooked the batter was still runny inside. That brings us to this evening s experience where they knocked it out of the park in all the wrong ways. Tonight was just two of us dining. The restaurant was far from busy. We order the Salmon and the Wild mushroom bowl. The mushroom bowl lacked much flavor complexity but made up for it in Saltiness. Still edible but….. really pushed it. The Salmon on the other hand….. I think a salt lick would have be easier to eat. Now is where it gets fun. The server came by to ask us how our entrees where and I said it is just too salty to eat, to which she replied “oh I’m sorry to hear that” and then walked away. She then came back a few minutes later and said the “I can offer you a complimentary dessert.” To which I replied “No thank you I’m not in the mood for dessert” she sad “ok” and left. A couple of minutes later she came back and dropped off our $85 check (2 entree, 3 drinks) and now we are swinging by Burger King to get dinner we can eat.

UPDATE: Well it’s hard to believe that this could get worse. After posting my review, I have now been attacked by a staff member via Social media. He has trolled my person FB page and attacked my F&F that have left comments on my review. A quick little back go myself, I have actually been a restaurant owner and chef myself. I have a live for the business and am very compassionate with it come to off nights. (This is a major reason why I never judge a restaurant on one experience alone. In my 25+ years of being in the hospitality business, I have never seen a staff member of a restaurant behave and act the way this individual has toward a guest! I have post the screen shots of just a few of his postings. I have spoke with owner but yet to see a resolution to this situation. Patron be warned that if something isn’t to your liking and you try to address it, you may be in for...

**1 star solely based on unprofessionalism and callous behavior of the owner and the treatment we received.

10 of us had this trip planned for a year to visit our 2 friends who are residents of Deadwood. They are regulars at this establishment and made reservations for the private room months in advanced for a bday dinner for 12 of us at 6pm. It was a milestone bday celebration and week long end to our trip. Instead, the private room was occupied by another party and we got seated at the high top table in front of the bar. We had 3 elderly adults who had difficulty due to joint issues and definitely not safe for our 3 toddlers at this height.

What made this F’d up, was that our friends came here 10 days ago to dine, confirm and received a tour from the owner, himself!!! They even reserved on the online system.

We did not receive an explanation or genuine apology from the owner. No offer of complimentary desserts or HBD except for “sorry it was probably a misunderstanding” from the manager regarding the owner. Apparently, the owner was in the back and refused to come out to address the issue.

Very unprofessional of the owner to keep his word and not deliver. I would think twice about ever dining here again and boycott this restaurant.

We have dined next door at Gao (Vietnamese) and Saywer (woodfired pizzas) while on this trip. I would go there again to support them over Farmhouse!

Food:

We got pasta ($29) in beer cream sauce with 6 mussels and 6 pork belly pieces. Added soup of the day (chicken and rice) for an additional $3.

Fried chicken thigh w gravy on top and side dishes of mash potatoes and collard greens ($22). The presentation for this dish was not evenly plated. They either needed to use a smaller plate or give another piece of chicken. Presentation is everything but there was an empty space on the round plate.

Both dishes were tasty. The kitchen forgot our pasta and our server caught it immediately as she brought out our chicken and gave us another soup until the pasta came.

This was quick thinking on her part and she reacted to a situation and solved the problem. If only, the owner did the same.

The service from the hostess and server is not to blame in this situation. They were great. Food was decent with tourist prices.

Overall, we had high expectation and looked forward all week to a wonderful celebration in a secluded room. We are forever disappointed and scarred by this...

When we got to Spearfish we weren’t really sure what we were expecting the food experiences to be like. We assumed American Midwest vibes and killer bison options. We stopped into The Farmhouse on our second day. We had the meatballs and we were instantly intrigued! We have traveled and tried cuisines across the globe. This was unique in all of the best ways. The service was outstanding, friendly, and we felt right at home. The drink menu was well rounded with a little something for every pallet. The menu was very different than other restaurants in the area. Every bite was full of flavor and perfectly balanced. We ended up coming back 2 times (would’ve been 3 but we barely missed brunch). We had the meatballs (pictured below) and the apple walnut salad the first time. We over heard there was a carrot ginger soup, but were too full to try it. We sampled a few other restaurants and were underwhelmed to say the least. On our second visit we had the soup of the day, an amazing tomato basil, and the apple cabbage grilled cheese KILLER COMBO! Again we were too full to try anything else, but knew we needed to! Missed brunch (rookie mistake) and came back the day before we headed home. We shared the Tuscan salad, PB&J (trust me it is not that you think it is), and the most divine bread pudding. I cannot recommend this place enough! Go, try everything, and then go back for more! Meredith, Christopher, and Jeremiah have brought something truly special...