Farm to Table Catering and Cafe by Filomena — Restaurant in Town of Smithtown

As someone who has worked in service for many years and has catered events myself, I am very empathetic to anyone that works in this space. That being said, I feel compelled to leave this review due to the extreme lack of professionalism I experienced with Filomena from Farm To Table.

As we were finalizing our contract details, we were asking questions to try to understand where new costs were coming from and areas of the contract that there had been a miscommunication. Completely understandable and happens all the time. As we were discussing possible adjustments and trying to understand the final numbers, Filomena became very argumentative and continued to blow up at us for not being “happy”. She announced she no longer wanted to cater our wedding and pulled out a month before our date.

We didn’t argue with her at this point, partially because we were in shock and partially because we were relieved to no longer be working with her. On the way there, we had discussed how uncomfortable she made us but we kept it to ourselves because we didn’t want to shake anything up before the wedding.

Some examples:

I was on the carnivore diet during our tasting (I informed her beforehand) and she made numerous judgmental comments about my diet rather than accommodating as anyone in service should.

Our families live partially out of state and my father is deceased so we couldn’t fill up a full table for our tasting (we called ahead twice and informed) and when we arrived, she guilted us and made the whole dinner feel pointless.

She would constantly talk over me, belittle us for the questions we’d ask, and even talk down about her own staff.

These are just a few of the many issues we had. It’s hard to recall every detail as many months have passed.

She did call me to apologize for her behavior a few days after she quit our contract, but I believe she only did this in hopes that I would not leave a negative review. I am leaving this in hopes of helping someone else who is booking an event to understand how she carries herself.

Edit*

The reply given by Filomena is an attempt to save face, which is understandable, but should be taken with a grain of salt.

The “cheaper option” she offered to us was 3 days after she had blown up and walked out of our meeting.

The failure to address that behavior as well as the others mentioned in my review, as well as judge me for leaving a review on my honeymoon (we took ours before the wedding) in her reply comment, clearly displays the qualities I was referring to.

Also, we 100% called in ahead about the carnivore diet. If there was a disconnect between you’re staff that’s not on us, and also not an excuse to treat people the...

Filomena has a gift when it comes to food. We are so incredibly happy we found her and grateful for her help throughout the entire process. She executes with an unpretentious confidence that trickles down through her staff, food, and service.

We hosted a backyard wedding and what her and her team were able to do with 200 square feet of prep space was incredible.

Everything from cocktail hour to the after party snacks was outstanding. Food recommendations at end of review.

She and her team are fully capable and equipped to handle whatever the day throws at them. Our entire town lost power 90 minutes before guests showed up and they were able to shift on the fly. I repeat, MY ENTIRE TOWN LOST POWER ON MY WEDDING DAY and it didn’t stop anyone in their tracks. That alone is reason for a five-star review.

We left all logistics and execution to Filomena and her team’s very capable hands and we couldn’t be happier. It’s like they were there, but they weren’t. Operations were fluid, food was incredible, and our guests (and we) were blown away by the service. Her staff was friendly and accommodating.

The food was so good we wish she did meal plans but we will be certain to leverage her catering for future parties and events. We didn’t have the chance to try everything but considering that all food was gone by the end of the night and the leftovers we’ve been enjoying are still delicious, we can vouch that Filomena is long island’s best. Lastly, with weddings as with life, you get what you pay for and Filomena and her team were worth every penny.

Food Reccos:

The Lamb Chops - Guests were hunting down runners for these. No joke, many a photo of guest with chop in hand.

Shrimp Scampi - Some of the best and most tender shrimp I’ve ever had and I had my first bite the day after the wedding…

Key Lime Pie - Perfectly tart, lime zest in the whipped cream, just enough graham cracker, perfect custard.

Moussaka - I’m Greek and this is the perfect rendition of moussaka sans cinnamon. Will please both Greeks and Non-Greeks.

Chicken Piccata - The family is still debating how she gets the chicken so tender. Is it sous vide? Is it brined? Is it delicately steamed? Who knows, who cares, it was awesome!

The Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup bites were an Hors D’oeuvre that we didn’t know we needed in our lives until we had them on our wedding day.

Meatballs - If we had a wedding dinner that was composed entirely of meatballs and focaccia, I know plenty of guests who would have been thrilled.

Foods we didn’t try but heard were great: Cheese cake Cannolis

Vegan, GF, DF,...

From planning to execution, Farm to Table Catering by Filomena was wonderful to work with. The owner Filomena, worked closely with us every step of the way. She met with us several times to aid in planning, offering samples of her excellent food and offering advice based on her years of catering experience. Her confidence when giving service suggestions alleviated many of our big anxieties about our wedding (e.g. do we have enough tables, how many bar stations do we need, etc.). Her service the day of the event was organized, professional and incredibly responsive. Thank you in particular to Jess for looking after me and my wife during our big day.

As mentioned above, the food prepared by Filomena and her staff was incredible. The guests could not decide what they enjoyed more! Some of our favorites included the stuffed chicken breast with artichoke, mozzarella and pesto; the grilled cheese served over tomato soup appetizers, and the grilled flank steak with chimichurri.

I would 100% recommend Farm To Table Catering and Cafe by Filomena to any friends, family, and even random strangers in need of great food for...