The Herbfarm — Restaurant in Woodinville

Another Triumph

I don’t think I have ever reviewed the same restaurant twice however I must say that The Herbfarm is my all time favorite restaurant. Now under new management with chef Chris Weber and Jack Gingrich it is now a chef-owned establishment. Over the recent years I’ve enjoyed 2 and 3 Michelin star restaurants from Guy Savoy to Alain Ducasse and I can say with firm confidence that The Herbfarm is on par with these titans. When I boast to friends and family I describe eating there as a ‘total experience’. We will get to the food, of course, but by ‘experience’ I mean that from the moment you walk through the quaint rustic entrance and are immersed in a 1920s-meets-Harry-Potter eclectic ambience, your adventure begins. The staff know you by name and have gleaned information from when you made your reservation. Following the speak-easy feel, the first hour is absorbed roaming the property both inside and out while amuse Bouche and cocktails circulate around you. The executive chef himself walks you through the farm to table ingredients which are all locally sourced. If, like me, you enjoy wine then a quick stop by their massive and renowned wine cellar for a brief tutorial with their very enthusiastic sommelier Ryan Aguirre is a must. Finally, guests are seated in the main hall which is a master stroke in unique design that feels both rustically cozy and whimsical. As the wine is poured chef Weber introduces the ENTIRE staff as if they were all one big family and walks you through his vision of the monthly special menu (ours was themed ‘The Harvest Table’). While the superb and knowledgeable service staff starts the 9 course expedition, Patricio Contreras, a Madrid Royal Conservatory trained guitarist, strums in the background. When I mentioned Michelin stars before I wanted to emphasize that chef Weber’s culinary skills are beyond impressive. Opening with ‘Cascade to Coast’: Black pudding with sweet onion and rose, winter squash with tarragon, and salad of clams with celery root vinegar cubed and jello’d drizzled with dill oil. This opening sample plate demonstrated the broad range and skill set of the chef right out of the gate. Small, yet impactful tastings sourced from all over the northwest. Next was ‘Smoke on the Water’: smoked Neah Bay black cod with yogurt, marigold kosho, steamed bok choy and braised daikon radish. Black cod cooked to perfection with tantalizing favors competing for attention. Elegantly presented and beautifully described by the serving staff which also included the chef and the manager on occasion. Then ‘Root of the Menu’: Salt crust baked celery root with chanterelle and Chelan saffron sabayon. This was one of my favorites as the celery root was so thinly sliced it seemed very much like Pappardelle noodles soaking up one of the most delicious saffron sauces I’ve ever tasted. ‘Pining for Roy’: Flint corn porridge with pine mushrooms and sunchoke lemon verbena sauce. Again a table favorite with our party. Warm, complex, leaving you pining for more with every bite. ‘Beef and Brassica’: Sage crusted beef zabuton with Salal. Mille fuille of blue cheese butter basted cabbage. Mouth watering and perfectly cooked zabuton, Weber chooses an unlikely cut that masterfully absorbs and accentuates every flavor he pours into the dish. We ended the night with a fig leaf semifreddo topped with hardy kiwi and a hazelnut-rosemary praline, pumpkin mousse, and quince sorbet. I left out quite a bit of the menu but you can see pictures and a menu below. All in all, The Herbfarm continues to delight and impress. We cannot wait to return for another gustatory adventure and STRONGLY recommend to any and all who...

This is a very unique tasting menu located just outside of Seattle in the Woodinville “wine country.” This restaurant arranges “themed” menus that highlight the best local fare at the given moment. We came here for “salmon nation” at the time the copper river salmon first began shipping to the Seattle area. The dinner contains more “pomp and circumstance” than your traditional tasting menu.

Dinner begins 40 minutes early for the self-lead wine cellar / house tour and the “narrated” garden tour. Guests are served beverages and amuse’s to curb their appetite. The co-owner then leads a tour of the garden that gives the history of the restaurant and an introduction to the herbs that will be used in your dinner. You also will get to meet the pigs that are used to recycle the leftover food products from the restaurant.

The guests are then introduced to their seats. We sat at the European table, which was a shared table of guests to dine with each other. This in and of itself is a story to tell. Upon seating you’re served champagne and your first course comes rather quickly. The champagne (or cava for our evening) is refilled rather readily. After the first course is served, the “show” begins: diners get a rather long introduction to the food and wine being served for the evening as well as a repeated history of the restaurant for those that didn’t show for the garden tour.

The remainder of the evening is relatively spared of the talking. However, each course is re-introduced to the diner as they come. Another way in which this already long evening is prolonged. We were presented with two “appetizers” of salmon, along with a delicious bread course, two “entrée” like portions of salmon each prepared rather uniquely (one sockeye and one king), a savory dessert course, a sweet dessert course, and a petit fours paired with coffee/tea.

In general, I was very happy with the food. I liked the wine, though I felt like the pours were stingy (was only refilled twice - once on the cava and once on another white) and felt inclined to order a glass of wine for all three of us near the end of the lengthy dinner.

All together, it was a very enjoyable and unique experience that I will not forget. Diners should recognize that if they show up at 620 - they may be there for a full 5 hours. It is a dinner party like meal where the hosts entertain one seating of guests for the entire night. Try the European table where you can enjoy the meal with other guests and make the experience even more unique. The “show” of the meal is perhaps the most unique part of the evening, but also the most lengthy. I wish there had been more wine to pair with the weekend for those of us who can drink more than others, and especially for the amount of money spent on...

I really want to give this place more stars as I had such high standards for the place. But I must be fair in my experience/taste. 3 Stars really isn't a bad thing - it just isn't great. I was recently taken here for a surprise birthday dinner, as I've always wanted to go here. Many people have raved about the foods and experience here. My experience was nothing short of a good time. The service was top notch and impeccable. The little details of serving from the left and removing from the right. The replacement of your napkin and table being reset EVERY TIME you leave your seat. The personalities of each staff member and the time they take to explain each meal and answer any questions. The extra mile of giving my gf a shawl when they noticed when she was cold. Those made the experience enjoyable - but still not "blow me away" as that's expected from a AAA 5-Diamond restaurant. The food was nothing short of creative and artistic. All herbs were grown right out their own garden, cooked by local chefs and even paired with local wines. To my dismay - it was far from the best foods I've ever had. I'm no connoisseur when it comes to fine dining but I am when it comes to my own pallette. Though just about everything I had was very tasty, I still wasn't blown away. It was good food, not great/amazing food. And for over $250 per person, I'd expect nothing less than amazing. My favorite dish was the quail stuffed with duck con feit, delectable and unique but not much more flavorful than other dishes that I've had of quail. Despite the meals being small portions - I was more than full by the end of the night. We even sprung for a $50 cup of Kopi Luwak at the end of the meal to see what all the hype was. The presentation of the coffee was pretty cool, but I wasn't overly impressed by the hype of the coffee. Tasted like very smooth coffee but not amazing. I'm not much of a coffee drinker to begin with so what do I know?

Overall - still a great place and a cool experience that I won't forget. I may come back again if I find greater interest in the foods being prepared - but bang for buck - I can't say it was all there. I've had similar experiences in fine dining in my time but I've had better prepared meals for a lot less of price. I simply didn't see the...