The Farm and Fisherman

I know they’re closing the Philly location so this review is kind of pointless but we had a fantastic meal here last night and typing about it will help me relive the delectable flavors so here we go.
I had an unused giftcard for this cute lil BYO from 2013 (unsure how I let that happen), so when I read online that they would be closing I went into a panic and immediately booked a reservation for 4 for Sunday night. I will say there was some confusion surrounding my party size and reservation time, but let’s just chalk that up to a last-​weekend-​open snafu. No biggie.
First of all, you had me at BYO. The restaurant was empty upon arrival, and my boyfriend and his parents and I were seated nearest the kitchen. I liked the clean and simple look of the place. Our wine and water glasses were consistently full, and our waitress offered to answer any questions that we might have had about the menu (it’s kind of an intimidating menu, to be honest). The menu is designed to be a flight of 3 courses, but we each went with 2 and had plenty of food to share amongst the four of us. The parker house rolls that were brought out at the beginning of the meal were delicious and fluffy. This is turning into a 50 pager (South Park, anyone?) so I’ll try to keep it short from here on out. Just note though– this is no cheap date. 8 plates ran us about 200 dollars.
–Asparagus risotto: 5 stars
–Spring soup: 5 stars
–Bass: 5 stars
–Steak: 4.5 stars
–Pasta with ragu: 4.5 stars
— Mackarel: 4.5 stars
–Chicken: 4 stars
Not only were these plates delicious, fresh, and filling, but the presentation was downright artistic. Beautiful job.
We were too full for dessert but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, since I expected this to be one of those «let’s charge 30 dollars a plate for a portion appropriate for a 5 year old of some fancy food that no one knows how to pronounce» places.

If you’ve never dined at The Farm and Fisherman, then please drop what you’re doing and go immediately. If you are a regular, you may have one last time to lineup, and get a seat in their superb and lovely dining room. Sorry, had to do it, as The Farm and Fisherman will be closing its doors very soon.
After a long, busy, and stressful night at work, I felt I didn’t want to spend another tough occasion home alone (it was Mother’s Day.) I was tired and stressed; all what I needed was s a gift that doesn’t need to be wrapped. I booked a lonely table just for one, and I survived my awesome brunch, thanks to Rachel, my awesome waitress. She made my visit very enjoyable.
As soon as I saw the innovative brunch menu, I was torn between ordering two small plates and a dessert, or one main dish and a desert. Rachel gave me her opinion on different items on the menu, and I literally wanted to order everything. I decided not to contain myself and get one main dish: Chicken Roasted in Hay (brilliant & delicious,) and a dessert (was something with strawberry & mascarpone whipped cream.) After enjoying few sips of my first coffee of the day, Rachel returned to my table with a small plate of Ricotta Crostini as a compliments of the chef. (Astonishing, I know!)
How many times have you gotten psyched about some delicious farm-​to-​table food, that you just couldn’t forget the tasty difference?!
Farm and Fisherman, even when you close down, you’ll always be one of my favorites.
Four and half Unilocal

Lovely farm-​to-​table spot that does BYOB.
Delicious menu — we struggled to do not order everything. Everything seem fresh and tasty in that way that actual food tastes unlike the Sysco sourced food we eat about everywhere else.
Handsome and warm dining room. Equally warm (and, sure, handsome) staff.
Wonderful dinner — if this was in my neighborhood it would be our go-​to. Also, don’t go here during that week where you want to give up bread as their Parker House rolls are spectacular.
Two minor things.
The beet steak (which everyone recommended) was odd in that the skin of the beet was still on there and proved to make things a bit more messy. Meh.
Things moved a bit slow. That’s not an issue, really. You’re here for a nice evening already. We sat without wine or bread for way too long and our first course took excessively long to arrive. Maybe it was because I was starving that I noticed that.
All said, great dinner!

So glad I was able to eat at The Farm and Fisherman before it closes! I took my boyfriend there for his birthday last night and it was by far our favorite farm to table restaurant in Philly.
We shared the Bloody Beet Steak for starters — very flavorful and juicy! Just a heads up this is a beet and not an actual steak :)
I got the asparagus risotto for a second course which was super rich and creamy. Then I had the chicken for my main course. The meat was super fresh and moist but I wasn’t loving the cheese spätzle that it was prepared with.
We had 5 total dishes for only $ 100 which I think is a tremendous value for the high quality and size of the meals. And it’s a BYOB so you can save money on booze!

OK, so I really really WANTED to love this place… but, I just didn’t! I’ve heard rave reviews, so we decided to give it a try for our anniversary. Don’t get me wrong, everything was good, but just not like, memorable or amazing and definitely didn’t stick in my mind as a «we NEED to come back here» kind of place. As a matter of fact, I really couldn’t even tell you what we ordered to eat here – that’s how underwhelming it all was. The only thing I vaguely remember was the dessert, the salted caramel napoleon something or other… which again, was good, but not GREAT and/​or memorable in any way.

Very nice meal.
I believe the chef should taste some of the dishes post-​prep for balance. We had two dishes with hardly any seasoning.
The ingredients themselves stood firmly and were tasty because they were of impeccable quality. However, a bit of salt would be nice.
A nice place for farm to table, inventive, clean flavors.

I still remember the first time I came to the Farm and Fisherman, back at the beginning of the farm-​to-​table craze. The restaurant has grown in leaps in bounds since then, with great service, beautiful plating, and an exciting and cohesive menu that showcases the flora and fauna of the Northeast beautifully.
The space is intimate, simple but classy. Despite close quarters and a full restaurant, the sound level stayed surprisingly quiet. Our server was knowledgeable and friendly, and our dishes arrived promptly.
The food itself is beautiful — each dish looks like a piece of art. I ordered the smoked mushroom salad; the ingredients, from tart kumquat to smoky mushroom, created a vibrant palate of different flavors and textures. The hamachi crudo was amazing as well — the orange juice perfectly highlighted the natural sweetness of the fish, and the fish itself was velvety and incredibly fresh. I had the poached egg as my second course — the flavors were all wonderful, though I would have liked some more brioche to balance out the liquid from the egg and the saltiness of the pancetta.
For mains, I had the lamb loin, which was just amazing. The lamb was incredibly tender and the preserved blueberries provided the perfect tangy accent. The chicken baked in hay was good, but unfortunately, we could not taste the sweet, grassy flavor supposedly imparted into the chicken by the hay; that delicate flavor may have been overpowered by the curry and all-​spice that flavored the vegetables.
The desserts were both excellent — I loved the decadent, slightly salty taste of the chocolate napoleon, but the more mellow panna cotta was lovely as well.
The chef has a lot of creativity and really knows how to make local ingredients sing. We only booked a table because we heard that the Farm and Fisherman will soon be moving to the suburbs, and we regret that we did not try them out sooner. It is wonderful to find a restaurant where subsequent visits improve on prior ones in every way — I look forward to visiting them as they move onto their next chapter.

We went for our anniversary and it was a solid experience, but didn’t blow my socks off. The room, as others have stated, is small and tables are close together. I wish the lights had been dim to add a bit more ambience. Our server was attentive and appeared at all the right times. We had all 3 courses, plus dessert and coffee… final tab was 125. I’d write what we had, but hell, the place changes its menu frequently and closes altogether in May, so I’ll save some typing.

One of the last bastions of traditional intimate white table cloth dining that Philly has! A really lovely BYO venue with innovative, fresh, farm-​to-​table fare and a quiet atmosphere at a nice price point.
I made a reservation to take my girlfriend on a date a while in advance and was not disappointed after hyping myself up for it! The service was friendly but not at all pretentious or overbearing and the food was all great. While the menu has 3 separate savory courses listed, the waiter indicated that it’s designed to be 2 courses and a dessert. That being said, we each ordered 2 courses, shared a «first course» and also had dessert but were very full at the end.
We started with a hamachi crudo with fennel, orange, tapioca, and radish that was finished with a drizzle of orange infused olive oil that was a great hit of brightness to wake up our palettes for the following courses. There were very nice pieces of fish, with adequate portions to share and be satisfied with.
Next, I had the spaghetti with a venison ragout that was very rich and earthy, and it was quite obvious the pasta was made in house or very locally because it had a freshness that can’t be found in a box. The pieces of venison were nice and the sauce was light enough to work with a more delicate noodle like spaghetti. My girlfriend had the farm poached egg with batch 35 cheese, rapini, brioche croutons, and pancetta that was really a special dish. All of the ingredients naturally melted into and complemented the runny yolk of the poached egg and the earthiness and bitterness of the rapini was cut nicely by the fatty yolk and pancetta.
As for the entrees I ordered the lamb loin with fregola sarda (similar to a north african couscous), curry, and leeks that was beautifully cooked and had a nice spice to it that was eased by the starchy fregola sarda and also made more interesting texturally by said sarda. My girlfriend had a black bass in sauce normande (fish stock, cream, butter, egg yolk) with white beans, clams, and charred romaine that was classically rich and very decadent. The black bass was one of the more finely cooked pieces of fish i’ve had with a great crispy skin and a supple flesh. The clams provided an extra brininess and the beans provided a textural contrast with the fish.
The desserts were also quite lovely and unique. I had a chocolate-​caramel napoleon which featured a chocolate-​caramel mousse between crisp layers of caramelized sugar that was topped with a lightly sweetened whipped cream and caramel sauce that was inventive, surprisingly light after a meal with many heavier notes, and not cloying despite the crisped sugar and caramel. My girlfriend had a toffee butter cake that came in the form of a miniature bundt topped with the same whipped cream topping and candied pecans. The dessert was buttery and rich with burnt sugar notes that helped create a warm sensation that traveled from the palette to the rest of the body.
All in all a very nice meal with great company in an intimate setting. Would absolutely return as the menu is always changing seasonally and a quiet spot is something I really value. Definitely make an effort to pay a visit before they shut their doors in May, it is a very special place!

Service was absolutely amazing. I can’t not speak highly enough about how wonderful the people are at this place. We came without a reservation and were informed that they could take us right then, but they had a table coming in an hour. PERFECT! :-) I took a seat while my husband went driving around. I ordered right away so I wouldn’t take up a lot of their time. Unfortunately, my husband spend literally half an hour trying to find parking. I requested the food be packed to go because I was afraid I would run out of time they gave us. Then right when I asked them to pack it up, he found a spot. The server was so kind and made us a whole new dish. I can not thank them enough!!! You can tell when someone is genuinely nice vs nice in front of your face and then when they get to the back, want to throw a tray at the wall. At the end of our meal, they apologized (I don’t even know why!!!) They said sorry for making us feel rushed (which they didn’t) and even gave us a complimentary dessert to go. This is what I call true service.
Onto the food — This is a place that seems like they change their menu often (based on what is available and fresh), so I do not want to get into much detail on each dish we ordered, but I must say that everything we ate was DELICIOUS! The risotto was nice and light and so flavorful. All of their foods had a balance of sweet, salty, savory, etc. It was just perfect. The scallops were seared wonderfully and the beef was cooked to perfection. I can not tell you how much I loved it here. Oh, and the muffin bread… OMG! It’s like crack. I loved it. Mmmm, so buttery and moist and flaky. I hope they serve this on an everyday basis!
Next time, i will make sure to make a reservation. :-) Thank you for such an amazing date night with my husband!

Went here back in December for my birthday dinner with my boyfriend. We had a great experience! Others have noted that the portions are small. Neither he or I agree with this and I actually couldn’t finish my entrée I was so full. We are not small people but to be fair we did consume a cheese plate at home before arriving.
Our waitress was great! Explained the menu well and did mention that the menu is intended to be smaller in portion size because the experience is designed to be a three course meal. I started with the sweet potato soup– the presentation was great and it was just the right amount because it was pretty rich. My boyfriend had the beefsteak-​and we both could see why it is a favorite item.
For the second course we split the pappardelle. This was good but nothing to write home about. For our entrees I had the chicken. This was by far the best chicken I’ve ever had. I have no idea why I ordered the chicken because I never order it out– but I’m so glad I did. Very tender and excellent flavor. My boyfriend got the steak and was jealous of my chicken– that’s how good this chicken was.
Desert was excellent we shared the chocolate cake. It was heavy but perfect to share.
Overall we had a great experience and would recommend! Only slight negative is the restaurant has an awkward entrance and it took a while for our wine to be put on ice. Overall this didn’t really effect the experience because it was a lengthy meal.

Two of us came in at 6pm on a Friday. I wish they would rearrange the entrance and the way guests are greeted. I was standing basically in the middle of the restaurant next to a couple’s dinner table. Three people asked me my name after finally seating us.
We brought two bottles of wine which they kept in the back. I read some reviews stating that the servers get snappy when you don’t choose to order a dish from each section. This is 100% false. Our waitress simply told us how large dishes are and based on how hungry we are, we may not want all of the courses. We both started with the beet steak. Ugh amazinggggg, very savory, unlike any beet dish I’ve had before. If you like beets, I highly recommend this. For my main, I had bass with red quinoa (i think). It was very fresh and the portion was average for nicer restaurants. We shared the chocolate hazelnut and caramel torte which was divine.
My major down side was the wine. There were so many times when our glass was empty for more than 10 minutes. If you’re busy that’s completely fine. I would have liked our wine on the table.
I’d love to stop in again since they have a rotating menu.

I picked the Farm and Fisherman for a reunion with two friends from my analyst class that are in school with me, and boy I wish I had picked somewhere else. From perusing the menu online, it looked great! Food looked good, prices were decent. But what you can’t tell is that the portions are TINY.
We walked in and felt out of place because the clientele skews much older. When the waitress came to take our order, we each ordered a dish. A look of disdain flashed across her face as she explained that the menu is set up such that we are supposed to order 1 from each of the three sections. Then she huffed away when we asked for more time. Sorry we don’t fit your seemingly preferred profile (aka well-​off older Caucasians).
We were a bit off put by her attitude. I’m happy to spend money when it’s worth it. After all, business school is all about racking up that student debt on travel and alcohol and food. But not if it comes with a side of contempt.
No faults with the food. I just did not find the place welcoming.

The Farm and Fisherman is a small, BYOB near 11^th and Pine Sts. When I say small… I mean it! Best not to arrive too far in advance of your reservation, especially in the winter, as there’s absolutely no foyer or waiting area, except for a small curtained area near the door that’s big enough for two or three people. The room is very nicely decorated, and has a comfortable, romantic feeling. Tables are a bit tight, but not so much that it was a problem. This is a «smart casual» restaurant, so you can feel comfortable dressed up, or not.
The menu focuses on local and seasonal ingredients, and is relatively limited. Three or four 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd courses which ostensibly change regularly. First courses are vegetal, second courses are primarily starches, and the mains are meat or seafood. Ideally, diners choose a 1^st, 2^nd, and main course, though the 1^st and 2^nd courses are similar in size. The menu is a la carte.
All our dishes were very good; we enjoyed ricotta tortellini with a pork sugo, a souse vide egg with a grit cake and garlic sauce, arctic char, and hake. Everything was cooked perfectly, and we enjoyed the dinner. Desserts, as with the main menu, are limited, and we opted for an apple budino.
I’d check the menu to ensure their limited selections will fit your palette… if you see selections you’d like, I highly recommend this restaurant for its well-​prepared dishes, and very fresh ingredients, not to mention service that was above average.

I’ve been searching for a new favorite BYOB restaurant ever since Matyson closed so we gave this guy a shot for date night last week. BYOB — no corkage fee, accepts credit card.
We had a really nice dinner. Service was professional, friendly and not overbearing. She came by to answer our questions, but gave us plenty of time between ourselves for our date.
Although the website did warm they change their menu quite often — I was still sad to find out the black truffle gnocchi of my dreams was not on the menu. Instead we started out with the mushroom risotto, cauliflower salad and we each had Hake and Arctic Char for our entrees.
The fish were both cooked to perfection. My dish came over a bed of barley and red risotto. The entrees left nothing to be desired, so hats off to the chef. The risotto is to DIE for, get this. Get this. If you like mushrooms, get this. Am I being clear enough? My only wish was that it was in a deeper and bigger plate, because I licked that whole plate up.
Dessert was good but nothing to write home about. Presentation was beautiful.
Based on that experience, I would definitely consider Farm and Fisherman for a return visit, with a bottle or two in hand.

Cute charming little spot. The wait staff were lovely, and the food was dynamite. The menu is seasonal, so you are getting the freshest produce in season, and it shows through in the dishes. My scallops and pollack had a perfect, crispy, smoky sear.
We got a dessert to share and that came up short. It was a sweet corn crème brûlée. The custard wasn’t set, so it was a runny corn soup with Caramelized sugar.

Well, I was very disappointed. We showed up and had to wait at the door for a little while before someone came up to greet us and seated us. Noticed the same for almost all the guest who came in. Which is kind of odd since it is such a small place and there were staffs buzzing around all that time.
Settled into our table and I have to say, this is a very cute place. I won’t characterize it as «romantic» since it is very loud. Brought out our wine and the waiter opened it and poured us a tiny portion and took the bottle to put it on ice. Nice touch. But more about that later.
The food:
Bean salad — excellent! The herb and fresh greens were so tasty and the dressing was so good we ate every single drop on the plate.
Fluke crudo — so so. The fish was fresh, but has no taste at all. The dressing and greens were the highlight of the dish.
Scallop — so so. Not sure why they prepared this with a heavy brown source very similar to the one for the sweetbread. Just does not go with the scallop.
Sweetbread — okay. Nice but did not blow me away. I like sweetbread, but this one was on the bland side.
Pork chop — okay. The chop was well prepared, slightly on the pink side and tender. But if you blind fold me and serve me the dish, I would have a hard time telling you it is some kind of pork.
Dinner roll — good, but we never got a refill after we finish our first one.
The service:
On the uneven side. We finish our glass before the first course but the waiter seemed to have forgotten to refill our glasses. The hostess noticed it and refilled our glasses when we are well into our second course. The waiter was rushing us on the first and second courses, then we sat and wait a while for the main course. He also cleared my plate and stand there to wait for my wife to finish her’s. For the main course, we asked the waiter to open a bottle of red and he brought us fresh glasses. But he left the wine glasses from the white wine on the table. Again, the hostess noticed and cleared them. This is a well established restaurant, not sure why all these glitches.
I say give me Pumpkin any day.

I liked the concept of this restaurant when I heard about this place. Seems like farm to table kind of restaurants are everywhere in NYC these days. Was excited to one in Philly. Maybe ingredients they get from farms in somewhere Pennsylvania will be super fresh!
Got beet salad and scallop for appetizer and Cod dish for main. I am huge fan of beet, I love beet even if I eat out from can. If chef do little trick, I would go crazy about any kind of beet dish. This one was decent, not mind blowing. Maybe chef wanted us to taste fresh ingredient so didn’t use much sauce on it. Maybe…
Scallop was well cooked, kinda tiny even for appetizer. Well I am a girl with big stomach.
Had big hope for my cod since appetizers didn’t blow my mind. I definitely could taste the fish was fresh, was tangy and juicy but again chef could use little bit more seasoning. I usually have issue with overpowering sauce but this dish was little bland for me.
The service was nice though. Professional and attentive.
Haven’t back yet since my first trip… Maybe will give another shot after finish all of my Philly restaurant lists.

I came here a few months ago for a friends birthday. I thought that everything was good in general but not overly impressed. I think at the time there was nothing on the menu that really jumped out at me. And if I’m going to be spending a lot of money for a meal, I expect to be wowed.
However, as I look online at the menu today, there are several that do jump out at me so might have just been bad timing (at least for my tastes)

The Farm and Fisherman
1120 Pine St, Philadelphia, PA 19 107 (267) 687‑1555
Tuesdays — Sunday: 5:00 — 10:00pm
BYOB

The farm and fisherman is a small 30 seat restaurant owned by husband-​wife team Josh & Colleen Lawler. Its premise as the name implies is a focus on sustainable, locally-​sourced organic ingredients in the nearby area to go from «farm» to «tabletop». The menu is another highlight which fluctuates quickly due to availability of foods and the changes in seasons. One will never tire of dining here as the restaurant consistently puts out fresh takes on seasonal dishes. The restaurant is unimposing and does not have an exterior sign save the simple fishes logo above the door. It could easily be mistaken for a residential house and in my opinion is one of the better kept secrets of Philadelphia.
The interior of the restaurant: done in a contemporary elegant style with gorgeous chandeliers, white table clothes and a pretty decent crowd. I was impressed that in such a small space, they were able to fit so many people and not make it seem very cramped.
One caveat I must warn about is the seats abutting the wall (one of which I happened to be seated in) unfortunately have inter-​spaced air vents for the air conditioning and I was sitting directly on top of one of them. It made for a chilly dinner until I was able to switch seats with my dining companion.
My food choices:
Frosted green doctor tomato gazpacho. Summer squash, canteloupe, cucumbers, tomato cloud. Lovely lemon verbana cream and cucumbers gave this soup a most refreshing summer feel.
Summer vegetable salad: green beans, tarragon, shaved roots, tomatoes. The tarragon are the thin green herbs seen on the plate which added nice flavor to the dish. All the vegetables were so fresh it was ever apparent these were straight from the farm to the table.
Grilled rosa bianca eggplant. almond purée, currants, burrata, roasted tomatoes. Rosa bianca is spanish for white rose, and represents the specific type of eggplant used which is generally a little lighter and sweeter than most varieties. The almond purée was tasty and the burrata was the perfect cheese choice. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.
Gemmeli pasta: Walnut basil pesto, heirloom tomatoes, ricotta. This was not bad, but personally, I thought the eggplant much better. The pesto and pasta mixed with the creamy ricotta cheese.
New England Pollack. Baby green beans, ruby streaks, soffritto, white garlic. Soffritto is carrots, onions and celery with some garlic that can be used to make base sauces in Italian cuisine. It is basically finely chopped vegetables. Ruby Streaks will change your mind about mustards with its tempting beauty and mildly pungent flavor that’s deliciously fresh in salads.
Natural Beef Ribeye. NJ brown rice, saffron, heirloom sweet peppers. Had wonderful taste to it. The au jus was very good as well. Excellent choice to the meal.
Dessert consisted of coffee and the ginger panna cotta. Summer berries, oats, almonds. Fantastic. Loved the addition of the black berries. Classic carrot cake. Walnuts, cream cheese, peach butter. Very good as well. I can’t decide if the carrot cake or the panna cotta was better. Both great finishes to excellent meals.
Of Note: The Farm and Fisherman is a BYOB. Restroom areas were clean and maintained.