Metropolitan Farmer

We got an appetizer — then wanted to split the catfish that said fried okra and grits. The Brussels sprouts and manager good reviews. The baby catfish, 6 pieces of okra (3 on each plate), grits were odd–

I have been eyeing this place for quite some time, but I wasn’t sure it was kid friendly, and well, we always have the wee monster with us. Finally got to try it out on Mother’s Day and I was not disappointed. I had the salmon, and it was absolutely perfect. Husband had the duck and devoured it. He said it was the best duck he has ever had, and he’s not easily impressed.
They do offer a menu for children, but our 4 year old is quite the foodie and the options don’t appeal to her. She ended up sharing with us, and requested more duck haha!
They were out of octopus and mentioned they may not be carrying it at all anymore. I was super sad because I’ve heard great things, but I guess they just didn’t have enough requests for it. Bummer!
We will definitely return.

Love the gnocchi and the pappardelle and mushroom pasta dishes. Overall Love this place. The look and feel of it. Great for lunch and Bloody Mary brunch. Although the night we had a grilled fish (I think) with a tablespoon of crunchy quinoa with one of my dinners was completely unacceptable. This happened when we brought an out of town friend around Christmas time who said he didn’t like «farm to table» because they never give you any food. I assured him this one was not like that. So, it really pissed me off and took me a while to get over it. We have been back recently and they have redeemed themselves. But come on guys, you have to work out the sides. That quinoa thing was a bad bad thing. For $ 22 you can cough up a better side than that. But yes the homemade pastas and bread pudding are fabulous.

Awesome! Presentation and atmosphere awesome! Excellent service by everyone! We had gnocchi soooo good; loved the chocolate chip cookies! Will be back!

Quite simply the most delightful dining experience in the greater Springfield area. The food is superbly prepared and the waitstaff is friendly and very well trained. This is a perfect spot for a couple or a group. We’ll be back as often as possible!

Ordered salmon with Mac & 5 cheese, and honey glazed carrots. Salmon was tough. Carrots were raw. ALL items were COLD! Will NOT return or recommend.

If I had to describe the cuisine/​food at this restaurant in one word I’d say «unique» but I’d prefer to use two words, «unique and awesome». Ok so that’s three words. I don’t know if there’ll be enough words to describe the food one can get at Metro Farmer. We ate there (again) tonight. We began with a meat and cheese board. This was like no meat and cheese board you’ll get at other fine dining restaurants. There was an excellent and eclectic mix of meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables and a house-​made cranberry mustard, which was to die for. The entrees were excellent too. I had the shrimp in saffron sauce for my entrée while my husband had the walleye with oyster mushrooms and roasted carrots. Both were mouth-​watering. To top it off, we had wild flower ice-​cream made with real wild flowers and wild flower honey. I didn’t know what wild flowers tastes like but one spoon of that heavenly ice-​cream reminded me of sweet smelling wild flowers. What an awesome dinner! Wish I could savor the taste forever! The service was excellent too, complete with visits from the chief chef to check on us often. If you want to have a true and unique fine dining experience, you should try Metro Farmer.

There is no such thing as a bad item on their menus. It is all delicious and fresh. The atmosphere is amazing and inviting. The last time we were here there was even live music! This is my favorite spot for date night and then to go up to the rooftop bar Barley, Wheat, and Rye after!

Would highly recommend for fine dining. Contemporary setting. Had a yummy cocktail with tequila and mango. Beet salad, filet were delicious and my favorite bread pudding ever tasted at a restaurant.

I have been here several times and was here just last night. I love their dinner menu and even even if you are skeptical when you order you can be sure it will still e good. My only problem is that their lunch just is not up to it. It’s not as tasty and seems more slapped together.

This was our first time here. The staff was excellent. You could tell everything was fresh made, the apple butter was the best I ever ate, and my red snapper was perfect. My wife’s carbonera was also outstanding.

As a long-​time fan of farm to table dining, I felt immediately at home while visiting Metropolitan Farmer, which has accomplished the unlikely feat of marrying a kind of modern, trendy appeal with a more rustic aesthetic. It’s clear from the first bite that fresh, ultra-​high quality ingredients go into every dish, to say nothing of the care with which they’re prepared. The bone broth soup is second to none, with a deliciously unexpected assortment of vegetables complementing it perfectly, and every entrée is as terrific as it is unique. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you can bet I’ll be back.

Yummy, just driving through and found a true gem. We had the Sausage and the chicken fricassee, then on the side fried Brussel sprouts. It was all amazing. Great service.

I was in town for the weekend. I came here with my mom and sister. We made a reservation for the chefs table, which overlooks the kitchen. The Sous Chef Matt was amazing. He described every detail of our five course meal. We had the Shramsburg Blanc de Blanc with was listed at a great price. The service staff was kind and engaging. The restaurant was seated to near capacity on a 25 degree night. Very impressive restaurant for being of the beaten path. The chef at this place is one of the best he was the most accommodating and knowledgeable in the industry.

Went there for brunch and tried out the hash. The quality of the food was good and the atmosphere of Farmer’s Park is great, but unfortunately the service was poor. The restaurant was barely half full for brunch, yet it took 40 min to get our order taken and another hour before the food came.
For the price… the portion size was kind of small. This restaurant is probably better classified as a three $$$ instead of $$.
I liked the concept of this restaurant, but for the price I expected much more expedient service. I was interested in a quick brunch, but it felt like we spent half the morning just waiting around.

Wonderful!
Enjoyed food, service and atmosphere!
Trendy yet down home vibe.
Great job!

Let me start with what I loved — the atmosphere was great. Clean design, awesome farmers park locale. Open fronted kitchen. Simple décor. Great farm to table concept. Encouraged from the start and the apps were great — the opening of the service was a little off putting — but then… it just tanked and I was so sad. Positive — stuff from the grill or fried was spot on.
I took my mom and dad to this spot for supper. My first time there. It will be my last. I was sad and embarrassed that the food was so bad, the service so messy — and the BILL SO LARGE. I would have been better off taking them to FDs for burgers and a steak for half the price, same sort of atmosphere and better food and service. I don’t get to see them very often and this meal was the highlight of our trip. In a few words, flavorless, cold, too much pepper ON EVERYTHING, just off and lacking panache.
I had such high hopes. Now the apps were great. I would recommend anything that this place can fry in corn meal. Even chicken livers were divine.
The service — was rushed as he**. It lacked finesse and concern. It had the feeling of being at Steak and Shake after the bars had closed. We didn’t get our drinks refilled. We didn’t even get asked. There was a party of 4 mashed into a booth — and these dudes were high rollers — with their ladies and looked like they were stuffed into a clown car booth. And the sunlight streaming in at dusk was just, well, blinding. I wouldn’t recommend for a romantic date as it was loud and crowded.
The side dishes —? ?? The night we were there they had this «hash» which was basically greasy cubed potatoes and some chopped stuff. No tasty seasoning. Could have made better at home. Wouldn’t have served it as a side dish to a 30+ surf and turf for a $ 22 fish dish. It was sort of cheapish and way too much pepper.
My mom had a surf and turf dish with a lobster bisque sauce and that hash thing again. Scant pieces of lobster… and it was served slightly warmer than cold. Just ick and for the price — really super disappointed. The steak was good but we asked for medium well — and got a mid rare. The steak also — was almost like pepper coated. Too much pepper. Wanted to send it all back but, the server was no where to be found.
Then there was this pasta dish — osso bucco — with a gravy. It came after all the other dishes had been served at the table. It arrived COLD — not good. Made worse? Not sure how it could have b/​c when we sent it back, instead of refiring — it was heated in the mircowave. That made it a chewy mess. Seasonless except for TONS of pepper. Everything had too much PEPPER on it. The hash included — but I had moved on from that see it keeps sucking me back. The worst part of this pasta dish was the sauce was runny, no watery and served over SHELLS. LIke velveeta shells. The runny sauce didn’t stand a chance to stick to it. And even after dousing it in cheese which we had to ask for — it was so bad. My dad locked on to it b/​c it was a dish that sounded like something his mom had made growing up. It looked more like something you would get in a barracks at boot camp only probably better.
Now, the fried trout dish was amazing. Again, a corn meal breading really awesome. It took had too much pepper. Does that surprise you? Their bread pudding looked awesome but we were so mad — it just didn’t make sense to stay. We went and had Andy’s and take out from FD’s afterwards.

We came here one evening with my parents when they were in town. We had heard many good things, and love the Farmer’s Park location.
The restaurant was very nicely decorated and laid out, their menu is nicely varied, and you will definitely find dishes here that you won’t elsewhere in town. I love that they are doing farm-​to-​table. The service was friendly and adequate.
The only reason this gets four stars is the food. My family always shares dishes, and while everything here was good, well-​cooked and decently seasoned, nothing really jumped out. Considering the price and the quality of ingredients, I expected a little more wow. I could go next door to the Aviary where I would pay less and when ordering something new I will always end up with a dish which exceeds my expectations and brings delight with a bit of unexpected flair. I do want to stress that nothing here was mediocre though, just not particularly exciting. Maybe I’m nitpicking.
I also had a gin & tonic from the bar which was well-​made and well-​balanced. You would think this would be a hard drink to make poorly but most places do. This one was good, and we have been to Barley, Wheat, and Rye upstairs and loved it. That’s a different review though.
In short, this is a good restaurant, but for those of us who are budget minded, I don’t think it will be a regular spot. For something different, and especially for an impressive atmosphere to take someone, for someplace a little bit more fancy when there’s a special occasion, this is a great choice.

Atmosphere is very trendy. The service was above average. The most important part, the food. The mussels were fantastic. A unique blend of flavors, great none the less. I ordered the pork chop which was delightful. It was true to their promise, very fresh. The green beans where a pleasant surprise. Tasted like they were picked 15min ago and thrown on the grill. Being from Chicago and from out of town I was impressed and will be back when I am visiting again.

Need a place for a fancy dinner that is just about worth every penny? Well look no further. This restaurant prides itself on farm to table food and indeed you get it.
First and foremost the place is modern, funky, and cool. The owner Wesley went out of his way to keep this place looking fresh. With touches of antiques mixed in with modern one of a kind art. Much of which changes with the season.
Dress code is upscale casual on up. All are welcome but if you don’t want to feel shabby leave the everyday wear at home.
Now to the best part. The food. The menu changes with the season and is made to order. Our last trip I had the trout and simply could not get enough of it. Light, well balanced flavor, and paired sides were on point. Crispy skin lightly seasoned and not overpowering the flavor of the trout makes this my best trout experience to date. She had the lamb and really enjoyed it as well.
For starters we picked up fried pickles and an order of chicken wings. The pickles were ok, but I didn’t like the heavier breading. However the wings we got as a gag blew us away. They are a dry preparation meaning not covered in sauce and are dusted with seasoning that include franks red hot powder. Seriously we the next day were both had a solid craving for these little gems. A real surprise and playful addition to an overall upscale menu.
I wish I could tell you how desert was but we simply hadn’t left room. I can say that the bar tenders know their way around a mixed drink. The place is really inviting and most tables made an evening of it like we did. Great place to go as a two or foursome and while away an evening.