Tucked in to a corner of Needham Center, the Farmhouse brings all the savvy farm-to-table panache of a downtown eatery without the pretention or the prices.
Clad in simple whites and creams with local art on the walls and on the plates, this creative creation of the wife-and-husband team of Dora Tavel-Sanchez Luz and Gabriel Sanchez combines authentic rustic charm and down home goodness with just enough big city flair, offering a restaurant in which the design and décor are as simple, fresh, wholesome, interesting, comfortable and appealing as the food.
While the old wooden furniture, white cotton tablecloths and ceramic chickens may say “down home,” don’t let the rustic charm fool you! Despite being open only a few months, The Farmhouse is already a facebook sensation that is drawing people from all over- and rightfully so!
With a long mirror-backed bar on one side that boasts a fresh-minded cocktail (and yummy mocktail) list, a domestically diverse beer selection and an international wine selection that is worth visiting even if – heaven forbid! – you dine somewhere else and a friendly communal table on the other that is great for larger parties, private parties, or making new friends in the neighborhood, The Farmhouse’s clean sightlines and simple visual palette make it comfortable without being cold and allow the dishes to take center stage. Among the highest highlights of the ever-changing (based on what is fresh and most flavorful) but always safely varied menu are a silky and comfortably complex chilled white gazpacho that reveals itself flavor by flavor as it slides across your palate, the “crabby” (i.e. laden with crab) crabcakes with tropical mango salsa, and the kale salad with almonds, parmigiano cheese and a zingy and bracing lemon mustard vinaigrette. And those are just the suggested first courses! Among the “mains” are a vegetarian entrée that changes nightly but always includes intriguing and interesting uses of our local harvest friends, a hefty Farmhouse burger topped with a perfectly even coating of cheddar and sided with hand-cut fries that remind you of Charley’s in Ogunquit (or the available “upgrade” to truffle fries) and a marinara-y housemade ketchup, a simply delicious set of lamb chops with mashed spuds and green beans, and a hand-butchered halibut steak that, like so many options at the Farmhouse, is imminently sharable.
No matter what you choose, be sure to save room for dessert (if you do not visit just for it). Among the truly sweet offerings are a temptingly tiny valrhona milkshake with warm white chocolate biscuit cookies, toffee-topped butterscotch pudding that puts Snak-Pak to shame and a Tahitian vanilla crème brulee that melts twice- once under the torch and again in your mouth!
In addition to appealing to local and out-of-town tastes, The Farmhouse strives to be friendly for families. In addition to a great Sunday brunch that features two sizes of hotcakes, freshly-made custom omelettes with homefries and a selection of the ‘House’s signature salads, the lunch and dinner menus always have a homemade PB&F (with fluff that would make Somerville proud!), mac and (real) cheese and a baby burger that is every bit as yummy as the big boy.
As the helpful, happy staff whiz about in their jeans and gingham, dropping off baskets of fresh-baked bread and butter so fresh you may ask where they keep the cow, the talented kitchen team (who can be watched up close with a reservation for the tasty and tasteful tasting menu, but also appreciated from nearly any point in this clean-lined and open intimate venue) produce popular favorites and new creations all based on what is available and what they are in the mood for. No matter what they come up with, however, chances are you will be in the mood too!
From gazpacho to crushed peanuts, The Farmhouse takes the best of what’s around and brings it all to Needham. Hopefully it will bring you too!
When the meal was over and the manager came over to ask if I had any questions, there was only one:
“Can we please start over?”
The Farmhouse
970 Great Pain Avenue, Needham, MA
781 449 6200
www.thefarmhouseneedham.com