08/08/09

How is this place still in business?

by hmannings

We were from out of town and used a coupon from oline. Im sorry that we did not read the reviews first. our waitress gave us the impression that she did not wish to be there. My husband ordered the duck and I ordered lamb, both bland, cold with rubber like texture. I sent back my lamb and opted for the crab, pear salad thinking who could possibly mess up a salad. I was wrong

the crab had very fishy taste. Needless to say we left hungry and irritated.

• Pros: great restaurant decor
• Cons:  food and customer service.

12/05/08

Sort of pathetic

by DocBB

We had a discount coupon so we chose to ignore the negative reviews. Dinner was a celebration and we were in good spirits, helped along by an excellent bottle of wine (they have a byob policy).

Our server was a bright, pleasant young lady. The ambiance was fine. We shared a large tasty crab salad and our bread was tasty and went well with the herb-infused butter. Then came a long wait for our entrees.

Finally, they were presented to us - a small lamb shank sans gravy, sans flavor with sides that weren't much better. The duck breast too, seemed flavorless and totally uninspired. Both dishes were barely adequate and frankly the word that resonated through my mind was "pathetic." Our server seemed apologetic (was she embarrassed?) Even with the discount coupon, this place seemed hardly worth the money.

11/08/08

RUDE staff

by awareness1

My friend and I always go to Farmacia because they use organic ingredients, especially eggs if I want breakfast. Every time I go I swear to god its the last, but the last time was so bad I wanted to let everyone know to BOYCOTT! The waitress looked annoyed from the start, was extremely cold and rude, forgot an item we ordered and didn't even come to check on us. We were sitting there being ignored while the resturaunt was pretty empty. No wonder its empty - those ignorant rude waitresses just loaf around looking dumb while we're out spending cash. Its maddening. Worst service ever. Too bad because the owner must have a good intention, but that doesn't cut it. Boycott and maybe they'll upgrade their staff- RUINED my meal and I'll never go there again!

• Pros: quality of food
• Cons: basically paying to be insulted and ignored...oh and started at by staff

10/06/08

Taste that can make you say "wow"!

by agoldin

Three of us went to Farmicia this past Saturday night and I can honestly say this is the first time in my life I've ever eaten something that made me say "wow" out loud. In this case it was the roasted pear salad. It had such an explosion of flavors, it was amazing. As has been the case with so so many restaurants we've eaten at, the appetizers were superior to the entrees. I would come back here and order nothing but various appetizers and salads. We also had the masa-crusted shrimp appetizer...delicious. And the carrot soup...incredible. The entrees were all good but just didn't have the "wow" factor that the appetizers had. My pumpkin risotto was good but not surprisingly so. Same for the salmon and the tofu dishes. But we'd all definitely go back; the service was terrific too.

• Pros: Fantastic food; terrific service.
• Cons: Entrees not as exciting as appetizers.

09/08/08

Awesome lunches.

by agentjade

I work a few blocks away, and while I try not to eat lunch out more than once a week, I make it a point to stop by FARMiCiA at least once a month. It's really nice to go somewhere where the food is fresh, organic, local, healthy and DELICIOUS. Waitstaff has been really nice and really attentive every time I've been.

Food I've loved: Jumbo Lump Crab Salad (avocado mousse and mint dressing, mmm), the omlettes, frittatas, Amish Grilled Cheese, soups, BREAD.

• Pros: Relaxing (yet smart) atmosphere
• Cons: While it's not pricy, it's not cheap, either.

05/11/08

SLOW SERVICE

by cletts

I have been here twice, both for brunch. Each time our service has been painfully slow. The food the first time was great, I loved it. The second time, I was part of a party of 5 and 3 of us had overcooked eggs (45 minutes after ordering). The dishes were taken off of our tab, but it was still a major disappointment. The espresso martinis are amazing though. I will never come back just because I cannot get myself to wait literally about an hour for my meal.

• Pros: Food good, Decor
• Cons: SLOW SERVICE

03/30/08

Superb restauranting experience!

by betsyann00

I wanted to take my dad, who is a health FANATIC, out to an interesting, fun dinner while he was here visiting. Since FARMiCiA's thing is organic, local, healthy, etc. I decided to give it a go. It was a wonderful experience! The hostess, waitress, water boy, bread boy, and bar staff were all quite friendly. I waitress had qualities that I find VERY important in waitstaff: friendly, knowledgeable, calm/casual (I hate tense/rushed/anxious waitresses they make me feel that way too), and attentive (but not overly so to the point of being interuptive).

I had Eggplant Cannelloni, and dad had St. Peter's Fish. Both were elegantly presented, and tasted superb. The filling of the cannelloni had an interesting flavor and texture (ricotta and some grain perhaps?). Very good, I recommend it as a great alternative to typical pasta cannelloni. The St. Peter's Fish was also EXCELLENT! Great light texture/flavor fish served atop roasted potatoes and sauteed greens.

On of my favorite parts of the dining experience that I must mention was the "bread boy." His sole purpose: walk around the restaurant with a large basket of different breads to offer to the diners. Definitely ask for the olive bread!

• Pros: olive bread, great waitress, relaxed environment, healthful food
• Cons: ...? None.

03/24/08

Incredibly RUDE service

by pennstudent09

I went to Farmicia for the 2nd time this past weekend. The first time it was a lovely experience. This time, it was AWFUL.

I am a junior at Penn and went with 6 of my sorority sisters (all of whom are 21). We brought our own bottles of wine as is allowed. After ordering and already opening our wine, the waitress came over and said "I didn't realize this but we still need to see your IDs. Since I'm sure some of yours are fake, can you all please stop drinking?" It was so inappropriate and accusitory. As we were all 21, we said, can you just check our IDs? The girl said she didn't know how to check IDs and brought over another waitress who was even RUDER. This one stood by the side of the table looking over our IDs for literally 15 minutes. It was embarrassing and inappropriate at a nice restaurant while we were trying to have a nice meal. Finally, she told two of the girls from Texas that their IDs were fake (which they weren't... so clearly this woman had no idea what she was doing) and that although they didn't expire until 2011, they needed to get new licenses that were horizontal. In Texas, and Pennsylvania for that matter, they don't give horizontal licenses till yours expires. She then refused to look at their credit cards and school IDs for backup and said they needed a second form of state ID. I'm sorry, but who carries around their passport to a restaurant!? Who should have to!? At this point, our whole meal was ruined (and an expensive one that at!!) We spoke to the manager at the end of the meal who said "we've had problems with fake IDs in the past." So what? Their past problems had nothing to do with our table. They had absolutely no reaosn to be rude to us. You can't make accusations that someone would have a fake ID just because they look younger.

Overall, the service was so incredibly rude to us. If you look under 30, I would definitely not recommend going here because they will just give you a hard time even if you BYO.

03/23/08

Farmicia improved by leaps and bounds

by efitz83

Listen, I think that there are a lot of old reviews on here. Since the reviews were last written about poor service (almost a year ago), I believe the service staff has either improved or is a new staff. The food is beautiful, simple and delicious. Our server was extremely informative about both the food and the wine. The food came out quickly, and left nothing to be desired. You really leave here feeling nourished, but not grossly full. The atmosphere is lovely, and I have returned countless times to enjoy the restaurant for what it's worth. Really, don't be dissuaded by what people say. Most people that have the ambition to write the reviews are the ones who do have bad service, but that's the exception not the rule. I'm a waitress and I know a good restaurant when I see one. Kudos, Farm.

• Pros: food, friendly service, something for everyone
• Cons: Nothing I can think to say.

09/10/07

Comically bad service

by premiumpretty

I had been eager to try Farmicia for a while now. Too bad I didn't read the reviews first, because I can confirm what others here say. We went on a slow Sunday night for dinner. The host seated us without a word, and by the time our waiter appeared ("Is anyone helping you--I guess I will then") he didn't offer to take our drink order or tell us about the specials. He only said "What can I do for you?" I asked him if he could tell me about the Saint Peter's fish and with a blank stare he said."No." I thought he was joking. He said "I mean, how would I know if you'll like it or not? I don't know what you like." Taken aback, I explained that I didn't want a recommendation, but asked could he at least describe it for me. He said it was tilapia, but that they call it Saint Peter's fish so they can charge twice as much for it! We didn't order it, obviously. Our food was delivered by the cranky host, who just set down the plates in any place without identifying them, leaving us to figure out what was what. We ordered mojitos but they were out of mint. The food was fine, not great. The cranky waiter brought to dessert menu and the check without a word and for the first time in my ENTIRE life I left NO TIP. I was kind of appalled at myself, but really couldn't believe how bad our experience was...even if the food was ok, it was not worth ruining our night over, which it did. It was a terrible experience that left my date and I feeling sick about wasting our time and money. We observed other customers being treating poorly too, and sending back their wine and food.