Planning trips for weekends or longer times tend to involve a lot of surfing the web for possible eating choices. Although TripAdvisor and Yelp can be entertaining, my preference is to look out for names by myself and then see if the menus on their websites are appealing. I’m not sure where I stumbled across the first reference to the Gentleman Farmer but their menu featured an interesting mix of meats such as bison, boar and ostrich. The dishes sounded attractively put together so it seemed worth going out on a limb and trying.
Gentleman Farmer is on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side and is within easy walking distance of a number of subway stations. Of those Bowery, Delancey St and 2nd Avenue are the closest. From the outside it is a blink and you’ll miss it type restaurant. The wooden-fronted premises are pretty anonymous and only a pinned menu outside gives a hint that there is a restaurant there. The name is etched on the front glass but is only evident when you get close.
Gentleman Farmer is on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side and is within easy walking distance of a number of subway stations. Of those Bowery, Delancey St and 2nd Avenue are the closest. From the outside it is a blink and you’ll miss it type restaurant. The wooden-fronted premises are pretty anonymous and only a pinned menu outside gives a hint that there is a restaurant there. The name is etched on the front glass but is only evident when you get close.
As you step inside you realise that the Gentleman Farmer is not modelled on the TARDIS. The interior is as economically proportioned as the outside. There is probably room for about 20 covers with most tables down the left hand side. One two-seater table is on the other side of the walkway. Decor is emphatically rustic with copper cooking utensils hanging on the walls. There were three people working in the kitchen but it was impossible to figure out how they could all fit in the painfully small space.
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After ordering, bread, butter and a relish with chopped red pepper, yellow pepper and onion were delivered to the table. The bread was nicely crusty and the relish was a welcome touch. This was a good start to the meal so it seemed safe to be optimistic about the way it was likely to turn out.
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Starter was scallops, foie gras, balsamic figs and micro greens. At least they were upfront about the micro greens but, as happens so often, there was way too much of them and the more interesting ingredients were buried under them. The waiter made a point of saying that the foie gras was under the greens so you had to wonder why the felt the need to bury the best ingredients beneath the superfluous. The problems with the dish didn’t stop there The scallops were undercooked and lacked any caramelisation from the searing. The seasoning and resulting flavours were alright but not outstanding. Not surprisingly, the best way to eat this was to combine the sweet scallop with the more thoroughly seared rich foie gras. Overall this was okay but could easily have been much better.
I’d deliberated a long time before choosing a main and had finally opted for the ostrich steak. It was served with pink peppercorn sec, prosciutto wrapped green beans and rosemary gratin. Nice as it sounded on the menu, it also fell short in execution and presentation. The steak had been ordered medium rare and the waiter nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, it was closer to medium /well done instead. The pink peppercorn crust on the steak was too overpowering. It was not obvious what the thinking was behind the prosciutto wrapped beans or what they were supposed to add. However, the rosemary gratin was fantastic. Wonderfully oozy cheese layered with potatoes and topped with puff pastry were great alone or combined with the meat.
There were reasonable sounding desserts on offer, but the food had not been impressive enough to justify ordering anything.
Overall verdict.
Although the menu is very different from that offered by restaurants in New York, it is unfortunate that the execution did not match the ambition of the menu. Ultimately this was a pretty disappointing meal.
Would I revisit Gentleman Farmer?
Possibly, but that would most likely be driven by an interest in trying out new ingredients. There’s no denying the charm of the restaurant but the food needs to be turned up a notch to fully justify going back. That said, New York has so many food options, it’s difficult to see what would justify Gentleman Farmer being near the top of the list of places to go to.
Overall Rating 2.5/5
Overall verdict.
Although the menu is very different from that offered by restaurants in New York, it is unfortunate that the execution did not match the ambition of the menu. Ultimately this was a pretty disappointing meal.
Would I revisit Gentleman Farmer?
Possibly, but that would most likely be driven by an interest in trying out new ingredients. There’s no denying the charm of the restaurant but the food needs to be turned up a notch to fully justify going back. That said, New York has so many food options, it’s difficult to see what would justify Gentleman Farmer being near the top of the list of places to go to.
Overall Rating 2.5/5
