Reviews
The shop has been redone, more seating place now. Dropped all the none value adding paraphernalia. Love the fresh coffee roast smell as it waifs through the Mall. Good coffee and their breakfast special is a bargain. Well worth a visit if thirsty and/or hungry.
It is always a difficult decision to write a testimonial when you can't make it positive, because you have it at the back of your mind that the business is just someone trying to make a living. I and my wife had brunch at Farmstead on 29 July around 11:00. The special of the day was Indian curry and rice. After placing our orders we waited for about 10 minutes before the waiter returned to say that there were only one portion left. I changed my order to a hamburger. It took more than 30 minutes for our orders to arrive the restaurant was not full I doubt the curry was a full portion but it could be. The bun of my chicken burger was a bit "mushy" and the chicken was not hot and appeared to have been defrosted in a hurry as it was "ropey" , not soft and tasteless. There was a clipboard on the windowsill which was covered in dust and a craft beer ? sign covered half of the Farmstead sign against the wall . At one stage, when I looked up, I stared right into the behind of an employee. She was leaning over plastic storage bins next to our table to get to a coffee grinder, also on the windowsill, to grind coffee beans. A lady who came in to buy coffee beans, were paying when a waiter stretched between her and the manager at the cash register, trying to collect something from a shelf. She had to retreat to get out of his way. When our bill arrived, not in a saucer or holder but held in hand, the waiter did not have a pen, tried to find one in a holder on the windowsill, but eventually had to collect one from another waiter outside. It was not a pleasant experience. Maybe we should have taken a table outside, as it looks like a charming place from the outside but the inside was an unorganised and dusty setup. The online photos which initially drew me to the place, do not reflect the reality. Maybe next time we will have better luck, although around R 79 for a Hamburger it is not a risk one wants to take twice.
Food was great and coffee out of this world. Also they serve beer now. Great Great outing for any family
My partner and I really enjoyed our brunch at this small and friendly cafe: plenty of variety which included good vegetarian options and excellent coffee. Food well prepared and served. Hands on management together with attentive but unobtrusive staff made for a memorable experience. We shall certainly come back.
Awesome place to chill. Best coffee
Quaint and cute little cafe. Friendly service from our waiter. The scone was huge and freshly baked and came with butter and jam. Farmstead cafe has a nice and friendly atmosphere perfect for a lunch out with a friend.
Just a number of comments on possibly the worst quality of venue experienced in a long while. Service took far too long for the number of patrons. Waiters bring all items by hand struggling instead of using a tray. Waiters also have no uniform and cannot be distinguished from patrons. Incorrect drinks were brought the first time around with the waiter blaming the barista or lack thereof for the problem. Lemon meringue was old and rubbery. Cheese cake similarly old and tasted of damp. Bubblegum milkshake was effectively a blue coloured vanilla milkshake. Biscuits served with coffee have no taste and are dry and powdery. General state of cleanliness of the entire establishment inside leaves a lot to be desired, very untidy with cleaning equipment and receipts resting on windowsills. The latte was ok.
I was truly disgusted with the whole experience, we went there for a Saturday morning breakfast, but we left very frustrated and disappointed. Our waiter was arrogant and the food was underwhelming, the drinks was fine. We ordered French toast with berry and mascarpone cheese, yet when we received it, it wasn't mascarpone cheese, but rather butter. When we called our waiter he arrogantly insisted that that is mascapone cheece and that we are wrong yet we are very fond of that cheese and can clearly see the difference between mascarpone cheese and butter. Nevertheless, we left it, we then got my toasted chicken mayo and pineapple, instead of pineapple I got onions, and I complained, the waiter took my plate, put chunks of pineapple on and brought it back in a worse condition that when I sent it back. The whole experience was grossly unsatisfying. Will never return and I will most definitely NOT recommend them ever.
The food took 40 minutes for a burnt waffle and toasted bacon fat not properly cooked with chips in an oily dirty steel chip basket. The only good thing were the milkshakes. This happened 21/12 - I thought about complaining to a manager, but our waiter was so innatentive and we were really hungry, it felt to me like I would be wasting even more time to no end.
The food and drinks are really good, especially the coffee. I would also strongly recommend buying coffee beans from Farmstead. The breakfast specials are also really good value for money. All this, however, is dampened by slow and impersonal service.
