Wow! I hadn't been here in more than 20 years and it was almost exactly as I remembered right down to the delicious appetizers, the fried chicken, vegetables and ice cream for dessert. We arrived and waited just a couple minutes to place our orders and pay for our meal. The hostess seated us immediately and our server got our drink orders and brought our drinks and appetizers. The apples and apple butter were great and those sugar rolls were amazing. I ate 5 of those sugar rolls and they were so delicious we had to order more. I had a special with a 6 oz broiled crab cake and two pieces of fried chicken. The crab cake was jumbo lump and the fried chicken was on point and the way I remembered it. With it they gave us green beans, corn and French fries which were all delicious. My friend got the fried chicken but she got white meat chicken which they provided two full huge breasts and a wing. I opted for dark meat with my crab cake and got a leg and a thigh. It was absolutely delicious and our server, April, was fantastic and took care of all of our needs. My friend who goes there frequently says that she's had April before and she is just super efficient and takes care of all of the needs as she did last night. I opted to get moose tracks for my ice cream last night and it was outstanding although I'm not sure how I was able to eat the ice cream after everything else I ate last night. This is a great restaurant and I look forward to going back sooner than 20 years so that I can experience such a great meal again. I highly recommend you give this restaurant a try it's an experience you don't want to miss. read more

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This is a nice place for a once in a while dinner. There is a long list of unlimited sides such as peach slices, bread (plain that comes with butter packets and sugared), salad, green beans, etc.. But to get those unlimited sides, you need to order a main course. Interestingly enough, you start by telling them how big your party is and order right away. Then, they will overhead to seat you. Fried oysters 10/10: I'm more of a raw oyster gal but wow, these fried oysters were consistent in size. I found them to be super tasty. My family member got the fried shrimp and I do think that tops what I got. Very country, home, cozy vibes here. read more

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I've been a frequent visitor thru the years & today's visit just cements that I will be back. I can't really speak to all that's on their menu - I go exclusively for their Fried Chicken. However, just know that the chicken is delicious & you can't go wrong there. Very spacious dining area & the most nice & helpful Servers. The sides with the meal are "buffet" style, however let me be CLEAR - the SIDES are buffet style. lol They offer a host of sides you can choose from & all of them (ie. Corn, Green Beans, Beets, etc.) are good. Plenty of parking & the Farm is really nice is you would like to walk a bit after your meal. Pull up to Friendly Farms and bring a Friend with you. #MallyMallApproved read more

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Great food and service from Friendly Farm in Upperco Md . We were there at noon for a birthday lunch for my sister in law . Our server did a great job ! read more

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Wonderful food, atmosphere, and Staff. Been coming here for decades! Family style dining experience. read more

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I do not understand the hype of this place. My family and I came in on a Sunday and it was packed. Line out the door packed so we were excited for a good homestyle meal. If you haven't been here before, the process can be confusing. You have to order your entrees prior to being seated and are then given a receipt/order form to give to your server once you get to your table. We ordered the chicken tenders, crab cakes, and fried chicken. Chicken was nice and crispy but all meals were very bland. The sides were also just meh except for the sugar rolls, those were a hit. The family style concept is cool though. read more

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Thank you to Nicole. We had a very nice dinner. We had the fried oysters and the fried chicken. Very good sides. Very nice restaurant.

Such a throwback to family style meals. Great scenery beautiful drive. The Crab cakes are the best I've had in Maryland it's worth getting 2. The fried chicken is a must. The specials they have are worth checking out. Service is fast it's not really slow pace. Food comes out rather fast. read more

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always a favorite-. partner goes for the fried chicken most of the time except when fried oysters re in season. I usually get the crabcake. the sides are good with multiple choices. The baked goods are delicious and a must to take home. staff is lovely. read more

Great food, service was excellent. Atmosphere was very comfortable and enjoyed spending time with family

Absolutely wonderful service, food, beautiful view... You choose your main course...only vegetarian though is eggplant...seriously do not recommend that-- but all of the side dishes, bread, dessert-- ice cream is wonderful!! Drinks continuously refilled!!! You will not leave hungry!!!! We will continuously visit this restaurant!!!! read more

Friendly Farm - Seafood Near Me - Upperco, Maryland

We had dinner at "The Farm" last night. I've been coming here for over 40 years now. This place is truly a Maryland treasure. These are without a doubt the best crab cakes in Maryland. Absolutely no filler and big lumps of crab. There is no advertising, so you have to know. You order your entree before you're seated, then everything else is served family style. Any trip to Maryland requires a trip to The Farm to be complete. Enjoy! read more

Everything is wonderful each time we have visited from food to the service we can always count on perfection

We have been coming to this restaurant for many years. This Sunday my husband spent almost 1,000.00 for a family dinner. When we entered the lady who was taking the food orders was very ignorant. We ate, and were headed home when we encountered the ducks. My grandchildren were interacting with them (they own ducks) when the same woman came out and in front of my grandchildren yelled, "Leave the ducks alone, you are antagonizing them." I requested her name and reluctantly she said, "Kadence." We walked to our car and the poor ducks followed us, but hey I didn't blame them, I wouldn't have wanted to stay around that miserable woman either. Needless to say Friendly Farm won't get any business from this family EVER again. Unlike the ducks we don't have to tolerate poor customer service! read more

This is a lovely spot for private events. The food is casual southern comfort food served in a picturesque, country setting. Simple, delicious, and classic. read more

I don't understand what everyone loves about this place! All they do is open a bunch of cans pour it in bowls and put it on your table! And people pay a fortune for this I don't get it! read more

Good food and service. Friendly servers. Helpful and courteous. Always asking anything else do we need.

Nasty manager/cashier (Brenda). She spoke to us very nastily because we did not tell her we were part of a group. There were 2 cashiers and Brenda opened a cashier window and said 'I can help the next person in line' so we went over. Not a smile to be seen by any employee. Before we walked in, there was a male employee in the parking lot yelling profanities about his schedule. Everyone heard - not sure what's going on in this place but its not good. Chicken was tasteless. The crab stuff shrimp and rolls were beyond wonderful. read more

The filet Mignon was not cooked to hubby's satisfaction. He asked for medium rare, and it was close to medium well and lacked seasoning for my taste. My seafood combo was perfect. We enjoyed the fries so much that we ordered another bowl. It's good to get fries that was covered in huge amounts of salt. We love coming here. read more

Friendly Farm - Seafood combo- Crabcake and fried shrimp - Seafood Near Me - Upperco, Maryland

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Great family style restaurant. Pastoral setting. Food service excellent. Try it out. It's worth going. Won't go away hungry.

I love going to Friendly Farm mainly for the fried chicken dinner and the sides. The servers are attenative and carefully explain the whole process of how the resteraunt operates. Also, being able to order desserts and such to take home is a real treat. This is what a good country drive and a weekend meal should be like - good food and service with reasonable prices. read more

We came here as a family on Friday. The restaurant was pretty dead with maybe a handful of tables open. The decor is like your grandma's house from the 80s. They have shareable family sized menu items and bring out a bunch of sides before your meal. A lot of the food is simple, farm, old fashioned food. So imagine being at your grandma in the 80s and she takes a little of everything out of her fridge for you. Pickled beets, cottage cheese, apple sauce, flavorless greens beans, flavorless corn, etc. the meals are also simple. Grilled ham, fried chicken, which we had. They lacked a lot of flavor and were pretty plain. Dessert was ice cream that had some freezer burnt ice crystals in it. It was a meh dinner that we would have definitely spent $80 somewhere else for a family of four. Our server was also hard to track down when we needed stuff and kind of slow despite only a handful of tables being there. read more

This was the second time we have met family who were traveling from different sites. Although Friendly Farms is always busy, they are designed to take groups of 6 to 8 easily. The first time it was a much bigger group so I am sure special arrangements were made even though each family paid for their own meal. There is a no reservation policy. We waited until everyone was present then we went up together and ordered our individual meals and then we were seated together. Friendly Farms has a large waiting area with chairs while waiting for your group to arrive. The service was excellent and they worked like a well oiled machine. Now for the mixed reviews and the reason for the 3. The winners were the sugar donuts and chicken tenders. The chicken tasted good but a little on the dry side. The crab cakes ordered were enjoyed as they had very little filler. Unfortunately the broiled scallops were mushy, not firm with little color. That family member chose not to eat them nor address the concern with our server. I think they were under done or previously frozen. So I have no idea how that situation would have been handled by management but I do feel they would have tried to make it right. The sides lacked a lot of flavor except for the coleslaw. The meal was completed with a dish of ice cream -several flavors were available. It was a nice ending fora hot day. read more

TL:DR - Friendly Farm is a step below typical buffet places like Golden Corral or Old Country Buffet, with very sub-par sides and at a higher price point. I've had Friendly Farm bookmarked for a while since I first read about a place serving "down home family-style cuisine" in a rustic farm setting. However, after my recent visit, I conclude that while some of the main entrees are okay, I'm not sure Friendly Farm is worth the trip as most of the other food items are what I consider to be low grade buffet filler. Driving up to Friendly Farm immediately elicits feelings of a 1950's rural landscape. The grounds surrounding the facility are nicely manicured, there is lovely pond where ducks are likely to be waddling about, and the banquet hall has a classic design and white/green color scheme. But don't be fooled by these agricultural ethos. Friendly Farm is a massive operation. So the deal is you pay first after deciding on what main entree you want, and then you're seated. When you walk into the dining hall, you are struck by how massive the place is. There are even separate areas to accommodate overflow seating. We ordered a bunch of different items at our table. One person got the crab cakes, someone got the broiled pork chops, while I got the "famous fried chicken". I took a nibble of everyone's entree, but I can only really comment on the chicken. It was good - chicken was moist and tasted like it had been brined since it was seasoned well. And the cook on the chicken was also appropriate. Skin was crispy and the meat stayed warm even after sitting out on the plate for 20-30 min while I was eating other items. Where I take exception is with EVERYTHING else the meal was served with. Friendly Farms prides itself with dinners coming with "all you can eat sides." That would be nice if the sides were amazing, but sadly, they are not. Your meal stars with "appetizers" which consist of Cottage Cheese, Apple Butter, Fruit, beets, and Sugar Biscuits & Rolls. Hmm, I'm not sure I would characterize any of these items as "appetizers" since in some parts of the world, these items would barely qualify as a continental breakfast. Everything tasted straight out of a 25 lb food service pack. I don't really eat cottage cheese, but the apple butter on the overly sweet rolls was okay; I am a sucker for beets, so I will admit those were tasty. As for the sides which accompanied my fried chicken - average...very average. Hot corn and green beans had that off color canned appearance and taste. Cole slaw had way too much mayo mixed in. French Fries I could tell, where actually made on premises and double fried. Those were good - but how many plates of french fries can a person really eat? The meal was finished off with scoops of Hershey's ice cream. My share of the meal came to about $25 (tax and tip). Was it worth it? Not really. I can appreciate freshly prepared fried chicken, but not at $25 for three pieces. But that's just my opinion...the dining room was really full for the hour or so we were there. The Friendly Farm restaurant has been in operation since 1964, so they must be doing some right. But I myself, won't be making the trip up to Northern Baltimore county anytime soon. read more

Friendly Farm - Fried chicken and crab cakes - Seafood Near Me - Upperco, Maryland

Best fried chicken ever! This place is amazing lots of great food, service with a smile. Portions are huge and oh so good. I've had the fried shrimp, crab cakes and chicken. All worth the drive... and I'm driving from Florida. Can't wait to be back with the family. read more

Food was okay, not great. Filet was previously frozen not fresh cut and could tell by the taste, crab cake was good, but not very much of it for the price for this platter. Oyster platter was good. Sides are bulk food, not very appetizing. Meal compared to Friday evening's dinner at JPs in Hampstead, didn't come close as far as taste and value . Last time at this restaurant was apparently 2 years ago and thought the same back then as I do now after another try. read more

Food was great, clean environment. service is below average. It's hard to find your server. Serving dishes are smaller in size and you really have to Waite for the refills. Waiters are not motivated to serve. read more

The restaurant is very clean and has many large windows that give you expansive views of the bucolic farm, which is why I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. The food was disappointing, which alone, without the ambiance, should merit only 2 stars. The fried chicken was crispy and hot, but the crab cake was tepid. The crab cake was loaded with crab, but it was a bit off, not fresh. The vegetables were largely canned and watery as though they were being heated for hours. The sugared rolls were good, but the other roll was store bought quality as was the ice cream they give everyone for dessert. I ordered the apple pie ice cream and put the most likely jarred apples with sugar cinnamon on them to jazz it up a bit and give it some flavor. You get in line at the door to order your entrees at a cashiers booth and pay for them. Then you sit and wait to be called. When we got to the table, there was no water, so we had to eat the appetizers without a beverage to wash them down. It took a while for the server, who was waiting on many tables, to take our drink order. My mother's coke looked watered down and was mostly ice cubes. They give you a plethora of not very good sides, which is food wasteful. I prefer ordering sides I like, and I like fresh veggies, not canned. On the plus side, they don't use plastic take out boxes. This restaurant could be good and worth the drive if they cooked fresh vegetables that you ordered and made hand-cut fries, but it seems they can make more money this assembly line way until their long time loyal customers stop coming. It was interesting to try once, but not worth traveling to again. read more

Food is bland with no seasoning but it's great if you're an older person who may not tolerate seasoning. My chicken was hard and cold which I don't understand because as I was walking to be seated other plates of chicken I observed on tables looked fantastic but for me it was a disappointment. Service is ok. The people that take your order at the entrance are robotic without personality perhaps it's because they are just there to take your money without any appreciation for your patronage. The wait staff are fine I guess for the area and the folks that eat there but not what I experience at other establishments. Ambiance is nice but I do not think I will be visiting this place again. My money will be better spent elsewhere. read more

This is a great restaurant to go to with a large crowd. You place your main entree order at the counter and they seat you and your party in a beautiful farmhouse restaurant. They offer family style sides with your meal as well as beverages and ice cream to end the meal. They also offer a variety of pies and baked goods to take home with you. They have a small gift shop on site and they have a small pong with a great view of the area. Make sure to try their sugar rolls and crab cakes. read more

The name itself says it along with family friendly atmosphere the server Diana is magnificent,the food is superb with unlimited side dishes I'm definitely coming with family and friends.Love love the fried chicken and crab cake. VERY unexpected experience... Great job!!!!!!! read more

A great family style restaurant with delicious food and great service. The ambiance is casual and whenever we go there with our friends we all have a great time!!! I recommend it highly and give it five stars! read more

Overpriced for BLAND and CANNED food. Don't do it. Just don't. I do NOT like tipping before the meal as it does not inspire good service which was barely MEDIOCRE in my opinion. Drinks were empty often. Silverware had green beans stuck on them. So gross. Manager couldn't have cared less whether we were grossed out or not, she just rolled her eyes. She was a real treat, especially when I politely tried to offer feedback. I wish there was an option for which of the canned sides you get. With it being Friendly "Farm" is it too much to ask for "fresh" vegetables? I guess canned beets, cottage cheese, canned green beans, and canned corn really is a winner. I've gotten better food at church potlucks. The roast beef was gamey and not even hot. But, of course, the waitress was nowhere to be found to fix it, as, of course, she had already been tipped. No options for mashed potatoes. Roast Beef and Mashed Potatoes is like Mac and Cheese. No options for people who don't eat ice cream or have dairy issues. No cobbler, no pie, etc. My parents went on and on about this place. The only thing I liked was the cole slaw. That's the only reason I'm giving it 2 stars. read more

A friendly and beautiful staff that will serve you and a very nice place to take your family for a sit down dinner

This place is a country style, family style dining place. It has been many years since I ate at a place like this. The chicken is to die for. I plan to go back soon. read more

Great selection of food, well prepared, excellent service and such a beautiful setting. A definite 5 star with a nice country ride

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! I grew up with it. I don't know where the ducks went though. Pretty sad because I remember feeding the ducks during my childhood and it was so fun to me. I remember I saw someone getting proposed to from inside the restaurant and it was so cute. The food is great! The bread is DELISH!!! So good. I also like the chicken and sides, I love how they serve the food. They also have great ice cream!! You'll have to make sure to order some. I also like how you order before you sit down, it really speeds up the process. The service is great, super nice workers. I love this place and I hope to go again soon. read more

This hidden gem in the rural part of northern Maryland is a good place to take groups. The idea is, you order your entree. Everything else is served family style. All of the breads, appetizers, sides, are all the same for everyone. The whole table gets to serve themselves from large dishes of each, throughout the meal. The entree portions are massive, so come hungry. There is a fee for plate sharing, to cover the sides and such. The chicken tenders were just right, large, moist, and fresh with the breading done just right. Pricing is a bit steep, but that's because of the amazing portion size. Come early, as the tables fill up fast. Our group of 8 got there at noon, and we were seated immediately. The hall filled up fast after that. The scenery is amazing and the ducks had me "quacking" up! read more

Great food, great service. Love making a special trip and their fried oysters can't be beat!

Good food but way over-priced. Hard to justify a $400 bill for a family of 6 eating country style.