Heather Ridge Farm is a gem in the northern Catskills / Capital District region. The five-star reviews below are accurate and I cannot recommend the brunch there enough. I'll be returning for the supper club later in December, and can't wait to go back in two weekends when they're scheduled to have additional meats. Don't miss the pickles or the jam, both made on site. Not only is the food top-notch in terms of ingredients and taste, but the conversation is stellar. Carol or any of the kitchen staff are willing to take the time to talk about the farm and the land; conversations today ranged from biodynamic farming to the architecture of the buildings and history of renovations, from the pickling process to the vagaries of microclimates ("when you cross the county line, that's where the weather seems to change.") Plenty of gifts to purchase there -- and I'd recommend it: honey, ceramics, soaps, a modest collection of books, and of course, meats. Altogether, great food and wonderful folks. Don't miss it. (But you don't have to take my word for it. Check out this accurate review in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/travel/21bites-roundup.html) read more

Amazing delicious fresh farm health made food. Music is authenticity country original and exciting. Freebird space. read more

What a nice place. And atmosphere. The look is amazing. Farm house look and the food follows suit. I had the lamb gyro and it was amazeballs. The homemade root beer is great. Basi had the grilled cheese but what a taste with a type of rubarb with it. Dog friendly outside weather permitting and a well behaved dog lol. . I highly recommend a stop in and just chill out and enjoy your delicious meal. read more

Heather Ridge Farm - Lamb gyro - Farms Near Me - Preston Hollow, New York

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Another awesome find thanks to Yelp. Yes, Heather Ridge Farm is a bit of a hike from Albany (~1hr), but it's a scenic drive and well worth it. Check the website for the best route to take; your GPS may betray you and try to take you off-roading like mine did. If you come for brunch at the Bee's Knees Cafe, don't pass up the 11AM farm tour. Make sure you dress for the weather, as our tour lasted over an hour. You'll ride in the back of the pick-up truck seated on small hay bales (or sit in the cab if you're a wuss), and John will take you on a couple stops to meet the animals. His "little friends", as he calls them. He greets them all affectionately with a high-pitched voice, which is pretty excellent. (To be clear: the practice is excellent, not necessarily the voice itself.) This is not a scripted tour; he tells stories off the cuff about the animals and answers all questions with enthusiasm. Carol, the other owner, was also super friendly and very responsive to emails, which was impressive and unexpected. In addition to the cafe, they also have an on-site store selling honey and wax products, soaps, meats, eggs, wool, etc. There are plenty of frozen meat options, so no worries if youre traveling a bit; or order whatever you like online via the website. I understand they sell their wares at local farmers markets, too. It's also worth noting that the farm animals are all hormone and antibiotic free. Awesome. Stay tuned for my review of the cafe... We are headed back for dinner because the brunch was so good. Even the Husband, who loves sleeping late on the weekends, said it was worthwhile to get up early and take a little road trip for this food. read more

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Charming local farm for responsibly raised poultry, beef, lamb and pork. Great little place for a casual weekend breakfast or lunch, as well as special dinners throughout the year. Little shop has local honey and other items. read more

What a special place. Hate to even review it for fear more people will come :) the cafe feels like someones home..warm, inviting, incredibly friendly. Its low-key, no frills, but delicious. Everything is sourced locally and you can taste the difference. My husband and I ordered the breakfast skilled and the eggs Benedict sandwich. The cornbread is savory and out of this world. We can't wait to come back. read more

This past Saturday, I attended my second Supper Club at Heather Ridge Farm and somehow they managed to out do themselves yet again with their delightful, and inventive five course meal. This unassuming farmhouse, on a hilltop in Preston Hollow, is truly a hidden culinary gem. Each table had a never ending basket of home made foccacia and biscuits with creamy butter. The first course was a thick and rich "three tree" parsnip soup garnished with sliced, salted egg yolks and fresh parsley. A red cabbage salad with pork cheeks led next to the charcuterie plate which consisted of pork sausages with goat cheese and yogurt, a thinly sliced ham, and the most tender, salted chicken hearts garnished with candied lemon. All meats were smoked in Chef Rob's, "file cabinet" smoker. There was an amazing plum wine jelly with crisp toast. The entrée was grilled, maple marinated sirloin steak tips served over spaetzel with grilled green beans. The steak tips were a perfect medium rare, and very tender. The spaetzel, which I haven't had in years, was absolutely delicious. Finally, there was dessert. Just when I thought I could not take another bite, the attentive staff presented bowls of home made buckwheat ice cream topped with a generous helping of rum chocolate sauce. The garnish was two, home made graham crackers which were so buttery, and crunchy. Owner Carol Clement, Chef Rob Handel, and their amazing staff, go out of their way to provide a warm, inviting environment in which to enjoy their fabulous food, most of which originates on the farm. Supper Club is $65, and just once a month with seating limited to 18. It is BYOB, and I called for wine suggestions. Reservations are required. Check out their website: Heather-ridge-farm.com for dates and menus. read more

Heather Ridge Farm - Three tree parsnip soup with sliced, salted egg yolk garnish. - Farms Near Me - Preston Hollow, New York

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We are enjoying delicious bagels and butter from the farm this morning! The farm store is well stocked with meat, eggs, butter and more. The weekly menu has many tasty options. A must see when visiting the area for a farm tour or sitting outside and enjoying the view. read more

Love love love heather ridge. After your ears pop from the magical altitude, you're in for a real treat with their farm fresh cooking. The cafe itself is in a renovated farmhouse with an incredible view. Been here a couple times, will definitely be back. Gotta go now because my sandwich is ready. read more

I can't speak to the food because we didn't stay long enough. Upon walking into a tiny room with 2 employees in it, nobody acknowledged our presence, said hello, or offered assistance. We bought some eggs and left. Even the transaction of buying the eggs wasn't a friendly experience. read more

I had the good fortune of starting my new year out with a truly wonderful brunch buffet at Heather Ridge Farm. First and foremost, a huge shout out to All Over Albany for promoting this event, or else I wouldn't have known it was going down. Heather Ridge Farm is located about an hour, give or take, from Albany. While it's a little difficult to access via major roads, all of the back roads that weave in and out of Albany County are just lovely. I can only imagine how spectacular the landscape looks when things are in full bloom, driving the entire way with the window all the way down. While not totally necessary, it is recommended that you make a reservation before showing up at Heather Ridge. This isn't necessarily to ensure a seat, as the brunch runs from 11am - 3pm, rather it allows the team to prepare accordingly without needlessly wasting the food they've prepared. The café is located in a charming yellow farmhouse, overlooking the Catskills. The décor is what you'd expect - it's simple, rustic, and historic. There is one primary dining area with about four tables, along with one table in the actual kitchen. Chances are you'll be seated with other diners, as we were. After being shown to our seats, we were taken to the kitchen and shown to the buffet. Before I go any further, I should say that this isn't a buffet in the sense that we have traditionally known it to be. Things are offered in small portions, with fresh dishes constantly being churned out of the kitchen. Certain dishes are even made to order, guaranteeing the freshness. The food was simple, hearty, and very obviously made with love. On this day, the following dishes were offered: Nitrate-free corned beef hash, maple chipotle breakfast sausage, Irish brown bread, roasted winter vegetable salad, Irish coddle, farm-fresh eggs made to order, baked apples, and a lemon tart. My favorite dish was the baked caramelized French toast, served in a luxurious caramel sauce. All of the food offered at Heather Ridge originated on site or came by way of collaboration with other local farms and businesses. Also located in the farmhouse is a wonderful shop with meats, cheeses, some veggies, and local crafts. The owners and operators of the farm were beyond friendly, completely gracious, and obviously passionate about what they do. If you have the opportunity to take the drive out to Heather Ridge Farm for brunch, I would strongly recommend it. In addition to brunch, the farm offers a monthly Supper Club and will be doing a multicourse dinner for Valentine's Day. Heather Ridge is a major asset to its immediate community and our patronage is an essential investment in keeping this beautiful cooridor viable for years to come. read more

Heather Ridge Farm - Farmhouse - Farms Near Me - Preston Hollow, New York

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The menu is wonderful. All of their food is from the owners' (lovely people) own farm. The cafe is in an old farmhouse. Also, there's a little store where u can buy organic food from their animals, but also honey, lamb skins, wooly socks etc. Call ahead for hours. It's a mom and pop operation. Highly recommended. read more

If you can find it, you're in for a wonderful experience. There just aren't places like this. Read the positive reviews below for explanations. They're ALL positive except one. That one most have had sour grapes for breakfast. It is ALL good food wise, very reasonably priced, and if you go the right Sundays, there's also excellent live Celtic music. read more

Chef Rob, with his staff, did an AMAZING job creating and working with me to prepare a 50th Surprise Party for my husband. The pre-planning was stress free. And the event night was even better !! The food and beverage presentation was spot on as well. We had never dined there before, but always wanted to. I would HIGHLY recommend HRF to anyone wanting to host an event there. Thanks again to Chef Rob, Carol and HRF staff. read more

Delicious lunch, stunning view, cute and delicious animals. The owner is a charming person, as was all the staff, and they are doing the great work of providing wholesome, healthy food to visitors and community. What great cooks! The Bee's Knees Cafe has high-caliber food worthy of a trek to this pretty destination. Enjoy your weekend day visit. read more

Not what we expected. Food was just ok. The owners were extremely nice and accommodating

Simply the Best. Local, delicious, environmentally conscious and hands on. With email updates on farm life and whats available. Plus the view !! Cannot say enough good things about Heather Ridge Farm. Thank You Carol, John, Rob and the entire crew: you make life better. read more

You HAVE TO EAT here. The food is so good and healthy. The owners are super nice and friendly, even to tourist folk. We had salad with a delicious Dijon mustard/maple dressing, rice pilaf, quiche and chocolate chip cookies! You can't go wrong with all the delicious choices. They also have a farm with lambs, chicken and llamas. The best part of Albany for sure. read more

Excellent food, atmosphere, and shop. The short rib, meatballs, and root beer were amazing.

Came here with a group for a friend's wedding rehearsal lunch. The food was fresh and delicious. Love the fresh, organic, quality ingredients, grass fed meat. The owner and staffs are lovely. They also catered our friend's wedding. Thank you for a tasty meal. read more

I'm not ranking this low rank to the food quality it's due to the rude service I just got on the the phone with a man. I called this restaurant on Monday 11/13/17 and I was looking for someone to deliver to Preston Hollow NY. A good friend of mine had a heart attack and surgery and all I wanted to do is have food delivered to their home. The woman I spoke with was SUPER nice and helpful, she said that they would be more than happy to deliver but they weren't open that day and they just didn't have the man power to do it. Well, I decided to have it delivered either this Friday or Saturday and the man was RUDE and not helpful at all!!!! He said too much going on this weekend and he couldn't deliver. How inconsiderate and insensitive!!! read more

If you are looking for one of those special, so-worth-the-drive, destinations for lunch on a Saturday, you could do no better than the Bee's Knees Cafe at Heather Ridge Farm. For $10, I had the best quiche I ever had, salad, Carol's amazing Irish soda bread, a corn muffin, and chai tea. For meat eaters there was also "Oink and Moo" chilli. The view is outstanding and the hospitality warm and welcoming. I don't eat meat, but if I did, I would buy it here. The animals are well cared for and the pastures are some of the best I've been in. I highly recommend their lemon honey - it is crazy good. read more

My fiance and I met with Carol and Rob while we were looking for caterers and a venue for our wedding. The cafe is charming and the farm is just beautiful - set in rolling hills about 20 minutes west of Catskill. We even met some of the happy, healthy animals they care for. Carol and Rob clearly have a passion for food and take great care to ensure that what they serve is of the highest quality. They put together a beautiful menu and Carol was responsive and helpful in our communications. All around a fantastic place! read more

Very cool little farm house restaurant in a rural setting. Friendly proprietress and a chef who is serious about his craft, and very good at it. Small, cozy, tasty, quite unique. The food is different in a very creative way as is the ambiance. Highly recommended, easy, welcoming! read more