Romeo Lavender Farm offers a special evening of dining among the lavender plants. My husband surprised me with reservations for this for my birthday. For $75 per person, you get to choose a spot in the field, set up your own table and chairs or picnic blanket (some even brought a patio set with umbrella!), and bring your own drink while they provide a catered buffet dinner. The reviews on their Facebook page sounded excellent, but they were from previous years so I have to wonder if this year they are using a different caterer. The two pasta choices were lukewarm, the boneless chicken was overcooked to the point of being hard and dry, and the sliced beef in au jus was not at all tender or flavorful. The shrimp were a little overcooked but not too bad, but I was only given two of them. The salad was fine, with a lot of healthy greens (mostly spinach), and there were some raw veggies as well. The rolls were your average cheap dinner roll. I didn't try the green bean medley or the sausage, but hubby said the sausage was probably the best thing he tried. The cheesecake dessert was average.
I love supporting small businesses, farms, and entrepreneurs, so I hesitated leaving a review like this. However, I would hate for someone with a tight budget to sacrifice to go here for a special night and be really disappointed, because truthfully the food we were served was not worth anything near what we paid.
The lavender fields themselves weren't exactly what we pictured, as the space between each row was wide enough to drive through and we pictured fields of more densely-planted lavender, but I can't fault the farm for our unrealistic expectations. The lavender plants were about a foot high and there were plenty to choose from (for the $75 you also get to cut a bundle of blooms), plus there were some wildflowers sown at the far end of the field that you could also cut from. The owner and the caterers were very friendly and helpful, and people did seem to be having a good time. It's possible the caterers were just having an off night. However, it didn't seem like they had those little burners under their serving pans to keep things warm, which would have been nice especially for things like the pasta.
Overall I'd say to look into who's doing the catering, and maybe consider just going for the u-pick if you're concerned. The food we were served might have been worth $15/plate if I'm being generous. read more