Skip it. Tried it twice, here is what happened: VISIT #1 (send directly to restaurant) We came in yesterday for Thanksgiving. We chose your establishment. The Farmhouse looked like it would be perfect. Our experience was memorable all right. We walked in and were on time for our reservation. We walked into the no-one-greets-the-customer-purgatory. We stood for 20 minutes and we might as well have been part of the furniture. Then a young and obviously stressed out server noticed us and said someone would be with us shortly. Then a woman came out from somewhere and did not greet us who had been waiting, but greeted a random female couple who had just walked in and were overheard to say they were way ahead of their reservation and the hostess woman who still hasn't greeted US, seats THEM. They were seated , incidentally, in the lovely room en route to the buffet- in a spacious spot with a pretty view. Meanwhile the hostess and a server start having a conversation about others to be seated and how the table wasn't ready that was for us . And we still stood there like pieces of furniture. Then the hostess quips to the server that it might help if he told her our name and there was this little corrective debate as to our names being up and highlighted on some computer screen. IMHO this is a conversation one has with employees out of the customer view. It achieves nothing to correct staff in front of customers like misbehaving puppies. My better half is irritated enough at this point that I could tell he was almost ready to walk. A service bartender notices us finally and offers us a drink while we waited - you added it to our bill later, which all things considered you could have and should have thrown us at least a small bone for our inconvenience. So after having to hear all this side bar conversation about tired servers, tables not ready, whether or not we were walk ins or had a reservation, we were seated (still without ever really being greeted) While the random female couple who was early for their reservation was seated at a spacious, romantic table with a view, we were seated at a deuce shoved behind a large party in an in between room with a large fireplace. Your salads were good and so was the turkey and desserts, but my boyfriend tried the salmon and the ham (he is not as much of a turkey fanatic as I am). The salmon was dried out and like a hockey puck and the ham was a bit dry looking had no basic condiments even like a grainy mustard available. Our waiter was very nice and obviously so overtaxed (he seemed to be picking up the slack of another waiter who seemed on the verge of a breakdown) - he screwed up the wine I asked for (which I did not send back because you could see how much he was running around in multiple rooms.) So we are 2/3 through our dinner when your staff decides to rearrange and re-purpose the furniture in the room we were in. Noise, wrenching sounds of banging furniture, cutlery, and loud conversations between employees like you did not have two customers there trying to have Thanksgiving dinner. I know people in your industry, and have even photographed and reviewed soft and hard restaurant openings. I do not recall the last time I was so irritated by a restaurant experience, let alone took the time to contact a restaurant post-dining in such a detailed fashion. Part of me feels badly for complaining, yet part of me feels that in this economy if people treat themselves to a night out, especially on a holiday, it doesn't have to be 100%, but it should have been better than what we experienced. No one minds paying for a nice dinner when they feel like their patronage matters. I did not get that feeling. VISIT NUMBER 2 (not sent to restaurant. why bother?) So this past weekend we tried them again. When we arrived, this time we weren't left standing at the hostess station, nor were friends of the hostess/manager who arrived after us, seated before us. We were seated promptly, but rather ironically they seated us at same service marooned table as last time. At first, I must be honest, I had the "do-do-do-do" Déjà vu/Twilight Zone sound in my head. They are still disorganized, but the food was vastly improved over last time. They do not have enough staff on the dining floor, and the staff that is there needs support. They are all nice people. They know the menu. They are articulate and pleasant. But management of the Farmhouse need to buy a clue and support their wait staff. It is not that the restaurant is so huge and cavernous that staff can't cover the floor. There are simply not enough people on the floor.A very mixed menu (I don't find wraps to be a dinner item for example). Hope they decide what they want to be when they grow up before they go out of business read more

Sunday - March 11, 2012 - 6:30PM I stumbled across this restaurant while checking the upcoming shows at People's Light & Theater (PLT) in Malvern Pa. The Farmhouse Bistro is located on the premises with PLT. My son accompanied me to the restaurant. The restaurant appears to have many levels and rooms. A birthday party was underway in an adjacent room with the doors closed for privacy. The room where we dined was fairly small and could comfortably accommodate about 20 diners. My son and I were the sole diners. The dining room displayed pictures of PLT performers in various poses. The room was fairly stark but, well maintained. I had the House salad (Local baby greens with grape tomato, red onion, and cucumber, with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, Farmhouse Crab Cakes (Pistachio panko-crusted jumbo lump crab, served with fresh dill, lemon zest, lemon thyme aioli, basmati rice pilaf and vegetable medley) and Honey Crisp Apple Tart Tatin ( Caramelized apple tart served with vanilla ice cream and caramel lattice). My son had a salad and Shrimp scampi. In short, we enjoyed our experience and will return. read more

After attending a wonderful final showing "Of Mice and Men" at People's Light & Theater, we decided to take the theater's recommendation and have a late lunch at The Farmhouse Bistro. Upon entering we were pleasantly greeted with a simple, yet endearing atmosphere. However, I am sorry to say that the positives ended there. We ordered the Pate Platter for 2 for an appetizer, followed by the Farmhouse Burger and Crab Cake Sandwich for our main entree. The appetizer that arrived was unappealing to say the least. Both types of pate were average but had horrible bread pairings that left the dish feeling quite one note. The worst part of the dish was presentation. The plate arrived garnished with wilted greens and a strawberry that looked to be roughly 1-2 weeks past its prime. The burger was extremely dry, and the crab cake was a bit over seasoned. The service was by far the most disappointing aspect of our experience, considering that the establishment portrays itself as more of an upscale restaurant. The appetizer was not removed before the entree arrived and we had to ask to have table cleared of the appetizer, bread basket, and plates. In addition, our server was nowhere to be seen for long stretches. All in all, this was a very poor experience considering we were really looking forward to eating here after our show. We will not be returning to this establishment. read more

On the property of the People's Light & Theater, the Farmhouse Bistro's brick walkway will beckon you as you nose about the grounds before or after a show. A good example of a casual upscale atmosphere, it gets points for no tv and simple decor. However, there was nothing plant-based on the menu for us (and we are not interested in making special requests or going "off-menu"). Even the salad had bacon. I mean, a vegan version of the Betty Crocker cookbook just came out, so it is not like one or two things in a French country style of cooking cannot be offered. The tiny bar right inside the front door is cozy, and the thing that impressed me was the extremely cool glassware, each glass with a collection of nubs and antler-like things poking out near the bottom. Even the sparking wine flutes had this. Do these make the glasses easier to hold onto after a few? The crowd was rather refined, so such a need to quell rowdiness is not likely. I love glasses and enjoy seeing something different like this. Nice wine list and good cocktail know-how. read more

Had I checked Yelp reviews, probably wouldn't have gone here. This restaurant came highly recommended in my google search. I went for the valentines pre fixe meal. Service was slow but friendly. He seemed overwhelmed. Food was good but not great. Red velvet cake was dry and disgusting. read more

Don't hesitate. For you years we've skipped this place thinking that it couldn't be good given the captive audience. Tonight we gave it a try and had a very enjoyable meal. The atmosphere is warm and inviting with lovely wood floors and nice linens. They had a beautiful display of forced hyacinths on the mantle and a roaring wood fire. I was pleasantly surprised by the food. I had expected bad country club food and it was nothing like that. I had a nice caesar salad to start and my husband had their daily soup. My son was able to get a sandwich for dinner that was enough food for a tween but only about $10 and they serve it with a salad or fries. I had the cheese plate and that made a wonderful meal. My husband ordered shrimp scampi and it was much better than what I expected though a bit under-seasoned. Still they were very nice shrimp. They offer a wide variety of reasonably priced wines by the glass and you can drop in for a drink before your show though the bar is small. Like another reviewer, I loved the glassware from Wheaton Arts and the service was outstanding. Helpful, attentive, and not at all intrusive. It was truly a lovely evening. read more

Don't be fooled by OpenTable reviews. It was not good. We went for Valentines and there was a prefixed menu. We were put in this little room in the entry way, it was bright and loud as you were right next to the hostess station. Not romantic at all. The tables were close together. When I went to the restroom I could see staff in this larger room eating. We never really made inside the main part of what we thought would be the restaurant looking at the picture of this beautiful old house. The food was really bad. I had some kind of vegetable cake it was so dry you could have used it as a hockey puck. I could have gotten better red velvet cake from BJs. All of the food seemed old. Biggest lesson we learned is do not trust OpenTable. They are paid by the restaurant. read more

Went here for Mother's Day. Big mistake. Spent $190 for three people and the food was awful! If you have a buffet, have someone making sure that the food is replenished. No orange juice for the mimosa station, no soup, no French toast, no salad. We had to point these things out continually. The bacon was not cooked, sausage looked white it was so under cooked. The eggs were definitely powered and the Mac and cheese had no taste. When I finally got some French toast it was ice cold. We were in an old creepy room that was freezing cold. We won't be back. read more

My girlfriend and I decided to go to The Farmhouse for Valentine's day dinner. We had the Prix Fixe valentine's day menu deal. It was 50 bucks a person for dinner featuring a starting salad, an entree, and a desert. Let's start with the positives: 1. The restaurant was very quiet and intimate. I liked this. We could easily talk to each other and hear each other. 2. The decor was nice. 3. The bread was good. The negatives: The service was slow. I get that it's valentine's day and there are tons of people there, but when you only have 4 different salads and 4 different entrees, your job's pretty easy. Maybe they needed more waiters for the number of tables they had? Either way the service wasn't that good. Also when my steak came out they forgot my steak knife, the guy went back to get one, and I ended up waiting 5 minutes to get it and flagging down someone else to go get it for me. Also we only got one water refill the whole meal. The steak: My girlfriend got the surf and turf, I got the turf (a filet mignon). I ordered my steak medium rare, received medium well. Hers was the same. With how long it took to get it, we decided the better of sending it back. The quality of the meat seemed pretty good, however again, it was cooked way beyond what we'd asked for. The desert: We both got chocolate mousse Tira Misu. The mousse had chunks of ice in it, it seemed like it had been frozen, or in chilling it they inadvertently froze it. Also the creamy portion of it was not very flavorful, could you guys maybe have sprung for some fresh vanilla beans? All in all, this is not somewhere I would go back to. Although the people were friendly, the scenery and decor were nice, the reason I go out is the food. And because the food was so far off, and the service was so slow, I won't return. read more

Mediocre food combined with poor service means a very disappointing dining experience. First and last time I will go there.

Ate dinner here this evening before seeing a play in the theater. 2 of us arrived early ahead of reservation, no problem, seated promptly. We both ordered the Rack of Lamb - medium to medium well. The portions were about average, I certainly wouldn't say they were large. The entrée was hot, delicious, served timely, and we both cleared our plates. For dessert we ordered a pumpkin cheesecake slice and coffee, as well as the apple tart/ice cream with milk. The cheesecake was perfect and the coffee was very nice. The apple tart was terrible. Also, they attempted to give us what we were told was milk, but it certainly wasn't fresh milk. It may have been half & half mixed with water or condensed milk mixed with water. Our waiter, "Frank" did tell us that they do not typically have milk for customers, but he would ask the kitchen. I found it odd that a restaurant with a pricey a la carte menu did not have fresh milk as a regular item. Isn't fresh milk pretty basic? Well, we did enjoy our meal, but I felt that the price did not quite meet the quality, but it came close. I rated 3 stars because of the not ready for prime time apple tart dessert and the lack of fresh milk. The staff were extremely friendly and very welcoming, and our waiter was very accommodating to his best. We did not complain about the apple tart....at that price level it should just be better. read more

We had Thanksgiving dinner this evening with a party of 8 at the Farmhouse Bistro. The setting could not have been lovelier, with just enough natural holiday decor. The wait staff was very attentive, but not bothersome. The food was fresh, seasonal, and abundant. Someone knows what they are doing in the kitchen. They made a traditional holiday meal, but it was very well cooked, and fancy enough to be fine restaurant fare. I loved that the deserts were cut into small pieces so that several varieties could be sampled. We drove from out of state to take local relatives out, and had chosen the restaurant from the internet. We could not have been more pleased. If I could get the recipe for the lovely pumpkin asparagus soup, that would be fantastic. read more

My wife and I had dinner there last night. The trout was fantastic! The service was good and allowed me to make it to the show in plenty of time. The Farmhouse Bistro is a perfect complement to the theatre, as I can park my car once, have a great meal, then attend excellent theatre. read more

I decided to try the Farmhouse Bistro because I had tickets to Ring of Fire. I ordered the crab cakes and my friend had the rack of lamb. Both of which where fantastic. My servers took great care of me and dropped off my tickets for the show. It was the perfect evening. I will definitely be back!! read more

I had a lovely evening here with two friends....warm ambiance, wonderful food and the servers made us feel at home while providing personalized service (they delivered our dinner theater packaged tickets directly to our table). We loved the setting with beautiful gardens and decided that the Wheaton room (where we were seated) would be a perfect place for a small group of friends to hold a special gathering. They offer a prix fixe menu that can be paired with theater tickets (we did this), or an a la carte menu with a wide variety of selections. When it was all said in done, the evening was a culinary treat ... good food, a picturesque setting, great theater and an affordable price tag that didn't break my girls night out piggy bank! Can't wait to return. read more

My family and I celebrated my daughter's 50th birthday at the Farmhouse Bistro. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was charming. We had a variety of entrees and everyone had a wonderful time. I would highly recommend the Farmhouse Bistro and will definitely be dining here again. Thanks for a wonderful evening!!! read more

My boyfriend and I ate here and then saw a show at the theater right next door. The whole evening was great. Both of our entrees were delicious (I highly recommend the pan-seared scallops!) and our server Frank was friendly and accommodating. The staff made sure anyone with theater tickets got to the show on time (the show was also wonderful) and we didn't have to worry about parking, driving back and forth, etc. because the restaurant and theater were in the same building with lots of free parking. It was a lovely and super convenient night out. read more

I had a lovely dinner with my family of five. The food was outstanding and the atmosphere was just beautiful. I will definitely be dining here again and would highly recommend The Farmhouse Bistro to all! My server's name was Stephen and he was awesome! He was helpful with food recommendations and very attentive. read more

I had tickets to People's Light, and thought this would be a fun place to dine. I ordered the $39 pre fixe dinner that offered appetizer, entrée, and dessert./ The hot, homemade rolls were the best part of the meal. After that came the chicken liver pate, which was huge and plentiful, but needed salt. In addition, it was served on a brioche, which seemed strange to me. The brioche was tender and flaky, but so much so that it fell apart when I spread on the pate; I would have preferred a hearty brown bread. ( In fairness, this may be just a personal preference.)/ Then came the pan-fried trout, (needed salt and seasoning) served with couscous (ditto) and very good charred asparagus, tender crisp, just the way I like it. The trout was tender, and cooked well, but there was no sauce, and I found it bland. There was an avocado garnish that was flavorful, but there wasn't enough of it./For dessert, I ordered a salt-caramel pot de crème-very satisfying, but literally only the size of a ping-pong ball./ The waiter did not offer me wine, and I had to ask twice for silverware when my used utensils were taken away. He was pleasant enough, but I can't say I felt well attended. All in all, I was somewhat disappointed. With a little extra oomph and consistency, I would have rated this restaurant as "good," but it just didn't quite make a good rating. read more