MoCo’s Founding Farmers

Double date ‘lunch /​dinner’ (linner??) for Valentine’s day — I give it 2 thumbs up! This place is always jam-packed…even around 3 – 4 pm when you would expect business to be slowest (although that might be countered by the fact that it was Valentine’s day). In other words, most definitely make a reservation!
All 4 of us been here before, and each time the food has been pretty solid. We all wanted to try something new, which wasn’t a problem because their menu boasts a huge selection — from starter bread/​dips, appetizers, soups, salads, and lots of meat and veggie options! The back of the menu showcases all their drinks, including house sodas and lots of wine and beer. The biggest problem was deciding what to get… can I just get one of everything, please?
As we mulled over our entrée choices, our server stopped by numerous times to accommodate our drink and appetizer requests, in addition to a drink we added on later. She was attentive and always seemed to be nearby when we needed something. :D
This is what we ended up getting, after some intense deliberation: P —
Beef Tartar
Table Biscuits
Spicy Ahi Tuna Poke + Seasonal Blueberry scratch soda (for the bf)
Scallops Meuniere + Seasonal Raspberry rickey (for me!)
Farmhouse Platter, Goat Cheese Ravioli & Chicken Cutlet (our friends’ orders)
The drinks and appetizers came out fairly quickly. Really enjoyed the biscuits (or more like inhaled them actually), with the lightly-​crisped exterior and warm/​fluffy inside. And who doesn’t love some whipped butter & honey to go with that? Beef tartar was solid too; seasoned and tender beef goes well with some salty capers and creamy egg! Bf and I loved the blueberry soda — perfect combo of sweet and tart and fizz. As for the rickey, it was good… but I guess my sour game is pretty weak. I had to add some raw sugar to make it bearable, haha.
Our entrees came out soon after, a little bit after we had demolished the appetizers. :9 The poke was yummy — honestly not that spicy, but more of a sweet & sour sauce drizzled over soft, ripe avocado and creamy tuna bites, with some raw onion and cabbage added for crunch. It comes with some freshly fried chips for dipping. Portion size is pretty large (we took some to go!) and the ratio of ingredients was good… plus, it’s healthy! Especially compared to my meuniere, which was creamy and heavy on the stomach, ha. It was delicious though! Scallops were nicely seared and cooked, and had the perfect give in each bite. Butternut risotto was super creamy and soft, and worked well with the green peas. And even though there were only 5 scallops, each one was super large! I ate 3 and finished only because I shared the rest with my bf.
Our friends had mixed feelings about their choices. Apparently the platter was just so-​so — too heavy on the butter for the corn, and seasoning was eh. They enjoyed the goat cheese ravioli, but it was nothing special. Guess some things on the menu can be a hit or miss.
Splitting the check between the 2 couples was super easy — our server was able to split the appetizers we had shared. I recommend checking this place out!

Founding Farmers used to be one of my favorite restaurants when I first moved to NoVA. However, as time has elapsed, I have come to enjoy this place less and less. Over time, I have realized that the vegetarian lunch/​dinner options are not to my liking, but I had always enjoyed the brunch menu. However, after my husband and I most recently went to Founding Farmers for brunch on Valentine’s Day, my opinion on the brunch experience changed for the worst as well.
Although we understood that Valentine’s Day brunch at a popular restaurant might mean a more crowded ambiance with slightly more chaotic service, unfortunately, what we received was far worse. On the plus side, this was one of the few times the restaurant actually honored our reservation for the time we were anticipating being seated. Our waitress was friendly, but she was clearly overwhelmed, as she got many items incorrect on our order – we ordered a farmhouse bread that was never given to us, we needed to ask for ketchup and syrup to accompany our entrees multiple times, my beverage wasn’t what I ordered, etc.
The icing on the cake as far as our negative experience was the fact that my husband wanted to swap out green peppers on his egg dish for spinach, which our waitress indicated was possible. However, when we received our bill, we were charged $ 6 (the price of an entire side) for the switch from green peppers to spinach in an egg dish. Our waitress had never informed us that we would be charged for a one-​for-​one swap, so you can imagine our disappointment, more at the principle of the matter, than the cost. After we politely expressed our disappointment, the price was changed to an extra $ 2, to reflect that spinach is apparently a «premium» ingredient.
What a disappointment to have a restaurant that doesn’t have the decency to inform their patrons of unexpected charges until they receive their bill, and then instead of adhering to the «customer is always right» mantra, the customer ends up paying for the mistake of the waitress who didn’t clearly communicate this additional charge.
I would encourage all diners to survey your bill closely before paying it, to ensure that you don’t have additional charges you weren’t anticipating either.

I reserved a table for 8 for my husbands birthday. We were seated within 10 minutes of waiting only to be given a booth that would fix a maximum of 6 people. The server even said it was the first time she saw 8 people in that booth. I wanted to switch tables but the wait was too long for a bigger table. Not only were we given a small booth, it was incredibly HOT in the restaurant. I’m not exaggerating that it felt like a sauna in there. I ordered two alcoholic beverages to cool myself down.
Our waitress was friendly, nice, and attentive. She wasn’t that great at recommendations, maybe she doesn’t even eat there.
I ordered the southern fried chicken which came with mashed potatoes and greens. The dark meat was delicious but the breast was a little on the dry side. The potatoes were dry and the greens were salty and overcooked.
My husband ordered the prime rib and he enjoyed it. Perfectly cooked and seasoned.
We skipped on dessert and ordered another round of water before leaving.
I’ve visited twice and so far I’ve had mediocre visits. I might skip on this restaurant and try another in the area.
Service: B
Environment: D
Food: C

I usually sit at the bar because the only time in the mood for FF is brunch on Sundays and it is absolutely packed on the weekends. I love the chicken and waffles, the Reubens are awesome, and the mixed drinks are tasty (but at ~$ 12 a pop I can only really justify getting one).
I’ve had one bad experience with a crappy waiter and dry grits, but we came in towards the end of the brunch rush, so I think our timing was off. It’s pretty consistent otherwise.
The only really off-​putting part about FF is the location. It is a test of patience trying to navigate to the parking garage. You have to drive through, like, 4 parking lots to get a spot and the drivers are always terrible. Also, that whole shopping center has a very pre-​fab, new-​money, yuppy vibe that turns me off.

Came here for thanksgiving with my family. I had been to the DC location before but it was my first time at the MoCo one. We had a reservation but still had to wait a little. I guess it was a holiday, so whatever. The food was delicious and of great quality as I’ve come to expect from Founding Farmers.
A little disappointed though that they were kinda cheap and stingy, especially with the bread and wine. We were allowed to pick just one bread item each. I had some jalapeño thing that wasn’t very good and kinda had to twist the waiter’s arm for a piece of cornbread. He was also stingy with the wine pour and didn’t give a drop extra. Come on, it’s thanksgiving!!! And the meal wasn’t cheap!
Portions looked small at first but we all left full. Prefer the DC location but wasn’t bad.

You know those restaurants you go to with the long menus that include everything from Pad Thai to Shrimp and Grits — and you think, this can’t possibly be ALL fresh (think Not Your Average Joe’s). This is one of those places, but IMO it is on the top of that list.
Whenever I come here, anything I order is good. My Mom will get fried chicken, my Dad will get a burger, and I’ll get a pasta dish and it is all tasty and Instagram ready.
Tip: the Ahi Tuna Poke salad is delicious — best Ahi Tuna salad I’ve tried.

i LOVE coming to Founding Farmers. It is definitely one of my favorite places to eat. Everytime I go the host are nice and friendly, the bartenders were accommodating and the servers usually are pleasant, well spoken as well. I admire the small talk some of the servers present because I know working in the restaurant business it’s stressful, a lot of work, a lot of tables to wait on but even just those few minutes to joke around, or recommend something, get to know your table it really helps with the experience.
Chicken and Waffles dinner portion is definitely my favorite dish, along with the Ahi tuna salad. I am so sad they don’t have the Tater Tots anymore because that was also one of my favorites! At least they still have the bacon!

Delicious home made foods and not too much great sincere service. Very clean and snazzy every
!!
I love this restaurant. Definitely come back next time I’ll try breakfast menu

I kept it simple by ordering steak and eggs. Only waited 13 minutes for my food– fast service! Steak was prepared to specification so no complaints.
If you enjoy being around hipsters with beards and comb over hair cuts– this is the place to be! I’ve never seen a higher concentration of flannel shirts and desert boots in one area…
I’d give this place a 5 star rating if the bartenders washed their hands before handling ice cubes…

My group of 4 came here for MoCo Restaurant Week. Dinner was $ 36 (choice of any breads/​starters under $ 10, any entrée under $ 24, and a choice of any of the desserts). It’s a good way to sample their different appetizers by sharing, since we each ordered one app. The appetizers were really good and portions were generous, especially the blackened chicken wings. The bacon lollis are exactly that… glazed bacon on a stick, 10 servings to an order. The fried green tomatoes, according to my Southern friend, was on point. Sadly, the entrees did not live up to the hype. The order of prime rib was bland, the salmon was dry, and the two orders of ribeye was tough and chewy.
Service was a bit slow. I had 7pm reservations for 4 and we weren’t seated until 7:30pm. Our waiter, though enthusiastic, was slow to come around and didn’t really know the restaurant week deal. He insisted that the $ 10 apps did not apply, since the max is $ 8, which is incorrect. Then when it came to ordering desserts, he came back and said they were out of the red velvet cake. He told us it would take 30 minutes. So, we ordered other desserts, which took more than 30 minutes to come to the table. Before they arrived and after the 30 minute mark, I inquired about the red velvet cake again… It still wasn’t ready! Either he was lying or didn’t know anything.
«True food», yes, but my experience was disappointing. Slow service and mediocre food.
Tips:
~ Make reservations, but be prepared to wait regardless.
~ Order your dessert first (haha!) because they can run out of the desserts.

Great menu and cocktails. The restaurant is loud not a hot date venue. Farmers, Fishers and Bakers in D.C. Is a solid 5 stars when comparing the two locations. This is a 4.5.
Dinner go to’s
Chicken and waffles

Everything about this place is great. The Ambiance is cool. The service was great. The food was phenomenal.
As an appetizer, we got the cornbread. It was absolutely delicious. Definitely among the best cornbread I’ve ever had.
The menu is unique. There are alot of great options available. I had the pot pie. The crust was light and flaky, and the filling was savory.
I’m excited to go back and try another dish!

My most recent visit was 5 stars across the board. I almost groaned when I got the same waiter from my awful first visit but from the beginning he was cool.
I ordered the breakfast sampler. Eggs, bacon, ciabetta bread and a side of Belgian waffles.
My friend ordered the same minus she got sausage.
Service was good, we got our food fast, the food was delicious. Most of all I loved the waffles! It was light and fluffy and if you drown it in their cinnamon maple syrup it’s pure love. Our waiter always checked on us even after we paid and tipped we were chatting it up our waiter continued to refill our waters.

3.5
Service was great — she was knowledgeable about what the kitchen was out of – the daily soups and specials and was able to answer any of our questions.
The food is good, the only person disappointed in the food was myself in our group of 6. My dad’s ribeye was a beautiful cut, looked fresh and was cooked as ordered which is sometimes a rare finding .All around the table we had the biscuits and cornbread, which I highly recommend the cornbread. We also shared the Ahi Tuna Poke which was good, but way over-​dressed. I ordered the mushroom risotto which I was disappointed in since it was made with barley not Arborio rice, with no indication on the menu of such. The taste was OK, nothing mind-​blowing. The best part of the dish was the mushrooms themselves.
Overall I’d say the food is pretty good, but again nothing to write home about outside of the cornbread.

Founding Farmers was truly one of the highlights of my winter vacation in the Maryland/​DC area. Where do I start??? Our party’s favorites were the hangover hash and cinnamon stuffed French toast. I enjoyed every layer of my hangover hash: hash brown topped with chili, cheddar cheese with a poached egg to top off this insanely, flavorful dish. I easily see myself enjoying this over breakfast, lunch or dinner. For a sweet start to breakfast or a dessert option during anytime of the day, the cinnamon stuffed French toast is perfectly delicious. I can only describe it as a French toast éclair.
We opted for dining at the bar-​beats the long wait and had great service.
I’m definitely looking forward to returning to any of the Founding Farmers locations!

Location: plenty of parking either on the lot surface or in the garage. Remember to bring your parking ticket with you so you can get it validated (free up to 2 hours). If you want to be fancy, you have an option to get your vehicle valet … I think it’s $ 5. Don’t quote me on that though. The place gets full, especially on Sat/​Sun mornings, and there’s not a lot of space to wait inside. So if it’s raining on a Saturday morning, you might want to reconsider and make a reservation. Just make sure all of your party arrives on time.
Environment: Let’s just ignore the fact that this place has quite a weird, yet interesting decoration. The most important fact is that I can take my fork and steal food pieces off of a neighbor’s plate. Yes, the tables are that close to each other so you can forget about telling your girlfriends what happened when you went over to a «friends» house to do netflix and chill. Parents with small children, please do us a favor and have a corner booth seat. Bathroom is somewhat clean, could be better.
Food: I seriously, do not see the hype about this place. Yes, this place serves organic, fresh farm ingredients and the cows were pampered before they were slaughtered blah blah blah… I can get the same experience, better tasting food AND less the price at Silver Diner. Sure, the plate is nicely decorated but if your breakfast food taste like ihop then, you just overpaid for ihop food.
Service: If I’m paying for x amount of dollars to eat here, my standard for service is higher. She was friendly but my water glass was looking thirsty. Seriously.
Save your money and go to Silver Diner if you want breakfast. Maybe, I’ll come back for dinner. Maybeeeeee.

SUCH amazing food. Normally, I’m hesitant to eat at «farm to table» restaurants, not because the food isn’t quality, but because the hype is usually disproportionately large relative to taste and price. But I cannot say enough about brunch at MFF. Yes, the drinks are pricey, and there’re no unlimited champagne drinks (wasn’t expecting it from this restaurant. but a girl can dream, right?) But brunch is utterly amazing. (Dinner is great too, actually, but for the area this MFF is in, it’s def the best brunch spot around). If you don’t get the chicken and waffles, you’re a fool. Strong statement. But. So true.
Make rezzies! Wait is as long as the chicken and waffles are amazing. (which is long).

Christmas Dinner Review: I’m adding this on top of the current review since they were so close together. I’ve updated this to a solid 4 stars. So we braved the crazy rain, and boy it was coming down on our drive there. They had their regular menu which was a bonus for us! I wanted the hubster to experience the regular menu. We started off the meal with the biscuits, which were quite good, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. He got the chili which he really enjoyed, I opted for the chicken bolognaise. We finished our meals off with him getting the plate of cookies, and I got the chocolate mousse cake.
The service was excellent, although the place was busy it looks like come a smidge later for Christmas dinner was a good call although it was busy it wasn’t crazy crowded. Now onto the food. The chili was good it had veggies in the chili and meat too. It had just a touch of heat on the after taste but not crazy spicy that I wanted to punch my husband for making me try it. He likes spicy so it suited him perfectly. My chicken bolognaise, was sort of a creamy sauce which I wasn’t expecting for bolognaise but was quite good, they used ground chicken which still made it a bit more traditional of what you’d expect. The pasta was a bit of a wider noodle, think of a hollowed out fettuccini noodle.
The cookies looked great and my husband enjoyed them he said you can tell they were «homemade» which I think means they are made from scratch. They did look like something I would have made myself. The chocolate mousse cake came with a scoop of lovely strawberry ice cream which was a nice balance to the cake. Overall I have to say this place is a good value. I had a sweet tea to drink, all in all with tip included it set us back about $ 65 dollars so really not too bad… and a nice treat. (I did trip extra since it was Christmas Day and having had to work holidays I know it can kind of be a drag).
Lunch review:
I would probably say this place is a solid 3.5 stars. We came here for a holiday work lunch the other day, our group wasn’t super huge, I think in total we had 8. It was pretty crowded for a week day when we arrived just before 1, but as we were leaving at around 2:45 things had certainly calmed down.
Overall the food was good, I got the fried chicken and waffles. It came with a plate full of yummy food, and although it wasn’t the mammoth portions you’d see at other places the food was certainly filling. The waffle was ½ of a belgian waffle, it was pretty solid, a little on the soft side but good. The chicken was well seasoned, not spicy but a good combination of flavors and a nice crunch. Although I did have the white meat, and parts of the chicken piece I had were dry. But not terrible. The green beans were excellent fresh with a taste of sea salt and the mac and cheese was certainly gooey and homemade! Yum! I think I ate about ½ and took the rest home.
The menu overall has a nice variety of items, from fried chicken, pot roast, salads, sandwiches, and all sorts of other options. They also had some vegan friendly items too, as one of our group was vegan. The average price per person per meal is in the range of $ 16 – 20 but for the quality of the food, it really wasn’t bad when you compare it to what you would spend at other restaurants.
I’d rank it higher but the service was so/​so. Our server forgot to take the order of one of the guest at our table and it took us a while to find her to come back and get her order. Thankfully her food did come out with everyone else’s. But then they forgot the order of someone else. In other places especially with forgetting someone’s order you’d think they would have offered her a comped dessert or drink something but this wasn’t the case so I will have to say I was a bit disappointed by that considering it was about 15 minutes before the server got back to us and that was only because we flagged down another server to let them know that an order at our table was not taken.
I’ll still give it another go though, as the food was excellent.

Place was jus aite. If i was a visitor, I probably wouldnt waste a meal on this place but its not bad.
I got the french toaste monte cristo. This was actually done well and I would get it again.
Also had a bite of the floridian french toaste… would not recommend lol.

My second time here. But this time, for my birthday. I’m a grown up now, so I thought a brunch would be fitting! The staff were really awesome with helping me set up the reservation for my party of 12 guests. I love the fact that they keep notes whenever you call to make changes or add comments to your reservation. I was even asked if I wanted cake for my special day, but I declined it considering it would be for breakfast.
On arrival, we were escorted to our own section upstairs. It was gorgeous! Our waiter was nice. He was semi-​patient with us, considering the size of our party. The mimosas were a little pricey, but the food was yummy. For once, no one complained about their food. Even my 4 year old niece didn’t say a peep with a mouth food of yumminess!
So, then… a huge piece of chocolate birthday cake with a candle came to the table! Yay! Super awesome! (Kinda.)
Well, I got billed for it. Yup. $ 8 for a piece of cake I didn’t ask for. But being the nice person I am, I didn’t say anything. I paid for it. Outside, I thanked everyone for coming and whoever got me the cake. *crickets* Turns out, no one asked for the cake.
A couple of days later, I contacted the restaurant and spoke to the manager about it. Not to complain, but just to find out who ordered the cake and if this is normal for birthday customers. She even went over my notes and saw where I declined the cake and that no one requested it. (Thank goodness for the notes.) She was extremely and genuinely apologetic. She immediately mailed me a gift card to apologize! Even better, the amount exceeded what the cake costs! She continued apologizing for the mix up, but I told her it’s no biggie. But it was super sweet of her to do that.
So, the moral of that story is… I’m going back. I have a gift card to spend here, people!