The Farmers Union

My wife and I were looking for a place about a month ago and just happened to find The Farmer’s Union. We made a tapas like dinner from their starters. It was so good, that we came back a week later with friends for the cheese fondu and the blacken trout with the bacon veggies, both great. We told some friends about the place and they ended up going three times in the first two weeks.
But, I have a bone to pick. We went last night for some blacken trout that was so hot this time around that my wife could not eat it (I could barely get it down). We left with a lot of food untouched. They should ask how spicy you want your food before they season it. The food is to expensive to be thrown out for something they have complete control of. If this wasn’t the 2^nd time we ordered the same meal it would not have been so bad. The first time the bacon veggies was perfect. They also forgot to bring us our soup, so we told them to remove it from the order.
They do have a very good selection of beer, a nice atmosphere and a humorous staff.

Oh wow. This place is dee-​li-​cilous!!! We ordered the following:
Crab Cakes Benedict: this was quite tasty with hearty sauce and a perfectly poached egg right on top. The portion was just enough and the healthy serving of potatoes on the side made for a hearty brunch!
Corned Beef Hash: this was equally delicious and my bf appreciated that it had lots of good texture and was finely shredded, as opposed to being a mashed concoction (as is usually the case with hash dishes)
Dirty Fries: we ordered this after reading a few Unilocal tips and reviews and I gotta say that these fries were some of the tastiest fries I have had in a long time! They were perfectly crisp, seasoned, and the dipping sauces (ketchup and some orange deliciousness) were on point!
I would have given five stars no doubt, but when we first walked in, there was no hostess, no greeter, and we were waiting for a good four minutes waiting for someone to acknowledge us before the hostess came by.
Would I come again? Heck yes. I can’t wait!

Great atmosphere especially if the sharks are playing. This was nice quality bar feel place, in my opinion. My waiter was amazing, for a packed place I felt like he paid a lot of attention to me and never rushed me when I had questions. He suggested the calamari which was amazing, lightly breaded with a vinegar bases sauce. But be careful of the peppers in the mix, that was a surprise. I also had the flat iron steak which was cooked perfectly with a very fresh sauce, but the best part to me was their fries with a fried egg as the side. I have a knew idea of what steal and potatoes should be.

Today I fell in love with a sandwich and I will tell you the faithful story of how this love came to be. I was on my way to eat inside the main parts of san pedro square market, but while walking past here I decided why not go in. The inside is beautiful, with cute booths raised up with curtains and an adorable upstairs seating that overlooks the bottom, the bar being in the center of the room inside of at the edges like normal places do.
There were so many things I wanted to order, so I left fate up to our wonderful waiter and so he suggested Mike’s bbq beef brisket which had bourbon & cola bbq, fried onion strings, & pickled jalepenos on a french roll. It arrived on a wooden plank along a hearty serving of fries in a mug. My mouth did not know what it was in for and with that first bite, it was love. The brisket was so tender and the jalepenos gave it a really nice kick. It was a little sloppy to eat, but I still think it was worth the embarrassment of my bbq sauce covered napkin. I tried my sisters mac n cheese, it was good, but I was too distracted with my sandwich to like anything else at the moment. I’m looking forward to coming back here!

Fantastic all around. Second time here (first was for lunch). They accommodated my small family with ease during a busy Saturday night. They had fantastic service (at the host station and at the tables), the food was delicious (we had the chicken skewers to start, my son the Mac and cheese, husband fish and chips, me the risotto), and we really enjoyed the overall experience. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for delicious food, fair prices, good cocktails, and good service. We will definitely be back.

I ate here before a recent Sharks game and really enjoyed it. They seem to have updated their menu again and added a ton more stuff. Lots of good options. I had a reservation so we got seated immediately. Our waiter was busy but he stopped by once and said he would be right back. He did come right back and took our drink orders to start.
We started with the Grilled Chicken Skewers with spicy peanut sauce, pickled veggies. The chicken was nice and tender, not dry. Yummy peanut sauce. Really liked the pickled veggies too.
For entrees, I had the BBQ pork shoulder. The pork was very tender, juicy. It had a nice tomato based sauce on it which was yummy. Better than a regular BBQ sauce. It came with two sides. I had the collard greens and the habanero cole slaw. The claw was a little spicy but not too bad. Collard greens were tasty, nice and soft, good meat mixed in.
My friend had the Grass Fed Burger with brioche bun, white cheddar, pickles, fries, all the fixins. She enjoyed her burger. It was cooked currently. And the fries were really good. Crispy on the outside, soft inside, salted nicely.
Definitely one of my favorite spots before a Sharks game so I know I will be back.

I came here on a Friday around 5:30pm for appetizers and drinks and it was already super busy. We tried to get a table for 2 but there were a ton of reservations coming in so it would have been quite a wait. We ended up sitting at the bar, which seemed faster anyway.
The restaurant/​bar is decorated very nicely with simple yet rustic décor. The staff is very nice and quick with service. The food is good but I felt like they were such small plates, even if you ordered a full entrée. The food is decently priced but again, I wish the amount of food you received was a lot more.

The food was mediocre. I got the salmon and it was pretty dry. My coworker ordered the filet mignon, some medium and it came out with no pink.
The restaurant is also extremely noisy, it was very difficult to have a conversation with my colleagues.

I used to like this place alot more. The fries used to be alot better. I took apart my burger and tried the meat alone and it was totally underseasoned. In fact it was lacking salt altogether. Furthermore it was disappointing to find out that they do not offer happy hour during sharks games. The poutine while unique was under impressive. OCK got them beat.
Thumbs up on the beer selection but this place has a ways to go at the current price point.

3.5 stars.
3 stars for the food, 4 stars for service and atmosphere. The food is decent but really expensive. They have modern American type food. I usually get a salad of some sort and they’ve all been good, but the portions are smaller than usual. However, I love the atmosphere and location. It’s really close to the SAP Center so during hockey game nights, this place gets pretty popular and fun. Great place to just hang out with friends or meet new people.

Delicious. Been here twice for lunch and they never disappoint. We’ve never had to wait to be seated and they have great drinks. The first time I had their union burger with some sweet potatoe fries and the second time around I had their calamari. Oh my the calamari has been by far the best I’ve had anywhere. And the dipping sauce that comes with the calamari was incredible… sweet, spicy, tangy, idk just fabulous. I can’t wait to go back and have that again. I work in downtown so we walked here but I’m pretty sure that they validate parking. The place is not so bright but it gives it a relax feel to it. It has a second floor so you can either be on top of the action or ask for one of those nifty booths they got with a curtain and all. Very much like this spot and I hope they stay open a lot longer than its predecessors.

I love the concept of farm to fork and it sucks to say this place had no flavor in their food. I will declare I came here for a Unilocal event and so they were cooking for the masses which usually effects the quality of food, but nothing stood out to me.
Mac & cheese: I LOVE mac & cheese, but this one I was able to tell myself to stop eating and save the calories. It was too runny for my liking — I like the stringy cheesy type of mac & cheese opposed to the saucy type.
Meatballs: these were ok but a little dry. The marinara sauce was good.
Grilled cheese: I think this could have been better right off the grill but still they were cooked for the masses it was pretty soggy by the time I took a bite. I did like the cheese inside though.
Sliders:? I wasn’t completely sure what was in the sliders but it tasted asian. I took one bite and did not care for the rest.
What DID steal the show for me was this mango beer that they had. OMG I could drink that stuff all day. Need to find it in the stores!

This place lays on the corner of the entrance of San Pedro. I am not sure why I have never noticed this place despite how often I am in the area. I was scheduled for dinner with a few of my friends and scheduled to meet at «farmer’s Union.» At first, I was like wait, what? dinner at the farmers market!!!
The food was soooooooooo good. We ordered mac and cheese for appetizer and I can definitely say this was the best mac and cheese I ever had. The cheese was rich but overly thick and topped with Parmesan cheese.
I ordered the fish and chips. It came with 3 pieces of fish and a side of fries. The fish was seasoned very well. I tried a piece of the fried chicken that my friend had ordered. It was fried perfectly, seasoned very well, and was not dry at all!
I would definitely come back to try the other dishes and the alcohol & don’t forget to validate for parking!

Okay, wow. I am totally shocked by how amazing my visit here last night for dinner was.
I didn’t have high expectations of The Farmers Union, I just thought it would be a nice place to take my girlfriend out to dinner. The restaurant has a very social environment with the bar placed smack dab in the middle so you can see just how many beers they have on tap. I came on a Friday night and it just seemed like the entire street and all the restaurants were so lively. I really like the rustic feel in here and the areas with low ceilings makes you feel like you’re in some classy country home.
Anyway! The food, the food, the food, holy shiz! The menu has choices that you would expect to see in an establishment like this, but, to my surprise, the food is just so well cooked and the ingredient choices are great. I got the Fried Chicken because why the eff not, it’s a classic.
It came with 3 pieces, they were super crispy and not soaked in oil. The mashed potatoes were so soft and topped with a mouthwatering bacon gravy, which was just a total taste bud turn on. The only negative was my side of squash and zucchini were cut in big pieces that were just too big.
There is an abundance of beers to choose from. I went with the Golden State Heritage Honey Ale since I tried a bottle of it at the Market so it was interesting to have it on tap (brewed locally too!).
Service was great, food was great, the atmosphere was great, and because of all of this I had a great night.

Good food selection, drink selection, and customer service. The ambiance of this place really sets the mood and makes you want to come back with your friends.
The Food: I ordered the grass-​fed burger, which comes with white cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and a beef patty on a brioche bun. The bun was nice and soft, the patty was cooked just how I like it, and the veggies were fresh. The burger came with a side of regular fries that were cooked to perfection and properly seasoned. I’ll definitely order this again in the future.
The Alcohol: I ordered a glass of Lost Abbey Carnevale Saison that was extremely tasty. I lucked out and happened to order the perfect beer to eat with a burger. Go me!
I will definitely be back to The Farmer’s Union in the near future so I can try out more food and beer items from their menu. And yes, I do recommend eating and/​or drinking here.

This place is walking distance from the SAP center, and makes for a good place to stuff yourself before seeing a show. We were lured to San Jose this particular night by Aziz Ansari (so funny!), and decided to try out this place.
The menu is all too familiar — American comfort food with a foodie spin. With these, the execution has to be perfect because people have high standards when it comes to their childhood memories. Unfortunately, the most I got from the plates I had was a lukewarm «meh».
The mister and I shared a couple plates: farmers’ poutine, smoked chicken wings, and dungeness crab cakes. You can’t really call the poutine a poutine, as it didn’t feel like the mozzarella curds existed. The gravy was all right but I didn’t care for it. The smoked chicken wings were overcooked and dry, with a very lackluster bbq sauce. I liked the dungeness crab cakes the most, but the sauce didn’t taste like much over the breading.
Well, if the food isn’t that great… maybe the drinks can help? They do have a respectable list of beers, and some cocktails on top of that. It doesn’t hurt to stop by if you are around town for a show, but with so many similar places in the bay, it needs to try harder.

5 stars for the décor! This place is just the cutest. They have booths downstairs that can be closed off for little private dining with a curtain. The upstairs is also very cozy, lots of lighting! Food alone, I wasn’t blown away
I came here for lunch with some coworkers the other day and was surprised to have never been to downtown San Jose (which I think is where this place is located). I was recommended the grilled cheese which had 3 different types of cheese and grilled onions and was nicely paired with a tomato soup and fries all fro $ 12! Pretty good deal and from my pictures, the sandwich was huge! Service was quit friendly as well. My coworker and I actually had dirty glasses and they gave us clean ones right away (the dirty glassware surprised me considering the place seemed pretty nice). We also got dessert which was ok, the panna cotta wasn’t as good as I’ve had. They used cherry syrup which I hate instead of fresh fruit which I’m used to having with this dessert.
Next time I’m going to try something different. Don’t get me wrong, the grilled cheese was good but not sure if I feel complete without eating meat: x a place like this would be perfect for more of a happy hour.

Came by for lunch the other day and we were seated upon arrival during the lunch rush with our reservation.
Crab Cakes (Small Plate)
— Two Crab Cakes that was surprisingly well prepared.
Poutine (Small Plate)
— Definitely a sub-​par item even if it included some shreds of meat.
— Luckily this dish wasn’t too salty (…came out on the bland side)
— …I think they tried to make a Canadian street food too high end…
…I think the restaurant wants to come off as a Farm-​to-​fork type of joint but their food comes off as being bar food… oops?!?
Service by the staff was decent.

That grilled cheese, man.
Some next level sh*t. For real real.
For $ 12, your artisan Grilled Cheese is made with perfectly portioned mounds of havarti, gruyère & white cheddar, caramelized onion, apple mustard, sourdough and sage butter, plus it comes with a hearty cup of tomato soup and a MASSIVE cup of french fries.
It was easily $ 20+ dollars of food, and easily 2 ½ meals served on a legit plank for $ 12. Perhaps one of the best deals in the Bay area.
My Moscow Mule really took the edge off of what was a crazily busy day and way overbooked day .
Beyond the vegetarian food options (which included a pretty prime house-​made veggie burger and what looked like some truly stacked mac and cheese), the service is what really stood out. Everyone from the super cute ginger host to our attentive but not over-​bearing (even when we took forever to actually look at the menu and order) was above and beyond exceptional.
Beautifully plated food, beyond generous portions, next level service– I can’t in good faith give anything less than 5-​stars and I’m excited to go back the next time I’m hanging in the San Pedro Square area.

The good:
— Very spacious
— Nice decoration
— Great beer selections
— Friendly staff
The bad:
— Salty food
— Tough grilled iron steak
— Bland King salmon
This place has great potential; too bad the food was not up to par, especially how great their location is conveniently to everything.