The Herbfarm is a restaurant located in Woodville, Washington, about 30 minutes drive from downtown Seattle. It is a tasting menu restaurant with the option to have a full day experience which I did. With this package, you get one night accommodation at the Willows Lodge, because the restaurant is located on the grounds of the hotel. The hotel itself was extremely disappointing; the restaurant experience AMAZING!. The restaurant has a farm where it gets most of its produce from. The experience begins in the morning with a visit and tour of the farm. We received a warm reception from Farmer Paul and his daughter who showed us around.
These were THE sweetest berries, I have ever had in my life. Absolutely mind blowing.
After the farm tour, we met Farmer Paul and his daughter back at the restaurant for lunch. After a brief tour of the kitchen, and intro to some staff…
We were lead upstairs where we had a private lunch.
Overlooking the main dining room where we would have dinner later that evening.
Here was the lunch menu they prepared for us.
Everything was fresh, and prepared well though not mind blowing good. However, I believe it represented the passion the restaurant has for their farm.
After lunch, we chose to help the kitchen prep for the night’s dinner. Basically, we helped process herbs and flip bread dough.
It was nice to be back in a professional kitchen! After kitchen duties, we were introduced to the lady who was in charge of the gardens at the hotel and restaurant. She gave us a tour of the gardens and her workshop. The best part of the tour? Meeting the pigs and being able to feed them!
After the garden tour, it was time to go back to the hotel room and get ready for dinner. Dinner started in the outdoor patio, with some drinks and amuse. This was followed by another garden tour (for dinner guests who did not do the full day).
After the garden tour, it was time to head into the dining room to start dinner. The table setting was beautifully prepared.
…and there was even a live musician on site.
Here is a look at the menu for the evening.
The meal started with shellfish, crunchy vegetables and tomato water. The serving vessel was beautiful. I appreciated the togarashi on the spoon. The taste of the clam lingered and was very a very elegant dish.
Next, the chef presented his staff from the open kitchen and gave a speech about the restaurant, and their philosophy. The sommelier also gave a speech. It really added a lot to the experience, and helped everyone appreciate the efforts the restaurant goes through to create each meal.
Next, an amazing foccacio with smoke. I recall it being the perfect bite with even the texture and serving temperature being perfect. The pop of rosemary was a wow moment and I could taste the difference in the farm originated produce.
Next, a veg course with onions and pears and various herbs and flowers. The onion had a nice sweetness to it, then I tasted coriander, and then got some crunchy from the pear finished with some char taste from the cabbage. A very very nice bite.
Next, a dish that reminded me of Japanese chawanmushi. The crab was a very generous portion and I love corn and caviar!
For fish, they had cod. The cod itself was just ok, but the chanterelles were mind blowing with tons of umami. The broth was good too. The fish was cooked in a wood oven but I could not taste any wood/smoke.
The meat dish was pork and was quite possibly the best pork I’ve ever had. Cray umami and the pork was so tender. Outstanding.
Next the cheese course. Another wow moment in the meal. The bread was amazing.
Before dessert, the gave us a warm towel and I remember thinking “this is the best warm towel I’ve ever had”. Anyway, the first dessert was peaches and ice cream. The dessert was very meh. Also, the first service mistake of the night happened here. I asked for the origin of the peaches and the server didn’t know, said he would find out, but never did. Otherwise, service was almost flawless.
The final dessert was really good. The huckleberry was the perfect sweetness and warm temperature.
There was also a few amuse at the end.
…and I added this caramel drink at the end which was delicious.
I should also note that the wine pairings were included with the meal. Overall, this was a fantastic meal and experience. Other than the peach info, the only other thing that went wrong was some confusion with billing. We added some lotions to our order (the bathrooms have this amazing lotion that is locally created for them) and my caramel drink. I was told that these items would be billed to the room but a few days later was informed that they needed my credit card. On the hotel side, they billed for 2 nights when one was supposed to be included, and were unresponsive and took forever to fix. In the end, the restaurant comped both nights but the hotel was a disaster to deal with.
Service at dinner was incredible and the food was too. There were very few misses (the cod and the peach). I would go back and would highly recommend this place. Its worth the drive down from Vancouver or any surrounding areas.