Restaurant Review: The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA

Hello and happy hump day!  Today I want to share a fantastic foodie review for you.  A few weeks ago, one of my best girlfriends asked us to help her check off her Seattle bucket list by dining at The Herbfarm in Woodinville, Washington.  The Herbfarm has existed in its present location since 2001, but has a history dating back to 1986.  This restaurant serves seasonal themed 9-course meals with six paired wines that rotate about every three weeks.  Many of the ingredients used in these seasonal meals is supplied by The Herbfarm's kitchen gardens and farm. In addition to what is grown in the gardens and on the farm, small growers and producers provide additional ingredients such as handmade cheeses and artisanal caviars for these exceptional meals.  Please scroll through and enjoy this visual tour of our dining experience.

 

Tee: Halogen via Nordstrom, similar Halogen "Chest Pocket Tee" in black (available in petite!), $29.50 at Nordstrom here

Shorts: Banana Republic (no longer available online), similar "Women's Everyday Khaki Shorts (3 1/2")" in spitfire, $10 (on sale!) at Old Navy here

Necklace: Baublebar Atlantic Pacific Collection (no longer available), check out the "Coral Arch Gem Collar," $34 at Baublebar here

Bracelet: Conversation Pieces Boutique, check out the "Coral Crystal Channel Bangle," $26 at Baublebar here 

Bag: Louis Vuitton (old Marc Jacobs collaboration)

Sunglasses: Kate Spade "Lulu" in tortoise/brown gradient, exact pair on sale for $81.53 (41% off!) at Amazon here
Sandals: Dolce Vita "Faroe" in black (you'll see them in the photo below), $39.50 (on sale!) at 6pm.com here  

Dinner service starts at 4:30pm, but The Herbfarm offers a free garden tour if you arrive 30 minutes prior to dinner service. Of course, we went early for the full experience.  During the garden tour, we were given samples of different types of herbs and flowers that are used in seasonal dishes while learning the history of the restaurant.  It was so interesting to learn about all of the produce and herbs grown in the Herbfarm's gardens and farm as well as taste ingredients like lemon basil and zucchini flowers.  See that bucket in Allie's hand?  That bucket brings us to the photos below.

Meet Borage (top photo) and Basil (bottom photo), the Herbfarm's resident food waste recycling program.  If you ask, the service staff will give you a bucket of food scraps to feed them.  We took a break during the middle of dinner to get a bucket and walk out to feed these boys as well as let some food settle.  They both have distinct personalities (Borage is a bully, Basil is a whiner), and we could totally tell them apart when visiting their pen.  They were adorable.

The Herbfarm serves themed meals around seasonal ingredients.  Our theme was the summer "Basil Banquet" to utilize the farm's quarter-acre basil patch.  The meal not only showcased sweet basil, but also Thai, lemon, bush, globe, lime, and cinnamon basils.  I learned so much about types of basil during this dining experience!

Our first course was this essence of corn soup, sweet corn beignet, Bellingham Bay Dungeness crab, and primer of basils.  The idea was to break off little bits of each basil and see how it affected the flavor of the soup.  What a great way to begin the meal!

 

After we were served the soup, chef Chris Weber and Head Sommelier Joey Lopaka described the night's meal and wine pairings for us.  I greatly enjoyed hearing how they worked together to bring us the best local seasonal ingredients and wine pairings!  So much thought was put into this meal.

Little cast iron skillet biscuits were offered to accompany the meal a couple of times during the evening.  While the cast iron skillet was cute, the biscuit was light, buttery, and amazing.

Pretty ladies behind their fans!  It was warm in the dining room, so the wait staff passed out fans to the evening's guests to stay cool.  Talk about service!

 

In this photo, you can also get a view of how small the dining room is.  The limited number of tables and excellent service make you feel like you are the center of the universe for this meal.

Our second course was this Basilwood-smoked Washington coastal albacore tuna loin, just-dug Yukon Gold potatoes, French d'Avignon radish, and Nasturtium relish.  The smoked flavor was strong, but not overpowering for a delicious dish.

The third course was this delicious combination of Gray's Harbor fog-drip chanterelles, baked stuffed zucchini blossom, blistered sungold and fresh heirloom tomatoes, seared cheese gnocchi, and lemon basil.  It was amazing how the kitchen kept each dish light but so full of flavor!

The fourth course was this grilled rabbit-and-hazelnut sausage inside a wrapper (like a rabbit lumpia!), roasted eggplant and basil "Spanokopita," and a woodoven roasted carrot.

The fifth course was this roasted Moulard duck, baby fennel, beets, fried Shishito peppers, foie gras, caramelized duck syrup, blackened-onion coulis, Thai basil.  Delectable duck and fois...need I say more?

The cheese course was a Black Sheep Creamery "Queso de Oveja" served with a flatbread stuffed with savory lime basil-plum jam.  Sweet and savory and so tasty!

The first dessert, and lightest, was a purple basil & raspberry sorbet with red pepper veil.

The second dessert was a cinnamon basil ice cream, peach and blueberry gateau, sugar tuille, milk chocolate plaquette, and cinnamon basil syrup.  Coffee and tea were served as well.

The third dessert and final ninth course was a wild blackberry macaron, apple leather with caramel, strawberry mousse, basil creme brulee.  An amazing finish to this fantastic meal!

We asked for a photo with Chef Weber during the meal, and he graciously obliged.  This man is truly a talented chef, and I highly recommend dining at The Herbfarm if you have the opportunity.

If you want to read more about this restaurant and see the upcoming seasonal dining themes, the website link is: http://www.theherbfarm.com.

I hope you enjoyed these photos of our amazing dining experience, and thanks so much for reading!