Farmhouse Cafe in San Diego: A Restaurant Review

For delicious rustic French cuisine in San Diego, the Farmhouse Café fits the bill in many ways.

This tiny speck of a restaurant located in the University Heights area is home to many gastronomical delights. The proprietors, Olivier and Rochelle Bioteau, prepare authentic country French cooking and it's no wonder: Olivier is a Frenchman who attended culinary school at the tender age of 15 before coming to America and making his mark in various establishments in San Diego and Las Vegas. Most recently chef of the Hotel La Jolla's Crescent Shores Grill, Olivier has fulfilled his dream of owning his own place, and with stunning success. His wife, Rochelle, is a general practice attorney by day and bartender and restaurant manager by night.

Adorned with a French wooden duck collection, diners at the Farmhouse Café are greeted by enthusiastic servers. Be forewarned: the Farmhouse Café is incredibly small and seating is tight. Reservations are a must! But if you are a foodie who can handle a slight case of claustrophobia, a visit here is well worth the trip.

The starter menu includes many standards as well as some inventive dishes. The artesan charcuterie plate includes garlic sausage, Knight salumi and coppa Molina ($12). The chicken liver pate ($10) is wonderful both in texture and in flavor. The Capri salad ($12) features field grown heirloom tomatoes and California burrata, artfully plated and delicious. In order to get a well-rounded idea of the offerings, order several different starters and share them; portions are large enough.

Main course choices include chicken Nicois ($19), roasted and served atop roasted vegetables, fava beans and tomatoes in a tapenade. The house made fettucine with Moroccan spiced lamb ($16) is generous enough to be split between two.

Raves also go to the grilled flatiron steak ($19), a Meyer Ranch choice cut thinly sliced, topped with bleu cheese butter and accompanied by arugula and French fries. There's also a Meyer Ranch hamburger ($12) topped with Tillamook cheddar, pickled onions and served with a side of fries.

Several fish dishes are also offered, including a nicely prepared halibut ($24) and wild Alaskan keta salmon ($20).

Don't overdo dinner; save room for dessert. The best item on the dessert menu is the dark chocolate cake with caramel sauce and served with coffee ice cream ($8), followed by the apple tartlette in puff pastry and almond crème ($8). The one disappointment of the evening was with the cherry clafouti ($8) served with cherry ice cream. The cherries were extremely large and without much flavor, and the ice cream while better did not carry the type of cherry "punch" I am used to. A much wiser choice would be to go with the coffee and house made chocolate tasting ($10) or the almond panna cotta ($8).

All in all, a Farmhouse Café dinner is a cozy experience punctuated by a gastronomical assault on the taste buds.

The Farmhouse Café offers a nice wine list and full bar.

Only open a little more than a year and recipient of the 2008 Winner of the Silver Fork Award given by San Diego Home, Garden/Lifestyles Magazine, the Farmhouse Café will certainly win more accolades as savvy diners discover this gem in University Heights.

Visit the Farmhouse Café's web site gallery for stunning preview photographs of the menu. If watching the slide show doesn't make you salivate, something is definitely amiss!

The Farmhouse Café is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Reservations are made by phone only.

Farmhouse Café
2121 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
Phone: 616.269.9662
Fax: 619.501.0348
www.farmhousecafesd.com