Good but expensive Thai food to go.
Some weeks ago, my husband and I decided to go on a lunch date and thought we’d give Farmhouse Kitchen a try. We had been there before, during the pandemic, and had had a lovely lunch on the patio – except for the noise from the construction next door. The restaurant had closed and reopened since, and we were hoping to have better luck – though as the weather was turning, we figured we’d have to eat inside this time. As it happens, Farmhouse Kitchen in San Leandro – part of a small chain – has turned into Farmhouse Kitchen Express and they no longer have indoor dining – the whole of the restaurant has turned into a kitchen. Indeed, they don’t even have waiters or even checkers to take your order: you have to order and pay online (better have a credit card). They do have a terminal in the restaurant you can use to order, however, though it’s a little bit clunky.
We did hang out in the patio while we waited for our order, and it’s nice-enough, though it seems in need of care. Of course, this has been a very rainy spring, so they might be waiting for the weather to turn nice before they work on their patio (I know that’s what I’ve been waiting for myself). Weather you eat there or not, the food comes in to-go containers.
I got the yellow curry with rice ($16) with beef ($4). It was good, but a bit on the spicy side. The curry that depth and it was well developed, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary. I think for the price, it should have been better. I also got a couple of crispy roti ($3) to go with it, and these were pretty good but they were swimming in oil. They were crispier and denser than others I’ve had, but they were still very nice with the curry. The oil, however, made limited how much of them you could eat.
Mike had the roti mataba ($15), a “crispy roti stuffed with curried potato and ground chicken,” which came with yellow curry, ajad (Thati cucumber salad) and a samosa. He enjoyed all of them very much. They were too spicy for my taste, but I’m a lightweight.
He also had the pad thai ($15), which comes with shrimp. He thought it was quite good for a pad thai, though nothing mind blowing.
In all, we felt the quality of the food was pretty high, but also that the prices were on the high-side and not really justifiable for take-out food. We probably wouldn’t go back, given other alternatives in town. But if we did go, we’d order from home first.
Farmhouse Kitchen
16695 E 14th St, San Leandro
(510) 363-8309
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