Curious Wanderer

Aug 6, 20193 min read

Single Thread Farm: Hospitality & Mindfulness

Updated: Mar 16, 2021

You don't just come to taste the food here at Single Thread Farm; you come for the whole experience.

It would be useless for me to talk about specific dishes that we had back because, as you may have already surmised, there is no set menu. I can't even say if they had the same menu for the rest of the week. What is important is that all the courses and all the dishes did not disappoint and were all prepared and plated with much beauty and care. There were dishes that even had that extra "wow" factor.

Even the mocktail pairings were awesome. Yes, that's right, mocktails! I really like that they offered non-alcoholic pairings. I was expecting a slew of sodas, juices and teas, but surprisingly, they had mocktails! I was very pleasantly surprised... and grateful that I found a restaurant that realizes that just because you prefer non-alcoholic drinks, it doesn't mean you can give up on beautiful and yummy accompaniments.

Did I mention the flawless presentation? I know I did, but I thought it was worth mentioning again.

As soon as we walked in the door, I don't know how, but the hostess greeted us by name. Our coats were taken, we were handed drinks and then we were encouraged to look through a window into the kitchen to watch as chefs prep our foods. We got to ask questions, saw first-hand where and how our food was prepared (of course the first thing we checked were if the kitchen and the people are clean).

I love every aspect of this practice: The warm welcome, the comfort, the openness and the opportunity to connect with the staff. And most of all, all these were expressions of HOSPITALITY.

Upon seating, I realized that part of the reason we were encouraged to chat and view the kitchen was that a number of amuse bouche were set and sat ready for us at our table. It was beautiful. Looks like a centerpiece. It was an edible centerpiece. Which made it even more beautiful in my opinion. :)

Single Thread Restaurant came into my radar when I read about it in a food magazine. The next step, of course, was to pore over their website. The website, by the way, is beautiful and very easy to navigate. On their website, I found out that the restaurant is really just one aspect of this WHOLISTIC (I meant to use that "w") approach to, once again, HOSPITALITY.

There is an inn above the restaurant, though it only has a handful of rooms so reservations are limited to those who made restaurant reservations as well. If they put the same care and thought into the inn as they did to the meal, I wouldn't mind staying there as well. Actually, I tried, but it was booked on the weekend we went.

Also part of this WHOLISTIC HOSPITALITY thing I am talking about is the fact that they have a farm that supplies food to the kitchen... and a team dedicated to foraging. Great concept.

Ok, now you will think I am being ridiculous, but... that HOSPITALITY thing I am speaking of? It extended to the water closet. Yup! Heated seats and cloth towels that magically replenish themselves in the basket. I like to think harpies, a-la-Percy Jackson, come in after each guest and wipe the counter down and add more clean and dry and warm towels in the basket.

By the way, the food are not the only "custom" items here at Single Thread, the teapots, the teacups, the plates, the knives, the cutlery... they are all custom-made and curated just for Single Thread Farms and Inns.

Meals are sold as tickets. It brings to mind that the whole thing is one big performance. Kinda like a concerto.

On the way out, we were handed a package made of good quality paper (I love paper) containing a printed menu of our dinner and a small "giveaway". It was topped by a "boutonniere" of sorts that came from their garden/farm that was initally sitting on our napkin upon our arrival. What a nice way to remember our dinner by.