Chef & the Farmer

Kinston, NC · Restaurant

Rating
4.6/5
★★★★★ 4.6
Reviews
20
Rank in Kinston
#19
of 120 restaurants
City Percentile
69%
rating percentile
Address
Chef & the Farmer, 120 W Gordon St, Kinston, NC 28501
Phone
(252) 208-2433
Website
www.vivianhoward.com
Status
Closed · Opens 5 PM

Chef & the Farmer is a restaurant located in Kinston, NC. It is one of 120 restaurants listed in Kinston. Its 4.6-star rating is above the Kinston city average of 4.2 stars. It ranks #19 of 120 restaurants in Kinston. There are 10 photos associated with this location.

About Chef & the Farmer

Chef & the Farmer is a celebrated destination for thoughtful Southern cooking rooted in the traditions of Eastern North Carolina. Led by chef and author Vivian Howard, the restaurant offers three distinct ways to enjoy: 1. Lunch at The Counter, our... More

Hours

Saturday5 PM–8 PM

Customer Reviews

★★★★☆ 4.0 Richard Henderson · Mar 2026

Food was awesome! The wait time was minimal for Shrimp & Grits and a Burger with Mac and Cheese. I gave 4 stars for atmosphere because the music that was playing softly kept being changed by the young girl at the counter. It was a little distracting to keep hearing the music changed because she didn't like the song or just had nothing else to do at the moment. I will come back and give it another try.

★★★★★ 5.0 Erica Santana · Oct 2025

We stopped here for lunch one day and it was really delicious! We got a table right away. We got the mac and cheese, pork samosas, and all the things burger. The mac and cheese was real and had curly noodles. My son said it was creamy and cheesy. There were three pork samosas that were juicy and well seasoned. The outside was crispy and very well cooked! I liked my burger. It was seasoned and juicy. I loved the crunchy onions. My friend had the salmon bowl and she did not like it. The fish was hot, but the salad cold. We also got a piece of cake: oreo, I think. The cake was moist and chocolatey! I was really impressed with the food and we will be back. They had a small bar area and served alcohol. There was a table at the middle that had water jogs and displayed the desserts they have for

★★★☆☆ 3.0 Malcolm Hathaway · Dec 2025

We got catfish filets and chips(potato fingers) That's why we went there . Saw a feed on my Facebook showing a pic of the catfish & chips so we drove and hour and 15 mins to the restaurant from Clayton . There was hardly any catfish in the 2 fairly small filets that we got and the breading was this overly powdery and fluffy and crumbly . I could probably work around the breading , but there was no meat inside . That was the worst thing about the food . The potato fingers were very good and were the best thing about that lil plate . Next we had some mac and cheese that were served with some fried onions on top , I assume they were onions , but they were very stringy and didn't really crunch . They did not eat well .... they just kind of wedded up in my mouth . We put those to the side and s

★★★★★ 5.0 C. Jules · Jul 2025

I found The Counter to be an absolute delight. The structure is flipped a bit. You order & pay (& tip) when you walk in. Then, take a seat. Your drinks are either handed to you (cans of soda) or brought to your table (tea). There is a bar hidden around behind the ordering counter for those in need of an adult beverage. The food is slightly elevated (& a little bit more expensive than a regular restaurant), but the quality of ingredients is obvious & the portions range from skimpy to generous. The BLT was delicious & generously portioned. The Blueberry BBQ Chicken Sandwich was perfect. The squash casserole portion was skimpy for the $7 price tag, but it was devine & shouldn't be missed. Another review had mentioned that the collard greens portion was surprisingly small. I would have to agr

★★★★☆ 4.0 Unique · Apr 2025

Everything was good. And everything on their menu is reasonably priced. And everything they serve has a very unique combination of flavors. And Fendy, our waitress, was great. We ordered the salmon bowl, the blueberry black beans and chicken enchiladas, the fried collards, the broccoli and cheese, the mac and cheese, the roasted roots, the Brussels sprouts, the hush puppies, and the lemon blueberry cake.

Accessibility & Amenities

✓ Wheelchair Accessible Entrance ✓ Wheelchair Accessible Parking Lot ✓ Wheelchair Accessible Restroom ✓ Wheelchair Accessible Seating

Services

RestaurantAmerican restaurant

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This listing is informational. Contact the business directly to verify credentials, services, and availability.