Berry Delicious Breakfast at Rose’s Berry Farm

PLEASE NOTE: This post was written in 2011, and while it should still give you a good idea of the overall experience, it may also contain some outdated information. Please be sure to check their website and Facebook page for the most current information, especially about things like hours and pricing. Our advice: get there EARLY!

---

2011 Post:

So last week you may have seen on our Facebook page or Twitter feed a picture of yummy blueberry pancakes.  I’m trying to learn the art of the teaser and Shawna and I are working on ways to get our readers excited about upcoming posts, so I rudely did not say where we got this delicious treat.  Well, today is the day you find out!

We went to . . . Rose’s Berry Farm in South Glastonbury, Connecticut for Sunday breakfast with a view.

And this is what we ate . . .

I had first heard about Rose’s “Breakfast with a View” in a recent Hartford Courant Article (you can read it here).  My husband and I are big fans of going out for breakfast on Sundays, so we knew we had to try this place out.

Our normal go-to breakfast spot is Mo’s Midtown in the West End of Hartford.  On a good morning we can get ourselves out the door by 8am to head to Mo’s (I hate waiting in lines).  But for our Rose’s adventure, we had to drive a solid 30 minutes to get there and the Courant article suggested getting there at 8 in order to avoid my dreaded line waiting (I’m type A, I can’t help it).  So this lovely morning we needed to be out the door by 7:30.  Yikes!

Fortunately, Shawna and her gang were planning to meet us there and had offered to arrive early and get seats.  Unfortunately, Shawna found out they won’t seat you until the whole group has arrived, so that didn’t help.  Team Mandy arrived at Rose’s (after enjoying a very nice drive) around 8:15.

We headed into the farm and followed the signs to where breakfast was being served.  We parked the car and saw the restaurant up on the hill.

If you have any confusion about where to go for breakfast, they had a nice sign directing you up the hill.  But be on guard.  If you have children who are easily distracted when seeing a fun playground, you might want to blind fold them until you reach the restaurant.  The playground appears immediately when you exit the parking lot and it seems to evoke a strong magnetic pull on many little ones.  Their poor hungry and sleepy-eyed parents have to deal with a playground battle before getting their much-needed cup of coffee.

Fortunately, my 8 month olds aren’t too interested in playgrounds yet, so we easily piled them into the double jogging stroller and headed up a rather steep hill.  The steep hill was actually a blessing in disguise.  That little bit of exercise removed any concern I had over stuffing my face with fluffy pancakes.

We got up the hill and rolled our double stroller up a little ramp right into the outdoor restaurant.  Team Shawna was waiting patiently with coffee in hand and they seemed to be enjoying the nice morning.  Our waitress showed us to a booth in the back corner and she kindly helped me squeeze our stroller in behind the table and out-of-the-way.

Waiting area.

Restaurant.

Oh, and if your child (or children) need high chairs, they have plenty . . .

We were seated and I went ahead and took a picture of the group.  I think this will be the first picture we have posted of our husbands.

Oh, and here is another picture of the view from our table.

Not a bad view for an inexpensive breakfast place.

Speaking of inexpensive, here is a picture of the menu.

They do have a link to the menu on their website (here) but it is slightly different (just slightly, I think the only difference I saw was the price of the pastry basket) from the one they gave us.  Note the great prices, but also note the VERY limited menu.  The seasonal fruit topping for the Sunday we were there was blueberries.  The food was DELICIOUS.  We tried pancakes w/ blueberries, french toast with blueberries, sausage, bacon and coffee.  It was really, really good.  I just checked out their Facebook page for this past Sunday and it was again blueberries. {I’m hoping they may do apple toppings during apple season, because that is my absolute favorite.}

We had a great breakfast with lots of coffee refills and plenty of time to take in the nice morning visiting with great friends.

When it came time to pay the bill, we took a look and weren’t quite sure what we owed.

The husbands headed up to the cashier to pay the bill and when they returned, they looked like they desperately could have used a calculator.  When my husband told me what he paid, it seemed a little off, but we just let it go.  Next time I might suggest figuring out what we owed before going to pay.  However, always leave a good tip for breakfast waiters.  That is a rule in our household 🙂

After wrapping up breakfast (and Shawna getting an Eskimo kiss from Boo), we headed back towards the playground. 

We put the husbands in charge of entertaining the kids and Shawna and I headed over to the fruit picking headquarters/shop to check things out.  There was a sign posted out front that stated raspberries could be picked today, but when we asked inside they said no picking would be going on that day.

We browsed inside and saw lots of goodies for sale and some fun country decor items.  I especially loved this sign about kindness.  I guess it is the new-age version of “if you don’t have anything nice to say” . . .

They did tell us inside that apple picking would be starting soon.  When I checked their Facebook page on Sunday, it stated:

Today we’re open from 9 to 5 pm for pick-your-own APPLES (Gala, Macintosh, Cortland) only! Breakfast is going from 8 to 1 pm.
Hebron Avenue: Open 9 to 5 pm.
Today’s Markets: New Haven (Edgewood Park) 10 to 2 pm and Chester (downtown center) 10 to 1 pm.

So it looks like apple picking season has officially begun!  Here is their general picking calendar.

They also mentioned to us that there is a plethora of fun fall activities happening on the farm outside of picking fruits.  I couldn’t find a lot of details on the website about exactly what is happening, but they said they have hay rides and activities for Halloween.  The best resource for finding out exactly what is going on at Rose’s is to “like” their Facebook page or follow their Twitter feed.  {While you are at it, why don’t you “like” our Facebook page and follow our Twitter feed as well}

It looked like this is where a lot of the activity occurs when picking sessions are in full swing.

So, there wasn’t much going on outside of breakfast the day we were there, but it looks like this place can get very busy.

We headed back to find our kids on the playground.

Ooh.  I almost forgot to mention the bathroom situation for the farm and the restaurant (definitely an important piece of data for us moms).  As you may have noticed in my previous pictures of the view, the beautiful farmland does contain a few eyesores, which are also known as port-a-potties.

They do have an outside sink so that you can wash your hands.

For kids in diapers, I would just change them in the stroller (like I did, but not in the restaurant (gross) it was in the park) or in your car.

Back to the rest of our trip . . .We got some great pics of the kids in these cute Adirondack chairs.

You may have noticed that we ended up using one of the pics for an updated blog header.  We were happily surprised to learn that the chair colors matched our blog background.  Perfect!

After a few hours, we called it a morning, and packed up the crew to head home.  Despite the drive and the early wakeup call, the food and fun made it worth the trip.  Definitely a must-see.

THE MOMSENSE:

Rose’s Berry Farm Sunday Breakfast with a View

Rose’s Berry Farm

295 Matson Hill Rd., South Glastonbury, Connecticut

Phone 860-633-7467

Get directions here:

Enter your starting address:

 

HOURS (2011):

Breakfast:  Sundays (June – October) 8am – 1pm

We have heard from people who say it can get pretty crowded for breakfast.  Arriving at 8:15, we didn’t have a wait, but the parking lot was pretty busy by the time we left.  I’m guessing it gets even busier when they are open for picking because people come, get breakfast and then go pick fruit.  I think the best option if you are like me and hate to wait, is to get there early.

Picking:  When they are open for picking, the sessions are 9am – 5pm

Hebron Avenue Farm Stand:  9am – 5pm

* The schedule for the farm and farm stands does change.  The best way to ensure you go when they are open is to follow the farm on Facebook or call them.

ADMISSION:

There is no charge to get into the farm.

Breakfast is reasonably priced, but options are limited.

Picked fruit prices vary, so check Facebook or call for more information.

DO BRING:

A stroller if you are planning to spend an extended amount of time on the farm.

Cash to pay for breakfast (I need to verify if they accept credit cards.  As soon as I find out, I will update this post).

Your camera for cute photos in the Adirondack chairs.

I also saw someone who brought their own booster seat (I’m guessing the child wasn’t quite ready for the standard restaurant high-chairs).  The waitress provided them with a chair to attach the booster seat to.

COMING UP:

Be sure to check in on Thursday for a grown up treasure hunt that even your littlest explorers will enjoy.