Located at 2918 Johnston St., Scratch Farm Kitchen is a local restaurant that specializes in farm-fresh dishes. All of their ingredients are locally sourced from farmers.
Lafayette locals enjoy the restaurant’s comfortable and laid-back atmosphere and commitment to being environmentally friendly.
The restaurant serves various brakfast/ lunch dishes and drinks, including breakfast plates, wraps, bowls, burgers, salads, soups, teas and lemonades.
Scratch Farm Kitchen started out as a food truck in Moncus Park. With the help of her former partner, Kelsey Leger, and owner Jamie Harson, Harson brought her farm-to-table cuisine to people’s plates by drawing on her expertise at her family farm in Duson, LA. After growing in popularity, the restaurant soon moved to the Winnwood Shopping Center on Johnston St. in 2023.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was comforting. Walking in, you are greeted with a beautiful mural on the wall that was painted by a University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni and an array of plants and ambient lighting.
The ceilings caught my eye; they had bags of vegetables and fruits hanging to display their farm-based business.
My colleague and I had the pleasure of visiting this restaurant on Thursday, Feb. 20. As we walked in, we were prompted to order at the front before sitting down. While waiting in line, we looked at some items they sold: plants, earrings, farm-based food, drinks and stained-glass art.
We decided to look at the food and drink menu as we finished looking at the items. I was astonished to see the number of different teas and lemonades that they sold: lavender lemonade, ginger lemonade, chai iced tea and hibiscus iced tea, to name a few.
The menu contained various healthy options such as a veggie burger, comfort bowl, homemade salads, breakfast/lunch wraps and many more.
I got the sweet black tea with chicken salad toast and some hash potatoes while my colleague ordered the lavender lemonade with the breakfast burrito. For her burrito proteins, she chose chicken and mushrooms.
After we ordered, we sat down at our table. While sitting, I decided to take a deeper look at the restaurant.
Their bar was the center of the place, with surrounding tables. String lights covered the walls, and the air smelled like fresh flowers and good food.
Our drinks came out within five minutes. My tea was perfectly sweet and brewed, while my colleagues’ lemonade was vibrantly purple. According to her, the lavender in the lemonade was not too overwhelming and complimented the sweetness of the lemons well.
Our meals came out within 20 minutes of ordering. I was very surprised to see both of our plates, they were so colorful. The vegetables and fruits were clearly fresh on both of our meals, and their presentation was impeccable.
Taking a bite of my salad was heavenly. I can personally say that I have never tasted anything more fresh. With the salad containing lettuce, chicken salad, feta cheese, tomatoes, fruit, slaw and dressing, my tastebuds were overwhelmed with flavor and excitement.
My colleagues’ breakfast burrito was equally as impressive. We certainly did not expect it to be very large, but it indeed was. The burrito contained two farm-fresh eggs, hash potatoes, chicken, mushrooms, sauce and cheese. The eggs were not too runny and perfectly cooked.
After we finished our meals, I decided to interview the senior line cook, Anthony Burley, a junior at the University.
When asked about his overall experience, “It’s a very refreshing, actually, compared to the lot of the other restaurants I’ve worked at. So, basically, like, the entire process of acquiring ingredients is drastically different than any other experience you would have working in a restaurant…”
“You know rather than getting a semi-truck full of boxes in the morning, there’s like old men with their grandchildren coming in with bags and crates of, like, dirty vegetables and stuff…”
When asked about his favorite aspect of the restaurant he stated, “I would say our direct investment back into the community is really good, just because, like I said, we directly buy goods from people that are basically selling the land that we live on…”
Burley also recommended this place as a workplace for college students. “Actually, most of us over here are students… we’re very flexible in most regards, so long as you have something to bring to the table.”
Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Scratch Farm Kitchen.
The meals were highly priced, but for the amount of food you get and the quality of the food, it was well worth it. The staff was wonderful, I enjoyed learning about the restaurant.
If you would like to visit the restaurant, it is open Tuesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and closed on Sunday and Monday.
