Chef Kevin Willmann brings farm-to-table freshness to South City. Farmhaus, located at 3257 Ivanhoe Ave., is the culmination of all of Willmann’s experiences, both in the kitchen and out.
The menu is ambitious in its flexibility, an ever-changing love letter to seasonal harvests and fruits of labor. The transition from spring into summer brings some of Willmann’s favorite crops to the restaurant.
“I feel like the season sort of kicks off in April with morels. We love foraging – we’re all crawling around in the woods,” Willmann said. “It also gets, like, double-edged sword. You’ll get stuck, and everybody wants the morels. And I only found a pound, you know,” he laughed.
He also loves to use asparagus and strawberries. Willmann brings whatever he can collect to the restaurant, and family and friends call with bounties of peppers and other garden favorites. This ingredient-driven approach inherently brings seasonal changes to the menu.
“When the morels run out, you’ve got to be able to shift, be dynamic with things. So, we will do our best to change the menu as anything changes. Even in the middle of service,” Willmann said.
He doesn’t like to disappoint customers with unavailable dishes, so if the kitchen runs out of an ingredient, the team reprints the daily menu with adjustments.
The menu features a five-course tasting menu with optional wine pairings. Many of those items can also be found on the a la carte menu, along with a larger selection of appetizers and desserts.
Right now, guests can enjoy morels paired with flat iron steak, housemade pasta with pesto and fresh-caught Pompano. Late summer brings chanterelle mushrooms to replace the morels.
While he grew up on an Illinois farm, Willmann cut his teeth on the Gulf Coast, opening restaurants and serving thousands of people a day in beachside Pensacola, Florida. He developed relationships with fishermen that have persisted since his move to St. Louis.
Since the pandemic, fresh-caught fish is harder to buy, even with connections, so it’s not unusual for Farmhaus guests to find fish caught by Willmann himself on their plate.
He has also been devoting a lot of time to curating the wine list, and he encourages guests to stop in for even just a drink. While reservations are available, walk-ins are heartily welcomed, and the patio is dog-friendly, perfect for a break in an evening walk.
The restaurant itself seats around 50 people, creating an intimate dining experience for celebrating a special occasion or having a mid-week dinner.
“We definitely want people interacting with each other,” Willmann said.
The goal is simple elegance, and the walls are covered in pressed flowers from a local artist, tying together Willman’s devotion to nature and supporting the city he calls home.
Farmhaus is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday starting at 5:30 p.m. View the daily menu and read more about Willmann’s story at farmhausrestaurant.com.