Barnard

Twin Farms tasting menu (update), Barnard, VT., 10/2025

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building back (but was the front) – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

Chef Nathan Rich curates the tasting menu at Twin Farms with the help of a good team.  They were in the midst of a kitchen expansion when we were there which will add the option of chef’s dinners in the kitchen and a window for guests in the dining room to look into the kitchen action.  On  the menu it states that they will modify the tasting if you chose to have it consecutive nights but with their flexibility in plating it’s easy to create your own tasting of the options that interest you.  The server will caution you that the tasting takes at least 2 hours as it’s about 10 courses.  There were no amuse or extras course not on the menu but it did take over 2 hours however the pacing was quite slow.  Wine pairings are available or there are a limited number of bottles you can order, that are included in your fee or there is a reserve wine list that comes with an additional fee.  The pairing pours are mostly from bottles the sommelier chooses and they are not on the list for you to chose from.  They are usually well matched but mostly inexpensive wines.  When the room grew crowded it was mostly impossible for the sommelier to refill an empty glass in a timely fashion.  Overall the tasting was good but I found it interesting that the only fish was the lobster salad in an appetizer.   Also the bread is its own course and not served to go with the entire meal (an annoying trend I’ve noted in other restaurant tastings).  If you want to see our 2024 tasting menu dinner click here.  I hope you’ll let me know what you think if you go! Continue reading →

Twin Farms breakfast (update), Barnard, VT., 10/22-24/25

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place – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

The breakfast at Twin Farms was served in both of the main house’s dining rooms.  You can compare to last year’s breakfast by clicking here.  The patio room has windows looking outside and was generally a cooler room due to the wall of window but both usually had fires in the fireplaces.  The breakfast menu didn’t change but each day they added one special and varied the potoato preparation.  Service starts with beverages and your daily bread to munch on while you wait for food.  Alcoholic cocktails were available but I never saw anyone getting one.  Lots of teas, coffee and various fruit juices.   They did take good care when cooking the eggs and I never had an overcooked one.  All the bread offerings were good.  As a guest you are offered breakfast the day you check out which is a nice send off.  Hope you’ll let me know what you think if you go.  It’s a lot to eat and drink! Continue reading →

Twin Farms Twiggs dinner (update), Barnard, VT., 10/2025

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building – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 0503

Twiggs is the more casual of the restaurants on site but neither has dress codes.  Twiggs has its own kitchen and staff as well as a large bar and bartender.  The staff do rotate between the venues so you may see the same people.  The Twiggs kitchen is where they have their cooking classes and my husband said they were nicely done.  The large room has a vaulted ceiling and a couple areas with couch seating, if you want to have cocktails there rather than on a bar seat or at your table.  We chose to have ours at our table.  There is a large fireplace at the end of the room but it has a gas log fire, due to some draw issues.  It lends the ambiance without the smoke.  Large marble tables are in various shapes with wood perimeters.  The lighting was lowered and music was in the background.  The menu is different than at the other venue and they have more grilled options.   They were wiling to split items for us in the kitchen and would course it out to simulate our own tasting menu.  I liked the room and the food over here as well.  If you want to compare to our Twiggs dinner in 2024 click here. Continue reading →

Twin Farms (lunch update), Barnard, VT., 10/21-23/25

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place – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

The day we arrived at Twin Farms we were hungry and found lunch was still being served so we partook.  They had a set menu some days usually as well as in-room dining options.  Mostly lunch was in the windowed ‘porch’ room of the main house but you can request to have a picnic to-go.   There are trails around the grounds where you could hike and eat but that’s not really my style so we ate in the dining room.  The sommelier will arrange for wine pairings if you want or there is beer or cocktails if you want alcoholic beverages.  Lunch can be ordered with smaller portions if you want to try more things but the server warned the kitchen was not good on cutting portions down.  I found the ordered portions good since you were paying for 3 meals a day.  There are not a lot of snacks sitting around like some places but your room has a basket of treats, both salty and sweet, if you need mid-meal extras.  One thing I can assure you is that you won’t go hungry here.  This is a post about the lunches we had this visit.  If you want to compare to last fall’s selections click here. Continue reading →

Twin Farms dinnner a la carte menu (update), Barnard, VT., 10/21/25

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main house – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

We first visited Twin Farms in Nov. of 2024, right before Thanksgiving.  It was pretty empty and so we wanted to try it again when it was busier, which we did.  We stayed in a huge room in the main house so it was a quick walk to dinner.  Over the 3 nights we tried the a la carte and tasting menus in the main house dining room and had one meal at Twiggs which is a separate dining venue across a short bridge, but also on the property.  It’s an all-inclusive Relais & Chateaux and we also wanted to compare it to The Point a similar resort that we just visited which you can read about by clicking here.  If you want to read last year’s write up of the a la carte dinner you can click here.    Twin Farms is a bigger place with room for more guests,  It’s bars are staffed with bartenders rather than self serve and tables are all individual rather than any communal settings.  They both have snacks with cocktail hour but I found that even with more people the folks didn’t interact as much.  Our room at Twin Farms was much bigger with 2 fireplaces and lots of service but you do get a key, where you did not at The Point.  The dinner menu has much more flexibility at Twin Farms because you have a menu and not a set meal.  Is this a positive, I don’t know.  During the day they offer some classes that are of no additional charge as well as have hiking trails, axe throwing, croquet and archery.  Stave jigsaw puzzles are everywhere.  We enjoyed our stay and took advantage of having a bartender to order some ‘fancy’ cocktails.  The food varies, but it’s all good and the Executive Chef Nathan Rich came out to visit numerous times. Continue reading →

Twin Farms (dinner a la carte menu), Barnard, VT., 11/22/24

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part of the main house – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

The dining room is divided into 2 rooms.  One has a dramatic coved ceiling, some booth seating along one wall, and a lot of lights.   The adjacent room was where we were always served and it is a reclaimed porch.  Windows to the grounds make up one wall and it is ended by windows to some of the wine cellar on one end  and the other by a large stone fireplace.  The lighting is much lower here and the room more cozy.  Both have music in the background, wood floors, lovely linens, and fresh flowers on the good sized marble topped tables.  One thing I wondered about was would the wine and spirit options be from the “low shelf” since they were included in your stay.  They were not.  The alcohol options for cocktails were many and varied as was the wine that was mostly by the glass.  We did have a bottle at the Twigs dinner but otherwise we let the sommelier pick based on what we were having and it was all good.  If you didn’t like something they were happy to pour you a glass of something else.  A premium list is available at an extra charge but I encourage you to put your selection into their hands. Continue reading →

Twin Farms (lunch), Barnard, VT., 11/21 + 22/24

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part of main house- 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

Twin Farms lunch can be had in the main dining room or ordered as a picnic brought to many places throughout the 300-acre grounds.  Some of the sites are set up with campfires.  You can also have the food delivered to the place you’re staying in.  The facility provides a number of indoor and outdoor activities including hikes, yoga, puzzles and games, cooking classes, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, some downhill skiing, ice skating, fishing, and biking.  They gave us information on flora and fauna of the area but as it was rainy and cold we didn’t get out on the grounds much and instead enjoyed some downtime in front of the fire, in our room and in the main buildings.  We did enjoy a guided art tour of some of the pieces in the main building.  The staff were all super friendly and helpful and really seemed to want to make your stay what you wanted it to be.  The food varied but it was all easily edible, some being quite good. Continue reading →

Twin Farms (Twiggs dinner), Barnard, VT., 11/21/24

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looking through the window- 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

Twiggs is in a separate building that used to be a game room and pub named for the founder Thurston Twigg-Smith.  For the first 30 years Twin Farms operated it had just one dining room, which remains their signature venue.  Twiggs opened in the fall of 2022 to offer guests a more casual, rustic option.  It has a seasonal menu that is all a la carte and features an Argentinian wood-fired grill.   A large portion of the high-ceiling wood-beamed room is taken up by a bar with seats for dining and/or drinking.  A couple semicircular booths are along the opposite wall and a large fireplace is at the end of the room with nearby couches and stuffed chairs for pre or post dinner seating. Music was in the background and lots of lights keep it brighter than the average dining room.  With the wood floor and unclothed tables it felt like it might be noisy when filled but we were there off season and noise was not a problem.  Service was great and even the chef that evening came out to visit after our meal.  Most of the stays at Twin Farms have a 3 night minimum so I would encourage you to pick this for one of your dinners.  The food was good and much simpler. Continue reading →

Twin Farms (breakfast), Barnard, VT., 11/21 + 23/24

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Frankie looked out at the patio – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

Breakfast at Twin Farms was in the main house’s dining area.  The porch addition was used the 2 days we went to breakfast.  It had been re-done last year whereas the barn-looking dining room was re-done in 1993.  This porch room had windows on 2 sides that looked out on the patio and grounds.  A fireplace was at one end and the stone tables were set with heavy stuffed chairs.  Fresh flowers were always on the tables.  After you select your order the staff brought a pastry of the day for you to snack on while you await your food.  Coffee, juice and alcoholic drinks were available in this lowered ceiling room with art on the walls. Continue reading →

Twin Farms (dinner tasting menu), Barnard, VT., 11/20/24

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main house –452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031

Twin Farms was originally owned by author Sinclair Lewis who bought it for journalist Dorothy Thompson.  She promised to marry him if he bought her a farm in Vermont, so he found this wonderful 1795-era farmhouse on 300 acres and purchased it for $10,000 in 1928.  Their parties were legendary but after Dorothy passed away in 1961 the property changed hands several times.  Thurston Twigg-Smith brought the property as a second home for his family in 1974.  By the late 1980s he was limited in how often he could visit the place so decided to re-create it as a resort and hired interior designer Jed Johnson and landscape architect Dan Kiley to transform it into “the number one small hotel in North America.”  With their talents and access to Twigg’s outstanding art collection, they created the Twin Farms of today.  Nine rooms opened in fall 1993 and the number of accommodations grew to 20 over the next 12 years.  Here you can stay in large suites in the main house or various cottages and tree houses.  The current owners have added a second dining venue, Twiggs and expanded outdoor dining options and added 8 more options to stay in. The place is a fixed price that includes 3 meals a day, snacks, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and offers a variety of included activities.  We were fortunate to enjoy the facility and the next several posts will cover our dining experiences while there.  It is on the pricy side but it is all inclusive.  The staff were fabulous and if you have the chance I know you’d enjoy a trip there. Continue reading →