Moderne Barn in Armonk, NY – Good Food, Pushy Staff

I went to Moderne Barn in the village of Armonk, NY recently for the first time. This restaurant is very close to where I live but in the four years since it opened, I have not visited. I pass by it everyday to get on the highway. I was deterred from going because the menu really was not very interesting to me. Too conventional and too American. Alas, I am glad I went because the food was not bad.

My friend and I shared everything. Here is our Lobster Cobb Salad with romaine, blue cheese, bacon, tomato, pickles, avocado, croutons, and eggs. I loved the addition of pickles; my friend did not. The pickles gave it the sourness and crunch that contrast well with the lobster.

Seafood Risotto with mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, and tomato.  This was very delicious.  The risotto was cooked well.  The seafood was fresh.

Cast Iron Brownie à la Mode with vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce. This was the best dish of the night! We loved it. The cast iron pot was a great idea. The brownie was a little crunchy on the outside, warm and sweet. The vanilla ice cream slowly melted because of the warmth from the cast iron pot. It was excellent!

Now, here are some of the negative feedback on the restaurant. The staff was way too pushy. We arrived at 6pm for an early dinner on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was empty. But the staff was in our face, interrupting our conversations left and right, pushing us to order drinks, to order entrée, and to take the dishes away from us. Since the restaurant was empty, there were way more wait staff than customers. Multiple waiters came to bug us on the same thing. Unforgivable! Interrupting customers in mid-sentences.

Lastly, once the restaurant had more people, it was almost impossible to hear our conversation. The restaurant is set up beautifully but the architecture amplifies the sound.  All the conversations become louder than they are – like in the symphony halls.  The wait staff continues to try to kick us out while there were multiple empty tables right by us. I HATED that. We left before 8pm. Our dinner took less than two hours. The way the staff behaved was not cool.

Thumbs up on the food.  Thumbs down on the service.  😦

This experience took place at

Moderne Barn
430 Bedford Road
(Route 22)
Armonk, NY 10504
Phone 914 730 0001