The Village Pub at The Vi, Ferndale, CA We almost walked away.... We'd been in and out of The Vi over the years, back when the building was clearly the best thing about the place. And that building deserves better than that. If you've never been to Ferndale, this Victorian is the centerpiece of the whole town. The main drag ends right at its front door. Walking in and looking at the original woodwork, that hundred-year-old bar, the staircases, the paint, it's a genuinely remarkable space. We just stopped coming because the food and drinks couldn't keep up with the room. What brought us back? A new menu. Five egg white drinks. My wife spotted them and that was enough. It's our anniversary, let's give it one more shot. We sat at the bar and ordered two whiskey sours. What arrived looked beautiful, but no foam. Turned out they were out of egg whites. That's a tough moment when it's the reason you drove to Ferndale on your anniversary, and my wife didn't hide her disappointment. The bartender was gracious, offered to comp the drinks, offered to make something else. We said no, we'd drink them. And honestly? Even without the whites, the craft was there. Ice cold, properly made, genuinely delicious. The bartender knew what she was doing. We ordered food and settled in. The farmer's lunch came out first and stopped us both cold. Sliced salami, a small cured sausage, three clean triangles of aged cheese, two thick golden toast points with a rosemary sprig tucked into a pool of herbed butter, and a generous pile of pickled carrots and onion with whole peppercorns. In rural Humboldt, plating usually means they slid it toward the table and called it done. This was intentional, centered, composed, magazine-worthy. Twelve dollars. We looked at each other like we'd found something. Then something happened that we're still talking about. The new owner, Jason, moved here from Nashville and brought a lot of that culinary energy with him. He'd been watching the whole egg white situation. He sent his bartender back over with an offer: could he interest my wife in one with egg whites? She said she thought they were out... Turns out, He'd gone to his house, which is in the building, and gotten fresh eggs. That's the kind of thing that turns a meal into a story. She got her whiskey sour. Proper froth, ice cold, executed right. Exactly what she came for. The mood shifted completely. We ordered dinner. She got the Oklahoma Smashburger, two smashed patties with caramelized onions spilling out the sides, American cheese melted clean, everything packed into a buttered and toasted brioche bun with handcut fries piled around it. That bun had a shine on it. I ordered the steak frites, flatiron, medium rare, pre-sliced and blanketed in a thick au poivre sauce with chopped parsley, a mountain of handcut fries alongside, and a ramekin of housemade dill ranch that had no business being that good. I want to be careful about how I say what I'm about to say. That steak is in the top five I've eaten in fifty years of eating steak everywhere I've ever traveled. I've had a 35-day dry aged tomahawk, I've sat at Niku in San Francisco, Stark's, The Palm in Las Vegas, ate from the hands of Bobby Flay & Morimoto himself so i know a great steak. This flatiron, at $32, belongs in that conversation. I didn't expect to find a top five steak again. I thought I'd already hit that ceiling. It's right down the street from my house. Jason came out to talk, thought we were travelers since no one recognized us. We told him we live in the next town over. He seemed genuinely happy to be here, proud of what he's building. You could see how he runs the place. Hire people who can shine, then get out of their way and back them up. That bartender was carrying the bar with real confidence. The chef came out and you could see in his face that it meant something to hear the food was landing because the Vi is now something. The building always was, and now the inside can finally match it. If you're in Humboldt County and want a real craft cocktail, a kitchen that's paying attention, and an owner who will literally go get you eggs from his own home on a Saturday night, this is the place. We'll be back. Often. Cheers and Well Done! read more

My wife and I came to Ferndale for the day and made reservations at the Pub form7 pm. when we arrived we were quickly seated. After waiting 15 minutes for the waitress to come with menus we asked the matire de if we could get some service. Shortly thereafter a waitress did come with menus and glasses of water She returned to take our order. I ordered the shrimp and pasta With iced tea. My wife ordered the steak with a hard cider. A few minutes later she returns and says they're out of ice tea. Ok, I'll stick with water. A few minutes later she returns and says they're out of the steak. So my wife order something else. Now we're getting angry. This should not happen. But it gets worse. She returns a third time and says they're out of hard cider. I told here "we're done!" We got up and left. Terrible experience and I'll never return read more

Highly Recommend!! 2nd best FISH & CHIPS I've ever had! Served with and ice cold PBR... Can't get any better than that! Good Service, loved the historic building and we were able to park our 30ft RV right across the street. (PS: 1st place fish and chips is at The Harbor House on Bainbridge Island in Washington State) read more

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Husband and I were staying at the Victorian Inn and decided to make things simple and easy by dining at the Village Pub for dinner (the restaurant is part of the inn). It was a little early for dinner (4:30ish) and aside from two women sitting together, we had the place to ourselves. The vibe is cool. Hardwood floors, huge vintage bar, nice lighting. We were greeted nicely by a server who said we could sit anywhere. He brought us menus and took my husbands drink order, a Manhattan. I hadn't really decided what I wanted yet so I asked for a few minutes. Once the server returned to the bar, he asked me to come let him know what I'd decided to drink because walking around to the tables was "hard". I politely shouted to him over at the bar that I'd like a glass of white wine. He brought my husband's manhattan and spilled nearly half of it on the floor and on our table. No apology or offer to wipe it up, just used his apron to dry his own hands. I asked what a particular sauce was on their steak dish to which he replied, "you know, I'm not even sure". Since he didn't offer to find out, I googled it instead. My husband decided on their fried chicken sandwich and I went with the smash burger. The food was really great. My husband said his chicken sandwich was one of the best he's had. Perfectly fried and seasoned batter, good level of spice. My burger was cooked just like a smash burger should be and the fries were delicious. Despite the strange service (though there was another older lady who was very sweet), we liked the vibe of the place and really thought the food was noteworthy. read more

Really great food with lots of options. Sierra, the bartender, was wonderful to talk with and made excellent cocktails. We'll be back!

This was definitely a "village pub" vibe. Lots of cool people enjoying the company. The food was outstanding! There looked to be only one server, and she was running all over. Felt bad for her. Mgmt, get more help. read more

Village Pub - Shrimp and chips - Pubs Near Me - Ferndale, California

Friendly service and good food. We usually like the smash burger with tater tots. The pork lumpia are very good as well. Today, we tried the taco specials and thought they were very tasty too. I would recommend to anyone spending a day in Ferndale. read more

Another great dinner exploring more food options from the Village Inn Pub... so good and they never rush us off... Will be back soon! read more

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The food was great. I had the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich and it was amazing! The chicken was so tasty, the brioche bun and slaw were really good! One of the best chicken sandwiches I've had. Highly recommend! read more

Village Pub - Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich - Pubs Near Me - Ferndale, California

We had dinner here tonight and our meal was delicious. My husband and I both had the steak frites and it was perfect. The restaurant is located in the charming, historic Victorian Inn which is right on Main Street. The service was very welcoming and we felt right at home. Great choice while visiting Ferndale. read more

Went today around 4:00pm and Sierra's drinks were well-balanced and delicious! I started with their Amaretto Sour as an internal nod to my mother-in-law's favorite drink in the late 70's/early 80's for Mother's Day. It was delicious on its own-- but also a perfect mix of nostalgia meets elevated presentation and flavors. The pork lumpia was the best Filipino food I've had since moving to Humboldt. My partner and I had a blast and can't wait to come back for more! read more

This is a great restaurant. We were staying at the charming Victorian Inn, and enjoyed this restaurant a couple of times. All the dishes we had were excellent: the burger, lumpia, Caesar salad. We had the lumpia twice. The service is very friendly . Try this place; you won't regret it! read more

We had been wanting to eat at the Victorian Inn restaurant for a few years since moving to Humboldt. I heard such great things about the restaurant and was finally set to try it. This evening I found out that the restaurant had changed and it was now the Village Pub in the Victorian Inn... still expecting a great dining experience we stopped in. Unfortunately I was let down with this experience. We were the second people being sat for the evening so it was not busy. However it took a while for us to be acknowledged to be seated and the other couple in the restaurant sitting already seemed to have whispers of complaints, including getting up on their own to find salt and pepper and other items. (Later we saw another table come in who helped themselves to the dish-ware themselves to set their table). Unfortunately the one waitress, while kind... seemed like there was some attention lacking to certain details. While we were able to order quickly once sat, we wound up waiting 25 minutes for our food - Fish & Chips and a Flat Iron Steak with Fries. I was ready for a great meal and unfortunately the fries were brown and cold n both plates like they were cooked first and left to the side. There was very little salt on the fries, and no salt and pepper on the tables. My husband said the fish was OK, but the batter was OVERLY salty at one end like salt had been dumped directly into the batter that exact spot. The cherry on top was my steak which appeared rare-ish (mind you the waitress did not ask how I wanted it cooked), which I usually prefer medium or medium rare, but no matter, I dove in, only... I had to stop half way through because my steak was beyond rare, cold and still muscley in some spots with what appeared to be a tendon still connecting two pieces that I couldn't even cut through with a steak knife. I could taste (in the air) the smell of raw meat just hovering over the plate once I scraped off the sauce. This is the first time in my entire life I've felt that I shouldn't have had to pay for a meal and while I did not ask for that, the manager (?) came to apologize and comped the steak plate. Told me "next time let us know and we can fire it up again." Though I'm not sure any steak should have been served that rare/raw n the first place. I'm not sure if perhaps some kinks need to get worked out or what - and I'd like to give everyone some grace for mistakes... but I personally won't be returning anytime soon. (On a side note, the burger and chicken sandwich coming out from the kitchen LOOKED good... though, I wasn't around to see that tables reaction... but I hope they had a better experience.) read more

What a surprise! I thought the limited menu compared to the former restaurant in this location would be a negative for the place. What we got was outstanding. My wife's burger was great and my fish and chips were awesome. The best I've ever had. Fries appeared to be fresh cut and there was a generous amount of fish with a light batter that was excellent. Not a greasy mess like some places. The wait staff was professional and attentive. Prices not out of reason for today. The ambiance next to the warm inviting fire was a welcoming experience. The location across from the gumdrop tree house is convenient. We will be back next time we are in town. Keep up the good work! read more

The smash burger and the tater tots were delicious. The service was excellent. We were there off season so it was pretty much just us. The ambience is Victorian/sports bar. Charming and welcoming. read more

We have always loved this dining room but had not tried the pub menu until tonight - our 55th anniversary. They made it a truly special experience and went out of their way with their hospitality. Truly nice people. The food was excellent and dessert superb. We had the fish & chips, chicken caesar salad and custard dessert. Yum. read more

Good pub grub and drinks. Went with friends on a whim and were very satisfied. Try it out! Nice to have another local restaurant that isn't another take on Mexican food read more

The Village Pub just hosted a dinner for our 50th Anniversary and we were very pleased. Planning went very smoothly for a group of 25 people. Everyone loved the food and service. The building is beautiful. Private room is adjacent to the bar. Jason and his staff were excellent. I recommend checking them out for private parties. read more

The food is delicious, the owners are delightful people, the setting is in a lovely Victorian. What a welcome addition to Ferndale!!