We were so excited to attend a pre-opening VIP event last weekend at the new Farrell’s in Buena Park. It actually didn’t feel like we even went to a restaurant, it was more like this giant party with 200 of our newest friends, that just kept on going!
Upon our arrival in the parking lot, the girls immediately spotted the Medevial Times mobile and insisted on posing for a picture with it! (Little did they know, they’d soon meet the actual knights inside the restaurant!)

I love the location of this newest Farrell’s because it’s very close to so many of the family attractions that the city of Buena Park has to offer, including Knott’s Berry Farm and Medevial Times. After checking in with the Farrell’s hostess, we were greeted by Alesha from Medevial Times. She had a promotional table set up and was handing out Medevial Times swag and coupons for the attraction. Alesha really interacted with my girls and even visited our table a few times, once we were seated.

Two of the Medevial Times’ Knights were walking around inside the restaurant, passing out t-shirts and crowns and helping the Farrell’s crew deliver some of the exciting desserts that require a whole lot of singing and hoopla! The girls REALLY wanted to order The Zoo, which is one of those desserts, JUST so they could have it delivered by the knights, but we also knew there was NO WAY that the four of us could finish a dessert that had like 1000 scoops of ice cream!
The energy of the entire staff at Farrell’s was amazing and it was something you could feel right when you walked in the front door! I think this is why it felt like we were at a party. While you’re at your table, you are constantly being invited to participate in songs and clapping and although it does seem like there’s non-stop drum banging occurring throughout your entire visit (because there is), you’re so busy having fun that you don’t seem to mind it nor the fact that your child or children are NOT sitting quietly at your table and that’s OK under these circumstances!

We started off with Farrell’s Ooey Gooey Cheese Sticks as an appetizer. For lunch, I ordered the Fabulous French Dip sandwich and the girls all ordered the sliders off of the children’s menu. There was even an option to upgrade the regular fries to chili cheese fries, so of course they hopped on that opportunity right away! We were careful NOT to eat too much regular food since we were ultimately trying to save room for some of their infamously crazy-good desserts! 

Farrell’s isn’t just a fun family restaurant, it’s a total entertainment package, something that you don’t get at typical restaurant. This was apparent after just a few of the talented and energetic crew spent some time at our table, amusing the girls. First, “Max” stopped by our table, and the girls immediately spotted one of the buttons he was wearing which had a pickle on it. He then explained to me that the button was actually Mr. Bob Farrell’s original motto. 

I think the girls took that as their cue to not only start asking him for pickles every time he passed by our table, but also to nickname him “Mr. Pickles“! Not long after that, we came to learn that “Mr. Pickles” was actually half of an infamous entertainment duo that you can probably meet at just about any Farrell’s community event, and at a future Farrell’s openings. The other half of the duo was nicknamed “Mr. Jake” by the girls. Jake is best known as “The Purveyor of Good Times” in the Farrell’s world. These 2 guys were so good with my girls, brought them stickers, pickles and took boatloads of pics with them. I think the girls instantly became lifelong fans after spending about 5 minutes with this duo! 

The girls were extremely impressed when they got to witness an epic ice cream eating contest between the Medevial Times knights and the team of “Mr. Pickles” and “Mr. Jake“.  Each team took a very different approach to how they were going to beat out the other one. While the knights continued mowing through their trough, the Farrell’s duo actually utilized glasses of water to wash it down, while stirring the ice cream and making it more liquid. I couldn’t actually watch for very long, but the fact that “Mr. Jake” did it all with a camera headband on is even more hilarious! I’m kinda wondering where THAT video footage is? 

When it came time for our own desserts, we decided to share an order of the “Ice Cream Nachos” (yep, they exist) and a “Banana Split” and yep…our desserts were accompanied by drumbeats and a song! Both of these desserts were giant and yummy! I jokingly told the girls, who are all competitive cheerleaders, that if this had been one of their cheer competitions, that they would’ve placed first! (I may have helped them a little bit) 

 Everything about Farrell’s is so nostalgic. Their menus are printed on newsprint and you actually can take them home with you. The drinks are served in (plastic) vintage Coca-Cola glasses and there are little American flags stuck into just about every appetizer, burger and dessert. The decor is mostly black and white, with touches of red here and there and each table has an old-fashioned stained glass lamp hanging above it. The servers wear uniforms adorned with armbands and these adorable straw hats that are available for purchase in their shop.

Each Farrell’s location features a shop where you can buy logo merchandise and choose from a HUGE variety of old-fashioned candies. The shop also has a ton of other fun trinkets available, including Farrell’s mustaches. 

My daughter and her entourage just didn’t want to leave the place! I don’t think we were there any less than 3 hours!  After they spent time getting their posters autographed by their staff favorites, and taking MORE pictures with them, it was finally time to say goodbye!