Photography by Laura Wiegmann
When Rik and Pam Squillari opened Harvest Thyme in 2017—with him helming the kitchen/menu and her all scratch baking—little did the couple know that eight years later their restaurant in Davidsonville would still be a hit among gourmands and oenophiles. That they had a recipe for success.
At the time, they were trying to survive in a market saturated with farm-to-table concepts. What sets Harvest Thyme apart was and remains the sense of discovery—first, in finding the eatery located long down the wooded Route 214 in a tiny shopping cluster; and second, eating fresh preparations of classic dishes and selecting libations from across the globe, with extra special attention given to bold ’n beautiful wines, liquors, and craft beers.
My wife and I last visited the restaurant more than one year ago (Spring ’24) and came away from the experience praising the overall vibe and food. Its full name reveals a lot. The ambiance evokes Americana tavern with amber-colored wooden tables, chairs, and a floor-to-ceiling wine rack/display that serves as a crosshatch of domestic and worldly delights. The open kitchen to the rear of the dining area provides a transparent connection to your food choices—the clings, clangs, sears, sizzle, and wafts perk up the senses.
Photography by Laura Wiegmann
And so, we happily decided to make a return visit, for dinner, to enjoy the Harvest namesake at the start of harvest season. We enjoy booth seating and happily selected ours, having arrived at an early hour before the dining room filled to capacity (which it often does, especially leading up to and during the weekend).
Reading through the dinner menu, it’s clear that the kitchen’s focus is on fine cuts of meat matched to seasonal vegetables and starches, whether you’re considering the Harvest Board charcuterie as a starter dish (great for nibbling over conservation), a fresh Bibb & Bleu salad, the Rack of Lamb (paired with a roasted vegetable couscous), or maybe an oven-fired pizza that marries Italian sausage to wild roasted mushrooms. These are but few of the many delectable options that grace the menu, on which you’ll find plenty more star proteins, creative attention to veggies, a range of house-made pastas, and hand-crafted pizzas.
I’m fairly easy to please but I don’t appreciate servers’ pretentious descriptions of the food or zealously pushing particular items because the kitchen needs to move aging product. Many restaurants are guilty of this today. Thankfully, Harvest Thyme is not.
I believe to know and taste quality ingredients when put to plate, and I think the servers at Harvest Thyme know the kitchen is doing exactly that, consistently. Our server provided guidance over sales, which was appreciated.
Though my wife and I each eschewed spirited drinks in favor of iced teas, the beverage menu and wine list are tantalizing. You’ll find a range of traditional and modern cocktails made with fresh ingredients that showcase the barkeep’s talent, all manner of luxurious wines, regional craft brews, and creative digestifs to enhance the post-dinner glow (a Kentucky Koffee made with Buffalo Trace, coffee, and whipped cream looks mmm, mmm good).
Photography by Laura Wiegmann
For our dinner, we began with seafood selections of Pan Seared Shrimp (in a dish with spicy Cajun butter sauce and baguette slices for mopping) and Fried Oysters (cornmeal dusted, crispy, and served with cup of rosemary aioli). Both were delicious.
Our main selections included the Rack of Lamb for me, and the Bolognese for the missus. I absolutely love a well-prepared rack and Harvest’s lamb was on point with is crackling surface sear, herbal chermoula sauce, and juicy, red center—the totality of each bite is fragrant, earthy, salty, meaty. A dish that could be enjoyed time and again, but especially during the colder months ahead.
Bolognese is also a heartwarming dish. Harvest’s kitchen combines linguini, diced prime beef, slivers of mushroom, flecks of bacon, and Parmesan shavings—enveloping all within a tomato cream sauce that harmonizes these flavors. We both enjoyed forkfuls of this classic, and quite filling, entrée.
Leave room for dessert because this portion of the menu is a specialty, here. There are freshly made standbys (like the Harvest Smash apple pie concoction or Flourless Chocolate Cake) and daily/weekly/seasonal selections (a rotation of cheesecakes or the popular Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding available during the cold months, for example). We opted for a slice of the Chocolate Bourbon Cake, which bears slight flavor resemblance to a tiramisu. Yum (!) and a perfect cap to an evening of culinary hospitality that Harvest Thyme has become so very good at providing…and worth discovering for yourself.
Harvest Thyme Modern Kitchen & Tavern | 1251 W. Central Avenue, Davidsonville • 443-203-6846 • harvestthymetavern.com
