Kristen Foster, like many Eureka Springs business owners, found herself in a difficult position during the Covid pandemic. She, her husband, Colin, and another couple, founded Bombadil’s 2017, a delightful restaurant named after the merry character from Lord of the Rings books.
The restaurant was known for creative recipes using local meat, vegetables, cheese, bread and more from area growers and bakers. They wanted their business to reflect their beliefs about being connected to the earth and the environment.
Colin came up with the name on a drive to see a comedian, pointing out the character represented everything they wanted in their business. However, once Covid hit and they stopped serving brunch and lunch, and Kristen’s partner got into family raising, but Kristen was determined to keep her dream alive. She sold the building and bought a high-end food trailer with a stainless-steel kitchen that she anchored at the west end of Lake Leatherwood at US 62 and Hwy. 187.
The back of the trailer faces the highway and the front overlooks rolling hills filled with hardwoods. The parking lot is roomy and paved, and wooden picnic tables, a garden, plenty of room for kids to tumble around, and knockout music complete the setting. The eating area was designed and built by Colin and it’s a remarkable spot to have a remarkable meal. Bombadil’s is an all woman run business with a team of gifted chefs who believe the menu itself is a work of art.
Kristen has fun playing with flavors, using organic local ingredients and making creative meals that aren’t limited to a certain style or type of food. The eclectic menu has diet options – vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, all with sustainably sourced ingredients.
Head chef is Kristen’s mom, Theresa Torgerson, who’s been cooking around Eureka Springs for years. Try the roasted tomato grilled cheese with Gruyere, cheddar, provolone, herb cream cheese and tomatoes on garlic parmesan bread, or the ribeye grilled cheese. Don’t forget truffle fries. Or go for date and brie sliders with ribeye, house date jam, local bacon, arugula, and Fresh Harvest balsamic on brioche. The creamy lion’s mane mushroom soup is so good you’ll talk to your bowl.
Dishes cost between $10 to $22, and soda or bottled water are available. Desserts are what you’ve never heard of but always wanted, like avocado key lime pie. They have a set menu and also new and rotating menu items posted on social media regularly.
You can follow Bombadil’s on Instagram or Facebook, and connect to them through their website, bombadilscafe.com. Current hours are Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from May to October, they’ll be open Thursday, Sunday, and Monday until 8 and Fridays and Saturdays until 10 p.m.
Whether you want a romantic date night with a view that hasn’t changed for hundreds of years or a to-go meal for your family to eat at home watching Netflix, Bombadil’s has the perfect food. If you’re looking at having a party, they cater! (479) 244-8950.