Fat Hen — Restaurant in Somerville

I struggled with writing this review. I have worked in the industry for over 15 years and I know how reviews effect restaurants and staff. I want to start by saying the service was excellent. The plating was beautiful. The atmosphere is stylish and photogenic. The drinks were delicious. Unfortunately the food was a huge miss for us. The beet dish we ordered was so cumin heavy (an ingredient not listen on the menu and powerful even in small doses) that we couldn’t eat even half of it, and we both love beets and cumin. Both pasta dishes were way over cooked and water logged. I make fresh pasta at home, I have traveled in Italy, this is not a case of mistaken texture, the pasta was just way over cooked. One of the dishes was a mushroom pasta that was suppose to contain chanterelle and hen of the woods mushrooms, it was obvious that there were other types of mushrooms in there and not very clear if either of the aforementioned mushrooms were involved at all, it seemed unlikely. The sorbet we ordered was not a sorbet at all, it was more of a granita, completely different texture and experience. The nearly 60$ short rib entree was over cooked and dry with the most flavorless polenta, I can only explain it as being so flavorless it was sucking the flavor out of my mouth, like eating paper machete mash. To top it all off out of the 5 plates that came to our table 2 of them had visible dried food on them, dirty and not well washed. It was the kind of total failure food experience that makes it impossible to even say anything to the server. This meal cost over 250$ with tip. Very very disappointing for a restaurant rated so highly on this platform. As with any experience of this kind I want to believe it was an off night but I felt the need to warn off fellow food lovers who would have noticed these issues and been equally bamboozled by...

We went to Fat Hen pre-covid and they offered a wonderful four course meal. I decided to revisit for a special occasion.

The doors were locked at 5:06 despite our reservation at 5 pm. Odd.

We signed up for the chef’s experience, which over the phone was mentioned as a way for the chef to offer dishes they were experimenting with as extras. There was nothing offered during our experience that was extra and nothing made mention of the fact that it was the chef’s experience. No chef came to speak to us.

The beet salad was a pile of beets and dressed, Mediterranean style greens. It lacked brightness due to lack of acid and the plating could be improved. There was no additional herbs or garnish. Just pistachios, beets, greens and goat cheese. The flavors were very muddied.

We received a bucatini carbonara that I had been looking forward too. It was extremely salty. My husband remarked that it was like a can of concentrated campbell’s soup. The pasta was not cooked enough, even by al dente standards. When we mentioned it to the server she said that since we already ate so much of it she wasn’t gonna do anything abt it. But there wasn’t even an apology or discount.

The steak was alright. But there was a large pat of anchovy butter on top that was rock solid- a pat of butter 3 inches wide and half inch tall which was very large - usually maitre’d butter is softened but this looked like it was straight from the freezer. It was very tough to spread and also made the steak taste worse. They also forgot to put the uni on top until I flagged that it was missing. There was also a small bristle I found… like something off of a brush.

Overall one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a while. Not sure what happened to this restaurant. Would...

The food at Fat Hen is delicious, well-balanced and offers a great variety. It's also paired with exceptional service and attention to detail. Having said that I would not call this an Italian restaurant. I came wanting to try the gnocchi and ended up going with the chef's whim 6 course tasting menu, but requested the gnocchi as one of the courses. Having the chef deliver and describe each of his creations shows his passion for the food. The meal started with smoked bluefish which was delicate and presented perfectly. The next course was hamachi crudo which was my second favorite with a balanced sweetness from Meyer lemons and a surprise with the inclusion of chili oil. This was followed by foie gras which was a little salty until mixed with the quince and cocoa. The potato gnocchi was my favorite and worth waiting for. This dish was a contrast in textures and deep flavors. The rainbow trout was tender with a crispy skin and as much as I like bacon, it felt unnecessary. I was excited to try the NY strip steak which was cooked sous vide and then seared. While it was cooked well, it was missing the deep sear I prefer in a steak. The meal was completed with baked doughnuts which were delicious. It feels like the restaurant and chef are using different influences and techniques to showcase their food, but are still trying to find a true identity. They have a small, cozy interior except for the large plate glass on one wall where the fluorescent street lights shine through. Overall it was a very good experience and I look forward to returning and experiencing more of their ever...