The $75 menu (which ends up being ~$100 after tax and tip) is extremely small. You will leave the place hungry. And nowhere in the menu it's specified that when going through that menu, the portions are going to be significantly smaller.
Corey
There was a wedding in the restaurant next door, which maybe impacted things. But it shouldn't have. Our service started off okay but then quickly declined. Same with our food. We did the prix fixe meal with wine pairing. The wine pours were very small, they didn't even have one of them, and there was no info provided about how they paired. All we were told was the name of the vineyard. Nothing about it, what kind of wine it was, why it paired with the course, etc. On the food side, the apps and pasta dishes were good. The desert was very much not - I got the tres leches and it was rather awful. The cake itself wasn't good, and it wasn't even soaked. When we asked about it, they took it back, but then it was 10 minutes before the server returned with a new one. Which was just the same not good cake that had milk poured over it. For how expensive it was, our experience was very lackluster. And we were celebrating a wedding anniversary too.
Adam Sachs
Cool little italian place, great wine, and great pasta
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matthew
Incredible food, nice ambience.Not sure what is going on with service - it honestly felt like everyone did not have any training. Everyone was nice but I hope for the restaurant's sake they do some basic training! Would be a great restaurant if they figure that out.
David
The pastas were delicious. We ended up swapping bowls halfway through so we could enjoy them both. Worth the drive to Somerville. Will definitely return.
Gaby Alcala
Some of the finest dining in Somerville! Every course was a delight. Try the pre fix and you will find new favorites. Their wine pairing perfectly match every course
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Frank Maniaci
5 out of 5
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ashley S
Meh. Definitely don’t get the ribeye—it tasted like an unfiltered cigarette. The ceviche is great and the pasta is pretty okay. The ambiance is nice but the glassware and silverware was dirty! The waiter gave me an uncomfortable amount of eye contact and not in the attentive way that nice restaurant waiters do. Not at all worth the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 3
Dan Rogers
Decent food but it felt like it was secondary to branding and atmosphere. Some small details that felt like misses. Thiiick and crunchy crostinis on apps, no starch on the protein mains, bad sear on the swordfish. I'm picking on pretty small things here about the food, but if you're gonna do the whole small menu, cool vibe, wood fired grill thing, I'm gonna be nit-picky about the details. Sever dropped a crostini on the table placing apps, food was auctioned off (waitstaff didn't know who ordered what and just called out food). The one in our party who asked for a to go box was handed it instead of taking the food back and putting it in for them. None of these are major things on they're own, but as a whole they drag down the experience, and at this price point trying to do this model foh details matter a LOT. Music was very loud for an empty space, we were the only ones in our area, and had a ringing sound similar to that of tinnitus that cut through the bumping bass of the reggaeton. Is this a small plates Italian fine dining spot? Because if so the vibe was completely wrecked by the music. Was it bad? Absolutely not. It was a very solid meal with well thought out and fairly well executed dishes, but all of these seemingly small details taken as a whole take what could be a really amazing experience and make it just okay.
Damian
The service was extraordinary. Our waitress was amazing, but the restaurant didn't live up to the reviews. There was dirty silverware and dirty glassware. The appetizers were unremarkable, they even refunded one of the options. The main courses were heavy and soulless. I hope they can turn this place around , it could be great, but we did feel like we were on a reality TV show where the kitchen is a mess.
The food was amazing! Superb and the combination of flavors are on point!
Serina G
I had a great experience at Fat Hen. The waitstaff was attentive and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. I ordered the shrimp gnocchi, which was perfectly creamy and enough to fill me up without being too much. I have nothing bad to say about the gnocchi--I simply believe that it was a basic, and small, dish for the high price point of $29.
For dessert, I ordered the pistachio cake topped with grapefruit and vanilla ice cream to-go. Even as a takeout dish it was delicious, so I imagine it would have been outstanding if I ate it at the restaurant. The cake had a moist, bouncy texture; its richness nicely balanced out with the refreshing grapefruit on top. I would highly recommend Fat Hen as a nice and quiet date night spot.
Ben Nichols-Farquhar
By far the shittiest experience I've ever had at a restaurant, to call it a restaurant is really over stating it since we never got served food.
We had a reservation for 7:30, arrived on time and were told our table was not yet ready and would be in 15 minute, on its own not a but deal.
Jump to one hour later and we still are not sat, and the hostess can provide no information on when or if a table will become ready.
We accept a seat at the bar of the connected sister restaurant la brasa and order food.
Over 1.5 hours later and we still do not receive any food.
Completely incompetent restaurant management, they were clearly dramatically understaffed and overbooked at the same time.
I don't blame the frontline staff at all but clearly the owners are either incompetent, greedy or most likely both.
Absolutely terrible experience, 0/10, don't give them your money.
Herb
We had a special 3 course prix fixe menu for Valentnes day. That lined us up for 3 courses when we might have settled for 2. A salmon crudo with horseradish panna cota might have sounded affected, but it was a wonderfully flavored primo course. Secondis built around herbally sauced funghi and creamy shrimp with gnocchi were rewarding and plentiful. We both ordered the extra price Wagyu filet which lived up to its promise on a bed of seared greens. Desserts were light and innovative. Our choices of flanand a pudding with ice cream werea perfect ending to our great meals.
Adam
A terrific evening on Tuesday, many course of food and two bottles of red wine, and our server Brian was terrific!
The $75 menu (which ends up being ~$100 after tax and tip) is extremely small. You will leave the place hungry. And nowhere in the menu it's specified that when going through that menu, the portions are going to be significantly smaller.
There was a wedding in the restaurant next door, which maybe impacted things. But it shouldn't have. Our service started off okay but then quickly declined. Same with our food. We did the prix fixe meal with wine pairing. The wine pours were very small, they didn't even have one of them, and there was no info provided about how they paired. All we were told was the name of the vineyard. Nothing about it, what kind of wine it was, why it paired with the course, etc. On the food side, the apps and pasta dishes were good. The desert was very much not - I got the tres leches and it was rather awful. The cake itself wasn't good, and it wasn't even soaked. When we asked about it, they took it back, but then it was 10 minutes before the server returned with a new one. Which was just the same not good cake that had milk poured over it. For how expensive it was, our experience was very lackluster. And we were celebrating a wedding anniversary too.
Cool little italian place, great wine, and great pasta
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible food, nice ambience.Not sure what is going on with service - it honestly felt like everyone did not have any training. Everyone was nice but I hope for the restaurant's sake they do some basic training! Would be a great restaurant if they figure that out.
The pastas were delicious. We ended up swapping bowls halfway through so we could enjoy them both. Worth the drive to Somerville. Will definitely return.
Some of the finest dining in Somerville! Every course was a delight. Try the pre fix and you will find new favorites. Their wine pairing perfectly match every course
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
5 out of 5
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Meh. Definitely don’t get the ribeye—it tasted like an unfiltered cigarette. The ceviche is great and the pasta is pretty okay. The ambiance is nice but the glassware and silverware was dirty! The waiter gave me an uncomfortable amount of eye contact and not in the attentive way that nice restaurant waiters do. Not at all worth the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 3
Decent food but it felt like it was secondary to branding and atmosphere. Some small details that felt like misses. Thiiick and crunchy crostinis on apps, no starch on the protein mains, bad sear on the swordfish. I'm picking on pretty small things here about the food, but if you're gonna do the whole small menu, cool vibe, wood fired grill thing, I'm gonna be nit-picky about the details. Sever dropped a crostini on the table placing apps, food was auctioned off (waitstaff didn't know who ordered what and just called out food). The one in our party who asked for a to go box was handed it instead of taking the food back and putting it in for them. None of these are major things on they're own, but as a whole they drag down the experience, and at this price point trying to do this model foh details matter a LOT. Music was very loud for an empty space, we were the only ones in our area, and had a ringing sound similar to that of tinnitus that cut through the bumping bass of the reggaeton. Is this a small plates Italian fine dining spot? Because if so the vibe was completely wrecked by the music. Was it bad? Absolutely not. It was a very solid meal with well thought out and fairly well executed dishes, but all of these seemingly small details taken as a whole take what could be a really amazing experience and make it just okay.
The service was extraordinary. Our waitress was amazing, but the restaurant didn't live up to the reviews. There was dirty silverware and dirty glassware. The appetizers were unremarkable, they even refunded one of the options. The main courses were heavy and soulless. I hope they can turn this place around , it could be great, but we did feel like we were on a reality TV show where the kitchen is a mess.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was amazing! Superb and the combination of flavors are on point!
I had a great experience at Fat Hen. The waitstaff was attentive and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. I ordered the shrimp gnocchi, which was perfectly creamy and enough to fill me up without being too much. I have nothing bad to say about the gnocchi--I simply believe that it was a basic, and small, dish for the high price point of $29.
For dessert, I ordered the pistachio cake topped with grapefruit and vanilla ice cream to-go. Even as a takeout dish it was delicious, so I imagine it would have been outstanding if I ate it at the restaurant. The cake had a moist, bouncy texture; its richness nicely balanced out with the refreshing grapefruit on top. I would highly recommend Fat Hen as a nice and quiet date night spot.
By far the shittiest experience I've ever had at a restaurant, to call it a restaurant is really over stating it since we never got served food.
We had a reservation for 7:30, arrived on time and were told our table was not yet ready and would be in 15 minute, on its own not a but deal.
Jump to one hour later and we still are not sat, and the hostess can provide no information on when or if a table will become ready.
We accept a seat at the bar of the connected sister restaurant la brasa and order food.
Over 1.5 hours later and we still do not receive any food.
Completely incompetent restaurant management, they were clearly dramatically understaffed and overbooked at the same time.
I don't blame the frontline staff at all but clearly the owners are either incompetent, greedy or most likely both.
Absolutely terrible experience, 0/10, don't give them your money.
We had a special 3 course prix fixe menu for Valentnes day. That lined us up for 3 courses when we might have settled for 2. A salmon crudo with horseradish panna cota might have sounded affected, but it was a wonderfully flavored primo course. Secondis built around herbally sauced funghi and creamy shrimp with gnocchi were rewarding and plentiful. We both ordered the extra price Wagyu filet which lived up to its promise on a bed of seared greens. Desserts were light and innovative. Our choices of flanand a pudding with ice cream werea perfect ending to our great meals.
A terrific evening on Tuesday, many course of food and two bottles of red wine, and our server Brian was terrific!
Loading...