Mud Hen Tavern

Love!!! IGreat HH but even cooler laid back scene. Also the food is YUM. Enough for my vegetarian friends and me who is not. Great atmosphere.

Decent brunch spot. Good food, great music, cool atmosphere, easy parking! However, the portion size and service speed could use some work. I got the gruyère and chive omelet with sausage and a soy latte. For the $ 5 price tag, the latte was absolutely weensy. The omelet and side salad it comes with were very good and I was grateful to not receive an upcharge for the biscuit I requested instead of the sourdough toast but it was, unfortunately, rather dry. My friends split the breakfast sandwich and chicken and waffles croquettes but were only given three — which were challenging to split and not what we saw pictured on Unilocal (4). Our waitress was very nice but she visited us only when the food arrived about an hour after we arrived. It was not the experience Ii had hoped for given the recommendations I was given but I definitely want to go back to try their cocktails and dinner though!

I’ve been to this restaurant’s previous two incarnations.
They have made a lot changes. This place is beautiful compared to the previous ones.
Great atmosphere, albeit a lot higher end and pretentious than ever before.
We did not know, but they were participating in Dine LA, so we actually picked two of each courses from the $ 29 Dine LA dinner menu.
We started off with the Chicken and Waffle Croquettes (not part of the Dine LA menu). They’re freakin’ awesome. Do yourself a favor and order this, no matter what! I could have had 5 orders of this and nothing else for dinner.
For starters we got the Rock Shrimp Crudo and the Roasted Vegetable Poutine. The shrimp was a tiny bit spicy, but with delectable flavors. I assume the Dine LA menu’s portions are a bit smaller than normal, but the three courses ended up being enough. The vegetable poutine was kind of blah, no real flavors, most of it was just potato. Not my favorite.
For entrées we had the Guinness Beef Pot Pie and the Chicken Mole Verde.
The beef pot pie was OK, but way too salty. My hubby said that Home’s (in Los Feliz) Shepherd’s Pie was way better than this. So, they didn’t win us over with this one either. The chicken mole was also a bit bland, but spicy enough and not too spicy, but overall it wasn’t anything to write home about. It just made me reaffirm that I definitely prefer chicken mole poblano.
We had both desserts, the Nutella bread Pudding and the Maple Old Fashioned Donut.
The bread pudding was very dry and couldn’t taste the Nutella anywhere. The donut was super sweet and a bit too well done, too crunchy. We couldn’t finish it; it was just too sweet and I LOVE sweet.
I had a glass of Pinot Noir that was not worth the $ 14 price tag for sure.
So, here’s the verdict. You would think that a restaurant that participates in the Dine LA Restaurant Week would try to put its best foot forward and create a menu and dishes that would make people want to come back and try other things. I think they failed us on this goal.
Thank God it only cost $ 29.
They have a loyalty card, but we were not offered one. I guess the waitress thought that people who come in for the Dine LA event would not become regulars anyway. Well, unfortunately for them, she happened to be correct, but it’s their fault.
Oh, one more FYI thing. Do not sit be the fireplace on the patio, unless you like to have one half of your body get burnt hot!

Everything I tasted there blew my mind. From the «grapiest drink» to the brussel sprouts and chicken and waffle croquettes. We shared a bunch of different plates and left in a glorious food coma. My new favorite restaurant in Hollywood… It’s got a great foodie vibe but also local tavern comfortable. The staff was fantastic. Excited to try brunch!

Really good food and drinks. Literally everything I have tried – and the two times I came I was with a group of 6 people or so and we split everything – was delicious. Must haves: popcorn cauliflower, pumpkin ravioli, lamb meatballs. The cocktails are always delicious and consistent-​either order from
The menu or tell the bartender what you like and he’ll create you the perfect drink. Low key vibe, friendly service. Great place to spend a weekend night.

Small, hidden tavern that most people would never know existed. Came here for brunch on a Sunday. BLT in a biscuit. Something seemed off… wasn’t exactly in love with the taste.
Biscuit was great. Sausage didn’t seem cooked well enough, as the center looked a bit undercooked. I don’t think the bacon AND sausage was necessary. Probably would be better either or. It was lacking in taste and I really wished it could have been better. Fries were excellent and crispy.

Used to be Street by Susan Feniger and was better then.
Went for lunch but they only offered brunch menu. The offerings were very limited and not that particularly tasty. It was nice to sit in the garden area. Too bad the food didn’t lend itself to lingering in the patio.

Went here with a group of girlfriends while visiting LA. Atmosphere was warm and casual, service was good, had a celeb sighting in the process so I chalked it up as a successful pick. After having looked the place up earlier in the day I had come to find the restaurants namesake was inspired by the Toldeo, OH minor league team, being from Ohio I found it way cool. Then we ate and it was awesome!
I had the Grapest Cocktail Ever with Plymouth Gin and was good, not too sweet but a little tart which was nice.
I was dining with some veteran patrons so although it wasn’t on the menu we ordered the Kaya Toast which was mostly life changing. It sounds and looks totally weird. When my friends described it I was super skeptical, because when in the world does coconut jam and dark soy sauce sound appetizing? Almost never, until you have this and it changes your life. The combination of sweet coconut jam, the luxurious fried egg and the salty dark soy sauce all carried to your mouth on a crispy yet fluffy piece of toast is indescribable but awesome.
We also ordered the Crispy Brussel Sprouts, one of the pizzas and the Lamb Meatballs all to share. The sprouts were a definite hit, one of my friends and I are still talking about them and I’ve since come really close to recreating them at home. The meatballs and pizza were both great but overshadowed by the Kaya Toast, sorry folks, I tend to have food induced memory blackouts, what can I say?!
Bravo, Susan Feniger, always been a fan but significantly more so now after experiencing the casual but fabulous likes of Mud Hen Tavern!

Chose this spot because I occasionally work in Toledo and the owner/​chef of this spot hails from no other than Toledo, OH. I had to try it, and yes, it’s better than restaurants in Toledo.
I knew I was meant to be there when the first song I heard once my friend and I saw down was Tiny Dancer! That’s my jam!
Menu had lots of goodies on it. I got «cauliflower popcorn» Fried and season dusted small cauli pieces. Delightful! Friend got the tuna crudo. He loved it. It was not tiny as other review describe it. Definitely substantial «small» plate.
Friend got the fish and chips. It looked on point (I don’t eat fish). He said it was just OK. Not the best he’s had. I don’t know why you would order fish and chips at this place though. His bad.
I got the poached chicken and masa gnocci in green mole. It was small, but really flavorful and delicious. The green mole… yummmm! I would order it again and again!
2 drinks each, 2 apps, 2 entrees, + tip $ 95. Not too painful!
Service was really friendly. The over all spot was small, but expanded with a huge enclosed patio with heaters. «Almost» like you’re inside, but not reeeeaallly. Glad we got a booth in the regular restaurant.
Anyway, you’ll see the sign on Highland. Drop in!

When it comes to New Year’s Eve Dinner: you have one chance to get it right.
(1) Strike 1: Our reservation was for 9:30pm. The restaurant called and adjusted it to 9:45pm, earlier in the day. That was fine. Then when we arrived, the hostess said, «oh, we’re sorry it’s going to more like 10:00pm. We were seated just shy of an hour later, at 10:20pm. We were a party of 9. We had mistakenly assumed that the restaurant understood how to seat in «shifts» for New Year’s Eve. But… apparently not.
(2) The menu had a lot of militaristic rules: everyone at any given table had to participate in the $ 55 pre fixed menu or no one could. This also applied to their New Year’s Eve bottomless punch. Some of us were designated drivers… A little heavy handed, if you ask me.
(3) Strike 1.5: Once we navigated around the fact that we would not be participating in the «bottomless punch scheme» we ordered drinks. The drinks took 20 minutes to arrive — then the waiter (who was very nice and worked his butt off) — took our oder.
(4) Strike 2: Upon taking our oder, the waiter announced: «oh sorry, we are out of the rib eye steak — but we replaced the «rib eye» was replaced with «flank steak.» Are you kidding me?
(5) Strike 3: My roommate was the only one who ordered the «pumpkin raviolis» and then came home to a sour stomach — until he finally regurgitated at 4:00am (and no, my roommate was not drunk — he only had one glass of wine).
Why would I return? Why would anyone return?

This is our late evening super go to place.
When we go on sunday evenings this place is semi busy, and we always get a seat at the bar. The bartender knows our drink by heart so the moment we sit down, they call out our drink. And with that we ease into chairs and start a lovely intimate supper just between us.
The music is always nice, and not too loud so we can enjoy each others conversation.
I wont got into details about the food since the menu is always revolving. We just get a few items to share and everything we order is nice, sumptuous, just incredible.
We love this place. Thank you for being near my neighborhood!

After I wrote my last review, I received probably the most thoughtful, apologetic, and understanding response possible from one of the managers on Unilocal.
So over a year later, I find myself back there on a whim because some friends wanted to go. I was reluctant, but we went and I was surprised to find that almost all of my grievances from my initial visit were no longer there. I’m doubtful that my little Unilocal review was the motivating factor, but it was eerie how it seemed that they had addressed many of my specific complaints.
I got the chicken and waffle croquettes again, and this time, they were incredible. Kaya Toast seemed like a larger portion and was excellent. Service was top notch and friendly. We did bottomless mimosas for the table which were all great as well. I genuinely feel that they have worked out the kinks and I can’t wait to go back!
Most of all, I was compelled to update my review mainly because of the wonderful and understanding reply I received on here from the manager. She told me that they took my comments to heart and had discussed with the entire staff. I was skeptical at the time but after going back, it felt like that they really had done just that.

I really like mud hen for a couple of reasons. The bar area is dimly lit with several seating options, good music, and tvs for sports days. The food items are varied, some are quite good and well priced especially at happy hour. This place is cozy, has reasonable valet parking, and servers are always friendly and attentive.

Saw their kaya toast listed on a ‘Top 50 Things to Try in LA’ list, but unfortunately, they said they didn’t have all the ingredients to make the toast that night. The interior (or exterior rather as half of the restaurant is open roof) was absolutely beautiful so we decided to stay and try some of their other well known dishes.
For our snacking stop, we got the red bean and rice fritter was well as the chicken and waffle croquettes. You could really taste the red bean in the fritters and the hot sauce aioli went well with them. Andouille crumble on top was so little that it just barely added to the dish. Chicken and waffle croquettes were pretty interesting as the spicy maple sauce they were in reminded me of butterscotch or caramel popcorn. As cool as chicken and waffle sounded, they were more like corndog balls with chicken instead of sausage.
We were here for the kaya toast and gave the other dishes a try, but weren’t extremely impressed. For the price, the dishes had very small portions. Though the flavor combinations were interesting and unique, the flavors didn’t come out to be particularly amazing. Service was great and the interior really is romantic and comfortable though. I will journey back for the kaya toast!

Kaya toast. One friend described it best, sex on your tongue. I’ve watched Best Thing I’ve Ever Ate on TV and I could maybe see a few things I’ve eaten that have been memorable enough for the show. This toast, and I know it sounds funny just being toast, is on that list without a doubt. It’s not just toast though. It is a piece of delicious, dense bread toasted to perfection, smothered in coconut jam, topped with a fried egg, and drizzled with dark soy sauce. If you don’t see it on the weekly menu, ask your server. We did. Our friends that we went with had experienced this toast before and were heartbroken when it wasn’t there. After being reassured from our server that we could get it, the next question was how many? Split one? My buddy said we were more than welcome to share one, but he would have his own. There would be no sharing. We all ended up ordering one and he’s right. You’re out of your mind if you ever think I will share that thing with anyone. I think I’ve made myself clear about the glory of this toast.
We did not just stop there. We shared a few other things off the menu. Chicken and waffle croquettes. Delicious. They came out drizzled in a maple glaze that I nearly licked off the plate. Cauliflower popcorn. It had a tangy pickled taste that punched you right in the palate. I enjoyed them, especially after I smeared them through the maple glaze. The crispy brussel sprouts also did not disappoint. If that wasn’t enough food, my lady friend and I also shared the hangover burger. Perfect medium rare on the hand made patty. I love when they cut it in half and the bottom bun is soaked from the juice. Truly handmade. Fried egg and bacon are food’s lingerie. So sexy on top of the burger.
Six dollar 24^th Street pale ales were flowing. I also ordered an IPA and got the wrong one. She told me to keep it and brought me what I ordered. No need to dump good beer. They also have some specialty cocktails if you’re into that sort of thing.
We sat out on the covered patio and enjoyed the night. We know we’re all old when we had to pull out our phones to read the menu because the ambiance is built for romance and not us.
The only snafu was that three of us got our food at the same time while one party member waited for his fish and chips. Our server was very apologetic and it worked out in my favor. I had to help him finish his meal.

I had heard great things about Susan Feniger and always wanted to try her restaurants. I came here last night and definitely expected more. There were some good things and some things that weren’t done very well.
Here’s what we ordered:
— brussel sprouts: crispy and yummy although none of us went near the goat cheese blob that was on top
— pumpkin ravioli: great flavor but not enough filling, i felt like i was just eating ravioli skin
— lamb meatballs: this was my favorite out of everything we ordered. it had great flavor
— deviled eggs: this was my least favorite
— albacore tuna tartare: something did not mesh well with this dish, i think it’s the tangerine that they add. this was very odd and not good.
— poached chicken with mole verde: the chicken and mole were good but the masa gnocchi didn’t have much flavor. i loved the idea of this dish but there were just too many components and it didn’t work.
Prices were reasonable and services was good. This place has a nice bar and a cute patio area but I don’t think I’d be back for the food.

One of the best places in LA. Monday is fried chicken night (probably brined first, was delicious) and the pavan sangria is amazing every night.
Great atmosphere, and it’s Susan Feniger’s restaurant. Just go!

Last weekend I was in town visiting friends and what started as plans to get dinner with 4 friends turned into me orchestrating a dinner and bar night for 16 people. I’m the resident «foodie» (ew) of the group, so immediately got to work on finding a place that was central, had a fun, trendy atmosphere, wouldn’t break everyone’s wallets, would have delicious food (I was being selfish on that one) but wouldn’t freak people out, and had enough of a relaxed vibe with bomb cocktails so we could get the party started early– but wasn’t a college bar. Well, I have to say that Mud Hen Tavern delivered on ALLLLLLLL counts.
The décor is rustic but sexy, bare but intimate, and much larger than it looks from the outside. There was a really great drink menu, with beers that impressed even some of my most well traveled friends, including a Weihenstephaner. I had the «Chili P, Yo» which consisted of: Olmeca Altos Reposado, Mezcal, passionfruit, chile powder, lime, agave at $ 14 a pop, but it was STRONG.
The menu is organized so everyone can share small plates if they wish, or order larger entrees. The favorites by FAR were the Crispy Brussels Sprouts: lemon, whipped goat cheese, pickled mustard seed @ $ 9, and the Chicken and Waffle Croquettes: bacon, spicy maple sauce @ $ 10 which LITERALLYYYYYY made people’s eyes roll around in their head. Looking down at the end of the table and watching people try them was a fun sneaky game.
We all had a complete blast, it was the perfect place to get together with friends, but seems like a nice place to do brunch too. I had a bit of a fan girl moment when Susan Feniger came around to each table to say hi and see how the food was and no one else I was with knew why I was freaking out… I can’t wait to come back!!!

Mud Hen Tavern (it was used to be called Susan Feniger’s Street) is a very hip and relaxing brunch & dinner restaurant located near Osteria Mozza (the Melrose area). Valet parking is available, but luckily I was able to find free street parking just one minute away from the restaurant.
Atmosphere: Receptionist was super friendly and you can sit either the indoor bar area or the outdoor patio area. Lots of flies at the outdoor patio area (to the point it became a bit distracting), but the playlist was ABSOLUTELY amazing (Muse — Starlight, The Verve — Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Black Keys — Lonely Boy, etc.).
***
Coconut Kaya (with soft egg and dark soy, $ 6): One of the signature dish here. The toast tasted somewhat salty (I could taste some grain of salt), but there was definitely an interesting sweet aftertaste and food presentation was lovely.
Chicken and Waffle Croquettes (bacon, spicy maple sauce, braised greens and slow cooked eggs, $ 10): Another signature & popular dish. Okay so you might be thinking, «Spicy maple sauce? Sounds gross!» Actually, it was a pretty good sauce (not overwhelmingly spicy) and chicken & waffle croquettes were very tasty! The biggest problem with this dish? Braised greens was REALLY salty and I couldn’t finish the vegetable.
***
If I am coming back here again, I’ll probably just sit back and listen to the entire soundtrack.

My second visit to Mud Hen Tavern happened last week during DineLA, and I thought the meal from top to bottom was fabulous. I started with the tuna tartar, which had a wonderful medley of albacore chunks, avocado, and a not-​too-​tart sauce. Combining it with the chips on the side was so good!
For my entrée, I had the smokey harbor chowder which was so satisfying; the hint of smokey flavor and the well-​cooked seafood created a warm, comforting soup. For desert, my boyfriend and I split the apple hand pie and the maple old fashioned donut. I think the apple hand pie won that battle, but I’m always a fan of apple pie! I thought the donut texture was overly cake-​like (and super hot!), but it was tasty nonetheless.
I also liked the ambience of the restaurant. There is an open floor area and soft, overhead lighting on side of the bar along with your standard restaurant seating with booths and tables as soon as you walk in. This is a great place to have a slightly upscale, casual, relaxed dining experience!