The Three Hens

WTF???
This place is closed down. Gone. Dunzo. Finis. This is an ex-​parrot. This parrot ceases to exist.
I bought a Unilocal deal that is good until February 2013. Went by yesterday to check it out and saw that the windows were all papered up. Looks like another Indian restaurant will be opening in its place. This area is surrounded by them.
I better get my money back! Hey, ten bucks is ten bucks!

Service was sssssllllllloooooowwwwww. And we were the only ones there for lunch :) food was ok. Lamburger was good. But nothing special.
I want to try brunch here. I think that may be better.

Couldn’t wait for Penelope… wish I did.
I had reasonable expectations walking into the place, lots of fairly happy looking diners, nice décor, and waiters buzzing around etc. Was seated promptly, and drinks were ordered… then it went down hill.
Waitress was pleasant enough, but her chewing gum did somewhat put me off her, think Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
BLT & Nutella French toast ordered. So you know how when you order you continue chatting, and then without giving it any thought the food appears whilst you’re still chatting? Yes? Well that didn’t happen. Did it appear 10 mins after I asked myself where my food was? No it did not. It appeared not 30s before I was ready to up and leave. 45mins for a BLT and nutella french toast? I wouldn’t have minded but the waitress was avoiding us like the plague, recognition of the tardiness, and perhaps some complementary coffee would have been nice. I honestly thought we had been completely forgotten.
On delivery the waiter (not Violet) quipped about a «Nutella conspiracy», I think he was trying to say «we had to send staff out to buy nutella, sorry about the wait». Well I thought, it better be good after all that waiting…
BLT was only $ 10, but I do expect there to be more than thin air between ¾ of the bread. One streak of bacon? My $ 10 bill felt violated. The nutella french toast was also very bland.
Ate the food, and got out pronto. Staying clear of this place in the future. Perhaps it’s riding on the coat tails of Penelope for brunch? A shame because it could do so much better (and occasionally does, by the looks of the rating distribution).
Improve brunch, attentiveness, and consistency — do the space justice!

Oh, where to start! We had an absolutely AMAZING dinner at The Three Hens in NYC. From the enthusiastic and knowledgable staff, to the modern/​eclectic décor, to the delicious and unique entrees/​cocktails! If you are looking for something a little different than the traditional dinner menu food at most restaurants, this is the place to try it! I was skeptical at some of the menu items, as I am a very picky eater, and found that everything I tried I absolutely loved. The staff was incredible, they were able to recommend dishes for us as a group, we were planning on sharing, and gave us a nice variety of menu items that we would all enjoy. Some of the menu items we chose to share were:
–Kobe Beef Sliders — tender, melt in your mouth beef — DELICIOUS!
–Fried Chicken — out of this world. I will order this every time I return!
–Spinach & Beet Salad — something I thought I would not care for, but absolutely loved. The dressing & the crunchiness of the walnuts gives it something extra.
–Skillet-​Roasted Chicken — to die for. Tender, slight crisp to the skin, and an amazing sauce.
We also had some cocktails:
–Fig Champagne — champagne with a splash of fig preserves. Something, again, I thought I would not care for, but that was, again, out of this world!
–A variety of wines, both red and white, all excellent.
We will return to The Three Hens over & over again. I truly did not experience one negative thing about it! What a great addition to the Murray Hill District — something new, fresh, and exciting!

Like many others, I had a two hour wait for penelope for brunch. It ridiculous to have to wait that long for food! So we wandered around and found this gem of a place. it was cute and small, nice modern décor inside. and they had a wall with a mural of all grass wc it hought was really cool. floor to ceiling glass windows so you can look at the people walking outside. amusing.
i originally wanted to goto penelope bc of their nutella waffles… guess what? they have it here at three hens!!! i was soooo excited! it was really really good too! i think it was brioche stuffed with the nutella with some fresh fruit on the side. fantastic. my friend had the steak and eggs. it was really good too. steak was decent and perfectly cooked. i had the french press coffee. yum.
Service here is excellent. They are all very friendly and knowledgeable and accomodating.
This is a must try in this area. Very cute and i might have to try them for dinner one day, especially witht he Unilocal deal!

Do yourself a favor and do go for the brunch cocktails. As a bloody mary enthusiast, I’d have to say the spicy concoction they make remains among the best. Otherwise, don’t go with too high of expectations for the food where quality and quantity left as much to be desired as the less than stellar service.
–French Toast– sweet, filled with fruit filling was tasty
–Chorizo omelette– minimal portions, minimal taste. No sense of heat which was disappointing considering that the dish was also to be augmented by seemingly absent pepperocinis
–Chix pot pie– not your traditional saucy, cream filled pie which isn’t a problem of itself but it tasted like a frozen preparation I could make at home for a quarter of the cost and twice the size; seasonal veggies, eh? guess peas, carrots and celery qualify as seasonal
Servers– bedside manner was excellent, until they disappeared to the bat cave. Meal arrived excruciatingly late and the check had errors in its tardiness as well
Overall, I’d go if I had crutches and lived upstairs. There are plenty of other brunch gems in this city.

So I adore this restaurant. I bought a Groupon awhile back and finally used it to take my best friend out to dinner.
I made a reservation but I didn’t really need one considering it was a cold Tuesday night and the place wasn’t packed. Yes that made me skeptical but I was going to use my Groupon and at least get a fun experience. (You might want to make a reservation on the weekend, our waiter informed me that it gets pretty packed Friday through Sunday)
So here is what our pre-​fixed menu Groupon gave us:
1 appetizer– French Brioche Onion Soup
2 entrees– Grass Fed Hamburger (The fries were EXCELLENT) and Pan Seared Cod with Cumin Mango Chutney — Now here is a funny story. I’m allergic to mangoes but I LOVE eating them. I also love fish and combining that makes me a very happy lady. Sure I have to down some bendadryl when I get home because my mouth is tingling but I love every moment I eat a food dish with mango. This fish was moist and flaky and the asparagus that came with it were pretty large and a little too chewy for my taste but the fennel that came with it was excellent.
We splurged and tried some of their cocktails. My friend Alex ordered a mojito which is not on the menu but they EVEN went out of their way when they didn’t even have mint and went to a grocery store to purchase some mint for the mojito. Sure we probably had to wait an extra ten minutes after we ordered our drinks but that is awesome service in my books. Kudos to you guys. I ordered the spicy coke cocktail and I love me some Jack and Cokes and this was essentially a jack and coke with a kick. Very yummy. ***Side note– The bartender who made my friends mojito was excellent.***
One more thing. The waiter that we had was an absolute doll. Sure the place wasn’t packed but he was great with his recommendation and we gave him more then a 20% tip for his service. Great restaurant. I have to bring a date here!

I’ve only been here for dinner, but was pleasantly surprised. Although, I admit my expectations for restaurants in Murray Hill/​Kips Bay tend to be low.
The décor was very cute and homey, definitely complimented the «comfort food» cuisine they claim to serve. The wait staff was very nice and fairly attentive. The waiter was pushing the specialty drinks which kinda made me feel that he was trying to up sell us. However, they have a nice, reasonable wine list. The service is a little slow, but my friend and I were not in a hurry, so we didn’t mind.
Food was solid, nothing outstanding. I started with the onion soup which was tasty. For my main I had the calamari. Light fried, which I prefer. The roasted pepper aioli and serrano chili oil would have complimented the calamari nicely; however there was hardly any of either.
Three Hens has room for improvement; however it shows promise. A nice addition to the ever improving neighborhood.

So the wife and I decided to give Three Hens another shot, as the first time we went, it wasn’t long after they opened for business. Saturday brunch again, this time about noon.
Service was okay, somewhat spotty. It looked the manager was on the floor helping out, and that’s good to see (maybe — ideally, the front of the house shouldn’t need help from management).
However, and this is a big however (Management, pay attention) —
Put salt and pepper on the tables, and if toast is part of the deal, butter. At least.
Salt and pepper cost very little, and to not put them out suggests that you think your kitchen seasons everything perfectly. This ain’t haute cuisine, it’s brunch. My omelette shouldn’t have needed salt to begin with, and seeing as it did, the salt should have been on the table.
(And yes, my mentioning butter means that we had to ask for butter for our toast.)
Speaking of the toast, it is not the grilled toast of our previous visit, and that was disappointing, but I can see that grilling the toast would slow down an already slow kitchen. So, okay. Along those lines, we noticed that changes had been made to the menu to speed up the kitchen, like no grilled toast. So they’re trying. But did you really have to take the ricotta cheese off the menu?
Changes to the menu, changes to the food. The food was all right, but not as good as our previous visit. Gone is the jalapeño omelette that I had last time. I don’t like spicy food, but that was good.
So it doesn’t sound like we enjoyed ourselves, but there is some redemption.
One, the décor is cute. Good job there, nice stuff to look at while waiting for the snails (the cooks, not escargot) in the kitchen. Also, the booze — nice mixed drinks, which are far too rare in brunch places. That bourbon/​calvados drink is delicious.
Will we be back? … I’m not sure. Kalustyan’s is half a block away, so if we’re going there, we might come back to Three Hens. It’s good for Curry Hill (hence the three stars), but the competition would ruin them if they were further downtown.

After walking past Three Hen’s store front for months watching the progress of the restaurant being set up and furnished for business, I was finally excited to check it out!
This new american restaurant was written up as being very «Brooklyn» inspired. Located in the heart of Curry Hill, I had to see this for myself. I went on a freezing Thursday night, so this place wasn’t too crowded. The ambiance was very cool and different. It was decorated in a rustic outdoor theme. The walls were decorated with leaf wall paper, while random trees were located around the restaurant. Also, candles were lit on every table and there was a lot of natural wood.
The waitress was really attentive and recommended specials to try and items on the menu that she thought were great. I ordered the special drink of the night, which had apple cider in it and was absolutely luscious.
For dinner, I debated back and forth between getting a lamb burger or ordering an actual lamb dish. I went with my guy feeling, and ordered the actual lamb dish since I can order a burger any day. My dish, the «Colorado Lamb», was served sliced, and accompanied by fried eggplant, sauteed spinach, and red pepper coulis. The lamb was cooked to perfection and had extreme flavor. It was super moist and tender. The fried eggplant was simply divine. I have never had fried eggplant before, and loved it! The red pepper sauce provided a very palatable dipping sauce for the whole entrée. Also, the spinach was garlicy :)
My dining partner had a very traditional American dish, the «Free-​Range Chicken Pot Pie.» I had one bite of his pie, and it was definitely super cheesy and flavorsome. There was also a good amount of vegetables in the pie.
Instead of dessert, I decided to order a second drink. I ordered the drink on the menu that I was debating about getting from the beginning of dinner The waitress assured me it was her favorite drink on the menu. I have to agree with her, it was an amazing drink! I ordered the Cherry Soda Cocktail (or something like that?) It definitely tasted like a cherry soda and was served in a cute mason jar.
I hope this restaurant does well and sticks around! It is definitely one I would return to. Perhaps brunch?

My friend Christine said this was her worst dining experience this year. I wouldn’t go that far, but it was pretty bad.
Seven of us were sat at a table with four settings. It took about 15 minutes for them to bring three more cups of water and settings/​napkins. That’s forgivable.
Then we order, also pretty uneventful.
So we wait. It takes a while to bring our food – I get that happens sometimes. But, no one is refilling our paid drinks. Ok, not a major problem. I walk over to the hostess (she was very nice) to ask about bread.
About ten minutes later four plates of food come out, including the salmons. We assume the rest of the dishes will come out soon and hold off eating for a few minutes. Let me take this time to talk about the food.
It was pretty damn delicious. The salmon was cooked perfectly, flavorful and rich. My veggies had way too much oil but it was forgivable. My friend had the fried chicken sandwich which he said was fantastic.
So about ten minutes after our four dishes come out, we’re still waiting on our friends’ food. I walk over to our waiter and ask what’s up. He apologizes to some degree but not completely. Then I ask about him bringing over bread. He says he can’t which shocks me. I ask about fries, he says that would just make our friends meals come out longer. I’m not kidding you.
Another five minutes later (it’s definitely been more than fifteen minutes since the four of us got our food), the other three dishes come out. Everyone’s food looks good but most of us are done eating already. We’ve been at this place for nearly two hours at this point. There are only three other occupied tables in the restaurant.
I eventually motion to our waiter for the check. For our inconvenience no meals have been removed, but I noticed what was added – a 20% gratuity surcharge. Really? Are you kidding me?
Even with great food I can’t in good faith recommend that anyone goes to this place.

I read all the mixed reviews, so I came to 3 Hens not expecting too much. I am glad I did, because I was thoroughly impressed.
Yes the café is a bare-​bones little Murray Hill eatery. Yes they are still trying to figure out exactly who they are. Yes the metal chairs are an interesting «cafeteria» feel, and probably should be switched out (aka ATTENTION OWNERS). I am sure it’s easy to pick out the negatives in any newly opened restaurant.
I came here for dinner with the BF at 8pm on a Saturday night, we were seated immediately. Being picky about fresh food, I was blown away by the freshness of the veggies in my Shrimp Risotto, and the perfectly cooked bone-​in pork chop my boyfriend had. Everything was very fresh (I can’t stress that enough) which is what I miss most about SF food. We left feeling like we had a home cooked meal, and this is why they get 4 stars, not 3.
The owner or GM (still can’t figure out what she is) was so sweet and welcoming. I felt like I was walking into Grandma’s house. :) I love that all the meats are organic and free range too. I really hope this place makes it. I’ll be back to try brunch/​lunch.

The calamari was amazing — and I really recommend the lamb dish… everything was very tasty.
I agree with some of the other reviews, that the opening/​newbie kinks need some work. But the servers were quite attentive, had great recommendations, and were overall very nice.
I plan to go back, and hope others will give it a chance (or 2^nd chance)

On the surface, Three Hens seems like a cute Murray Hill brunch spot, but what you see isn’t always what you get. The décor is nice — they used leaf-​like wallpaper and decorative tree branches to simulate a relaxed, outside-​in atmosphere. Unfortunately, that was about the last thing we liked about the restaurant.
We ordered the two eggs breakfast, the BLT, and the quinoa and almond burger (upon recommendation from the server, who told me it was «great»). The poached eggs were undercooked and had runny whites, the fruit was unripe and mostly cantaloupe (ew, listeria!), and the bacon on the BLT was limp and barely cooked. My quinoa burger, which didn’t come with a bun, consisted of dried quinoa mixed with almond bits and shaped into a patty. There was a small dollop of something that they called hazelnut emulsion on top but I found it to be pretty tasteless. The only thing we enjoyed from the meal were the fries.
Service was scattered and there was too much loud top 40 music for our taste. They didn’t even have salt and pepper shakes on the tables — we asked for salt and got a pile of it in an open little bowl.
All three of us were sad to agree that we would have just rather eaten breakfast at home… I hope you all learn from our mistake!

WORST. BRUNCH. EVER.
The following events took place on 10÷30÷11 at 1pm
Food arrived 40 minutes after we ordered, and it was cold and I could’ve made a better omelette at home. The peppers in my omelette were frozen.
Also, it took them 15 minutes to give us a menus/​water after we were seated. We were ‘lucky’ enough to sit next to two VIPs that apparently knew the owner.
The owner came up and apologized for the poor service stating, «Listen I know my staff was all out at Halloween parties last night and they’re hung over, I’m not stupid, but you’re not just VIP you’re customers and I want to make it up to you — you’re meal is on us.»
REALLY?!
Things wrong with this:
1. These VIP people got their food and drinks before us and we were sat at the same time.
2. They were customers and needed to be apologized to, what were my friend and I? Just another couple of people poorly served?
We had to beg for service, literally. I had to get up out of my chair and chase my waiter down to get my order taken — and it came out wrong. It took forever to get anyone to pay attention
… but I guess I should feel bad because they were hungover. Well, so were we and we went to get brunch — no one felt bad for us I guess.
I never write negative reviews on Unilocal,but I want to make sure others are warned before they spend $ 20 on an awful breakfast/​brunch
Other awful things to note:
–No free drinks with brunch — in fact there were no alcoholic drinks on the brunch menu
— the coffee tasted like dirty water
— brunch menu doesn’t explain what the sides are very well
— toast is served dry, and french fries are served without ketchup
when you ask for either they give you a tiny metal cup with it – after a very long wait
It’s really sad to see a place ruin brunch, but The Three Hens does exactly that.

Went here with a couple of friends for drinks and a late night dinner. The three of us loved our cocktails — I had the Les Sauvage, a sweet fruity concoction, while my friend had the Spicy Cola which was amazing.
We shared a few plates including the prawns and crispy egg which were both yummy (though portion was a little small). Ordered the burger as well which was filling and juicy, and served on a pretzel bun which was a fun twist on the classic.
We went around 9, so after the dinner rush and sat at the bar. Looking at the other reviews its clear they have some kinks to iron out service wise, but my friends and I had a great experience, and enjoyed the food! Plan on going again.

My friends and I came here for brunch on day 3 they were open.
So– I will not let the new-​opening woes affect my judgement (ie– the running out of biscuits, homefries when it was only 11 am, the unavailability of items on menu, the slow service, delayed service) which are all hopefully better now a few weeks past opening and just focus on the food we had.
*Note– portions are smaller than NYers are used to, and it’s gonna cost you! It’s pricey– and we left hungry (good thing we were able to wander down the street for some curry hill delights after).
mac n’cheese: nothing special. really oily. not much flavor
savory french toast: tasted just like french onion soup, flavorful and something different (but they didn’t have jalepenos)
omelet with goat cheese: had no jalepenos/​cilantro, nothing extraordinary
the one thing that did stand out that was their own creation– the egg sandwich with housemade pork sausage. (they ran out of biscuit so we had on a roll) but the sausage was darn tasty!!! Again– really small.
cocktails were good all around: bloody mary, the rose hip bellini
nothing really screaming for me to come back there when there are other brunch places that also give you tastier, biggier bang for your buck.

I wanted to write this immediately after my visit, but I decided to think through it a couple of days to let the experience ferment in my mind. My sentiments remain the same post fermenting.
I live in the neighborhood so was very excited to have something a) not Indian and b) not Murray Hill inspired. I called up 2 friends and we decided to spend our Saturday dinner here.
The décor was neither highbrow or lowbrow, it was quite average, almost as though the designer cut corners or had a low budget to work with. However, I’ve enjoyed dining experiences in some less than tv-​ready locations, so this really doesn’t affect my review.
Our server was well, how do you say… nervous-​like? It made the whole evening feel like an awkward first date. He wasn’t well informed on the menu items, and spoke about the wines as though he had just taken his first wine course right before his shift that night. We asked about the entrée pricing on the scallops (they also come in app sizing) and he didn’t know, and came back 10 minutes later with an answer. We asked about ‘bacon lardon’ and he said it was ‘a chunk of bacon’ when in fact they were multiple little pieces, like Bacos.
The food was simply okay. All of the portions were minuscule, and it was reminiscent of a tasting menu (again with the cutting corners). Beginning with the wine pours, very small. The paparadelle could fit in the palm of my tiny female hand. The steak was very small and very bland. Seemed like not even the tiniest amount of sea salt and pepper were used in its preparation.
The best thing about my experience was the fried poached egg. It was quite tasty, and presented well on the bed of frisee.
I want to like this place, and maybe it has some newbie kinks to work out, but as of now I can’t recommend it, nor make a return visit.

This place has a lot of potential. It is located in the middle of «Curry Hill» where New American cuisine is rare, if non-​existent.
I had dinner on the restaurant’s first Friday night after its opening. For a party of 4, we were seated immediately. The restaurant had a good flow of customers wanting to check out the newest restaurant on the block despite the pouring rain.
The restaurant still needs to work on its many kinks. The wait staff and possibly the kitchen staff appeared understaffed. It took a long time for food to come out. We asked for bread to hold us over since we saw bread baskets at other tables, but the bread basket never came. For one of the entrees, it was not served hot even after two requests to reheat the dish. On the third try, the temperature was just right. The entrees can certainly pass as appetizers due to the very small portions.
My recommendations for the restaurant:
1. Hire more employees.
2. Increase the portion of your entrees.
3. Place long lasting candles on the dinner tables.
Good points:
1. Food was delicious and served beautifully.
2. Price point was good for the area.
3. Menu had a diverse selection, even for vegetarians.
4. Staff was friendly and accommodating.
5. Good for big parties, casual dinner, and romantic date.

Restaurant just opened. semi-​hipster menu, but is the food any good?
By my calculation, about the fourth or fifth restaurant in that spot in the last 10 years. but let’s not hold that against them.
Here’s the rundown:
1) Opening service jitters — check
2) Interesting (semi-​hipster) menu — check
3) Apologies when I ordered something — check
4) Accidents and broken dishes — check
5) Manager rushing about trying to chat up everyone — except me :(
Surprisingly, I was offered the table of four when I walked in alone. it just made me look like three friends has stood me up.
Ordered the most interesting looking cocktail, a margarita-​something, and it was not available. the substituted «cola» cocktail was not quite to my liking and failed my first expectation.
Tomato soup, with chili oil and basil. I liked the soup, thick and creamy. a bit skimpy on the chili oil — that could have added some heat to the soup and made it more memorable.
«Crispy poached egg» frisee salad. I was really looking forward to this, I «heart» anything egg, and get particularly excited for poached eggs. crispy breaded coating was good, but the egg was more of a soft-​boiled cooked than a poached egg. good try, needs perfecting.
Last. Charred Baby Octopus with Yogurt, Sriracha Sauce, Basil — this dish was a mess. the baby octopus was whole, and I expected something crispy and «charred». instead, the octopus was soggy, the sauce indistinguishable, and the sriracha a pale orange presence on the plate.
Hopefully, the kitchen will polish these ideas and get into their groove. I’d like to return and try the entrees. they could turn out to be more interesting than their descriptions on the menu.
S:2011−09−22