The Hen House

Just had an awful experience here. Went for dinner with my mum who has anaphylaxis (highly allergic to shellfish), she told the server and asked her to check with the kitchen what dishes were safe for her. The server returned and said only the soup was safe for to eat… off the whole menu. Totally ridiculous and couldn’t have been true but they obviously want to cover themselves which means they’re not catering for people with serious allergies. In addition they’d no allergy information on their menu which is a legal requirement now. Really disappointing experience.

This place has a nice feel to it. We passed it last night on the way back to our hotel and it was doing a hopping business on a Tuesday so I thought must be pretty good. I’ll bet it is if you eat meat, which, sadly, I do not.
The staff was very friendly and offered me a window seat which was nice. I was eating alone and the seat was tucked away so I did not feel conspicuous. Also when I mentioned that I have Celiacs I was immediately given a separate complete menu indicating all the allergens in each dish which was lovely. (We NEED this in the US!!)
Now for my disappointment. The menu has only three options for the non-​meat-​eater. Two salads and pub style fish and chips which is gluten coated. I ordered the salad with tuna, bean sprouts and haloumi cheese which is basically a variation on a salad nicoisse. It’s ok. It had a nice presentation and Haloumi is nice and salty. I’m just not a big fan of salad for my meal. I would have loved a piece of fish prepared any which way (other that battered). I suggest Hen House consider adding it to the menu.
I also ordered Irish coffee and the Eton Mess. Both were lovely, though, as an American, I’m giggling at the name Eton Mess.

Second time eating here and it’s a great spot to eat outside when its sunny in dun laoighre. We got the soup and calamari to start, with the calamari being exceptionally good. For mains we got the chicken tenders, which were nice, and the malaysian chicken. The malaysian chicken was absolutely delicious. Its arguably better than any curry you’d get in a nice asain restaurant, so its a must try. Will definitely be back!

I’m struggling to write a review on this place. To be honest, there is just not much to say.
We ordered from the early bird (18 €)…my tomato/​carrot soup was nice and creamy. The malaysian chicken for main tasted okay too. The service was fast and friendly. Nice bright interior. No complaints whatsoever.
But…there is just nothing special about this place. It has no WOW factor, it’s all decent… but just that. YAWN!
Oh, one thing I can say though, this place is perfect to bring kids (before 8pm). We were surrounded by happy families.

Ducked (ahem) in here out of the rain today. Was a little skeptical as reviews have been a little half hearted, and it was a bit empty when I went inside at prime lunch time.
I needn’t have been though. I got a lovely seat next to the window where I be nice n comfy watching everyone struggle in the rain outside. The staff were friendly and approachable and totally on point.
I got a hot salad with chicken, feta and root veges, and it was soooo tasty. Really really gorgeous. Loads of food, excellent quality ingredients, and a really hearty feed.
I’d definitely return.

I like it here. I got chicken tenders last time and they were yum…
I feel mean, I don’t know what it is, but ther is just something about this place that doesn’t do it for me. It’s missing personality and a wow factor.
The weird thing is I like the food-​the salads, tenders and all. But I don’t rush back. I tend to just go when I’m hanging and I’m not bothered to travel into crack bird or the likes cause I live very close to Dun Laoighire.

This is an average place.
Slightly overpriced, the dishes were okay but not out of this world.
The menu doesn’t have anything really exciting, so we ordered ordinary dishes.
The wings were pretty good, but the salad average.
I wouldn’t recommend the sweet potatoe and goat cheese starter, which was really bad.
However, nice terrace for a sunny lunch at Dun Laoghaire!

Food was delicious. I went there on a Sunday afternoon. The place has a lovely décor, food was well presented. Thumbs up for their corned half chicken and salt and pepper calamari.

The food is good even though is a little overpriced.
The service though is terrible, the waiters are all over the place.
Nice outside sitting area

I woke up late Sunday afternoon following a night out with friends where I forgot that I no longer have the drinking abilities of a co-​ed. Feeling guilty for wasting so much of the day I decided I should get some fresh air and lucky for me, J did not have to go into the office. We hopped on our bikes and headed down to Dun Laoghaire. Because of my delay we did not make it in time for the delightful dishes at People’s Park so had a limited number of options at the strip across from the Pier. I had glanced at Unilocal so knew to lower my expectations. The menu at Hen House seemed decent enough though AND we could eat outside so we took our seats.
We ordered some calamari to start, I got the thyme chicken tenders and J got the Sunday Roast. Our calamari came out quickly and tasted okay. Not spectacular but not terrible. Quite a while later our mains came out. Everything looked delicious but looks can be deceiving. J’s Sunday roast was actually okay. Kind of bland veggies with it but the chicken was well cooked and had decent flavours.
My chicken tenders however, were terrible. When you order € 16 buttermilk fried thyme chicken tenders from a place with «Hen» in the name you expect them to be okay. This was the driest and most flavourless chicken I have had in Dublin. For starters, it tasted like it had been sitting out for several minutes while they likely were finishing J’s dish. There was no juiciness to the meat and the batter tasted like they used nothing but flour — no salt — no thyme — nothing. The chili sauce that came with it was watered down and wasn’t really a good sauce for tenders. The only good part of my meal was the chips — but these are the same standard issue chips you can get at Zaytoon or anywhere else in town. For a € 50 meal (no adult beverages) I would expect quite a bit more quality. I won’t be wasting my money or time here again.

Horrible experience!
We were having a great day and decided to get some coffee! So we go in (The place was practically empty). And ask for takeaway coffees and teas, they said they do not do takeaway. (Fair enough) We say ok we’ll sit down.
The waiter comes in again and says that we actually have to order food. We say fair enough, can we do desserts? He says yes. And so we order desserts. (15 minutes later, no coffee or dessert in sight) Waiter comes in and says that we actually need to LEAVE in 20 minutes because the place is «busy» (It was NOT). We still didn’t even get our order!
I get up and try to talk to the manager, one of the staff gives me his back. I go to another person and ask for the reason we are being treated like this and they just stand silent in front of me.
Oh, and ON TOP OF THAT! THERE WAS THE DIRTY LOOKS!
We leave. I email the place and complain to them about what happened. I hear nothing in return!

The food here was just delish. I had herb encrusted goats cheese topped with figs and served with chutney. The tastes together went so well. For main I had chicken supreme and it was so tasty. Beautiful sauce and served pretty as a picture. Better than your average chicken supreme.
I was pleasantly surprised as I was just expecting a standard chicken place. The burger looked amazing too. Will defo be back to taste that!

I occasionally drop into The Hen House for lunch during the week. It’s quite a nicely decorated restaurant, deliberately rustic with wood used wherever possible.
When I went there recently I went for the spit roasted half chicken which is served with chips and roasted red pepper dip. Served on a wooden slate. A real treat!
At € 14 for the half chicken (I suppose you can get a ciabatta for € 10) and the obligatory € 3 for a soft drink, its hard to recommend the Hen House as a spot for your daily lunch, but for the occasional treat, definitely!

My sister and I found ourselves in Dun Laoghaire on a Tuesday afternoon. We had intended on eating at Hartley’s (
) after seeing they had a Roast on a Roll for lunch. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed we didn’t.
We stopped by at the Hen House and were intrigued by the number of awards on their wall. We both instantly had a craving for wings and decided to save Hartley’s for another day. Besides, we weren’t exactly wearing our Sunday finest.
The décor is lovely, but as the restaurant was empty bar two others, it felt a bit cold. We were seated right by the window which was drafty. I can imagine this place must be wonderful to eat at in the summer with that lovely view of the bay.
We both ordered a starter portion of wings and a side of chips. I ordered the firey-​hot and my sister had the honey sesame. I was disappointed they did not offer boneless chicken wings.
When the food came, the portion size was good, especially as a starter order. The firey-​hot wings were great. The sauce was had a bit of a kick, but does not warrant the title of ‘firey-​hot’. The blue cheese dip was lovely. Not too much cheese. I love my celery so I was disappointed with the teeny sticks we were given. The honey sesame was good, but not great. Also, no sauce with the honey sesame wings?! Our chips were fine, but not outstanding and, in my opinion, a little pricey for standard frozen chips.
The restaurant was empty and no one came near us once to check if we needed anything. We also had to look for staff so we could pay our bill.
If the owner were reading this now my two cents would be the following:
*Boneless Wings
*More wings sauces
They advertise as a chicken restaurant, they should put the effort in. I’d like to try this place again in the evening when there is a bit more of an atmosphere. I want to give three stars, but I just can’t. I have experienced much better in you’re run-​of-​the-​mil pub.

Great atmosphere and great location. We ran into some sea fog in the evening and weren’t able to sit outside and enjoy the view.
The burger was impressive looking, but a bit dry. The chip and onion rings were excellent.
Friendly place, great staff — I’ll bring the kids next time!

I went to the Hen House on the Dun Laoghaire promenade area yesterday for lunch. We ate outside which was great to see the water from where we were eating. I was starving and wanting some delicious that wasn’t going to take a lot of effort to eat, so I went for the buttermilk & thyme chicken fingers. This came with a honey jalepeno dipping sauce, chips and coleslaw. I was so happy with my choice as it was exactly what I was looking for. Although the dipping sauce was made from jalepenos, the honey really evened it out and it wasn’t that spicy. The chips were good and the coleslaw wasn’t just something that you’d get out of your local shop.
We did have to wait awhile to pay, and I’ve noticed that a lot of restaurants in Ireland really let themselves down in this area. Other than that, it was a good experience.

This place is great! I went back twice in one week and had the buttermilk thyme chicken tenders both times… I just couldn’t resist! The portions are large and the food is presented very well. The décor of the restaurant is cool too — think «chicken coop chic.»
The sweet and spicy honey jalapeño dipping sauce for the tenders is awesome, and the honey sesame sauce on the wings is delicious as well. I sampled my friends’ dishes (we all love to share!) and I’m happy to say that the duck, roasted chicken and veggie lasagne are all excellent.
My first visit got off to a bit of an awkward start. I was with five others and although the table we were going to be seated at was fully prepared and set, they had us sit at a different table for about five minutes. They said the kitchen was running behind and they would move us shortly. It was a bit awkward to sit at one table, start perusing the menu, and then be moved to a nearby table just five minutes later. It also didn’t seem to make any sense — but maybe there was a reason.
Besides the clumsy first few moments everything else was great! This place will certainly be my go-​to for satisfying my chicken tender cravings!

Normally I dislike it when restaurants primarily serve just chicken, but this place does it in a different way. I think its the way everything is presented. Their presentation is impeccable and you get quite a trendy-​chique vibe off the place.
I have to say I was pretty excited to eat here and that’s a lot coming from me since I’m not a fan of ‘chicken restaurants’.
We ordered BBQ chicken drumsticks and a big sharing platter for two. Around 30 minutes later our BBQ drumsticks arrived… and shock horror. Three measly, chicken-​free, over cooked pieces of chicken were presented in front of us on an over-​sized plate. We were so disappointed :(
Immediately we asked for the bill and cancelled the sharing platter and left. What a lunch…
On the upside, the waiter was absolutely professional and altogether lovely.

A very welcoming atmosphere when we arrived here. The whole chicken theme at this place is superb.
Food served is just exquisite!

I really like this place. A relatively new venue the the row of restaurant below the 40 Foot pub. As it hints in it’s name, it does chicken.
Enter in and your in a warm fun hen-​house themed room, all decorated like a chicken coup and farm house. lots of greens and browns on the wall and wooden cubby shelves.
We sat down and had a hard time deciding what to choose from the menu as everything sounded so good. I choose the chicken wings for starter sand the buttermilk and thyme marinated chicken tenders for the mains.
The wings come with a choice of fiery hot sauce or the honey sesame sauce. I go for the sesame sauce as my girlfriend doesn’t like the hot sauce too much. The wings were plentiful and delicious.
The Hen House has a wood burning fire, the aroma of which wafts every now and again into the restaurant bringing a wonderful smell and atmosphere to the place. The staff are all happy and have smiles on their faces. The atmosphere is very lively and happy.
The tenders were delicious. That’s all I can say about them, wonderful. We wanted to order the half chicken but they were sold out. There are other things non-​poultry on the menu but as being it specializes in chicken we felt that we should go with what they do best.
For dessert we had the eton mess and chocolate and hazelnut brownie all fab and left a hearty satisfied sense in my stomach.
They have a wonderful advertisement for Sunday brunch, offering all the papers you can read which sounds very tempting and one day I will try.
A little more upscale than Crackbird in town, the Hen House is one to try and compare if you’re into chicken!
Eggcellent! (Sorry I had to…)