Hen Of The Wood

An excellent experience overall. The service is superb, the food excellent. Yes it’s expensive, but it’s very worth the price.

This was a middling and overall disappointing experience given both the price point and hype. The new location in downtown Waterbury while nice, new, and clean, is soulless in comparison to the original location, it 's bright, sterile and very loud. The open floorplan does not make it feel like a special or unique place to eat. The food was honestly mediocre. The parker house rolls were the best thing we tried. Swordfish was overcooked and tough, the sauce while flavorful was quite bland. The duck was well cooked but the kale paired with it was bitter and rough, leaving a lot to be desired. The house made ice cream was quite good... But when the highlights of a $250 dinner for two were dinner rolls and a couple scoops of standard ice cream flavors, I 've got to ask myself what is the point? The service was good, hardly exceptional, they were friendly and fairly attentive. Maybe this speaks more to the mediocre level of fine dining in Vermont and/or post-pandemic, but I won 't be coming back soon. Doc Ponds has a very similar vibe even though it 's a more 'casual ' restaurant and this is supposedly 'fine dining ', but the food there is better, service is comparable and the menu is just as interesting for a fraction of the cost, also run by the same group.

The duck was one of the Best dishes I've ever had. Excellent service, friendly staff, and fantastic environment.

If you're a fan of the original Hen of the Wood, eating at the new location, in a former bank looking out into and expensive parking lot will rob you of your appetite. The magic of the old location with the waterfall, and the funky, quiet ambiance is all gone.

A great menu, food was delicious and paired with some great wine! Highly recommend