Little Hen

Excellent food and I thought the atmosphere was just fine. I think they also have a «decent» beer selection for such a small restaurant.

Very charming, little place. The staff was friendly. The food came quickly, decent sized portions but not overly filling, and absolutely delicious. My husband had the shrimp and grits and I had the chicken breast. We shared because both were excellent. For dessert, we had the peach cheesecake and the chocolate torte… yummy!!! We will definitely be going back!

Had an early dinner here. The food was very good but there just wasn’t enough of it. Very small portions for a large price. Was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t told about the drink specials. Overheard a server telling her table about them. Had I known, I would have preferred one of them. Will not be returning.

I got reservations through Open Table for 5:30 pm on a Wednesday. I like the farm to table concept. The entrance is small and right next to the bar area. A hostess came to greet me and sat me down. Tables are very close to each other and acoustics are bad. It is an open floor plan and small but nicely decorated. There is a separate wine list, and beer specials are listed on the wall (chalkboard). Food options change. Fresh bread came to the table with real butter and server graciously refilled it for us. I ordered the beet salad which was phenomenal. Beets were fleshy and tasty. Everything in the salad was fresh but just not enough for $ 12. It had 3 cashews, a little bit of arugula and very thinly sliced radishes. The presentation was wonderful. The bread helped fill me up. By 6 pm, the place was packed and extremely loud. My friend and I had to shout at each other to hear. There were several very large groups seated by then. I’m sure the couple seated next to us could hear our conversation. For the price of the meals, I would prefer a more intimate setting, but the quality of the food was great. Not a place to bring children. I felt a little rushed by the server to leave.

Not a fan. Service was OK but not great for how few people in the restaurant. Seemed a little under staffed actually. Food was NOT good. Over cooked, under seasoned and generally lacking flavor. We were SO disappointed after all the rave and reviews. We have a supper club and we pick a new place each month. We consider ourselves understated foodies. The owner was present but never spoke to us even after issues. Seemed like there was a general lack of care. Sad!!!

I have been here a couple times. It is not as refined for the money for the dish. Towels for napkins. They say it is from the farm to the plate. Good food, however, I personally like a higher end atmosphere for the price.

Overrated. Zero strip mall, hang a plow on the wall ambience. A couple over done scallops scattered amongst soggy bread. Truly sorry meal. Maybe it was just this dish. I’ll give it another shot but this was an epic miss.

This is my favorite restaurant. The food is amazing. It’s pricey, which is why I gave it 4 stars, but it’s worth it.

This is our second time at Little Hen in the past 3 months. Both times they tried to seat us right at the door, this latest time they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) reseat us — we sat right inside the door, right beside the bar, too crowded there and a blast of wintry cold air every time the door opened — very unpleasant. Our first visit we had the roasted beet salad and the pork chop — both were fantastic. This time, first they were unwilling to substitute vegetables on dishes to accommodate our likes/​dislikes. Second, our meal was not good — we had the potato leek soup (which had an odd texture — it was completely creamed/​blended, no chunks of potato or view of leek, but okay taste) and a sliced steak dish that had so much pepper/​peppercorns that it was virtually inedible. Altogether disappointing and I don’t envision returning. There are better restaurants at this price point.

This is easily the best restaurant I have been to in Apex or Holly Spring. The «farm to table» approach has worked well for them in that the quality of their food is outstanding. The atmosphere has a nice homey cottage field — but it has always felt a little crowded. Reservations are highly recommended. Order the mussels with wine sauce if you get the chance — delicious.

Short version: the food was great, but the staff was *badly* under-​trained.
Long version:
We arrived for restaurant week about 10 minutes ahead of our 7:30 reservation. We noted the cute, homestead-​style décor, and were excited for our meal. Then we learned that the restaurant has lost our reservation. I showed the young woman at the bar the confirmation email I had received. She looked flustered and said we would be seated as soon as possible.
Once we were seated, my dining companion asked for wine recommendations. Our waitress was clearly out of her depth, which would have been fine if she had offered to get someone more knowledgeable to help, but she didn’t. Oh well. She brought our drinks and then disappeared for a while, even though she’d seen us at the bar extensively perusing the menu.
But then the food came and really turned the night around. I’ve had a lot of beet and goat cheese salads, but the one here was excellent. My trout was wonderful and subtle and perfectly cooked. Dessert was good but not a standout. Another note on service, though: our server put the wrong plates in front of my companion and I, twice.
The food was really excellent, but for a place this out of the way in Apex to be worth the trip, the service will need to significantly improve.

Went last night and was blown away. The Big Board was fantastic, meat and cheese sampler was delicious and the service was outstanding. In a part of Wake County that’s not really near much (sort of equidistant between Holly Springs and Apex) but absolutely worth the drive. Every bit as good as Foursquare, Piedmont, Standard Foods, Oakleaf or Nana’s (actually far better than the last few times I’ve been to Nana’s). Can’t recommend this place enough!

We absolutely love this place. Beyond beyond’s is trendy and comfortable, the menu had good selection of things you don’t find everywhere else. The Porkchop is one of their signature dishes and is absolutely one of the best porkchops I’ve ever had! And two huge thumbs up for the ginger pear margaritas

Consistently good. Small menu but they keep it fresh. This visit i had scallops with grits. Scallops were cooked to perfection and the bacon and mushrooms paired well.
Desserts are never as good as they sound. Skip it and instead check out the dessert wine list which has good variety.

I really enjoyed our meal and the atmosphere. Some of our friends were disappointed with the portions. They left hungry.
The artisan board is great and the pork chop was a winner for my husband. The other entrees seem to be very small for most people.

I was excited to visit Little Hen from online images. Food was really good. Service great. But I have to give it 3 stars because the ambiance just doesn’t jive with the super expensive prices.
Had the charred beet salad, cheddar cheese ball, scallops and homemade seasonal pasta with squash. Apple fritter for dessert which I would not get again just because I felt like it was on par with McDonald’s apple pies (which are also delicious — but then why am I paying quadruple for what I can get at McDonald’s?). With a $ 44 bottle of wine (one of the cheaper bottle options) bill was about $ 140.
Though the savory food was really good unfortunately it’s just not fancy enough, romantic enough or intimate feeling enough to warrant the prices.

Sehr schoenes Restaurant ausserhalb Raleighs (25 Minuten).
Also Farm to Table ist klar. Sehr frische Zutaten. Ambience sehr nett. auch wenn es von aussen unscheinbar ist. Gekocht wird hier nicht unbedingt auf das aller hoechste Niveau wie in Frankreich oder Belgien… aber Trotzdem sehr gut.
Gerostete Beeten ausgezeichnet. Eine selbstgemachte Gnocchi war mir aber ein bisschen Lasch. Eingelegte Pork Chop war ein Gedicht. Preise sind nicht billig aber angesichts die Zutaten nicht unfair. Weinliste passend.
Empfehlenswert.

Why have I waited so long to come here!
Amazing food and great service. The menu changes regularly, so the chef is continually challenging your pallet.
We started with the ARTISAN BOARD appetizer: a selection of local salamis and cheeses with fresh made bread, pickled vegetables, and mustards. A tasty smörgåsbord of local farm flavors.
For the main course we had the MALLOREDUS: a fresh homemade pasta, slightly al dente, covered with juicy slow roasted pork, peppers, onions, arugula, and pecorino. A delicious pasta dish that took me back to pasta dishes experienced in Rome.
We also had the PAN SEARED DUCK: a rare pan seared sliced duck with orange gastrique, sauerkraut, herb spaetzle, & drunken mustard seeds. This was my first experience with rare duck, and it was incredible; very tender.
For dessert we had the Apple cake was a delightfully balanced of flavors; separately the items were a bit over spiced, but in parallel it was a dance of flavors.
We also had the LEMONGRASS PANNA COTTA with pandan curd, candied almonds, and toasted coconut. This was a light refreshing end to a great meal.
Can’t wait to go back for another awesome meal.

Looking for a neighborhood eatery without all the fuss but still a good night out? Look no further than the little hen. Just be aware, they’re closed on Monday’s. (Everyone needs a day off right?)
So I’d been trying to get here with my wife for a while. Made a reservation on the first Monday of their transition to Monday closings. NBD, got another date and headed to holly springs.
Décor is classy but casual. I’d prefer not to bring young kids here, teens no problem. My wife & I had the short rib crostini (YUMM) although the large pieces of greens were hard to bite through. (I’d order it again though). We both were intrigued by the homemade pasta dish so we both ordered it. Never thought pasta & seafood would be a finger dish but that is what it became due to the shell still being on the shrimp. Made for a messy meal. Apologies to whomever had to wash our table cloth. Had the shrimp been shelled already, this would be a bowl of comfort food. The sauce was GREAT, perfect for bread to sop up the extras.
Please note, this is a farm to table Resturant so the menu changes weekly. Don’t get your heart stuck on one item.
We both agree another night out here is in order.

Cute little restaurant and great addition to Apex! Excellent attentive service, even on a busy night. Great food and ohhh so fresh. Their pasta that is made in house is divine (a bit salty, but still tasty). But the highlight of the night was the charred beets.
Those charred beets. They won’t leave my mind. I just cannot stop thinking about them. Must go back. ASAP.

This restaurant is worth the hype. My Halloween this year consisted of a delicious dinner at the Little Hen. We were celebrating a friends birthday and it was everyone’s first time visiting the restaurant. I love that they change up their menu all the time and keep the ingredients fresh and local.
Halloween night was very quiet which we really enjoyed. I love the atmosphere here it’s casual and comfortable not stuffy at all. Our server was great and told us all about the specials and the wine specials as well. The wine prices were really reasonable too. We had a great bottle of Chardonnay for $ 30.
We started off with the bacon wrapped dates, a cheese plate, and arugula salad with spaghetti squash. It would be hard to pick a favorite from these three dishes but if I had to pick I would say the dates. There was a gorgonzola sauce with the dates that was unbelievable I would have licked the plate if I could have. They had plenty of choices of cheese and meats to make a nice board to share. The mix of arugula and spaghetti squash in the salad was a little unusual but the flavors worked so well together.
The pork board that was coming out of the kitchen was very tempting to order if I had a couple other people to share it with. That dish looks mighty impressive and I’ve heard from others it’s fantastic. I ordered the mallordeddus: semolina dumpling with braised pork, herb, and pecorino. I think I had the best dish of the night. The gnocchi was perfect and once again the sauce just blew me away. I really enjoyed the little bit of spiciness the sauce had and the pork was so good. I skipped dessert this time around but the gingerbread hot chocolates with homemade marshmallows kept my fellow dining partners ahhhing and oohhhing the rest of the evening. I had an opportunity to meet the chef as well and you can tell how passionate he is about his food and restaurant. This is a great local spot in Holly Springs and I will definitely make the trip out here again soon.