Herb N’ Chicken

Got take out from GrubHub from here. I haven’t been to the actual storefront. Right off the bat, +1 for deliverable food that doesn’t completely suck for your health. High-​ish delivery minimum, so I ordered a ¼ (maybe ½?) chicken plate + one of their salads for the next day.
The good: The chicken is delicious. It has the typical tenderness of rotisserie chicken without being dry. It doesn’t feel greasy. It was served with a side of greens. Arrived much faster than the predicted wait time.
The bad: Mac and cheese description sounded divine, but it was so cold when it arrived, it seemed like it had never even been heated in the first place. I microwaved it to reheat, but it still wasn’t that great. The cheese wasn’t really melt-​y on it. I don’t think it just got cold during the drive over, since it didn’t take that long.
Next day: The salad was AWESOME! I am not a fan of kale AT ALL, but it was such a relief to find a restaurant that FINALLY knows that kale needs to be massaged and the waxy film removed before serving. Without doing that, this type of kale is disgustingly bitter. The dressing was good too, and I am usually quite critical.
I think the reason for the 4^th star is the ability to order something that doesn’t absolutely suck for your health.

The chicken is so delicious from here! Super moist and fresh. The salads are great but my favorite part is the dressings! Very light but still flavorful. The manager is so friendly and polite, she always has a smile on her face! You’ve found a new regular here!

the chicken is very delicious. the potatoes were outstanding and the aioli was amazing. i was so pleased with this meal, this will be a staple for our family going forward.

Delicious & fresh organic salads. I love the make your own salad. You grab a laminated menu and a dry erase pen and circle the items you want in your salad. You can always choose a salad on the menu but I like to choose my own ingredients. They also have good organic chicken, fries, and a few other options. Good, friendly service as well. Yummy!

We’ve brought dinner home from Herb N’ Chicken about 4 times now and have been very impressed each time! «Sumptuous» is a word often used to describe their food… the rosemary stuffed chickens, potatoes, mac n cheese… they are all terrific! And while their birds cost a little more than some of their competition (undoubtedly due to their pedigree and the care in preparation) their sides are almost universally a bargain: a full pint of expertly prepared, organic mac n cheese is under $ 5! We were so inspired by the flavors that we’ve turned the last 3 birds we’ve gotten into amazing chicken stock :-). We don’t often make the time for that.
We recently discovered that their dipping sauces are uncommonly good. Try the peanut-​sesame, you won’t be disappointed.
This is a new go-​to take out place for our family.

So delicious! Please don’t change your recipe — perfect roast chicken with flavor down to the bone!

Herb n chicken is a really simple yet appreciated concept, done right! The chicken is clearly brined and tastes delicious. Sides are great and range from the healthy to the not so healthy Mac n cheese (so good though). Picked this up when didn’t have time to get dinner on the table. Will look forward to sitting down there for a meal at some point!

Point 1: I had one of the most succulent and well cooked rotisserie chicken at Herb’N Chicken. It was well seasoned, nice and crispy but not burned on the outside. Delicious.
Point 2: (addressing price) To be fair, the price is legit for it being a high quality bird. I think we all need to think about the cost of sustainable, higher quality food, and investing a little bit? Especially chicken. It can be a VERY dirty food if not a higher quality. I am surprised more people are not appreciating this point coming from the Bay Area mecca of good food, when they purchase prepared food. If you think about it, you could even take the bones and make a nourishing broth (throw in bones, skin and all, into your slow cooker with an onion and voila!). So really, you are probably saving money buying a chicken at this price point at place like Herb N’ Chicken.
Point 3: My husband picked up a Roli Roti chicken about two weeks prior from the farmer’s market for lunch and it was surprisingly very dry — maybe they are losing their touch? Time for others to reign in the world of the rotisserie (herb n’) chicken!!!
I have heard the mac ‘n’ cheese is amazing, as well. I look forward to eating here again for sure!

I’m a bit surprised at the negative reviews as my salad from here was perfect and the staff was quite helpful. I ordered (and customized) the «kitchen sink,» which came with lots of fresh and roasted veggies and a tasty ginger-​sesame dressing, but you can also design your own for $ 7.75 or pick up a pre-​made one in the cold case. Definitely large enough for meal. Love that it’s here so that I don’t have to chop my own vegetables after a long day of work. A healthy addition to the neighborhood!

I stopped along Shattuck in Berkeley to get what I thought was a lunch size takeout of «organic chicken» with menu listed red and white cabbage, sweet potato, peanuts, with some kind of dressing. Most of the nearly $ 12 bill covered two thin half strips of chicken bedded or covered with layers of dried up cabbage, with no dressing to moisten it. It was basically a lackluster salad that was tasteless and didn’t deserve a menu listing as a chicken dish. It was way overpriced for its contents, and amounted to nothing. I had to eat a whole meal from my fridge when I got home.

Allow me to begin this review by stating that Herb N’Chicken is much better than Source Mini. This is not intended as a ringing endorsement of the new establishment.
The Unilocal reviews of HN’C report that the chicken is salty and overpriced. I think that the claims have some merit but that nothing is outrageously out of whack.
Let’s begin with the price. I showed up around 10:10AM one morning to scout out chicken for my dinner. It’s worthy of note that I was served: HN’C is officially closed until 10:30. I explained that I wanted a half-​bird to reheat for dinner and was sold a half Rosie chicken for $ 11.50 + tax. I think that the tax shouldn’t have been collected because cold food to go should be untaxed in California. (If you buy a light-​baked pizza at the Cheeseboard Pizza across the street, you pay no tax. Hot pies, by contrast are taxed.) Also, the $ 11.50 is a bit high. I can get a half barbecued chicken with a side of cole slaw for $ 10 from Fat Daddy. The chicken that Fat Daddy sells me is clearly larger than a Rosie chicken. On the other hand, the Fat Daddy chicken is greasier and much less dense. Another point of comparison is provided by the now-​defunct Perdition; they sold a half «Mary’s chicken» for $ 12 + tax = $ 13.08.
Concerning the second allegation, it’s true that the meat is salty at HN’C. As I just said, it’s also much more dense and intense. I would vote for a little less salt in the brine, but I don’t think that the saltiness is a total deal breaker.
On balance, I think that HN’C is A-​OK. I could even imagine myself having lunch there one day at the counter. It’s more likely, however, that I’ll head upstairs for some hand-​pulled noodles at the Imperial Tea Garden.

More like Salt N’ Chicken.
I couldn’t taste the herb (singular, I guess) because the chicken was way too salty. The first few bites were mouth-​numbing and then the chicken flavor started to come through because my mouth had to adjust to the saltiness. Did I mention it was way too salty? Two stars for the roast vegetables, but that wasn’t really the point anyway.
Tips: Why so many extra sauces? No extra sauce is necessary unless you want kidney stones. Instead, ask for water — you’re going to need it.

I will never go back. I so wanted it to be good. but I tried three times to give them a chance. Kitchen sink salad. meh…Asian chicken salad, better but nothing special. Warm Rotissserie
chicken sandwich. A few shreds of salty chicken with a few pieces of lettuce and herbs on stale ciabatta bread. $ 8.75. What? I should have gone around the corner to GRegoires. I am so disappointed. If they keep this up, they won’t be there long.

Oy! THE CHICKEN IS BRINED! That means salty, salty, SALTY! Deeply-​penetrated, all-​the-​meat, salty. So just know that if you are picking up a rotisserie chicken to take home for dinner, BE FOREWARNED — IT MIGHT NOT BE WHAT YOU EXPECT! I’m sure if you are having a sandwich, then much of what bothered me is less of a problem, and I will allow that the potatoes were pretty awesome.
The menu does describe the chicken as brined, but I didn’t read the fine print, and I have a feeling most people don’t. Oh, and $ 23.75 for a whole chicken plus potatoes. That’s a lot of money for a salty chicken.

Best Asian style chicken salad ever. Hearty, healthy, satisfying. This salad left me with a «I’m so glad I ate that» post-​meal feeling. So glad this place has arrived in my neighborhood. Great for a quick post-​work bite.

Don’t play chicken with them ‘cos they trick you out with bazaar-​style aggressive sales and bargaining.
We live right around the corner and were curious to try this place when it opened recently. The food is ok (you really need to do something wrong to not be able to cook chicken), nothing special, but good enough. Though pricey and there are better alternatives, we wanted to give Herb N’ Chicken a chance, but unfortunately will never go back again.
The major issue is aggressive sale attempts and overpromising. We had been there several times, and the last time they were out of a full chicken and instead offered us a half chicken for the same price. Strange, right?
To compensate us for paying full price for a half chicken we were offered one additional side (worth less than a *quarter* of chicken) plus a 15% discount. We didn’t check at the store, but after we got home we realized that we had been charged the full price and no discount was applied. The next day when we asked the same person about the issue she told us that the discount was an option instead of the side, either one or another. Surprise! Neither of us had any recollection of this optionality. Obviously one of the persons involved was lying. It wouldn’t have made sense to take either the side or discount because the value didn’t add to the full price we paid. No remedy was offered and after such treatment we will never go back.
No integrity, no business. Too bad, since we are locals and eat out in this area a lot, and often with friends and neighbors.
In sum, the food is decent, though overpriced. However, if you go to Herb N’ Chicken be ready to face bazaar-​style aggressive sales and bargaining. And be sure to double check your bill.

Herb N Chicken is inside Epicurious Garden.
menu: salads. rotisserie chicken, do it urself salad, sides (fries, mac cheese, etc.).
eats: mama’s mac cheese (4.75 pt).
–multi-​cheese flavors, crusty texture.
–amongst the best i’ve tasted.
4ish stars.
take outs:
–salads, chickens not fave eats. costco’ chicken suits me ok
4 stars for mac cheese, 3 stars overall.

Chicken was pretty good! I liked the flavor and carmelization of the skin on the outside. I also like that the flavor of the chicken wasn’t too intense or salty by itself, because it helps it pair well with the dipping sauces.
With over 16 sauces, make sure you get the one that compliments your palette! if you like strong flavors, get something like BBQ. I ended up getting the honey mustard and the sesame ginger, and was pleased with both, but would have like a little extra sauce considering I ordered a full bird.
Savory cornbread was also pretty good, especially considering I tend to prefer sweet cornbread. Potatoes were good as well.
it was a tad bit pricey for a full bird, but I’ll definitely be coming back when I’m in the area!

Time: 1:42pm/71°F mostly sunny
Purpose: Source Mini a vegan eatery and client of mines left the spot and HNC took over. Once I spotted «Rosie» chicken label, I knew what place is about. Seeing $$$ in my eyes.
Set-​up: Located inside Epicurious Garden food hall share with other vendors. HNC retaining same build as last business only with name changes. Everything thing else remains the same untouched. Repurposed wooden planks covering booth front counter area. Single register with cake pedestal and hot food warming display. Other side of counter salad prepping area. Spitfire rotisserie oven with two rod roaster spinning slowly. Repurposed lacquer wood counter seats 3 – 4 along with stand alone open air fridge for beverages premade salad.
Staff: Three middle age ladies seems distressed a bit, but still manage to be helpful. First lady walks over say how can I help you? I answer not ready give me a minute or so please? She walks away. Another lady approach me this time I ask for menu. Don’t see one anywhere. She said all we do is chicken here. Handed me menu and went back to prep work.
Cleanliness: Grade B, hot food warming display had loose crumbs and debris that calls for immediate service. Menu handed to me had grease stains that looks unacceptable to anyone. Probably held a piece of chicken on top of it.
Eats/​Drinks: Whole bird w/​roasted potatoes $ 23.75. I wanted to eat half right away while its still hot so I ask for a to-​go box separating potato and chicken. Nothing to it, as most organic chicken have that trait of natural tasting with hard denser bones. This rotisserie bird was just okay meaning a regular tasting chicken like Costco. Fiber strands breaks apart easily with minimal effort. Skin was flavorful, but didn’t eat any just put in mouth to soaked in herbs/​spices. Chicken can use more seasoning, it was flavorful just needed extra dry rub spices on skin. Even the house dipping sauce thyme & rosemary didn’t help much. I manage to eat half and hope other half didn’t spoiled with another four hours to go.
Main Features: Rosie’s organic rotisserie chicken
Products/​Services: Picture menu posted.
Punch Lines: Newly open, food hall, pricey, warm service, struggling during peak hours, pleasing flavors, seats are minimal, drool-​worthy, harried staff, average wait time, lively atmosphere, nothing out of the ordinary, tucked away in Epicurious Garden, not as great, street parking (meter).
Tradeoffs: You’re paying for food truck quality, but with labor and rent cost included with fixed price.
Final Thoughts: HNC doesn’t come close to Roli Roti or Country Grill. It’s not the chicken to blame, but the prep work of setting it up. I don’t see much difference between HNC compare to mobile chicken roaster. All three does rotisserie with similar set up, but mobile rotisserie came out better. For now, I’ll stick with mobile rotisserie. I can get a better bird for under $ 14 and still have chump change left for dessert. Just because it’s stationary location they added salad to offset price justification. Not to get discouraged though, its a good place to hit up if you’ve last minute guest coming over for dinner.

They just opened so maybe I’ll change my review. Chicken is okay. I got cold cauliflower with it? I thought I was was going to be broccolini? It was cold… I don’t know if that’s a thing? Then my total kept changing when I tried to add an extra sauce and then my total went up to 17? I don’t know. It was okay I wish I could have got more sauce.