The Red Hen

My favorite restaurant I’ve been to. I lived in Lexington for four years and have frequented the Rex Hen dozens of times for nights with delicious food, impeccable service, and great friends. The space is intimate and cozy, and it’s always neat to see the kitchen at work from a dining room table. I love the unique and colorful pottery dishes. The menu changes weekly with whatever is in season, and the kitchen and serves are always so knowledgeable and truly care about their dishes, produce, and customers. Every time I have a meal, I never think it can get better, and it always does! My favorite is the duck with fruity compote, and the roasted chicken is always perfect. I love to start with a soup or cheese board split between the table. Dessert is non-negotiable—the house lemon meringue is tart and knocks it out of the park. The after dinner coffee with liqueur is one of the best drinks I’ve had, and the local coffee is some of my favorite. The staff is incredibly kind, attentive, and accommodating. I cannot recommend the Red Hen enough! A trip to Lexington is never complete without dinner here. Edit: By the way, you can tell which reviews are fake: Red Hen only uses Earth, Fire, Spirit Pottery (local) for dishes. And, trust me, you’ll always want to take a photo of your food!

Situated in a cute little red house on the corner of Main Street in Lexington, this spot has just a few tables and gives you the feeling of personal attention. My salmon was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly. The cheese board was nicely done with a selection that pleased everyone at the table. Everything we tried was delicious. Special shout out for the bibb lettuce salad that was the perfect lead up to dinner. Unlike salads you get in so many restaurants, this one was clearly fresh and quite delicious.

An all around fantastic experience. Food was thoughtful in every way, from temperature to presentation to quality of ingredients(heavy focus on local farms). Our server, Darrin, was attentive, genuine and prompt with his service. He was hospitable, funny and gave “passion-driven” recommendations. The cocktails were delicious and unique, and the wine selection was diverse and extremely approachable. Nice work, Red Hen.

What an experience. My husband and I both selected the chef’s menu and had a delightful five-course meal with salmon, Arctic char, duck, and New York strip and a lemon meringue. Everything about this place exceeds expectations, from the great staff to the ambient to the unforgettable food. Don’t think twice about it. Just book.

The wait staff is cordial and very knowledgeable of the chef’s thinking on the menu items. They have several outdoor seating places, more than they did when I visited several years ago. They focus on local sourcing across the board - from the ingredients in the dishes, to the dish-ware itself! While everything was wonderful, I want to highlight their whiskey and buttermilk bread pudding - absolutely incredible. Possibly the best bread pudding I’ve ever had. You MUST get the bread pudding unless they add a new contender to the dessert selection.

this place is ridiculous. the food is expensive beyond reasonable while being common, medium quality, and tiny portioned. for the amount they charge you would expect a creative menu with special dishes, high quality ingredients, huge portions, accompanied with exceptional service with immense positive interactions and smiles. but the service is poor and the atmosphere is negative and hostile. no one is happy at this place and its a deep dark hole of misery. i will assume the owners are the reason for this. as to the location, it is good but the facility is poorly maintained and some areas of the restaurant are in bad shape. when i see this i can only imagine what the kitchen is like and it makes me lose my appetite immediately. all in all, i would never go back to this place and would not recommend it to anyone. not sure but i think they keep a dog in the food prep area and there must be laws to protect the public.