Fat Hen restaurant opens in Somerville

Somerville, MA Fat Hen, an Italian restaurant, has opened in the former La Brasa’s market space at 126 Broadway.  The 30-seat eatery is lined with tables on each side, and the wall adjacent to La Brasa features shelves of liquor and a small square window that allows the bartender hidden behind the wall to pass cocktails through to Fat Hen’s servers. The restaurant is roughly akin to Cambridge’s Giulia in terms of price point and fanciness.

Fat Hen and La Brasa are all in the family: L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre alum Michael Bergin is running the show at the new place. La Brasa chef/owner Daniel Bojorquez is also an alum of the same restaurants, both owned by Frank McClelland, who was also a founding partner in La Brasa. Bergin’s experience with Italian cuisine includes working at New York City’s Del Posto and A Voce.

When news of Fat Hen first came out in the fall, the team promised “bowls of fresh pasta, braised meats, and locally grown or foraged produce” and a “modest but mighty” beverage program featuring “niche, offbeat Italian wines and craft beers.” Indeed, the menu offered at several friends & family dinners this week reflected those plans with numerous pastas (spaghetti with Jonah crab, rigatoni with rabbit sausage, and more); a handful of hearty entrees (lamb saddle with black garlic puree, for one); an assortment of antipasti that included stuffed morels, fluke crudo, and tramezzini — essentially Italian grilled cheese; and a few desserts, including a peach crostada with tarragon gelato.

Reservations are recommended.

Reprinted from Boston Eater by Rachel Leah Blumenthal.

Editorial note: Chef Michael Bergin is the favorite son of the  New England Real Estate Journal’s long-time shopping center publisher Joanne Connolly.