NYCReview
photo credit: Will Hartman
Hen House
Included In
There’s no shortage of great late-night food in the East Village, and Hen House—which is open until 2:30am on Fridays and Saturdays—is one of the better options. Between their juicy shawarma, ’90s hip hop playing at a perfect conversational volume, and the greenery on the walls, Hen House is a nice off-ramp from your night of dancing and drinking cheap beer.
What was once a popular Smorgasburg stand is now a small spot on 1st Ave. that specializes in chicken or lamb shawarma with super garlicky toum and pickles. It’s especially useful when it looks like 7th Street Burger will take longer to make your smashburger than it takes Frank Ocean to release a new album.
photo credit: Will Hartman
There are a handful of tables—somewhat of a rarity for quick-serve, late night options in the area. You can actually sit and enjoy your juicy, housemade piri-piri hot sauce-laden lamb shawarma wrap and not have to worry about trespassing on someone else’s stoop.
While it’s not the city’s best shawarma, it is pretty damn crispy and satisfying, and it’s even better the closer you get to closing time. Be on the lookout for their gigantic fried chicken sandwich special. It’s spicy, juicy, and full of the acidic Lebanese pickles.
Food Rundown
Lamb Shawarma
If date molasses is too sweet for you, then steer clear. This shawarma wrap has lots of it, but the lightly grassy roasted lamb balances it out well. The pita wrapping method enlists two pieces of parchment paper, which makes the whole eating process safer for a lunchtime or late-night meal.
Soujuk Pita
The warm spices in this soujuk, a Lebanese sausage paired with crunchy pickles, make for another worthwhile late-night bite.
Piri-Piri Fried Chicken Sandwich
This chicken sandwich is burly and swimming in a delicious piri-piri sauce/mayo concoction. The chicken itself is more crumbly than crunchy. It’s a special, but they run it pretty often, and it’s worth trying out either at lunch or at 2am.
