Henry's End Restaurant

01/02/08

Is falling down careful

by tyrex3

Times are getting bad here. Prices are up, vegetables are still awful, no more salads with dinner. prix fixe being eliminated on fridays through Sundays and there is a revolving dor chef policy. At a ime when Brooklyn is coming up in the world this place is running a great risk of losing its client base. Wake up Marc et al.

• Pros: pleasant wait staff
• Cons: disgusting atmosphere, cramped and food is not always fresh

10/01/07

Food, Wine, Service, All Top Notch

by rs695

The previous reviewer's experience seems suspicious to me. Henry's End has been around for an eternity, and the staff never seems to change. Without exception, I've found them to be accommodating, friendly and helpful, and their recommendations for wine and food pairings are without exception spot on. The atmosphere is casual, but as one of the city's truly best restaurants, I can easily understand why they might refuse to seat a complete party, and especially one with attitude. It just isn't the kind of restaurant where being a nag yields results -- remember, this is Brooklyn, which probably has more in common with SF than Manhattan. The vibe here is very chilled, and the fantastic food and wine have a way of keeping it so. These guys don't really prepare anything they can't stand by, so the menu is really pretty good from top to bottom, with most entrees being outright exceptional. I've never had a bad meal here, or walked out in any way less than satisfied. It's a little pricey, but definitely worth it once in a while.

• Pros: good atmosphere, excellent wine list, outstanding menu
• Cons: none

06/21/07

Reservations don't mean a thing

by lunesse7575

I will not be going back to this restaurant, nor will my mother, who came all the way from Texas to visit what was once her favorite place to eat in the city. I made reservations for Sunday, June 17 at 7:30, approximately two weeks beforehand. I got a confirmation phone call that afternoon, and called back to confirm the reservation and let them know we would be one less person. Two of us arrived on time; I gave the host my name and let him know we had a reservation and that our third guest was running late. He asked if this person would be more than 10 or 15 minutes and I said i didn't think so. So we waited. 10 minutes later the host came back and asked if we would like anything. When we said we'd like to sit, he offered us the bar table by the door, and indicated that as soon as a table paid, he would seat us. A family of four walked in, without a reservation, and they were seated immediately. Then, ten more people came in, all without reservations, who were seated immediately. Not once did the host say to us, "I can't seat an incomplete party." Instead, he left us standing there for 40 minutes, and ignored the fact that we had reservations and were merely waiting for one other person, who had run into subway trouble, to arrive. In all my years in New York, I have never met a more unaccomodating host. I can certainly understand a restaurant policy that won't allow incomplete parties to be seated, but I usually find that at restaurants that are packed to the roof with a line out the door. Also, that policy is pretty clearly stated by the host from the beginning. Our host said no such thing. Henry's End, you lost our business.