04/16/08

French-Latin fusion and a killer Cuban sandwich, served in an attractive restaurant and bar.

by Eric Grossman

The Scene
Chef Paul O'Connell's award-winning bistro is all vim and vigor, thanks to eclectic culinary and design touches. The airy dining room benefits from skylights and jovial paintings, while the dimly lit bar has a feel (and menu) all its own. Competent waiters deliver wicked mojitos and caiprinihas to a diverse clientele.

The Food
Truly inventive dishes are artfully presented, though the restaurant is a bit casual for its prices. Starters, like most everything else, are intricate and flavorful; Peruvian ceviche or a foraged mushroom tart do not disappoint. Entrees include the familiar (steak frites, roasted chicken) and the unexpected (seared sea scallops with poblano-braised oxtail). The restaurant's biggest draw is the best Cuban sandwich in town, which is only served in the bar. Desserts, especially a tres leches cake with ginger-rhubarb sauce, are sublime.

11/25/07

Wonderful!

by niiicola

Loved this restaurant. My husband and I went for our anniversary, and we were both really happy with it. The decor is pleasant and classy without being obnoxious, and the service was great. And the food was amazing. The Cuban twist on French cuisine was really innovative, and they had some very cool flavor combinations that I never would have thought of before. It's a little pricey, but perfect for a special occasion. I can't wait to go back!

08/08/07

rude customer service

by mhsurvey

My husband and I went to eat at Chez Henri restaurant. We were really looking forward to dining at this "Cuban/French fusion restaurant. We made reservations a week in advance.

When we arrived we were promptly seated. The waitress came and took our prefix order and drink order. She asked us for our IDs, we obliged. Everything seemed fine. 5 minutes later, the waitress came back to our table and told my husband she did not think that his i.d was his real id. She declined to serve alcohol to my husband. We were surprised, since he is in his latter thirties. We asked to speak to the manager. The manager could not even give us a legitimate explanation for this crazy situation. The id had the appropriate seals, etc.

We felt very uncomfortable and insulted by the incident. The incident did draw the attention of other patrons in the restaurant.

A waitress should not make comments like "there is no way your older than me, so I cant serve you a drink".

Long story short, the manager told us the waitress has the right to make a decision on serving alcohol based on appearance, even if an ID is legitimate.

I know MA has a lot of college kids, but this is bit too much. Being scared of serving alcohol to underage kids, can result in the loss of adult customers.

Eventually, we did not feel like eating, we did not like the treatment by the staff, so we left the restaurant.

They ruined a nice dinner opportunity and also wasted our time. We plan on never going back to this restaurant. Nor will we recommend this place.

Horrible customer service.

• Cons: rude waitress, manager, bad customer service

11/12/06

Mojitos + Mojitos + Good Food = Great Experience

by urbantemp

Like mojitos? Try one at Chez Henri, they are great! Having gone to the bar for the last few years, I was treated to a dinner there recently with some friends and we had a great time. The appetizers were delicious and definitely better than their version of steak frites, but overall it was a fun time! I like the little faux-newspaper "doggie" bags they use. It's a great local cambridge spot that hasn't gotten an ego from its constant stream of fans and loyal customers. Has that nice, comfortable, cozy local feel. I would definitely go back to the dining room another time, but may opt to continue getting a cuban sandwich at the bar, it is such a great deal and so delicious!

• Pros: Drinks, Bar, Local vibe

10/24/06

Best Cuban Sandwich

by silentconnoisseur

Quaint space, beautiful bar side menu. I had a fantastic experience with wonderful service.

Will definately be back.

• Pros: Food and service
• Cons: It can get crowded

08/04/06

Cuban...Mmmmmm

by bostonbetty

I love the Cuban sandwich from the bar menu. It's one of the best I've had. I agree that the waitstaff can be pushy sometimes. The bar area is a little cramped, but the dining room is spacious. I'll also agree w/ the parking problem. It's worse than the North End, if you can believe that!

• Pros: Great Cuban Sandwhich
• Cons: parking, cramped bar area seating

01/16/06

Excellent food and service

by bengalifoodie

All of you who hated the service should try it again. The food was excellent (very creative, very good ingredients and very subtle) and so was the service. Also the place was packed with people of all age groups but was not noisy at all so you could actually carry on a conversation! One of my favourites along with EVOO, Oleana and Mistral. Highly recommended.

• Pros: Great Food, Great Wine, Great value for money
• Cons: Hard to find parking

11/02/05

Hope you like bar food

by rockpsl76

Horrible experience! I called on a Sunday to make reservations for Thursday. I was informed that Chez Henri will not take reservations for small parties, and it would be about a 40 minute wait for thursday. My excited girlfriend spend the whole week telling all her friends how she was going to eat escargot on her birthday. When we got the the restuarant there was no valet! We had to spend 30 minutes just looking for a place to park. When we entered the restaurant we were rudely informed that it was been closed for a private party, but we could sit at the cramped bar and order off the bar menu.... The bar menu! I didn't take my girlfriend out on her birthday for a grilled cheese sandwhich! How hard would it have been to inform me that the restuarant would be closed when I called 3 days earlier!

• Cons: rude staff, not for small parties

06/11/04

Good Cuban/Rotten Host Staff

by miiki

We have visited Chez Henri for years and have done take out since our baby was born. We just go for Mojitos and Cubans.

Cubans are good, "special sauce" however, sometimes applied too zealously. Fried Yuca would be favored over the fried plaintains. "Salsa" on greens doesn't add much.

The host staff has consistently been just lacking in good people skills, graciousness, customer service, attitude and manners.

Having been in the restaurant service myself, I am appalled at the poor level of staffing in this area. It got so bad we "boycotted" them for awhile which wasn't such a bad thing. I learned to make Cubans myself. Our homemade version is our fave but sometimes when out of home fixins' we jones for a Cuban and JP is too far away so back to Chez Henri we go-

Please! Keep the wonderful drinks and sandwiches but shelve the host staff.

• Pros: Mojitos, Mojitos, Cubans
• Cons: , Hostess Staff

02/28/03

informal food critic

by jennyhth

Although the food is excellent, the service is pushy. The hostess was really snobby

• Cons: snobby, crowded, rude