Henrys — Restaurant in Sydney

Very bad experience Celebrating birthday at Henry's Neutral Bay in Sydney should be an enjoyable experience, however, our experience was far from it. Although the food is normal, the space is small and the distance between the tables is so small that it is almost impossible to walk without touching someone else's table. This is not supposed to happen in a one-hat restaurant.

Even more disappointing was the fact that despite clearly stating on the TheFork platform at the time of booking that it was a special occasion - a birthday celebration - and calling the day before to confirm the details about the birthday surprise, we were met with a series of disappointments during the meal. We were told the restaurant doesn't offer birthday surprises, but when we asked if we could bring our own cake and got a positive answer, we weren't told there would be an extra charge.

At checkout, we were charged a 12🔪 fee called "open food". After asking staff and managers, we were told it was because we brought in external desserts. We understand there may be additional charges at the restaurant, but we were not informed of this during the previous call. To make matters worse, the manager's attitude was extremely unprofessional and unfriendly, he almost looked us in the eye and arrogantly told us "this is how we are".

This is not about 12🔪, this is about respect and professionalism. Even small restaurants post notices on their doors about take-away food. After we expressed our dissatisfaction, the manager simply said "just a moment" and then turned to talk to the other guests, leaving us to one side.

Bottom line: Henry's Neutral Bay left us with an extremely unpleasant experience. Small space, poor service attitude, and lack of basic professionalism and customer respect. It was a far cry from the experience a month earlier at Bentley, a two-hat restaurant. I really find it hard to believe that this is the standard of a...

Going to Henry's was on my bucket list as I've heard many good reviews about the food. We ordered a number of entrees which were good quality, and the sides, and the main course were decent. However, the portions for the heirloom tomato, cheese and basil salad were small and not worth the value.

In between ordering our meals, we had to wait to get the attention of the waiter, talking non-stop with his colleague and not attending to us as customers when needed. We found him to be a bit rude in demeanor and he seemed to prefer having a one-sided conversation as he seemed to be the only one standing there chatting away while the other service staff was cleaning, more than serving and taking our order without delay. My partner and I kept looking over to make eye contact with him until he realised we were ready to order. This doesn't reflect well on any business. He did his job but not in the way a service staff in hospitality would in getting repeat customers who are new to the establishment. That was the only letdown. The chefs, and the other waiter who greeted us and did the actual work attentively were great. But this waiter let the restaurant experience down...

Shares plates is good idea in my book because that allow us to sample a broad selection of dishes. A lot of dishes here are designed to be shared. The ambiance of this restaurant is modern and clean. Lots of hard surfaces which is fine when the restaurant is not busy but it does create a loud background buzz when the space begins to fill. Food wise, it is a hit and miss. The presentation is generally good and it is obvious that some thoughts have been given to it. Taste and style is more uneven. Some dishes are great while others are more pedestrian. Roasted cauliflower is a highlight. The calamari and the barramundi are the standout seafood. The steak is solid but the pork chop is dry and tasteless. The lamb was flavourful but a bit tough. Desserts are cute and tasty. This means you have to be more careful with your order because of their price point. If you pick from the subset of good dishes then it is a reasonable proposition. However, if you really want to share as many dishes as possible between a table of 4 then expect to hit a...