Henry's On The Market — Restaurant in Charleston

It has been a while since I have enjoyed a restaurant so much that I have been unable to put the meal and the experience out of my mind. As a graduate student in hospitality who has been working in multiple realms of industry for a little more than 5 years, I could write an essay as to why I will never visit any other restaurant in Charleston, but I will do my best to remain brief.

Firstly, the food was amazing. As an appetizer, my party of three shared the calamari which was delicious and I will be ordering again (once I have made my way through the rest of the menu). As an entrée, I ordered the mahi and it was cooked perfectly, the flavor was amazing, and the presentation was beautiful. The two friends I was dining with ordered the blackened chicken pasta which they both enjoyed very much. I would recommend everything we ordered to anyone grabbing a bite to eat at Henry's.

Secondly, and this is the main point that wowed me to the point of writing this Google Review, the service was of a quality I have yet to find in many other restaurants-- especially at such an affordable price point. Our server was Garrett and he was incredibly charming and very kind when my friends and I were so indecisive about what to order. He kept a close eye on waters and my friend's drink to ensure we were never having to grab his attention for any refills. One thing that has become too common in the restaurant industry is servers obviously working for tips. This was not at all the case with Garrett. For context, I have a friend from high school who comes from Tennessee to visit for a week at the end of every summer. This is the only time we see each other during the year and we always have one night where we treat ourselves to a little bit of a fancier dinner. It was very clear to me and my guests that Garrett recognized this was a special night for us and was very respectful of our time and conversation as he remained available to us without the multiple interruptions that many servers make. Additionally, Garrett continued to refill our waters and let us enjoy our evening until we indicated that we were ready for the check. To me, this was a sign of a well-trained server and a higher-end service standard, which was extremely pleasing to find at a modestly priced restaurant.

Furthermore, when my friend was brought the seafood pasta instead of the blackened chicken pasta, Garrett went above and beyond to rectify the situation. Assuming the correct dish would be brought out quickly, my other guest and I decided to wait to begin our meal until the last entrée was served. After a few minutes of waiting (which was a great sign that every meal is made fresh to-order), Garrett brought out an order of fries and said "here is something for you all to snack on while you wait." This has stuck in my head because it showed that he was watching our behavior and did what was in his power to eliminate an inconvenience rather than offering a free side as an apology to avoid any complaints or bad reviews (not that we would have ever done either). I was just so beyond impressed by Garrett's attention to detail that the entire evening has been unable to leave my mind.

To management, Garrett and whoever trained him deserve a raise. My only regrets are that I didn't tell this to him in person and that I didn't tip him 100% of the bill-- he did more than deserve it. Henry's is lucky to have him and he is the reason I will returning to your restaurant whenever I am in Charleston.

Garrett, thank you so much for such an enjoyable...

My husband and I were in the area looking for our last evening dining spot before we headed home. Promptly after walking through the doors we were greeted by a kind young lady asking "how many?" Who's face immediately turned sour, plopped the menus down on her pedestal and said flatly ".... outside.... " and gestured us to the right with her head! Appalled, I looked at my husband to make sure I that I wasn't reading the situation all wrong, only to catch his eyes just as wide as mine. Being the time of day, they weren't busy yet. Kind of a calm before the dinner rush. The lighting was stunning and the jazzy atmosphere was definitely right up our alley in relaxation. ( A weekend without our 3 kiddos for our anniversary, relaxation was our theme for the weekend, lol!) Ascending toward the "rooftop" we were very impressed of course with the beautiful architecture of the establishment. As we reached the multi-layer outdoor rooftop, we came across another group of people who were coming down to the lower garden area seating to get out of the wind of the top portion. Husband and I went all of the way to the top ( now the only ones up there) and the fact that it was a cooler windy day wouldn't have bothered us, however the fact that nearly every single table was littered with dishes and trash (even on the floor) made the decision pretty easy for us, we were definitely NOT going to enjoy a meal surrounded with others left overs everywhere we looked . It clearly hadn't been bused since the lunch rush ( it was nearly 5pm ). As we descended, we asked the other group if they had been waiting long and they all replied yes with frustration "and all we ordered a dip appetizer! ". We thanked them and decided right away we would be going elsewhere. Entering back into the main building and approaching the stairs, a male server came around the corner with said appetizer and stormed directly in-between my husband and I (causing us to both push up against the walls to avoid being slammed into), without an apology or manners of any sort. That did it.... Icing on the cake. We were out of there and weren't coming back. I really don't enjoy giving poorly rated reviews. Customer service is one of my strongsuites and it's really disheartening when a place of this stature lacks this very important element. The 2 stars are for location, atmosphere and...

I am going to preface this review by saying that I have never been to Henry's aside from my experience tonight, so this review is not intended to critique the food or service of the staff, specifically working inside of Henry's. My friends and I attempted to go into Henry's tonight, but we were told we did not meet the dress code. This was unusual because the reason the gentleman at the door told us we did not meet the dress code was because we were wearing hats and did not have collard shirts. When the gentleman working the door said this to our group, I immediately looked inside the establishment and saw a man wearing a hat with a plain white t-shirt. I proceeded to look at other customers in the establishment and saw other male customers without collard shirts. I mentioned this to employees working the door, and they informed me that those customers would be getting kicked out shortly. I found this odd because it appeared those customers had been at the establishment for some time. One of the members of my group spoke with one of the gentlemen working the door, and he said that they are trying to keep the "bad people" out. After some back and forth, the gentleman told us we could go inside and told us, "he could tell we were good." One group member left and said he felt like he was being stereotyped for how he looked. I did not go in as well. I felt that it was inappropriate to have to beg to go into an establishment. 5 members of the group work blue collar. I mentioned that point to say that I guess if you don't look a certain way, then you are not welcome at Henry's. As for the "bad people" comment by the employee. That was rather unsettling due to the fact that this establishment seems to stereotype people and cast judgment based upon appearance. I guess you have to look like a Charleston lawyer to be accepted at Henry's, even though the 5 blue collar members of the group, more than likely earn a higher income than the majority of individuals that go to Henry's

I was informed today by my friends that stayed at Henry's last night, that the gentleman stereotyping us told my group that he...