Harvey's @ The Henderson — Restaurant in Hendersonville

Diligently searching for a great new restaurant to celebrate my husband’s birthday, I stumbled upon Harvey’s at The Henderson Inn. Because the menu was a “tapas style” menu, it definitely peaked my interest. Menu pricing very accurately priced and most acceptable.

Owners and chefs, Michael and Jeanne, were wonderful to accommodate my short notice dinner request. They graciously welcomed us upon our arrival and even provided sweet birthday decorations, without any request by me.

All of the waitstaff greeted us with smiling faces. Our waitress was a wonderful, additional perk to our dining experience. She was helpful to offer meal suggestions. Taking the time to make sure all of our needs and desires were met. Best of all, her bubbly personality was a delight to converse with, as we received excellent table service!

The menu was presented in a one page format, as to not be overwhelming, in choices nor dish description. It was obvious the menu had been well thought out and put together in order to accommodate a variety of dietary needs. It was exactly everything I was hoping for; really interesting and unique plates to choose from.

My starter: “The Henderson Caprese”. The dish consisted of soft Buffalo Mozzarella cheese, a variety of grape tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and a few traditional tomato wedges. The balsamic glaze was bold in flavor, plus the dish was accompanied by a delicious cilantro sauce. The sauce perfect to slide each bite through. The plating was very eye appealing. My best description for the caprese, is image a “caprese salad” but taken up several notches to the next level of “tastebud exuberance”!

For my main meal, I ordered the Oven Roasted Scallops in a lemon, herb butter. Plus, I could not resist the need to try their Miso Caramelized Brussel Sprouts with Applewood Bacon.

I can honestly says “WOW”! The Oven Roasted Scallops were perfectly cooked. Each scallop very soft and tender. The lemon, herb butter so delicious. The presentation of the plate was unique and beautiful. All flavor components spot on! Truly a most wonderful surprise to enjoy perfectly cooked scallops! Scallops cooked to such perfection, a fork easily sliced them. Absolutely no fishy odor nor smell exhibited in the dish.

The brussel sprouts... I know they are a “love/hate” vegetable. I am really picky about how I desire to eat them. The Miso Caramelized Sprouts again perfect! They were crisp, not soggy and full of bold flavor. Even my husband who has “hives” to anything green tried them. He found them so delicious, I began giving consideration of relocating them, out of his reach😂. We both really enjoyed them as a side dish.

In summary, what use to be The Inn on Church St., in Hendersonville, has remained a wonderful Bed & Breakfast. The Inn is within walking distance to all of historic downtown Hendersonville, NC. However, the most important and impressive aspect regarding the Inn is, now under new ownership, the Inn is accessible to the public. Whether you are seeking a quaint place for a cozy drink at the bar or an amazing, delicious dining experience, The Henderson Inn has risen to the challenge of meeting a variety of needs! Cheers to my newest find🥂 Happy Dining!😀

PS- as my readers know I do not provide a 5⭐️ rating unless the food is truly excellent! Hopefully my review will serve as a catalyst to keep the unique entree inspirations coming and the quality of the highest standards... fresh & delicious! Looking forward to dining again...

UPDATE: I've been to Harvey's several times now and have always had good food and service until last Friday night. I made a reservation for 2 people and 2 dogs. They confirmed the reservation exactly as I made it. It was definitely cold on Friday night but we knew we were going to sit on the outside patio because of the dogs. They were woefully underprepared to help us stay warm, and in our opinion, they should do their best to try, or not take the reservation. There was a curtain in the back part of the patio where most of the wind was coming from. We asked the server if it could be closed. She said no because staff had to go through there. Was there no other place we could sit that would not have subjected us to that wind? We'll never know, because no one bothered to look or care. My friend asked if we could sit inside because we were cold. We were told no. She said the dogs were service dogs yet we were told that the dining room is small and people have allergies, so no dog is not allowed in the dining room, even a service dog. Actually, my friend is mistaken, my dog is a therapy dog, not a service dog (hers is a service dog), but nonetheless, if he was, we were still told no. That's against the law. I don't understand at all, because the hotel itself is dog friendly. The owner tried to get 3 propane heaters started and could only start 2 of them. He made a comment about running out of most of their propane because they used too much of it on Thanksgiving, the day before. I thought to myself "you had all day today to go get more propane because you knew you had an outside reservation, but obviously, our comfort was not important." By the end of the meal, only one burner was working. The server was short and impatient, likely because she had to be out in the cold with us. The food was good as usual, but because of the fact that they chose not to prepare to help us be comfortable and have an enjoyable dining experience, I see no need to ever go back. It's unfortunate.

I've been to most if not all of the restaurants in downtown, and Harvey's is by far my favorite. I've been there twice now, and will go again once the weather cools a bit so I can bring my dog. I met the owner, Michael, last December when I was scouting locations for my camera club to have their Christmas dinner. I told him I would come back and bring friends, and I did. Both times I've been there my meals have been wonderful. The menu changes frequently based on what's available. They feature small plates that are inventive and incredibly tasty. Service is exceptional. Others I've spoken to say it's a special occasion place, but I disagree. It's the first place I'll think of if I want to go...

Went for a wine dinner tonight. The wine was fine, the atmosphere was fine, but the food was horrible. There were 5 courses. The soup was good but you had to put the mussel shells on the table. The fried green tomatoes were good but lacked seasoning. The salmon mousse was OK, nothing great and on store bought flavorless pumpernickel bread, the pork saltimbocca was completely inedible. The pork was DRY. It was terribly overcooked and wrapped in bacon instead of prosciutto. Most tables did not eat the pork. Dessert was great but overall we were checking to see if Postero was open so we could get some dinner. We won't be back, so disappointed.

To reply to the bs below...we were never dismissive to your staff. We said thank you every time they were at our table. Our only request, or complaint as you say, was for the heater to be moved as it was directly over my husband's head. I will mention that the other tables had the same request and it was actually Merrit that came and turned them down because she was hot too. As for killing the vibe, we had wonderful conversations with the adjacent tables. The review was not about the wine or the atmosphere, just the food and that is why they were listed as fine. I am saddened that you have to resort to attempted personal attacks because your pork was overcooked. It was left untouched by many tables.

We always support mom and pops, and all of our local restaurants and have attended many other wine dinners with some other locally owned restaurants and inns. We also sent a message to the kitchen but our only reply was that the prosciutto was inside. If you had just owned your error and said sorry or it was a difficult night or anything, then this review would never...