heno heno — Restaurant in New York

I love izakayas. There is just so much variety and so many things to eat! I dined at Heno Heno twice. The first time, I had ressos for a Saturday at 6 PM. They have happy hour from 5-7 daily, and it was nice that the deal applied on weekends too. We ordered a BUNCH of skewers. We each had an oyster and a shiitake skewer, and for the meats we did chicken meatball, chicken thigh, and pork rib - one in tare (sauce) and one with salt. The salt was definitely better because the tare was a bit too sweet. The salt paired with the togarashi was the perfect combination. The chicken meatball was dry but the other two were great. We also tried chicken gizzard, and liver, which was just okay. But the best skewer we had was the chicken skin. It was hot and crispy.

The second time I visited, we had ressos for four people on a Sunday at 5:30. Since it was a rainy Sunday night, there were barely any people dining, which was nice - because they let us linger around until 8. This time for skewers, we just did the salt chicken thigh, pork rib, and chicken skin. I had been raving to my friends about the chicken skin but this time, it came out floppy. They definitely did not crisp it long enough and it was disappointing. I got to try some regular dishes this time and we shared everything family style. We had:

-Grilled beef tongue - a little bland and a bit chewy -5 types assorted sashimi - this had tuna, salmon, yellowtail, sea bass (?), and octopus. The picture on the menu had scallops instead of octopus, and we specifically requested the scallops but it still came out with octopus, but we decided to just eat it anyway. The octopus was chewy as expected. But the rest of the fish was very buttery and fresh. I am a tuna gal but my favorite was actually the yellowtail -Botan ebi - very sweet and tasted fresh, especially the head -Shrimp tempura - this had a lot of coating on it and the coating wasn't even crispy. It was soggy. This was my least favorite of the night -Creamy cod roe udon - you really can't go wrong with a creamy cod roe udon dish. It was nice and saucy. This may sound weird but I ended up using some of the sauce on my skewers. It was that good -Salmon don - they gave a good amount of salmon -Yellowtail jalapeno roll - this was good except it had too much rice -Chestnut and sweet potato paste with matcha ice cream - this was basically a side of sweet mashed potatoes with ice cream, because it didn't have enough chestnut flavor. I'm not normally a fan of sweet potato but after I ate it together with the ice cream, it was actually pretty good

Great izakaya option in the area and I will definitely...

Heno heno is a cute izakaya that my friends introduced me to, and it definitely has a warm, welcoming vibe. It seems like a popular spot with many Japanese customers, which to me is always a good sign of authenticity. It has a humble, true to itself kind of restaurant feel, not trying to be overly trendy.

One thing that's a bit confusing is the door situation. There are two doors to get in, and figuring out which one to use when you leave can be a mini puzzle, but you'll eventually navigate it.

The service has always been great whenever I've visited. The servers are consistently nice and attentive, checking in regularly without being intrusive.

While I usually come here for drinks after eating elsewhere, the food I've tried has been decent. The yakitori wrapped in bacon, especially the one with enoki mushrooms, is fantastic the texture is just heavenly. The agedashi tofu is also a winner, and even as someone who isn't a big fan of eggplant or radish, I enjoy having them with it. We've ordered various other dishes over time, and while nothing has been mind blowing, everything has been solid.

Their sake selection is also a highlight. This is where I was introduced to Dassai 45, which opened up a whole new world of junmai daiginjo sakes for me. It's a really great sake, and I recommend giving it a try. Plus, the lack of a hangover the next day is always a bonus!

However, on my last visit, we ordered the beer tower, which was a bit of a letdown as it was leaking. The server tried to fix it, and it seemed okay for a while, but by the end of the night, there was a noticeable puddle of beer on our table. That kind of left a slightly negative impression, and I think investing in a nonleaky beer tower would be a good idea.

Finally, the sign in the bathroom that reads, "WARNING: vomiting is not allowed $20 fine for cleaning fee" struck me as odd. While I initially chuckled, it brought up some questions. What if someone gets sick from the food? What if they clean it up themselves? It feels more like a poorly worded attempt to discourage overdrinking. Perhaps a sign with a more direct and appropriate message about responsible drinking would be better.

Despite a couple of quirks, heno heno is a great izakaya that I'll likely keep returning to with friends. It has a genuine charm and a...

The food is generally yummy here, but I’d agree with other reviews that they are a bit under seasoned. They also have good happy hour deals on drinks, but I wish they had happy hour deals on food.

On to my major complaint: service here was subpar, at best. I ordered a shrimp tempura roll and pointed on the menu at the item to clearly indicate I wanted that. They mistakenly brought me shrimp tempura, which wasn’t a big deal, or so I thought. I flagged someone down to let them know of the mistake and politely did so. Then, my original server came back and asked me about the mistake. I clarified that I said I wanted a shrimp tempura roll not shrimp tempura, and she made a face at me indicating her displeasure. She said, with distaste, that she only heard me say shrimp tempura. She asked me to confirm what I wanted, so I again politely asked for a shrimp tempura roll. When I made this request, she again made a face at me, as if it were an inconvenience that was on me that she misheard me. Any time we interacted after, she ignored me and only acknowledged my friend who I was dining with. At one point while we were dining, I caught her glaring at me from the bar. I don’t know if something happened or if some reprimanded her for making a mistake, but I truly did not think it was a big deal until she decided to be annoyed with me… the customer. Another waitress also treated me this way and appeared to ignore me and only regard my friend with pleasure and happiness. Only the manager and another waitress were kind and regarded me happily. What’s with the mixed service?

Overall, a weird experience, but they had a really extensive menu! It’s kind of a shame because I definitely wanted to try more things and come back. This weird experience was hopefully...