Hendrick's Tavern — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

Went here for my wedding anniversary with my husband. We went on a Friday at 6PM and sat in the dining room. I made sure to make a reservation beforehand.

I was originally skeptical seeing a ton of bad reviews about being rushed, service not being great, etc. but decided to still check out as their menu was appealing to me. I am happy to say that Hendrick’s exceeded my expectations and I had a wonderful experience. Maybe the key here is the time you go. This was the best dining experience I’ve had in a while. Perhaps those who have had different experiences were there at busier times.

All of the food was absolutely delicious.

Our server gave impeccable service— the bottle of Cab we had with our meal is now a new favorite. I mostly appreciated that he did not rush us and how kind he was.

For apps: Ahi - refreshing, delicious, so worth it— wish the juices at the bottom of the cup were poured all over the top as it would have made this dish even more satisfying.

Baked clams- one of my favorite parts of the entire meal. I prefer little neck and was delighted that this was primarily what was on the plate. Some of the best baked clams I have had in years. Saved the bread that initially came out as we sat down to soak up the deliciousness left after all the clams were already gone.

Wedge- they were kind enough to chop as we were sharing, it was refreshing, delicious and not too heavy. Not your typical wedge salad with blue cheese chunks - seemed to have their own twist on it and I can appreciate that.

Main course: Porterhouse - cooked to perfection (we requested medium rare). I appreciated that it was cut for us and our server was able to tell us each cut he was putting on our plate. Definitely utilize the garlic they put alongside - it was perfectly soft and spreadable. We also opted for the chimichurri sauce- theirs was addictive. More sweet than spicy than your typical chimichurri sauce, still absolutely delicious.

Dessert: We chose the key lime pie, which was so enjoyable as an end of summer dessert. Our server made the excellent suggestion of pairing with an espresso martini. He mentioned you could add some Baileys — husband and I declined the Baileys and got the espresso martini by itself, and it just completely rounded off the meal and was a perfect after dinner drink. I’m now a major lover of espresso martinis after this experience! Normally it’s something I wouldn’t have tried and I was delighted.

Our key lime ended up being comped for our anniversary which was very sweet. While it was our anniversary, I was also in mourning of the death of a family member and couldn’t hold back some tears after looking at some of our wedding photos at dinner (major mistake on my part). The wait staff was so sweet coming to my rescue at the seemingly perfect time with some bar naps when I needed to bat my eyes.

I will absolutely be back to try more of their apps (French onion soup & crab cake, I’m coming for you!) and the server had let us know about some off-menu specials that we were highly interested in (but had already had our hearts set on the porterhouse upon walking in).

I want to say our server was Caesar— thank you for a great experience!

One last thing to note FYI- parking is valet only if I...

This past Saturday evening, my wife, friend and I were heading to the NYC Winter Festival of Lights at the grounds of the Nassau County Museum of Art just under a mile away from Hendrick's Tavern, (btw, this Festival of Lights was very disappointing, but that's a different review).

So earlier I decided to make a reservation at Hendrick's Tavern for 1800 hours that Saturday evening, and it was fortuitous that I did, it was completely booked (it's always a very positive start when a restaurant is full and doesn't have any further openings) but fortunately for us someone canceled and I was able to garner the 1800 hour slot.

We arrived a bit late, around 1810. We were greeted outside by the friendly valet guys: Javier, Miguel & Luis.

Inside we were greeted by the host Jaime, he was cordial, he took us to our table, next to a beautiful view towards their garden.

As soon as we sat down Joel came over to offer us drinks, my wife and friend opted for non-alcoholic drinks, but since I wasn't driving I decided to get a cocktail: Spicy Passion Margarita. It was fantastic! It contained the right amount of spiciness, passion fruit and liquor.

Chip (our server) stopped by to take our orders. He's a personable, amiable and knowledgeable young man.

For appetizer my wife ordered Roasted Bone Marrow. It came with thin slices of perfectly toasted garlic bread. The bone marrow was succulent and tasty.

For the main dish she opted for Cornish Hen with Spinach, I got the Branzino with sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms, as well as a side order of Truffle Fries. My wife's Cornish Hen looked so gorgeous, golden brown and so crispy on the outside and yet surprisingly tender inside, full of flavor. My whole Branzino was expertly deboned, crispy mouthwatering skin and succulent flavorful meat. Our Spinach and Mushrooms were superbly sauteed with the right balance of garlic and salt. My Truffle Fries had true Truffles, were most places gives you a bit of Truffle flakes, Hendrick's Tavern smothers it in pure Truffles. It was a highlight!

Too bad this fantastic restaurant is located in Long Island, over 90 minutes from us, if it were much closer we would eat there...

MUST READ—in my car on my way home from this restaurant right now and feel so disappointed that I needed to write this right away. Preface that I am also a server and bartender in the business. It was my mother’s 50th birthday dinner, party of 7. The meal started out great, fast service, fast appetizers and good cocktails. Then it all went downhill. The meals come out eventually and 3 of our skirt steaks and 1 spaghetti and meatballs came out good. My mother and stepfather ordered the $150 ribeye for 2 and my boyfriend ordered the Colorado ribeye. Both were ordered medium rare and came out well done. Our server was very busy and took a while to flag down. We asked for new correct temperatures and after waiting 25 minutes the rest of the table was finished eating and still no new steaks for my mother, stepfather, and boyfriend. We were not checked on, no more cocktail refills, water refills, or places bussed. We had to pull over a different bidder for water. As if we were a problematic table. A manger came over and said he’d offer dessert...for over $200 mistakes in our steaks? He didn’t know any other way to help he said. This is unheard of for a restaurant of this caliber. We eventually pulled him over again to cancel the meals and get our check. Still being a $500 meal after being neglected and just given the offer of a dessert. Our server asked us to talk to other managers in the front about our experience which leads me to believe this may happen often. As we confronted the 2 other managers at the host stand, they were overwhelmed and could not care less about our complaints. We explained our situation and how disappointed we were and were looked at with blank faces saying “Thanks for letting us know”. That was all. Again being in the restaurant business, this is UNHEARD of. I felt like they could not care less about their customers as they’re so busy and only care about the guest turnover. We were looking to coming here for weeks and this was so unfortunate. I never write reviews but after this treatment, it’s unacceptable. Please do not waste your money here, there are other beautiful spots in the area with better pricing...