Henry’s Hat is a gastropub. Or maybe it’s a sports bar. Or family restaurant. Who knows? The management just wants you to hang out there for longer than it takes to eat a simple meal and has provided you with a literal menu of distractions.
A friend of mine had told me of a place you could play Jenga while tossing back a beer. I’m not a Jenga player. Like Operation, it’s just too nerve-wracking for me.. I can already see the carefully constructed tower topple over. My friend also mentioned that the bar offered Battleship. Well, why didn’t you say so?
I happened upon Henry’s Hat because it was too obvious to ignore: It was situated right across the street from the exit of my LA Fitness. Hmm, yoga and then some fries with that?
It’s one of those “order your food at the bar” places and boasts fancy pub fare using locally sourced ingredients and seasonal, fresh-fruit cocktails.
Oh, and don’t forget the games menu. Well, we did. We were more interested in catching up with each other and trying out the grub to bother with Connect 4 or the competitive rigors of dominoes. Besides, we had food that we ate with our hands. Maybe next time.
The fries were good. Not great, but I don’t tend to like fries or even order them unless I am going to share them in a bar. It achieved its goal and was crisp and tasty with just enough salt. That’s really about it though. It takes a lot for me to rave about fries.
Loved the strawberry-basil gimlet. I’m pretty much willing to taste anything with lime and vodka, but the addition of freshly muddled strawberries and basil really hit the spot on such a hot day. Similarly, I enjoyed my burger:
It’s basically a holiday burger: a turkey patty accented by a not-too-sweet cranberry-red onion marmalade, gooey brie and mixed greens. The whole concoction was a lopsided, juicy affair that oozed liquid with every bite.
I also had a chance to try my friend’s falafel wrap: fresh, cool and satisfying.
The down and dirty:
Henry’s Hat may have some problems if it wants to be THE San Fernando Valley hangout. My food and drink and experience was pleasant, but when it comes to the competitive world of gastropub fare, I’m not sure it can stand out. The freshness and relative subtlety of the flavors may be too frou frou for the crowd it’s trying to attract — those who want to swill beer and hang out for hours on end for sports, games and good times. You have the big screens, but will they come?
Also, the beer selection felt haphazard. Whenever it gets around to serving beers on tap, I might visit again. Finally, its location is not convenient at all when it comes to parking. Unless you’re an LA Fitness member and walk across the street, you’re most likely going to have to pay for parking. And although I spotted one star (Sara Rue) there, I’ve also seen famous mugs at Laurel Tavern down the street a few miles away, in the heart of Studio City. Henry’s Hat does an admirable job promoting itself with themed entertainment (trivia nights, sports team affiliation specials, etc.), so I’m willing to wait and see if it can overcome its circumstances and gain a little focus to its approach.
ADDENDUM:
I returned to Henry’s Hat more than a month later and have to conclude that the place is inconsistent. Although the quality of the food wasn’t quite up to the level of my initial experience (my burger and gimlet weren’t nearly as good), I did enjoy the macaroni and cheese and funghi pizza of olive oil, mushroom, dry cured olive, pecorino, thyme, oregano, arugula. The greens on the pizza gave the meal freshness and bite, but I did find myself leaving the crust.
The service, however, was disheartening. This was a special 50% off night as long as you used the special password from Twitter and Facebook. I had to ask our waitress several times to check if this applied to everything on the menu, which we eventually learned it did. Also, even though I had made a reservation, my group of five had to share two tiny bar tables — those small round things — since it appears walk-ins had taken the good tables. One of our tables was so shaky, I was forced to steal some sugar packets and even it out or risk having our drinks tumble to the floor.
We were there for National Cheeseburger Day! (left) Hank's All-American cheeseburger and (right) the Dagburger w/ bacon and a fried egg
Finally, at the end of the night, we received our check, our full-priced check. Once again, I had to remind our waitress that everything was 50 % off. She asked me the password — the one I had told her several times before already — and eventually we got our discount. I won’t go into the server who was too lazy to walk around the table to serve us the right thing, but would give it to one of us to pass down.
Argh. I was so frustrated because I wanted this to be a good experience for my friends. Henry’s Hat is still finding its way, which is fine, but if it intends to be a major hangout, it needs to be able to handle crowds better, honor its reservations and coupon deals and find waitstaff that actually knows what’s going on.
Henry’s Hat Restaurant
3413 Cahuenga Blvd. West
Los Angeles, CA 90068
