The Spot: The Henry
4455 East Camelback Road
602-429-8020
The Scene: The Henry feels like the place where all the fancy people in Phoenix go to work. Go on a weekday, when breakfast is served until 10:30am, and everyone you see is deeply engrossed in a meeting, laptop, smartphone or – most likely – all three at once. The dudes (and it’s mostly dudes) generally sport some variation of dress slacks, designer eyewear, and button-down shirts, #untucked. The ladies don Jimmy Choos and a Tory Burch tote large enough to hold their MacBooks.
And really, who can blame them? At the confluence of Paradise Valley, Scottsdale and uptown Phoenix, The Henry provides ample work space with gorgeous views of Camelback Mountain. The design is equal parts European bistro and American gastropub. Comfy, mismatched chairs, long tables and fun patterns will make it feel like your office away from home. Or, home away from office. It’s confusing but not unpleasant.
The Goods: The food at The Henry is mostly just okay. Probably because – although the aesthetic at this restaurant is confident and self-assured – the menu is trying to be everything to everyone. It mostly ends up falling flat. There are health-conscious items, like the quinoa breakfast burrito (actually pretty tasty, especially with hot sauce), the egg-white turkey omelette, and an egg scramble lifted directly from sister restaurant Flower Child. The rest of the menu is straightforward, if a little boring, from bagel and lox to yogurt parfait.
The Henry tends to be too precious, naming the granola or pastries after people no one knows, or calling their croissants “famous” when, really, they’re not. And small missteps make for subpar classics – the restaurant even manages to make a disappointing avocado toast (and still charges you $8 for it). But the coffee is good, and there are smoothies, too ... which is nice.
The Bottom Line: Fox restaurants are kind of like Taylor Swift: pre-packaged to perfection, but dammit if you don’t find yourself singing along eventually. The Henry, like T-Swift herself, is earnest and cute, which makes it hard to hate.
The Henry's coffee bar, officially called "XV." (Fifteen bucks says no one calls it that.)
Melissa Campana
Special Something: Try the quinoa breakfast burrito, but hack it by subbing Oaxaca cheese for the pepper jack. You’re welcome.
Hours: Breakfast is 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on weekdays; brunch is Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Price: $$
Coffee Options: Henry XV is a full coffee bar, complete with cutesy names for specialty drinks. Shout out to the team in this little bar – the folks take orders and grind beans for a giant restaurant full of people before the rest of the staff arrives for lunch, and they do it with a smile.
Fresh-squeezed juice: Orange and grapefruit.
Wi-Fi? Yes. And everyone is on it.
Drinking Before Noon: Yup. The weekend brunch is where they really push the booze, but you can get a mimosa on a weekday if you say the magic words. (“Prosecco, please.”)
