Henry’s World Famous Hi-Life

Another great dinner at Henry’s! It’s awesome to see familiar faces since the last time I went by. Dan came to our table to make sure we were taken care of. Alex at the bar made some amazing drinks and super attentive! Our waitress was very nice and the food came out fast. This time I ordered the T-​bone steak and it was delicious! Thanks guys!

Server: Kathy: amazing service. Quick, attentive and kind
New York steak with a side of baked potato. You can get a side of mushrooms but I declined. Delicious.
Teriyaki chicken – their sauce makes the entire dish.
Would recommend and will be returning soon

This s the place that satisfies my barbecue ribs cravings they are the best I had. The wait is always a bit long but once your seated at your table the food arrives promptly. The service is always great they very attentive to your needs. I would highly recommend this place.

I come to San Jose once a year for a convention and coming here for dinner is a tradition! After a long day at the convention, I love coming here to end the day. It can be fairly busy sometimes although my most recent visit was surprisingly not busy. They have a very simple procedure at the restaurant. When you walk in, you will be situated in the bar area. Walk towards the restaurant area and grab a red plastic number and find a seat if you can at the bar or tables, order a drink and watch whatever game is in tv. Their simple menu is displayed up on the wall so decide what you want before your number is called. When your number is called, raise your hand or stand up so that one of their staff can come and take your order. You won’t get your table just yet. Just before your food is ready, or when a table opens up, they will call your name and seat you. You’ll start off with a salad, then some amazingly delicious and dangerously filling bread with a kind of tomato dipping sauce before finally getting your order. I always go with the prime rib. 12oz. I actually wish they had an 8 or 10oz. Service is good and the food is amazing!

The food and the service were both very good. Our party ordered everything from hamburgers, steak and ribs. Everyone was very happy with their meals. We all loved the old time ambiance. I would recommend this place. No reservations, just put your name on the list and wait your turn, it goes pretty fast.

Hey this place is history. It’s like eating at a museum with amazing food. The service is amazing. I have two children under two and I was amazed how clean and proper they stayed during our dinner. It was because our server was always on top of things.
If it is the only time you get to try this place, go for the ribs!

Came back after 7 years. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience much more this time around. The beers on tap were solid although they didn’t seem to be as cold as I would prefer them. I had the rib eye and was surprised that it was quite tasty and perfectly medium rare as I requested. definitely steakhouse quality at a lower than steakhouse price. I will be back again for meat and beer!
Happy Grubbin’!

Odd place. When you walk in, you walk past the bar to place your order with the ‘hostess’ standing in the doorway to the back of the bar (if the restaurant isn’t busy, in which case you would take a number and wait for her to call you to take your order). Your entire party orders, standing up, under the menu painted on the wall above the doorway. If you’re thirsty, step over to the bar and order a drink. When your table is ready, she calls your name and takes you back to your table where your salads are awaiting you. Musical chairs figuring out which salad is yours. Apparently, nobody ever told these people how fu (k*d up their system is for the customer. Hey — your system is fu (k*d up.
I ordered a beer and the bartender poured it ¹⁄₈ inch from the rim, with no head. I didn’t think that was possible (both a beer like that and a bartender so clueless in how to pour a beer). Good beers on tap though, flatness not considered.
Ordered the ribs. Falling off the bone the right way and decent bbq sauce, but fatty as can be. I didn’t think it was possible to have that much fat on ribs after cooking. Shouldn’t it render out? So much fat I couldn’t finish the rack (first time in my life).
Overpriced for the quality you get, but I didn’t leave hungry.

A FUN spot. A real PEOPLE place. THE place to go before or after a SAP Center event.
Food is great.
Ribs are fabulous.

FOOD POISONING! About four hours after eating the Chicken & Baby Back Ribs combo here, I began to experience the worst abdominal cramps and nausea I’ve had in my life. Then you can imagine what happened next. So far, I’ve been glued to the toilet for the past two days.
Thanks, but no thanks, Henry’s.

When I first heard about this place I immediately jumped on Unilocal.Unilocal is my guide of course XD. Much like my seeing eye dog for what to expect food wise. I read that the menu is up on the wall only here, so I recommend doing what I did and researching the menu in advance. My husband and I were ready to order when we arrived. Which helped alot since we were fashionably late.
It was very crowded inside. So you know the food is good. Yet it wasn’t hot n gross or anything. It seemed the ventilation was great. Thank god. You couldn’t smell the food right away until you get your name called to the back of the restaurant/​bar. It took probably 30min to be seated. It was a long wait but when you got friends and family having a great time you hardly notice. Make sure you go up to the bar and let them know what u want while you wait. This is not like anywhere I’ve ever been. Make sure you get a red ticket across the room when you arrive. I’m not sure if you can make reservations but if you can I definitely recommend it.
When we were seated I was a little surprised that the seating areas were a bit tight. So if your a bit on the big side I do not recommend coming here. The seating here is not very comfortable. We were here for 2+ hours so the stiff wooden chairs wore out my back. Our waiter was one in a million. Great service and great customer service. He was quick and accommodating. Everything you expect from a server.
I ordered the teriyaki steak and my husband ordered the 16oz New York steak. Our family ordered the chicken teriyaki, the rack of ribs, and the porterhouse. Almost everything was absolutely delicious. The ribs were tasty and fall off the bone. It had a yummy worcestershire taste to it. The porterhouse was huge and worth the price. The New York steak was not the best and was honestly on the smaller side. As for the best for last… drumroll please… The teriyaki steak was superb and succulent. The taste was out of control, my taste buds were having a party in my mouth. Man oh man you have to try the chicken or steak teriyaki. It comes with teriyaki sauce on the side as well as poured over. Yummy. It was cooked perfectly. And the side of baked potato with green onions had some sweet butter plopped on top. It went nicely together. As for the garlic bread. It was bland and under cooked in my opinion.
Overall I had a fantastic time and the atmosphere was great. I am definitely coming here again and again. Even though I will have to spend a pretty penny to go. It will be worth it.

Popular meat & drinks spot near the SAP center. On game night come here with a couple hours to spare — the place has maybe 20 tables filled to capacity, and a bar area (max occupancy 45) with another 200+ people waiting.
The full rack of baby-​back ribs (at $ 27 one of the more $$ meals on the wall/​menu) had more delicious meat than I’ve ever had on a plate in my life. Others had the prime rib and the rib-​eye — both were outstanding.
The 10 step drill is like this:
(1) Enter the bar & fight your way over to the restaurant entrance,
(2) pick a number card, then
(3) muscle over to the bar and order some drinks for the wait.
(They had Breaking Bud IPA from Knee Deep — so I was happy with the bar.)
(4) After 10 – 15 minutes they come and take your order, and
(5) you may want to muscle back over for a second round.
(A second Breaking Bud is *always* a good idea!)
(6) After another 15 minutes or so of standing in their bar/​elevator/​Disneyland/​Japanese Commuter Train, they come and extract you from the teaming sea of Shark fans and seat you.
(7) Iceberg salads and garlic toast arrive immediately,
(8) the meat comes out maybe 5 – 10 minutes later.
(9) There isn’t any pressure to hurry up and eat, so relax for a few minutes and enjoy your meal.
(10) Go see the Sharks.
Very friendly staff, The place runs like clockwork, so the crowd is more fun than frustrating. Good stop before a game. My go-​to choice in the area aside from the Poor House Bistro.

You must come here if you are in town for a Sharks game! Many Sharks fans come here before game and have a drink while waiting for a table. They take your pre-​order. You wait a few while they get it ready, you can have a drink in the bar area
Then they call your name and you are seated with your salad and bread waiting for you. (Marinara fordipping was on the sweet side so i just did not dip.) Amazing prime rib! Bread was fantastic. And the potato was delicious. 12oz prime rib was my meal, many parts of it just FELL apart in my mouth. It was so tender. Have to try it!

Ready for some lip-​smacking, finger-​licking ribs? Well, you’ve come to right place!
When you first enter, it seems like you’re stepping into a bar… and you’re right! But don’t forget to grab a number on the other side of the bar! They’ll call your number and you tell them your order! The menu is located on the wall. After, they’ll call your name when a seat becomes available. The best part is that they already got your order, so your food comes out immediately when you sit down!
The ribs with that sauce… ooo man so good! The baby back ribs fell right off the bone! I also loved the side of baked potato!
I’m coming back for some more finger-​licking!

So you step in, pick a number, order a beer… and when your number is called, you introduce your party, order the food and wait till they call your name!
You’ll then be seated and your food will be served quickly after that!
Cool.
The place is an old brothel located in SJ little Italy. All woody, retro styling, very nice atmosphere.
The bar can get really packed (it’s actually the waiting area) but offers really nice beers. The local Porter is a MUST try!
Food-​wise, I order the chicken and ribs (baby back) combo.
Your plate will come with a baked potato (with an interesting and refreshing topping), butter bread with BBQ sauce.
The meat itself: my chicken was a little dried out but tasty, crispy and well seasoned. The ribs were not too sweet (yey!), juicy and tasty but so greasy/​oily. I might have hit a very fatty part of that beef!
Make sure you order a side of mushroom, they are very nice!
Nice and helpful staff, super friendly bartender.
I might be a bit harsh on my rating. The place is definitely a 3.5 stars. Slightly over-​priced for what it provides. However, I think I need to go back and try a steak see if they can get 4 stars ;)

—- TLDR; I LOVE IT HERE. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ RECOMMEND.
Let’s begin — when you walk in, YOU MUST WALK TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BAR and grab a number. Make sure to check that it is the right number. [some people tend to put their #‘s back because they’re not patient enough for the wait; DONT CUT IN LINE]
THEN, you’ll be waiting for your number to be called so you could have your order put in. Why? Because good food takes time, and this kills the time you’d be waiting for your order post-​seating. ***Think: efficient seating rotation. While you eat, someone’s order is being taken and another’s order being cooked. Once you leave, the order cooking is almost done to be served and the one taken is getting ready to be cooked. ***
DINNER — you get called by the name you’ve requested them to refer to you by [today’s examples: jets suck, dr. —-, etc] AND within minutes you’ll have your drink order taken, butter-​cheesed-​sweet-​garlic bread and bbq sauce, drinks, and meal served.
SERVICE — The staff here is extremely attentive. My water wasn’t completely out but definitely wouldn’t have been enough for my next «sip «when I put my cup down. Our server walked by within a blink of an eye, refilled my drink, and gave us more bbq sauce like it was his life’s mission. Not once have we ever received anything less of fantastic service and great food here. This is our first weekend visit and it happened to be packed with Sharks fan. [THIS IS SHARKS TERRITORY! ;) ] and our wait was MAYBE 2 hours in all. STILL WORTH IT.
FOOD — ask for extra bbq sauce, get both [bread sticks & ribs sauce] and MIX if you want a tangy, smokey flavor. The ribs to some people are super dry and disappointing because the meat doesn’t just melt off the bones. I love it. I love it coming off just enough for you to still want to eat the rest off the rib itself versus everything falling apart like pulled pork. To each their own, people. The chicken could be skipped, the steaks are decent [ havent tried salmon (because, why?) or prime rib (only served fri/​sat)], ONIONS ARE ALWAYS OUT, but RIBS, RIBS, RIBS. Do it.
ENVIRONMENT — nice and dim lit. Perfect for us people who like intimate dates where you can get drunk at the bar in the front [waiting area], be able to slightly judge people wasting food because they wanna knife and fork the entire meal to seem clean and tidy, or easily come across some banging migraines with bright lights. People get rowdy, bumpy, and when push comes to shove — wait, it never happens. People here are really nice, friendly people. Some SJSU peeps [ lots of letters walkin around ], families, sports fans and a bunch of couples on dates.

I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve talked about going so many times. A friend and I ventured here on a Sunday recently after a race.
I didn’t know how the seating/​ordering works, but the nice hostess explained it.
You arrive, take a number (don’t just stare at the large menu on the wall!!) and sit.
The hostess will take your order (orders come with a baked potato, little green salad and garlic bread for the table) and alert you when the table is ready. It can get super busy, so we were there about 4:30pm or so.
When our table was ready, we went back (it’s a small dining area) and our salads were waiting. The salads are just a small bowl of mixed greens. Nothing super fantastic.
THE best part of the whole meal is the garlic bread and bbq sauce they serve. It has a little kick, but it’s SO good.
I tried the rib-​eye and it was pretty good. My friend ordered the chicken and ribs. I tried a rib and oh boy, fall off the bone. She said the chicken was a bit dry.
The wait staff is super nice and helpful as well.
Parking is a small lot or street nearby. Sunday is free parking, so take advantage, otherwise they are metered.

Henry’s owns old school barbecue! Henry’s has an interesting dining experience in how you procure a table, order, eat and enjoy! The doors open up to the «lobby» and bar where you receive an assigned number and wait until your turn to order. The menu is on the wall — standard no frills barbecue from steaks, ribs, chicken and pork. Once your entire party is ready they take your order and you wait until they call you back.
Once you get called to your table your salad and desired dressing is waiting for you at the table. There is only one side at Henry’s — a baked potato with herb butter and sour cream. The food is awesome. If you want some barbecue sauce, Henry’s in its simplistic nature offers you one but with a twist it’s warm and is a terrific complement to whatever meat you’ve ordered.
Overall great food from a place that sticks to its roots.

If I’m kicking myself over one thing regarding moving San Jose, it would be coming here for the first time during my last week. Ugh… and it was a 20 minute walk away. Stupid, stupid Mike.
Since moving to California, I have lamented the «barbecue» out here. Lillie Mae’s? Mae me cry. Back-​a-​yard? Send it back, unless it is the Jamaican food, or that delicious fruit punch, or the Jamaican patties. Those barbecue food trucks have never served anything piping hot, so yeah, not thrilled with the bbq.
So with my last week (again, stupid) I wanted to hit up some San Jose Foodie Bucket List, and this was up there. Even better is the night I wanted to go didn’t have a Sharks pre-​season game clogging up the area — so note, look at the calendar ahead of time. Because if there is a Shark’s game, you don’t want to be driving miles of here.
As this was a Friday, I had a real dilemma on my hands — get the full rack of baby back ribs, or the Friday-​Saturday Special: the Prime Rib. I was craving ribs, but it is hard to turn down Prime Rib. Optimus Prime Rib. However, as the reason I was even thinking this was the ribs, I ordered pickup for a full rack of baby backs.
The location is what you pray a rib joint will look like: rustic, smokey, and woody. For regular patrons you enter into the bar and pull a number, and then probably a drink. Eventually a wait staff will come up to you to take your order, and you continue to wait. Once your food is ready, they will seat you first and then bring the food over. Interesting concept.
Now if you ordered pickup, don’t be a jackass like me and expect someone to help you. Don’t talk to the bartender either, because he is absolutely no help. What you have to do is go up to a wait staff, tell them you are picking up, and then you are all set. I though they might call my name, but nope.
Anyways I got a salad, the garlic butter bread, a baked potato with sour cream and more butter, and the ribs. The ribs were damn good, the meat falling right off the bone as you would hope. They weren’t drowning in sauce like Lille Mae’s — while there is a coast of cause, they give you extra if you want more. I appreciate that. The butter bread was butter bread, good so long as you don’t think about it. All in all, I had a great final Friday meal.
If I find myself back in San Jose and not on a Shark’s night, I will gladly return. Do need to try that Prime Rib.

I’ve been eye-​ing this spot for years!!! and I nearly didn’t make it here this past Monday… but thanks to my steak-​eater man, we did go here for my B’day dinner and I was definitely thankful that we did eat here!!!
We got there around 7pm, monday night, hoping that the restaurant won’t be packed… Parking was easy to find although on the street although we had to feed the metered parking $ 1/​hour, not bad! We didn’t have enough quarters, but the bartender was kind enough to exchange my $ 2 for 2 $ 1 coins for the meter, yay!!! I did notice their rustic, olden day’s cash register at the bar, so cool!
Anyway… if you don’t read Unilocal about their ordering system and how their system is… hope you’re not blind to spot the sign on the wall, visible as you enter the restaurant/​bar area. it says «PLEASE TAKE A NUMBER» and there is an arrow pointing down to the stack of laminated numbers!
I waited impatiently for my number to be called… so yeah, take a number and then wait until they call your number. They will then take your FOOD order and you have to wait again until they are ready to seat you! Once your name is called, it means your food is ready for you and they would seat you. well… actually, they’ll have your salad waiting for you on the table and a minute later the server would bring a bowl of warm garlic bread with the MOST DELICIOUS BBQ SAUCE!!! don’t think twice, JUST DIP YOUR BREAD IN THE SAUCE AND YOU WON’T REGRET IT!!! DO IT!!! The waiter would also take your drink orders :)
We both ordered the Rib Eye steak meal. all meals come with salad (nothing fancy just some shredded iceberg lettuce with your choice of store bought dressing), ALL YOU CAN EAT Garlic Bread, to-​die-​for BBQ Sauce AND BAked potato with the MOST DELICIOUS BUTTER. because they put CHEESE in the butter, so so so so so so good!!! We also ordered, a la carte, half rack of baby back ribs just because…
Verdict: 2.5 stars on the rib eye as it could use a pinch more salt and I’ve certainly had better tasting rib eye steak (and cheaper too)
5 stars for the BBQ sauce, 5 stars for the ribs!!! so so so so meaty! love it!!!, 5 stars for the baked potato, well actually that genius cheesy butter!!!
If I ever go back here again… I will certainly just go for a full rack of baby back ribs plate!!!
Service is friendly but not attentive and there is a group of obnoxious shameless crowds that almost killed the entire dining experience. but certainly not the restaurant’s fault! The group was a bunch of drunk (or just bad mannered) mid 30s to 40s jerks with rude children! extremely loud (both adults and children!!!), the children were playing with steak knives and pointed knives and swing knives at each other and all the adults did were just giggling and laughing at them… what a way to parent your kids! The children were also running around the tables and nobody seemed to care to stop them, not even the parents, geez!
We waited around 20 minutes for our number to be called to place our food order, and another 10 – 15 minutes until we got seated… not bad at all! My only confusion was that the dining room was not full! I don’t get why they made people waited!!! perhaps their kitchen is slow and not very efficient? The dining area is actually pretty nice, a bit rustic but certainly has that romantic feels with dimmed lighting… well minus the noise from the dumb-​ass rude group there!
I bet the wait is longer in the weekends though.

Comida muito gostosa, mas a espera é muito grande. Pratos bem típicos americanos. Meu Ribeye estava no ponto certo e bem suculento, mas faltou um pouco de tempero, as ribs estavam ótimas. Os pratos são muito bem servidos.

Die Ribs sind der Hammer. Selten so lecker gegessen. Das Lokal ist ziemlich Rustikal eingerichtet.

Waren gestern gerade wieder dort, einfach ein sehr authentischer und uriger Laden.
Zu essen gibt es mehr oder weniger nur Sachen vom Grill: diverse Steaks (z.B. Rib-​Eye bone-​in, Porterhouse) also auch Ribs. Dazu wird normalerweise ein Salat gereicht und ein wirklich großartiges Knoblauch Brot.
Nachdem man Eingang die Bestellung aufgegeben hat, kann man sich noch ein wenig die Zeit in der Bar vertreiben, man wird gerufen, wenn das Essen fertig ist.
Besonders voll ist es im übrigen, wenn die Sharks spielen…