I’ve been to The Henry in Coronado many times: with my friends, on first and last dates, alone, with my parents, with my friend’s parents. And let me tell you, there is something deeply comforting about having a restaurant for everything. The Henry is like an old friend you can come to with anything. They won’t judge, but they will charge an exorbitant amount for dinner. Hey, a small price to pay for a little reprieve.
As I arrived, the sun was setting and everything was bathed in a warm orange glow. The sound of gentle ambient house music and conversation bled onto Orange Avenue. I sat outside and watched a group of vintage cars drive by, pleasantly surprised and languoring in the warm summer night breeze.
The menu is one I know well, and I decided upon a rather peculiar trio. A parmesan truffle fry, rigatoni alla vodka and strawberry and watermelon salad. Other notable options are umami brussel sprouts, seared tuna chop salad and wild caught bay scallops.
The parmesan truffle fry is wonderfully reliable and consistent – thin warm fries in a blizzard of finely grated parmesan with a kiss of truffle notes. The rigatoni alla vodka had a milky burrata ball melting into the red vodka sauce and was topped with chili flakes, mint and breadcrumbs. The salad intrigued me. The cilantro, avocado, watermelon and peppers worked together as a cohesive team, however the cherry tomatoes staged a bit of a coup d’etat and felt out of place. Remarkably cilantro-forward and followed most closely by watermelon, the salad nearly tasted like a cocktail.
I sat for a long while at the table, sinking into the white and black rattan bistro chair and digesting my 60-something dollar meal. To my previous aside, exorbitant may be a melodramatic way to categorize the cost, but it’s no Leucadia Pizza for sure.
As the upper limb of the sun descended over the Pacific Ocean and the street lights flickered on, I collected myself and dreamed about the next circumstance that would find me at The Henry.
The Henry Coronado is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
