A cheerful, friendly venue in an ideal location close to Liverpool Street station, Henrys Cafe Bar makes a no-fuss stop for lunch and dinner.

The Venue
This restaurant and bar is part of the Henrys chain which has two other venues in London, plus locations in Leeds, Cardiff, Cambridge and Norwich. Their City branch is located on Blomfield Street, halfway between Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations, surrounded by some of the capital’s biggest banks and financial businesses. From the outside, the venue could be confused for an old fashioned bank as well, thanks to its stony, austere entrance. Once inside, however, it’s a bit warmer, with red walls and bright wooden floors along with a large bar across one wall. In the centre is a sweeping, swirling staircase that leads down to a basement floor. This area has more of a restaurant feel, with lower seats and colourful, if a bit unoriginal, decor. Despite being in a basement, it’s full of light and seems bright and cheerful.

The Atmosphere
Staff are friendly and chatty but professional, and seem capable of handling a large amount of tables at once. Whilst the majority of people here seem like financial workers on their lunch breaks or at a short meeting, there are a few couples and small groups of tourists. Henrys also caters for private hire (for up to 400 people), from business meetings and conferences to parties and weddings.

The Food
Henrys has a massive menu with sandwiches, salads, burgers, mains, sharing platters and even a Sunday roast. Prices are reasonable for the high budgets in the area, with only a handful of mains heading towards the £12 and up mark and most starters at about £6.50. Most dishes are classically British with a few American-style choices.

From their deli sandwich selection (all £6.95), the chicken and chorizo ciabatta is a hearty choice. It’s a large sandwich, stuffed with chorizo, chicken, salad and red onion salsa, all encased in a chewy, doughy bread. Whilst the chicken is tender, there’s a lot of flavours going on in this sandwich and the subtly spiced chorizo slices get a bit overwhelmed. A side of fries (£2.75) are cut into chunky wedges and cooked until crisp on the outside. For dessert, the chocolate fondue (£4.25) is a good choice for sharing, with a platter of sliced bananas and fresh strawberries, sugary bits of waffle and light, fluffy brownie pieces. If you can handle the chocolate-on-chocolate, the brownie dipped in the gooey fudge sauce is a winner, and thanks to the fruit, the dish doesn’t feel too overindulgent.

The Drink
The large, separate bar area means that Henrys has a complete cocktail list, well priced at £5.50 and £7.50 for Champagne cocktails. All the classic drinks are available, along with some more unusual ones. The Go Honey Go! is a mix of bourbon, dark espresso, Kahlua and Grand Mariner with honey, whilst Something Very Special combines gin, Pimms No 1, apricot brandy, apple juice, lemonade and cucumber. Happy hour is from Monday to Friday from 5pm – 7pm, when each cocktail is £1.50 cheaper.

There’s a very decent range of wines on offer, mainly new world choices, starting at £13.45 a bottle with 14 options available by the glass. There are four sparkling wines and eight Champagnes, the most expensive option at £75.95 a bottle.

The Last Word
Whilst not necessarily somewhere you would travel across London for, Henrys Cafe Bar is a solid choice for a laid back lunch or meeting if you’re in the area.

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