Café Henri

This is more of a 4.5 star review. Dock in the stars is for the long wait which was about 45 minutes. They don’t take reservations for brunch when I called.
We ordered the les ouefs benedict, les ouefs a safacon and crème brûlée for dessert. Everything was oh so good and worth the wait. Will be coming back for dinner soon!
Merci Café Henri for being in our neighborhood!

I really liked the atmosphere a lot. The music was light and jazzy, the candles added a romantic vibe, and the waitress was very attentive.
The burgers are pretty good. I got mine cooked medium, and it was super juicy. However, we also got a pasta entrée and the portion size was a little smaller than expected. It tasted great, but increasing the portion size could help.
The price seemed pretty reasonable for LIC standards, too. Overall, the food was delicious, the service was great, and the atmosphere was unique.

Came here on Memorial day with my bff after noon for lunch. We were greeted with a smile and told an hour wait but was seated under 45 mins :
Venue/​Service — The place is tiny and you will feel cramped. It’s decorated with a cool chandelier hanging from the low ceiling and different pieces of creative arts/​objects on their walls. Only one hostess and waitress hence why the service demands your patience. Very hard to catch their attention even when putting your hand up to flag for it, so best way was to tap her when passing by. Good date spot though.
Food — We ordered freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and Unsweetened Iced Tea. The juice was bitter but refreshing. Fortunately I was accommodated with liquid sugar when I asked. Next came the French toast without bacon or ham and the Eggs Benedict with spinach and Smoked salmon. BOTH WERE DAMN GOOD!
Overall the experience was great. Highly Recommended.

It’s a compact restaurant about 1000 sf, with 2 tables outside surrounded by pretty flowers, a French urban café ambience, I ended up grabbing two meals to-​go instead of waiting to be seated because the friend I was supposed to meet here couldn’t make it.
I tried the crêpe with salmon and cream, an omelette with a choice of mushrooms, ham and tomatoes. The omelette was very tasted even when I got home, it’s got that organic egg taste and a thick texture. The home fries were pretty good. The crêpe was slightly burnt and the salmon was just mediocre. The salad on the side was not good, plain, with no taste, and some pointless carrot slices for décor purpose.
I packed a large latte for my friend, she said it’s great. I ended up grabbing a coffee from next door while I waited, the staff here was not the most friendly, everything could have been better.

For mother’s day, we went here for brunch with our daughter. We really loved the food and service. There was plenty of seating indoor or outdoor. There were several parties aside from us but the staff were attentive and friendly. My daughter had the crepes with mixed fruit and strawberry sauce. I had the french toast with almonds, fresh fruit bowl, home fries, and bacon (Le Pain Perdu aux amandes et fruits frais). Hub had the smoked salmon sandwich (Le Saumon Fumé).
The french toast was really good. My daughter loved the fresh fruit bowl. She had a few bites of her crepes, mostly picking out the strawberries. Hub liked the smoked salmon. Everything was pretty much spot on. It’s a really quaint café, unpretentious, and inviting. Not to mention the daily specials that are affordable. Most importantly, their iced Café au Lait is magnifique! Hopefully, I recover by this weekend to get it hot. Def will plan on returning again!

Really friendly and unpretentious neighborhood café with reliable French bistro staples, brunch items, and chalkboard specials.
If you’re looking for an omelette, crêpe, etc., this is the place.
I had myself a tuna steak burger (great price, $ 14.50!). Comes with fries and salad. Medium rare, seared and perfect.

Omg the wait for lunch. I was in agony. Best to have a snack before heading over. I had called to set reservations but none are taking over the wknd. Yikes.. so we waited, and waited. Total time 30mnts. This better be good. To start I ordered an almond croissant but none were left :(but… BUT … WHAT? waitress to the rescue, how about … french almond toast??? yummy! I ordered Steak and eggs. Steak is served in a shape of a burger. I didn’t care for it. The flavor was very good but I prefer a steak to be served as a steak. The salad was yummy and the mash potato rocked. Overall, very enjoyable, wait time is fair for such a small place. It has about 10 tables. So if you don’t mind waiting enjoy!

Delicious brunch spot with a French twist!
The drinks are unique and pretty strong, not like your usual watered down sugary drinks at brunch. The food was not only super tasty but it was presented extremely well. I will definitely do back! Their sister restaurant is casa Enrique– also delicious!

Cute café at the corner of Vernon and 50^th. Conveniently located across a subway station.
The café was dainty and cute. The menu was all in french so I used the helpful pictures on Unilocal to decide what to order. Their smoked salmon benedict has made itself to my top list. The egg was flawless and the English muffin was toasted extra crunchy so it didn’t get soggy when the egg was broken.
I wouldn’t mind coming here again and trying more items. One customer even complimented the staff and said «best french toast ever».

This was the best place I found in Queens to have breakfast and brunch. I loved the choices, the well-​made and professional quality of the food and drinks. I also loved the portioning. It was not too much, and I always finished my plate without feeling too stuffed but always just right to start my day. Definitely a place to go, if you want to have a decent meal to start your day. I can recommend this place to everyone!

I’ve been back twice for brunch! Though it is sometimes crowded on the weekends, the wait is never over 10 – 15 minutes.
The eggs benedict here is bombbbbbb. The eggs are cooked perfectly, topped on an english muffin! The side salad is seasoned perfectly and goes well with the saltiness of the ham and eggs.
Prices are reasonable, service is pretty quick, waiters are friendly, and overall food is amazing!

It was 9am and I needed to be full until 5pm. A croque madame, coffee, and half an almond croissant certainly made that happen. I ain’t a fan of salad dressing but the salad that came with my beautiful sandwich was perfect and subtly seasoned.
Café Henri’s sister (brother?) restaurant Café Enrique is the one with a Michelin star. But I definitely enjoyed Cosme Aguilar’s French food better than that of his actual heritage.
I’d like to try their crepes next time!

The BEST Eggs Benedict my husband and I Have ever had… Anywhere. And we have covered a lot of Eggs Benedict…

Came in here Sunday evening before dinner rush. We’ve been craving crème brûlée for a few weeks and finally found some downtime to treat ourselves.
There are a few munimeter lots nearby so parking should be relatively easy. We walked in to a fairly packed restaurant and were immediately greeted by a smiling staff.
We asked if we could do takeout with the dessert but after a few awkward exchanges we all realized that it was a silly request. We decided to sit in and enjoy our dessert.
The brûlée complements well with their house coffee. You could actually see the vanilla beans they scooped out at the bottom of the dish. The dessert was fantastic and the portion was huge for the prize.
Loved the place overall and can’t wait to come back for an entire meal.

We stumbled upon this brunch place when trying to look for a place to eat. I ordered the eggs Benedict — which was cooked perfectly, with a perfectly poached egg. I hate eggs Benedict when they don’t poach the egg perfectly.
They gave really little potatoes tho. They could have put more salad and potatoes on the plate for a $ 15 meal.

I really love most things about this place, it’s one of the most excellent brunch spots around. The only real problem is the size of the portions. I am always slightly dissatisfied with the portion size when I come here. Other than that, I really like all the dishes here. I got the carbonara (i know, not really french) and was quite satisfied with the taste. Others got egg dishes, and as mentioned before none of us were really full so we shared a sweet crêpe to finish it off.
If you come for brunch, you have to get their huge café au lait! Unique in the city.

So we had a brunch there yesterday. The host said that the wait is 30min to an hour. So we wait & after 30 minutes, good thing we got a table!
Got seated & waited so long for our server to come & take our orders.
Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon– taste excellent! Fries on the side is crispy.
Garlic mussels– taste really good! The sauce is perfect. I love to dip the fries & bread into the sauce. Yum!
Bacon cheese burger– size is big & makes you really full. With fries on the side.
Service– not impressive. Takes so long to serve. You need to call the server over & over again to get her attention.
Food is perfect but service is not good.

This place is amazing! Very good food and service. We love all about cafè henri! The prices are very good and the atmosphere is cozy! Very close to the 7 vernon station. We’ll be back ASAP

Great brunch spot, came here on a Saturday. The establishment isn’t big, so it was quite busy and packed. We waited for about 30 – 40 minutes, however we did have a group of 8.
I love their menu options, not many places I know serve ratatouille crêpe. I had a cappuccino with soy milk (although I wished they had more dairy free milk options) and the eggs florentine, which was delicious. Will definitely come back!

— Delious French restaurant!!! I highly recommend the meat platter as an appetizer; ham, prosciutto, cornichons… The steak with mash potatoes, medium rare is out of this world. And the chicken falls right off the bone.

The location of this café is very convenience! The food taste very good. The fresh made OJ is a plus, but coffee items taste so so. The staff are very friendly. Only thing that we don’t like is this place is very very small. That is almost no space between two tables. Overall, it is nice weekend brunch place.

I wish I could give this 3.5 stars because the food was delicious, but the service was terrible.
We found this place through Unilocal,so stopped in for a late lunch. The location is great. They had so many options to choose from, it was almost hard to decide. but I knew I definitely wanted the Gratiné à l’Oignon, French onion soup. The cheese was perfectly broiled and there was just enough baguette in it to sop up all the soup and fill you up.
For dessert, I had the crème brûlée and a Grand Moka. The crème brûlée is to die for. I’m glad I only got the soup and didn’t fill up too much, because this dessert was worth every bite.
The Grand Moka was really large, I wish I got the small. but it was good.
I would say the service was not that good. They don’t bring you water until you ask for it, and it takes a while to get anyone’s attention. The restaurant itself is small, so I assumed there would’ve been better service. It took forever to get drinks, order our food, get the check, and to pay our bill.
Definitely come for the food, but don’t expect much from the service.

What an adorable little French café! It is just the perfect setting for a weekend brunch. The décor is very homely with its pop-​out blue wall paint and antique items all around. My party had brunch here over Thanksgiving weekend around 11:45 am and to our surprise, we found free parking immediately and was seated right away. I would expect a wait time on a regular weekend day so come early!
We started off with fresh squeezed orange juice, cappuccino, and house blend coffee. Orange juice was indeed very fresh with just a hint of tangy. Cappuccino was the perfect wake-​me-​up choice. It was bold and strong but not the slightest too bitter. House blend coffee is your local breakfast coffee.
Smoked Salmon Party?
Le Saumon Fumé was my brunch choice. A sandwich with smoked salmon, egg salad, mayo, and basil on ciabatta bread. It tasted incredibly fresh especially the bread, its texture had just the perfect teeny bit of chew. Other ingredients especially the vegetables had a bit of crunch. This is an odd choice for me, for I am not a big sandwich fan to my friends. But anything with smoked salmon is worth trying!
Les Oeufs Benedict with Smoked Salmon. Poached eggs on top of smoked salmon and english muffin dish that comes with both home fries and salad. Seeing both of these sides in this dish is pretty rare for it is usually comes with only one or the other. So thumbs up to them! It did seem like a small dish at first but it was packed with flavor. Hollandaise sauce is usually a ‘make it’ or ‘break it’ deal for me since I cannot take extremely creamy things. I am happy to report that it is very good here! I also loved how each poached egg was topped with some colors making it a lot more photogenic. One poached egg was just a bit overcooked but overall a successful dish.
The boys both opt in for a Cheeseburger. This was a huge dish. Burger patty was huge, seasoned with swiss cheese grilled on top of one side. It came with fries and salad. I had a bite of the burger, it was big and so juicy. It may not be burger spot quality but it was really good!
What really made me like this spot was how comfortable it felt to be in it. It was very cozy and it was easy for my group to get lost in conversation while waiting for our food. Staff was extremely friendly and cheery.

Came here for breakfast and it was wonderful. We ordered the omelette, eggs, and eggs benedict and everyone loved it. Service was very friendly and I couldn’t get enough of their coffee. It’s a cute café with limited seating so tough to go if you have a large party.
I would definitely go back. Slightly more expensive for breakfast but totally worth it. Everything is done really well.

I love an intimate French breakfast/​brunch place and I love it more when there’s no wait for it!
Just stopped by on Christmas Eve morning and the café was half full. Such big windows and bright lighting inside even when it’s windy and cloudy outside. Colors reminds me of a golden Tuscany summer :)
My friend has been raving about the Eggs Benedict for a while! So that’s exactly what we ordered with bacon. ($ 12.50) it comes with a salad and roasted potatoes. Omg the hollandaise sauce. It’s so creamy and one of the least salty hollandaise sauces I’ve ever had. I don’t want to know the amount of butter that went into this…
Super good and super worth it! Idk about coming on a weekend since the wait could be ridiculous but if you’re free on a weekday? Go for it!

My second time here at this place. Convenient to subway and street parking.
Got addicted to Egg Benedict for lunch or Brunch.
Their poached egg is made perfection. Smoked salmon is delicious and melts in my mouth.
They offer other dishes such. Check thwir board for special menu of the day. But what you see in the menu is pretty legit for French food. Simple classic menu that dont break your bank.

My friends and I were searching for a place to have Eggs Benedict before our flight back home. Came across this place close to our girlfriend’s and decided to give it a try. It’s across the street from the 7 Vernon stop. I little spot which seems a bit hidden.
As soon as we walked in, the ambience was great. A quiet little restaurant with very friendly staff. One friend ordered a latte which was probably the largest I’ve ever seen! I ordered the Eggs Benedict with ham but they made it with bacon by mistake. It still tasted delicious. Their hollandaise sauce was a little more buttery than the other ones I’ve had and I loved it! I even asked for a little extra on the side. It came with a side of house potatoes which were roasted with rosemary and mushrooms. Those were so tasty! It also came with a salad on the side. The portion was really big. I couldn’t finish my breakfast!
Next time I come to visit my friend, I’ll definitely come back here!

This is the second time I’ve been here as recommended by a friend who lives nearby. It’s close to the subway so convenience is definitely a plus! It’s a cute place that has a charm of its own. I came here on a Tuesday morning and all but two tables were occupied!
I ordered the eggs Benedict with salmon since eggs bene is one of my faaaaves. The eggs were oozy on the inside and fluffy on the outside on an English muffin that was crispy on the edges and delicious in the middle. It’s hard to mess that up, but it’s possible. The flavor of eggs bene is always judged by the hollandaise sauce! This hollandaise sauce was light and creamy with a subtle yet delicious flavor. All together, it went well nicely.
It came with potatoes and a salad. The seasoning on the potatoes was light and not too salty and the dressing on the salad was yummy!
Cute place with good food!

This is a nice little café by Long Island City. The staff members are friendly and the décor is very welcoming.
Also a major plus, they serve benedicts everyday until 4pm so you don’t have to wait until the weekend like most places. Also perfectly cooked

Bottom Line: Mediocre French Food
Upside: Decent Brunch in the Area
If you’re in LIC and you want good French food, go to Tournesol across the street. The food at Café Henri is decent but their Mousles and Frites aren’t the best I’ve ever had. And they don’t have a lot of rustic French dishes that you’re use to. Their dinner service is lackluster compared to their brunch.

Came for brunch. Parking is a challenge so be patient. Greeted in French and quickly seated. Nice cozy/​intimate café, music volume wasn’t too loud. Friendly staff. Love the fresh squeezed oj– brunch cocktails are good– nice buzz going. Got classic French toast scrambled eggs and bacon called lePain Perdu aux amandes et fruits frais and brunch date got the Les Oeufs Benedict (poached eggs). Both were good. Will be back.

Cute French café!!
Great place for Brunch on the weekend ! Great for friends, groups and family with kids.
Make sure you go early — there tends to be a line.
For brunch try the cappuccino and eggs Benedict!

Came here for brunch with a group of 5. They have tables for 4 so if you have a group of 5, the 5^th person will have to sit at the end of one of the tables. It does obstruct the pathway of service.
The things I tried were escargot, salmon sandwich, french toast, fruit crêpe, and strawberry smoothie.
They do give quite a bit of pieces of escargot but it felt kind of dry and underseasoned. It might have been overcooked and the garlic did not get into the escargot. The dish just needed more refinement.
The salmon sandwich was excellent. Extremely flavorful, moist, bread was not stale, salad that came with it was amazing. Absolutely loved their dressing and the vegetables used were fresh!
The french toast was flavorful. The added almonds really helped the dish. Made it a little more aromatic and even though the almonds weren’t toasted, the toasted bread helped. The breads weren’t over soaked with egg and were not burnt at all. I would have preferred if the dish came with 3 slices of bread instead of 2. I was glad that the fruits were in a different dish so that when I added the syrup, it did not mix with the fruits. I had ham with it and that was flavorful. The potatoes were a little overcooked, but seasoned well.
The fruit crêpe was flavorful. Had lots of fruits and strawberry syrup but not all the fruits matched each other. Some were tart, some were sweet, some were a little sour. The dish was beautiful but the flavors and level of sweetness/​tartness/​sourness were off balance.
The strawberry smoothie was okay. Wasn’t sweet at all. Not enough strawberry flavor. Smoothie felt diluted. Not the best smoothie I’ve ever had. Needs work.
Overall, this place is a solid 3.5 stars but giving it 4 because I felt some dishes were quite excellent and I would come back here again despite some misses.
I would recommend this place.

Easily one of the best brunch spots in LIC, and possibly NYC! OK, I don’t know about that last part. It’s hard to say anything is the best in NYC, too many darn choices. However, this one is definitely one of the most consistently good meal spots.
Parking is easy to come by on the weekend, a lot of meter spots, and some free spots.
Wait time is always long, don’t come with a party of more than 4 people and you’ll be seated faster. The restaurant is quite small, but turnover is quick so do expect to spend some time waiting for a table.
Service is very friendly and on point. The place is so small that you don’t have to wait very long to get the server’s attention, they can see you from any corner of the restaurant. The wait staff is very fast, very responsive, especially with the coffee and checks.
We ordered the french toast, two omelettes, and an eggs Benedict with salmon (see pictures). The food was fresh, hot, and well portioned. You definitely won’t leave this place hungry. In fact, we couldn’t finish the french toast between all of us, after eating our individual plates. The omelettes were delicious and well seasoned, good meats without being dry. The Benedict was amazing with what tasted like fresh salmon. Then comes the French toast which were massive, can definitely shared between two people.
Overall, a great experience and tasty food, just be prepared to wait for a table.

Brunch is the most important meal of the day! Brunch is such a special thing in NY, it’s almost a rite of passage, really. Brunch being a wonderful combination of breakfast and lunch really combines the best of both worlds. So the idea of getting great brunch in Queens, without the crazy waits of the city, seemed like a must. It’s a cute little French spot, the restaurant isn’t that big but I thought the food was great.
The food:
Les Oeufs Benedict– Two poached eggs with bacon topped with Hollandaise on English muffin served with home fries and salad. I thought this was a really made well dish, the bacon was nice and crunchy and the Rosemary added a nice herbal note throughout the entire dish. The Hollandaise was a nice consistency and the English muffin was toasted nicely. Home fries with onion and mushrooms was nice.
Orange Pressée– Fresh squeezed orange juice. The OJ was freshly squeezed and really refreshing. I thought the juice was great.
L’Omelette avec choix de trois– three eggs Omelet with mushroom, Swiss and leek, with home fries and salad. I thought the Omelette was made well, the mushrooms were great, the leek wasn’t really noticeable but the Swiss cheese was excellent. The Swiss has a very intense cheese flavor and has such an excellent chew. The home fries were cooked very well, they had a nice outer crust but and soft and pillowy on the inside.
Bacon– This gets a section on it’s own. The bacon is great, it has really nice bacon flavor but the crispiness of the bacon is excellent. They felt like bacon chips, so good.
Salmon Fume, Crème Au Basilic– smoked salmon, grilled vegetables, fresh basil cream. I thought the crêpe was made well but the veg was under seasoned, they weren’t all that flavorful. And then the salmon came off excessively salty. I think this is a skip.

I’ve been wanting to try Café Henri for a long time, but a. was rarely in the neighborhood. b. didn’t know the neighborhood well enough besides PS1 and thought I would have to walk through an industrial wasteland, and c. kept getting sidetracked by the many other more exciting ethnic options Queens has to offer.
I’m very glad that we made it here! Plus the fact that Long Island City is actually fairly walkable (for food, bars, a lovely waterfront), once you get off the 7. No wonder there was mass exodus from Manhattan rents. However, the neighborhood still seems to retain a local charm and I’m glad that this 10 year old restaurant still does as well.
We had the escargot (came in a ceramic escargot baking dish, piled high with garlicky pesto and warm baguette slices), croque monsieur, and moule frites (mariniere style). The boy said his croque monsieur tasted exactly like the ones that he had in France. My moule frites was a very large portion (nice small mussels, lots of garlic & shallots, LOTS of wine), and the frites were perfectly crisp and salted.
Is the general rule that you DON’T order seafood on a Monday? But at Café Henri on a quite Monday (with 3 – 4 tables), all the dishes were delicious and fresh. Maybe that’s their secret.
PS. Unfortunately their crepes are not gluten free. They use a mix of buckwheat and wheat flour.
PPS. The owners seem to own Casa Enrique around the corner, with the same cute dog logo, am very interested in trying that, but maybe after a few more visits at Café Henri!