Henry's Bistro

Henry's Bistro

The Balboa Bay Club Resort
Newport Beach

Henry's Bistro at the Balboa Bay Club is an exclusive, member's only dining at the club. Despite its exclusiveness, it is a comfortable dining experience, oceanfront and right next to the pool with a balcony that overlooks the bay and Balboa peninsula. Here, you can casually wear a Hawaiian shirt and nice slacks, or a suit and tie; either will suffice. This is generally a quiet restaurant, peaceful, with a sort-of Tommy Bahama twist to it. I think it could use a few more paintings, but it's a nice place to go for a good lunch. The food wasn't impressive, but it was good and consistent. Everything is relatively good here, and fresh. Henry's has an impressive wine list as well, which compensates for its limited menu of cafe items at lunch.

Jordan Chardonnay, 2005
I've always liked Jordan, and his had more of a fruit flavor to it but it was still really good.

Ferrari-Carano, Chardonnay, 2006 (?)
This was nice, I liked the Jordan better though. Nonetheless, it was still really nice, and easy to drink

Warm Sourdough & Crisp Bread Crackers
The Sourdough was simple and served warm, but didn't stand out to me. The crispy bread was just a crisp bread, like water crackers. It didn't really have a particular flavor. It had some sesame seeds on it, but once again, it didn't stand out. The sourdough is fresh though, and that's the first thing I look for.

"BBC Mariner"
"Lumb Crab Meat, Smoked Salmon, Lobster Tail, Jumbo Prawns on leafy greens"
Served with Cocktail sauce and a thick-creamy white balsamic dressing with poppy seeds. It looked more like a Champagne dressing, really. This was quite a fresh salad, even including asparagus, roma tomatoes, and some raspberry with blackberry. The seafood meat was huge, and more than filling! This was a simple salad with no complicated ingredients or herbs, but I loved the seafood meat. The smoked salmon in particular and the prawns were delicious as fresh-alone, simply cooked.

Teriyaki Salmon Salad
This teriyaki-marinated Salmon was juicy, tender, succulent, and sweet. The teriyaki was a thicker consistency on the grilled salmon that was perfectly darkened. This was a simple salad, on crisp mixed-color greens. It came with a light teriyaki sauce dressing on the side with sesame seeds and roma tomatoes as well, oh, and also with some crisp bread.

Mediterranean Pasta
Fettuccine, Parsley, Cherry & Yellow Tomatoes, tossed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This pasta was cooked perfectly. It was just a tad beyond al-dente, and the flavors were traditional-Mediterranean, fresh and full of life with the parsley herb extravaganza. Martha did well in ordering this. The olive oil in this really brings out a wonderful flavor in this. We all liked this when we tried it, and it is definitely because of the olive oil and herbs with the nicely-cooked pasta.

Creme Brulee
You can't really go wrong with creme brulee. This was tasty. It didn't stand out to me, but this was a good dessert. The presentation of it was remarkable and noteworthy. Here, it is picturesque. The restaurant takes great pride in their presentation.

Cheesecake
I have to say, this cheesecake was beautiful and satisfying. The specialty of this cake is in its presentation, with the petit berry compote drizzle along the plate and dusting of powdered sugar. Topped with whip cream, mint leaves and fresh berries, this light cheesecake medallion put a smile on its client's face. Good choice. I enjoyed this.

Henry's offers a picturesque view of the bay as well, overlooking the pool with palm trees and yachts just in the horizon. This is the kind of place where you can wear a suit or an Hawaiian shirt. It's a comfortable atmosphere with maturity and professionalism.