Henry's

Henry's is an old standby that has been on the lunch circuit for a long time. It is a good place for big groups as the dining room and the bar are both large spaces. The bar is a great place to have lunch or drinks after work, there are several large screen TVs and the bar menu is extensive. Some might say this is a draw back, that the menu is too extensive.

Henry's is in what used to be the Henry Weihard's brewery building, built in 1908. The brewery closed in 2000 when they sold out to Miller and they moved all the production to another brewery in Washington. I met with the folks who bought the building because they were interested in putting up some Weihard's memorabilia and Weihard's was a client of ours at the time. I remember them telling me about the concept for the place and I thought it was going to be a disaster. They wanted to have 100 beers on tap, just as the micro beer craze was coming to an end, and they had about five pages of menu choices. They were also talking about making it upscale with pool tables, etc. upstairs. I thought the place would do better as a neighborhood bar or tavern, but they were not interested in what I had to say. When Henry's opened it was a huge success, it was packed out every night, but it was a cheesy crowd. The 100 beers on tap thing died pretty quick and they now finally have their menu down to a more manageable one page, although they still do way too many things as far as I am concerned.

So what's good there? The salads are all good and the burgers are OK (not great). Really the best stuff is the apps and the bar food, like the onion rings, the Gorgonzola fries and the tortilla soup. Again this is a great place for lunch or after work drinks, not a place you want to take someone for a special dinner.

Lunch Hours: Daily 11am-3pm; Dinner Hours: Sun-Thurs 3pm-11pm, Fri & Sat 3pm-12am; Bar Hours: Sun-Wed 11am-12am, Thurs, Fri & Sat 11am-1am; Happy Hour: Daily 3pm-6pm Mon-Wed, 9pm-Close, Thurs, Fri & Sat 10pm-Close, Sunday All Day Happy Hour

Henry's 12th Street Tavern

10 NW 12th Ave.

Portland, OR 97209

503.227.5320

Henrystavern.com