Dining News: Arthur Henry's May Be 'Clumsiest Restaurant Concept We Have Ever Encountered'
January 29, 2014
Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson gave his first impression of Arthur Henry's Supper Club earlier this month, and let's just say he wasn't a fan of the restaurant that shares an owner with Orphan.
This is possibly the clumsiest restaurant concept we have ever encountered. The food comes heavily wrapped in plastic and is unsightly on the table – a skewer of raw vegetables next to a slab of raw meat next to a piece of stale bread with pale butter. The paper plates are on top of the porcelain plate we are expected to eat off of, something we found unappealing. When we unwrapped the plastic, we all made “yucky” faces...
Did we have a good time? Yes, we did, but our conversation – and many of our laughs throughout the evening – centered around how we actually like people with skill and passion handling our food, where we would discard our blood-soaked plastic wrap and who would bug the server to bring us more Handi-wipes.
Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.
I wrote about my initial visit to Arthur Henry's during one of their preview nights before they opened.
I've been back since, although only for drinks, and during that midweek visit, nary a soul was grilling their own steak.I enjoyed the drinks and vibe immensely.
I think I liked the general concept of the restaurant more than the Sac Bee restaurant critic. As he correctly points out, there are are other types of food that people end up having to put some effort into, namely Korean BBQ at a place like Oz, fondue and shabu shabu, so the fact that you have to cook your own steak shouldn't be a deal breaker.
I will also point out that Robertson has had (and to his credit, disclosed) a previous negative experience with the owner of the restaurant in 2010, where he said he would throw Robertson out of the restaurant if he saw him there. I'm not suggesting that it altered his view of the restaurant, but it is another data point worth knowing about.
It's good to have a range of views. Make sure you read many and have consider multiple opinions before you decide to visit, or not.
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