Henri

First, I am woefully behind in posting. My apologies. I'm going to try to catch up on some of these posts, starting with Henri.

Jeff and I ate at Henri a couple of weeks ago and had a fabulous experience. The service there is phenomenal. Everything about it -- starting with the call from the maître d' to confirm our reservation and to see if we had any dietary restrictions or allergies -- was flawless. And completely unpretentious. Which is even more refreshing in the context of such a supremely elegant and tasteful space.

The dining room at Henri is both sophisticated and gorgeous. (Far too dim and elegant to take many pictures on my phone, peeps. Sorry! Check out some daytime photos on Yelp here.) The atmosphere is one of hushed refinement, but the service is friendly and unassuming. Love it! The approachable service makes the small dining room feel infinitely more cozy.

What's more, the food is good! It's fairly pricey, but it's a great place for a special occasion. And they are aware of that fact, because it's one of the questions the maître d' asks when calling to confirm a reservation. Jeff's and my "occasion" was really just that it was a new French place I'd been dying to try and it's very close to Symphony Hall, where we were heading after dinner that night. But if you do have something special planned, Henri's the perfect spot and the staff will most definitely go out of their way to ensure that you leave very pleased with your decision to dine there.

Jeff and I both started with cocktails. He had a Manhattan (nothing shocking there) and I switched things up a little by ordering a Champagne cocktail, which was mixed tableside. And by "mixed," I mean that the bartender came over and poured the Champagne into my glass, over a cube of rock sugar, some house bitters and a raspberry or two. It felt appropriately sophisticated in the space and was a perfect pre-dinner drink, but probably too sweet to drink more than just one.

Our dinner began with two orders of the consommé of rabbit, which was a light and delicious broth hand-poured by our server over rabbit agnolotti and winter squash. Normally I'm against two people ordering the same thing, but it's really hard to "share" soup -- and it was freezing outside that night! And I'm glad I didn't just get something else for the sake of getting something different, because this was quite tasty.

I had been debating between two dishes (again, unsurprising): the Fig Glazed Duck Breast, served with a goat cheese “tart” with fig and grape, and the Roasted Florida Snapper, with squash, Parisian potatoes, sage and allspice. The fish was tasty, but in the end, I wished I had gotten the duck. It just seemed like the more interesting and unique choice. But that's my own fault.

For his entreé, Jeff chose the NY Strip Steak, which is cooked in their stone oven and served with cheddar potatoes. I had some food envy; I'm not going to lie. Even though he ordered his steak medium-rare instead of my hallmark medium, my fork was still finding its way onto his plate. (He loves that...)

For dessert, we had the AMAZING dark chocolate tart. It was really delicious. I'm loving it all over again just thinking about it. Their dark chocolate tart experience epitomizes the entire restaurant's understated elegance: it's simple, chic and unbelievably wonderful all at once.

I will most certainly be back to try the runners-up to my entreé and dessert: the Fig Glazed duck and the very promising Paris Brest. (I've been obsessed ever since we had an amazing version of this dessert at The Elysian's Balsan.) Can't wait for a return trip to Henri!

Plan your visit here. Henri is located at 18 S. Michigan Avenue, right nextdoor to its sister restaurant and one of my favorite pubs, The Gage.