Henry J Bean's (Chelsea)

We had been with friends on Monday evening and was a total disappointment.

Service started wherein the waitress got us a glass of water and then removed the straw in front of us from one of the glasses before serving it. Only to ask if we wanted a straw as if doing us a favor.

When it came to taking the order, midway between taking our order she just walked off to ask another waiter some doubts which she had to clarify. Only to come back to us without even apologising.

We had asked for burgers to be medium well done and when she got us the order the burgers were well done. When we called her back and asked her about the burger she did mention that they were not as requested. Seems to be very surprising that she agreed that they were not as requested.

Most of all she kept coming back several times to ask us if we needed anything else. Not once, not twice but several times. If we want anything else we would ask for it and would prefer not being intruded upon always. Once is good enough.

A big disappointment on a Monday evening especially when it was not a busy evening. If you're based in Chelsea then this place should at least live up to its reputation.

Basics of a restaurant - Service and quality of food is an essential which were missing. A souless Experience!!
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1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 12, 2013

We recently booked Henry J Beans Apartment 195 for our wedding reception. Wow! What a fantastic night that was put on for us. We kicked off around 6pm to be greeted by name at the door by the doorman and manager on duty. After our champagne and canapé reception we went on to do a really fun cocktail class where myself, my husband, and our guests each took turn in making 3 cocktails. We found the bartenders provided to be very knowledgeable and friendly throwing in some banter to keep the laughs up.

We then continued on to our 3 course meal which was very reasonable price wise. The food all came out in good time and was all of a very good quality. Again the staffs were great and got everything set up for after our meal whilst we were eating.

After we finished our meal the music came on and we kicked promptly into party mode. It was a good that we could plug our Ipod in to their sound system and run our own playlists all night.

All in all we had an amazing night and would definitely look first to booking Apartment 195 for any future functions. Thanks again to the staff and management for making our night so memorable.
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John Critic - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 07, 2011

I visited HJB in Chelsea for a couple of drinks and some food on the 8th of October. The weather was great so we were lucky to enjoy it in the garden by the fountain-which was off unfortunatly. The setting is beautiful! Service was really quick and friendly. We ordered our coctails and food with a waiteress who helped us choose-and that was a very good recomendation! We waited around 10 minutes for our drinks which I have to admit was very quick as it was very busy.

Cob salad I ordered was massive and so were the ribs that my partner had. After first cocktails we opted for a bottle of wine which was delivered within 5 minutes!

While we were eating the menageress and a waitress checked back on us.

I have to say that the service has been very friendly, attentive and knowlegable, the food great portions and delicious. I don't really understand the negative comments bellow as our experience was very good.
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M
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 21, 2011

The service is slow, most of the staff are very unfriendly. The garden closes early and as it seems there is no air-con it is swelteringly hot inside!!. The food is not great, this wouldn't be a huge issue as it is after all just a pub/bar but its also hugely expensive for what you get. When I say expensive I'm referring to the drinks as well as the below par food!.

The only redeeming factor about this place is its location and the fact that (if your lucky enough to get a table) the beer garden is nice in the summer months.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, August 01, 2011

Incredibly bad service. Rude and arrogant management. Understaffed. Uncooked food.

I hold a taste card which entitles cardholders to 50% food bills at various participating restaurants of which Henry J Beans Chelsea is one.

This evening I went to the restaurant with a friend and told the server (whom appeared to also be the manager) that we were taste card holders and immediately she told us they would not allow the use of the card as we did not book 24 hours in advance. Despite there being no mention of this 24 hour rule on their listing of the taste card website and the fact that the restaurant was virtually empty (6.30pm) we accepted what she said and ordered anyway.

The manager who served us had a stinking attitude with negative vibes oozing out of her. The food took ages to arrive and when it did the baked potatoes were cold in the middle. The rest was mediocre but the atmosphere in there was so horrible and the temperature so cold we just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Our dirty plates sat in front of us for 20 mins before there were cleared and I waited 10 mins for them to deliver a coke from a pump machine. However they all seemed to be super attentive when it came to ordering the bill to which they had included for themselves a 12.5% service charge as standard. I guess they get a lot of people walking out without paying as there really was a bit of frenzy when bill paying time came round – all a bit strange.

I seem to remember about 4 years ago I had another equally negative experience at the same branch – obviously nothings changed since then, I’m just surprised they’re still there if this is how they treat customers.

All just a waste of time and a negative experience – really don’t bother wasting your time or money going here when there are plenty other American style restaurants available – a really good one up the road in Knightsbridge actually.
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C.Harding
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, January 26, 2011