Dan P.
Yelp
The Henson. Apt because I often feel like a muppet.
I coulda said that I often feel like a man with someone's hand up his backside, but I don't like to make you guys think too much, and most of the Yelpers I've met are a sordid bunch so they might not join the dots to arrive at the G-rated version without my obvious prompting...
From the outside this looks like your typical Tooths Ale saloon; and back in the day it probably was. You could imagine brickies and sparkies downing tools and knockin' off early for a KB dinner ale and a couple of Veebs. But she's evolved... in a good way.
I met a couple of buds here, for some brews and a feed on Saturday night. The front bar is a good mix of crowd. There was the odd hipster, but the well-worn variety, shabby chic if you please. No oiled beards here!, plenty of flanno going around too.
The beers are a revelation. It's craftier here at the Henson, than an arts and crafts show hosted by Martha Stewart.
I spied an old favourite, the Hangman's Pale Ale (Rocks Brewing Co.) and started with that. As my buds arrived I switched to the In Bloom IPA (Murrays Brewing Co.) which was hoppier than a one-legged Kangaroo playing hopscotch, before settling on an American Pale Ale (Batch Brewing co.) to finish me up. I also noticed Young Henrys and Stone and Wood amongst other options.
After a skinful we decided it was time to eat - and headed to the dining area. The outside seating is quirky and fun, with umbrellas, box trees, barrel seating and an arrangement of wall hung flowers. It's also family friendly and there was certainly plenty of them here on Saturday night. They do have heaters as well, which explains why it was packed outside. So packed we had to head inside for a seat.
We were lucky enough to grab a table as a couple were leaving and after plonking ourselves down we immediately ordered - we were here for the wings after all and they didn't disappoint. The 1/2 kilo buttermilk chicken wings with the verde picante dipping sauce were divine. Crispy and juicy at the same time, with plenty of meat, they lived up to the hype that had been sold to me prior to coming here.
A serving of the Kumara fries with nigella and a tahini yoghurt were some of the best I've had. I'm not normally a fan of sweet potato fries, they are a fad to me, when i prefer the real deal, but they sung here.
Another round of Batch brews and we were ready for mains. I opted for the Grass-fed beef burger, gruyere, lettuce, pickle, tomato/beet relish and old bay mayo and chips. The burger was a bit of a let down. I asked for medium rare, but one of my companions informed me that I would probably get it cooked through regardless, because they probably don't grind their own meat in-house (and if they do it could be a refrigerator job). I can't fault the Henson on that, however it means I cannot recommend the burger. The chips were pretty average. Thick cut batons that were fluffy on the inside but didn't sustain enough crunch or seasoning to really invite me into heaven.
One of my buds had the Fish Pie with cheesy leek mash, and was pretty quiet about it, but he said it was good.
The other bud, who goes Gluten Free, had the smoked pork baby-back ribs, chilli orange glaze, jacket potato, pepe saya creme friache + ginger slaw. I had one of the ribs and it was delightfully sticky and juicy. The taste was just gorgeous. I wish I'd gone this instead of the burger (Incidentally they do have a large range of Gluten Free options on the menu).
There seems to be a bit of KFC inspiration in a couple of the menu items too. References to the "dirty bird" main and a certain haloumi burger with KFC undertones in the vegetarian section raised eyebrows but were never seriously considered.
All in all the Henson provided a great night out that will stay with me as a memory for years to come.