Henry's Bar in Exeter

Dear Henry’s Management Team I’m writing to express my deep disappointment with a troubling experience my friend and I had at Henry’s, one that left us feeling both unsafe and disrespected. My friend was removed from the venue simply for attempting to retrieve her phone, which had been handed to the bartenders earlier so it could be charged. As you can imagine, her phone was essential, not only for her peace of mind, but also for her safety and ability to get home. When she began searching for it, visibly anxiously, the security guard abruptly escorted her out without any explanation or assistance. When I approached the guard to explain the situation and offered to help locate the phone, I was told repeatedly that I could not. When I asked how my friend was expected to get home without it, the guard responded, “I don’t care—that’s not my problem.” Determined to help, I continued to advocate for my friend and eventually located her phone myself, after speaking with bartenders at two different bars within the venue. This entire ordeal could have been avoided with even a small amount of empathy, communication, or professionalism from your staff. As someone who has been sober for over two years and frequently accompanies friends to bars, I’ve never experienced such a blatant disregard for basic human decency. The lack of compassion and the hostile manner in which the situation was handled by security, and overlooked by other staff, was genuinely upsetting. No one should be made to feel unsafe or dismissed in a public space. I hope you will take this incident seriously and implement proper training for your team on de-escalation, empathy, and guest safety. It is my sincere hope that no one else has to go through what we experienced last night.

Amazing spot! My friends and I played card games here all day in February. The owner was so welcoming and cool. Thank you!

Great bartender and She-crab soup is the best ever

This is the oldest restaurant in Charleston. The food was delicious. Peel and eat shrimp with fries are recommended. The fries are delicious! Chop salad with fresh fish and house-made dressing, incredible. The bartenders could not have been better. Excellent mixed drinks.

We received HORRIBLE customer service having been treaded rudely. We requested a table that was ADA accessible and this is what they said to us: “It’s too much of a liability this is not assisted living facility.” All we want is lunch and every restaurant should have access to everyone. To be treated like this is unacceptable and I will be reporting this incident to the city. Do not eat at Henry’s. Please get your staff sensitivity training and shame on you.

This place could be so good, but it falls short. Our order was put in late by the server. They do not know how to cook a steak…. We had to send it back twice because they were still mooing on the plate even though we asked for medium. So many mistakes were made. When we got our bill there was a mandatory 20% tip the server “could do nothing about” and she apologized because the whole bight had been a mess. We had to appeal for ourseleves when no amends were being made with us to get a discount for the errors. I will say this, the spinach and artichoke dish was amazing and si was the mahi on the cheesy grits.

Very busy resturant but we were able to get right in. A little noisy. The food was great, especially the Keylime pie. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful.

Overpriced Cappuccinos Mediocre at best. 😕

The service and atmosphere is always a hit! Classy tunes, the decor is top tier, great vibes, good looking people, easy going crew, drink selection isn't anything over the top, just overall a great time if you come with low expectations (my favorite kind). The place is pretty massive and one can get lost if every single room and floor is open. Honestly impressive.

The smash burger that I ordered was way too salty. Fries were cold. Food was overpriced for nothing special.

My husband and I had a wonderful meal at Henry's today. I have celiac disease so need gluten free options and they had their options labeled on the menu. One of the options was the Steak Frites, but when I asked if they fried the fries in a separate fryer, unfortunately they said they don't have a clean fryer for gluten free fries. I don't think the Steak Frites should be labeled gluten free if they aren't going to accommodate a separate fryer for the fries. It is very important to be careful about cross contamination for people with celiac disease. Otherwise, the meal and the experience were great. Just be careful and make sure to speak up about your gluten allergy

Great food, fun atmosphere, and busy service. They have a stage for jazz music at night. Good drinks from the bartenders dressed as from the 1920s-30s. Very good vibe and good, spacious seating. She Crab Soup is a must-have item, recommended by staff as their main dish. Perfectly creamy base with a good amount of crab meat floating around. I could eat it every day if I could afford it. Overall, a great historic restaurant and a staple of Charleston in my mind.

The establishment, including bathrooms were clean. The service was fantastic. We had an attentive server, who also gave helpful recommendations. We had the Pimento cheese as a starter. It is made in-house; delicious. We also had the crab cakes as an appetizer. They are good on their own, but add the remolaude and Coleslaw and OMG AMAZING! I will be thinking of those crab cakes for a long time. The chicken pasta was great, nice and creamy; loved. The steak frites, rivals texas steak. So you know it was good and juicy. However the truffle fries were ehhh. Didn't like those. The drinks were great as well. It was a little pricey but soooo worth it!

Henry's is my absolute favorite place in Charleston!! I get dinner and drinks there every time I visit

Went on a very busy night. Had to wait a long time but enjoyed a drink at the bar. Place was nice lots of college kids because they have a deck and a lounge with live music . It was just starting to heat up . Since I'm visiting and not a local had no idea it probably wasn't the best time for music and if so I needed to go next door. Had fish it was over cooked but truffle fries were good. Waitress took money off our food which was very nice she did seem annoyed. Must be tough around 8-9 pm attending to so much . I didn't have the best time but I think there was way too much going on.

Dave is the best bartender!!! (Both are). Come here for them!!!!!

As always, never disappointed. Cristian was amazing. Great food, great cocktails! 👍 Great Pimento Cheese! Fried Shrimp is perfect.

Our waiter was rude and did not check on us. The food was cold. There were 10 of us in our party. Not a good experience at all.

My favorite haunt in Charleston

I heard a tour group that was passing by talk about this place so I had to stop in. It was by far the best shrimp & grits I’ve ever had. The bread pudding was also amazing.

A Market staple...great roof top. Live music...a younger drunker crowd on weekends.

Wonderful food and waiter was wonderful.

Music was not noticeable in the restaurant. Food was good quick seating 2 min wait.

great bar, friendly staff. There was also a live band

Good food in a century old restaurant.

Our experience started out really nice. We enjoyed a glass of wine on the second level while we waited for a table on the ground floor. Once we were seated our experience went downhill. Our server was extremely impolite and I would like to give you his name but he never properly introduced himself to us. He was a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair and a beard and did not have one ounce of warmth or courtesy in him. He was very curt with us when we asked any questions regarding the dinner options. The food was mediocre although the she crab soup was rather good. After we received our food, he made a disrespectful comment to me and when I told him he was rude he replied that he was only joking. I did not find him funny in the least. I will say I observed the other servers with their tables and they seemed very welcoming and it appeared that they treated their customers kindly, as they should. Unfortunately, our experience was not nearly as pleasant as it should have been and really left a bad taste in our mouth.

Food is simply excellent, crab meat soup is must have!! And jambalaya! And Henry’s bourbon bread pudding!!

How do these guys only have a 4.2 rating? Unbelievable food and service. Ally was an A+++ Server busting her tail off despite the fast paced crowd. Great service. I am not a grits fan but their cheese grits are amazing. Despite being a seafood specialty their blackened chicken pasta was absolutely amazing! Don’t miss on their she crab soup either. Just awesome! Every-tine someone from our party of 5 ordered something, we’d taste it and have to order 4 more. I specifically asked to speak to the manager because EVERYTHING was UNBELIEVABLE! Ally informed me the manager was busy getting food out. Like I said, everyone works hard here. Randy made it over and gave us some fun conversation. Definitely my favorite restaurant.

We shared the key lime and it was delicious. Yummy, homey meal! Only disappointment was no live music when we were there and they had run out of jambalaya.

I was recommended this restaurant for my birthday dinner. I honestly regret taking the suggestion. My bf and I got there later in the evening and were told we had 15 minutes to place our order before the kitchen closed. He checked their website and didn’t see any kind of warning about that. So, we had to rush. They also had the windows open, which if you know downtown, means you get the fresh scent of horse manure while you dine. The waitress let us close our window so that helped a lot. It. Was. So. LOUD! Music or not, we were literally yelling at each other across the table! That got old fast… I got the fried seafood platter and my bf got the pork sandwich. Neither of us liked our food. Some of my shrimp were rancid. They had the old fishy, rotten taste of bad seafood. My fish was cooked well but bland. Collards were decent. My bf took 2-3 bites of his sandwich and stopped eating. He mentioned the strong taste of vinegar overpowering everything. He literally checked his sandwich for BBQ sauce because all he tasted vinegar. We had a nice waitress and she did well at first coming to check on us. She also made sure to get our orders before the kitchen closed. I appreciate her for that. Unfortunately, we saw her less and less throughout dinner. We asked for the check and she handed it to us, said, “No rush” and walked off before we could respond. My bf was already grabbing his wallet but she was gone. We waited for a while but there was no sign of her. We really wanted to leave by this point. I eventually flagged down a different waitress so we could pay. I would STRONGLY advise going to a different restaurant to anyone considering it for food.

Typical pub vibe and one of if not the oldest running bar in the area. Guide from Palmetto Carriage Tours said this was his favorite She-crab soup and the best Old Fashioned in town. Both were very good. Really old establishment.

Nice atmosphere and convenient location, but the food is subpar for the price. A $20 pulled pork sandwich doesn't even come with a side of fries, leaving you hungry enough that you have to stop and get pizza on the way home! The service was nothing exceptional, yet they have the nerve to add gratuity to a party of 5. Definitely worth skipping.

Great atmosphere. Limited menu outside for lunch, but the smash burger and fried Shrimp were excellent. Excellent service from our waiter! Beautiful, Sunny day! Love music was great too!

the bathroom attendant was so rude. told my friend and i to pull down our skirts and our skirts were completely fine, no butt was showing. she then found us again later and told our other friend to tell us to pull our skirts down and when my friend said we are leaving she followed us all the way out the door to make sure she left. miserable horrible lady

Vibes are never bad, but a $20 per person entry fee is egregious. Bands were ok.

The food was halfway decent but way over priced. Our server was very attentive and quick, but the seafood wasn't worth 32 dollars and the sides were not close to being add on worthy.

Henry’s coffee lounge on the side of restaurant is one of its kind.

Hands down MORGAN one of the best if not the best bartender i have ever had and we are avid drinkers. The Henry's old fashioned was amazing. My daughter wanted a strong and sweet drink and he made a Bahama mama type drink for my daughter who is a new mom and she loved it. If you are at Henry's on the .market ask for Morgan you will not be disappointed

Our server, Crystal, was attentive and very upbeat. We were disappointed that one of the foods we were looking forward to having was not available. She crab soup was not very hot, flavor was ok. Red rice and sausage side was the highlight of our meals. Fried scallops were good, and Jambalaya was disappointing.

I am going to preface this review by saying that I have never been to Henry's aside from my experience tonight, so this review is not intended to critique the food or service of the staff, specifically working inside of Henry's. My friends and I attempted to go into Henry's tonight, but we were told we did not meet the dress code. This was unusual because the reason the gentleman at the door told us we did not meet the dress code was because we were wearing hats and did not have collard shirts. When the gentleman working the door said this to our group, I immediately looked inside the establishment and saw a man wearing a hat with a plain white t-shirt. I proceeded to look at other customers in the establishment and saw other male customers without collard shirts. I mentioned this to employees working the door, and they informed me that those customers would be getting kicked out shortly. I found this odd because it appeared those customers had been at the establishment for some time. One of the members of my group spoke with one of the gentlemen working the door, and he said that they are trying to keep the "bad people" out. After some back and forth, the gentleman told us we could go inside and told us, "he could tell we were good." One group member left and said he felt like he was being stereotyped for how he looked. I did not go in as well. I felt that it was inappropriate to have to beg to go into an establishment. 5 members of the group work blue collar. I mentioned that point to say that I guess if you don't look a certain way, then you are not welcome at Henry's. As for the "bad people" comment by the employee. That was rather unsettling due to the fact that this establishment seems to stereotype people and cast judgment based upon appearance. I guess you have to look like a Charleston lawyer to be accepted at Henry's, even though the 5 blue collar members of the group, more than likely earn a higher income than the majority of individuals that go to Henry's ***I was informed today by my friends that stayed at Henry's last night, that the gentleman stereotyping us told my group that he was the owner.***

Visiting from Texas thought we do a carriage ride. We passed this awesome looking restaurant called. Henry’s l. It was unbelievable food. Unbelievable service Crystal. Our waitress was over the top. Amazing. I highly recommend.

I’ll be honest… not really impressed with the food. To be clear, it wasn’t bad. It just didn’t meet the hype and expectations, especially for the price. None of us were really impressed. The server was very nice and attentive. Shop around more. Lots of options in the area. 🤷‍♂️

My go to spot for great food and entertainment in Charleston!

Surprisingly delicious food. Heather, our server, could not have been more thoughtful and helpful.

Heard a lot about Henry’s, just didn’t live up to the hype.

This tends to be a very popular place on Fridays and Saturday's! Can be crowded, but with several floors you can usually find a place to hang out. The rooftop is popular for sure.

Delicious food, great atmosphere

The food was good, but nothing to write home about. Prices were a little high for what you get, but it wasn't too terrible.

My wife ordered the crab cake and it was so salty I could not even eat it and I like salty foods. I ordered the burger and it was a 6/10. They did not have non-alcoholic drinks… only water… Food is way overpriced too!

Got assaulted by two of the bouncers for Leaving the bar with an empty cup in my hand. Pressing charges on them. Do not recommend this place.

Very rude staff at the bar! Extremely rude . Completely unprofessional and unacceptable.

CHECK YOUR RECEIPT!!!!! The staff and managers are scamming people (especially tourist) by adding stuff to the check and jacking up the price of the bill. Came here for lunch and only ordered a coffee, appetizer, and split a sandwich and it came out to $74 dollars which was odd since we didn’t order anything else OR any alcohol. We asked for the receipt and it showed that we ordered a shot and a half of tequila which we didn’t do. When we asked the server about it he got weird and tried to give us cash/ resolve it without getting the manager involved which didn’t work with us as we insisted on speaking with him. The manager was nonchalant about the issue which makes us think he’s in on it too. BEWARE AND BE VIGILANT, this place has gone downhill which is a shame. They lost a loyal customer today.

Isabella at the bar made it a fantastic experience and because of her, we will come back for a visit the next time we are in Charleston! Cheers!

I have never eaten here, but we come for late night drinks to enjoy the multi-level bar experience! A room if you wanna feel ritzy and a room for if you want to be trashy :-) (Trashy like a DJ and dancing!) The only issue I have (which is why I marked down the Service) was because of the way they do cover charges - I'm not trying to spend $200 in your bar AND give you $20 at the door... that's a drink! :-D (But I get it...)

OMG so good. A random passerby recommended the shrimp and grits. Best I've ever had. Hubby got the shrimp Po Boy. Also excellent. Cheesy grits a bit to salty for us but the fried okra was perfect. Fast friendly service in a historical restaurant. Highly recommend!

Came in here for drinks, AMAZING. The atmosphere was impeccable, there was live music and dancing. The live performers were very professional and it was such a great time! Have I mentioned that the drinks were delicious?? We ordered the espresso martini and it was perfect.

Great atmosphere loved the music and history. I had the BLT with fried green tomatoes very good! The spinach dip was good but the bread crisps were too hard for me to eat.

When in Charleston I always go to Henry's for lunch. I can recommend the shrimp basket, and the best Grits in South Carolina 😋

Great place to hang with friends

I got the blackened chicken pasta and it was amazing! I would go back there for that again any day!

Horrible management. They don’t value their regular patrons.

Staff is horrible! I will never go back. There are so many more restaurants & bars who value their customers. Don't waste your money!

Henry’s has been one of my favorite bars in Charleston and after tonight I will never be returning. I went tonight and got attacked by a Women employee who clearly has an agenda. She got in our face, yelling, screaming, and cursing at us. All we asked her was to not yell at us, which seemed to only make things worse. She immediately grabbed the closet bouncer and demanded we got kicked out. We asked to talk to management and when we explained the story to the manager he told us it was a miss understanding and to return tomorrow. He seemed scared of his own employee and would rather kicked two people who continuously give them business and hadn’t even had a full drink yet rather then tell his employee that she was in the wrong. This was very disappointing but there are multiple bars in this city that would never treat their costumers this way and we recommend going to those bars instead.

Henry’s has been one of my favorite bars in Charleston for years however after tonight I will never be returning. One of their employees decided to take their bad mood out on my friends tonight. She was walking by us and when she couldn’t get past us she began to yell and curse at us. My friend asked her to stop yelling at him and she got in his face immediately and continued to yell at him. After she was done yelling she grabbed the closest bouncer and demanded he was kicked out for asking her to not yell at him? When we talked to management they agreed that this was all a miss understanding and that we were not in the wrong. However they told us we must leave to avoid any more problems with that employee. This was completely unprofessional and a waste of the $20 cover fee that we had paid only 30 minutes prior. If your visiting Charleston I highly recommend skipping Henry’s and going somewhere where you know you won’t be treated like this.

Table was dirty, floor was dirty, there was actual gray dust balls falling from the ceiling onto our table. The white sangria which was the “special” tasted like a straight glass of lemon juice with ice in it. The sweet tea was like water, the “cheese & cracker” tray looked like something I would frantically put together out of my pantry with a premade cheese spread? Concoction? The nachos were..edible… the spinach artichoke was burnt on top and crumbly cheese with hard as rock pita chips, literally every food item was horrible. I about crapped when we got the bill $$$$$. I would say this place should just be a bar but even the drinks were horrible.

Walked into Henry’s, accidentally used the wrong door and stumbled into the Ansonborough lounge. Summer was there to very kindly greet us and get us seated. We actually ended up staying in the lounge and had a wonderful time. Very cozy, great food selection, and impeccable service. Her drinks are amazing and even explained how to make it at home! Can’t wait to see what Summer and her team does to the place!

Awesome visit after the Charleston Marketplace. Live music at noon, Friendly team and fantastic throwback atmosphere. The food stuck to the ribs and needed a togo container! Nothing unexpected at Henry's!

Amazing food! Great restaurant right on Market Street. Everything our group tried was outstanding. Fantastic option for Southern cuisine.

This was a great place for a late night dinner, and there was live country music that started at 9:30pm. I highly recommend the bowl of she crab soup! I also ordered the seafood pasta and it was phenomenal. The portions were great, and the seafood tasted fresh! Parking was easy since it is the off season, but I imagine it would be difficult finding a spot during the summer. Definitely a great date night place if you’re looking for good ambience, live music, and not too crazy prices! Will definitely be returning.

came in as soon as they opened at 11 on sunday, chicken and waffles were their special for the day and it was DELICIOUS. chicken was tasty, the cinnamon butter was fresh and the waffles were nice and moist. this place was recommended to my family 3 times, glad we stopped by!

I love this place! The ambience is incredible.

Awesome place, great rooftop space

Stopped in for a quick lunch. We got the fried shrimp it was pretty solid nothing special.

Henry’s in the Market is an absolute gem! The charming rooftop offers breathtaking views of the surrounding area, creating a perfect spot for a relaxed, scenic experience. The cozy outdoor seating area, complete with vibrant red umbrellas, adds a splash of color and a welcoming vibe. The historic charm of the building shines through, from the clean and inviting stairwell entrance to the beautifully maintained decor. It’s clear that Henry’s balances character and comfort seamlessly. Whether you’re stopping in for a meal or just a drink, the atmosphere feels upscale yet approachable. Highly recommended for anyone visiting the area!

Stopped in for coffee and the wife ended up getting a chocolate croissant, and it was amazing. Stopped back by a few days later and had a redo. Both times service, and food quality was great!

The jambalaya was cold, although the flavors of the food are rich and the service was also good, they should pay more attention to the times to seat people and that the food is really hot...

One word - Jambalaya. The depth of flavor! The quality of the seafood! It was magic in my mouth. The cocktails were pretty good, too!!

It’s absolutely inappropriate to hammer your customers in the head with Trump paintings, photographs and cardboard cut outs.

walked in for coffee saw the Trump sign and left, no thanks

Cool bar w many spaces to hang out

Great atmosphere and wait staff. Shrimp & grits were very good. Oldest restaurant in Charleston. Recommend for dinner or for a drink.

Worst jambalaya I’ve ever had. Dry and overcooked. Even the kids PB&J was skimpy. Overpriced, even for Charleston.

if i could give this place zero stars i would. terrible vibe and even worse coffee. i was hoping the food would redeem itself but id rather eat dirt. can’t support a place that cares about money more than quality.

The food was tasty. The plate size was smaller than expected

This *could* just have been a tourist trap, instead it serves amazing food and drinks.

Great drinks, great food, great location and great service. We will be back the next time we’re in Charleston!

My friend and I went to Henry’s to their upstairs bar last night and had a BLAST. The bartenders were awesome and really sweet, and the drinks were delicious!! Live music was great, all around a super fun night!! We came back the next morning to grab some of their famous she crab soup. Henry’s is my favorite spot in Charleston!!

How did it take me so long to come here??! Must've been the Saturday night line around the block... Go any other night and you're in for a treat. Love this spot for a cocktail!

Stopped in for a quick bite to eat for lunch. Staff were friendly and courteous. Food was brought out fairly quickly and fresh. I had the BBQ pork sandwich with collard greens which were delicious. Nice old decor inside was neat to look at.

6 of us shared a beautifully sunny window booth. We loved the fried green tomato BLT, but the bread was soggy. I ate mine open-faced 🥰 Cute place and great service. It was very convenient to the Market.

Denied entry and accused of being "drunk" by the bouncers at the door....yet we were just goofing off in the line and hadn't had a sip of alcohol. Could literally pass a sobriety test If you want to have fun. Skip Henry's. We are frequent local customers who won't be back and will be spreading the word on your discrimatory practices.

Had Shrimp and Grits before, but neither with brown gravy and She Crab Soup which had lots of crab meat was DELICIOUS! After finishing a tour in Charleston, SC guide suggested Henry’s in addition to folks saying you must try the Shrimp and Grits before leaving SC and I did.

This bar will fill higher shelf bottles with lower shelf liquor. Stay away if you’re looking for a quality drink.

Lovely evening vibe with delicious cocktails and great live music. Would highly recommend.

Dropped in to Henry's for lunch. Great atmosphere and the food was great. Our server was friendly and the service was excellent! Can definitely recommend Henry's when you're in Charleston!

We had the best she crab soup we’ve ever had at Henry’s. Grilled mahi mahi with cheese grits was fabulous also.

We stopped twice. Upper seating is perfect if you want to just take it all in. Jazz was good but way too loud. We left the bar and went upstairs.

Atmosphere of the place is very good but in my opinion the food is just average or maybe a bit above but nothing memorable, prices little high. Rooftop deck is alright but the views are limited and not all that great

Such a cool spot in historic downtown Charleston. The food was great but I expected more seafood from a seafood and jazz lounge. Music was top tier though and the service was awesome, kudos to Faith and Chris!

by pass this place for sure. we arrived around 4pm slow time no excuses. we sat upstairs which was lovely. ordered a simple chopped salad which consisted of chopped dried out green leaves, bacon bits and egg. we had to fish for any morsels of bacon and egg to make the dried out greens palatable. my tito’s vodka, splash of water and cranberry was really ice, water, cranberry and a splash of titos. disappointing. i’ve visited charleston dozens of times and enjoyed many places this is not one of them.