Henley's Restaurant
7855 La Palma Ave. #1
Buena Park, CA 90620
(714) 521-9500, fax (714) 521-9088

Map:  maps.yahoo.com/broadband#q1=7855+La+Palma+Ave.+%25231+Buena+Park%2C+CA+90620&mvt=m&trf=0&lon=-117.99679&lat=33.846841&mag=3

Henley's Restaurant is in a small strip mall just off of La Palma just east of Beach Blvd.  It has a very small patio in the front and to one side and the interior has an occupancy of 71.  It is furnished mostly in cocoa coloured booths with a few tables for two and two half tables that seat eight.  The walls are painted an antique gold colour that warms the atmosphere.  It is a lovely, inviting restaurant with its white tablecloths and comfortable seating.

We are seated quickly and asked for a beverage order.  We quickly find that they do not have any unsweetened ice tea, which leaves only soda, coffee, and lemonade.  I don't drink anything with sugar and I despise Diet Coke, so I was a bit disappointed.  I ordered water and my husband settled for a Diet Coke.  It was the only real sour note in the evening.

The meals do not come with soup or salad, so my husband I ordered them separately.  I ordered the bowl of Cream of Mushroom soup and my husband ordered the Tomato and Corn Tortilla soup.  For our main courses, I ordered the Chicken and Shrimp Napolitano and my husband ordered the Salmon.

We were brought bread and there was already olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table.  The bread was a bit plain, especially to stand up to dipping in the rather pungent vinegar they had.  Heartier, more flavourful bread would be a better match.

The soup arrived in due time.  The Cream of Mushroom was utterly delightful.  It was creamy and well seasoned with herbs, giving it a very French Provincial taste.  The Tomato and Corn Tortilla soup was piquant with an almost Indian flavour to it.  It was very unique and delicious.  The soups were a bit more tepid than we both would have preferred, but still acceptable. For lighter eaters, the meals alone should suffice or maybe an appetizer to share.

Our meals arrived with a reasonable pause after the soup.  My Chicken and Shrimp Napolitano was presented beautifully on a square ceramic plate with a sprig of fresh rosemary poking from it.  The sauteed spinach was served on a leaf of red cabbage with the roasted potatoes, on ions, and bell peppers served to the side.  The three breaded shrimps were served atop the breaded chicken with tomato sauce and cheese over all.  It was a very simple dish, but well-prepared and satisfying.

My husband's Salmon was grilled impeccably and covered in a lemon dill sauce with a sprig of fresh dill atop.  There were gorgeous buttery mashed potatoes served on a red cabbage leaf and snappy stalks of asparagus.  I was personally wishing I could trade meals with him, though this does not suggest that my meal wasn't good, but rather that I found his meal even better.

We rounded up our meal with a Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee that was ample enough for us to share.  You could even see the settled ground up vanilla bean in the bottom of the dish.  It was delicious and perfect for two.

The service was very good despite our waitress' somewhat hampered English, but later in the evening the manager took over for our waitress and her service was impeccable.  All and all it was an incredibly enjoyable Saturday evening meal and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing evening out.

We purchased a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com for $10 (there are coupon codes out there that discount the price sometimes to $4 and $5.)  The certificate gave us $25 off of $35, which after tipping on the entire amount ($46) before the certificate brought us to about $27.

Here's the Restaurant.com link:
http://www.restaurant.com/microsite.asp?rid=332631&mcn=00028509