The Scene

Henry’s Garden Restaurant can be found in the little, quiet town of San Carlos, California. After the owner, Henry Wu, took over the restaurant in 2006, the restaurant went over a major overhaul. Henry believes that a kitchen for chefs should be like a stage for actors; he believes the chefs need an amazing stage to compliment their amazing culinary skills. He revamped the kitchen so that it is now fully equipped with all kinds of facilities and tools to help the chefs create the best possible menu and dishes for their customers.

After entering the restaurant, it is obvious that Henry feels just as passionately about the dining room décor as he does about the kitchen. The interior’s main color scheme is gold—the main attraction being the golden chandelier—which Henry believes creates a warm and comfortable atmosphere throughout the 2000 square foot restaurant. To enhance this comfortable feeling and to add a bit of elegance, Henry added classic Chinese embroidery, oil paintings of splendid landscapes, and framed Chinese poetry.

In addition, there is a beautiful garden in the backyard of the restaurant. Henry is planning to set some time aside in the near future to tend to the garden himself and plant some flowers.

Henry’s Garden

• Name: Henry’s Garden 


• Owner: Henry Wu

Location: 1050 EL Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070-4013

• Cuisine: Szechuan, Mandarin & Cantonese cuisine


• Capacity: 80


• Offers: take-out, delivery, banquet room


• Signature Dish: Peking Duck, Ox Tail Clay Pot, Crispy Sesame Chicken


• Year of establishment: 2006

Phone: (650) 631-9328

• Website: http://www.henrysgardenrestaurant.com/aboutus.html

The Food

Henry boasts that one of the reasons Henry’s Garden Restaurant is so successful is because of word of mouth by the local residents about the food. “Some customers like the taste so much that they are accustomed to other restaurants,” Henry adds. One story Henry particularly likes to tell is about a girl who went abroad to England. On her last day in the United States, she made sure to dine at Henry’s to have a delicious meal and to wish Henry goodbye. And to Henry’s surprise, his restaurant was one of the first she visited upon her return. In addition, local businesses also return, time and time again, to hold their meetings and parties at the restaurant.

The restaurant specializes in Cantonese, Szechuan, and Mandarin cuisines, the most popular dish being the Crispy Sesame Chicken. Dim Sum is also served daily, with the most popular dishes being shrimp dumplings and steamed buns. While the kitchen keeps the dishes as authentic as possible, their main priority is to use the freshest, local ingredients. So while sometimes recipes need to be altered due to what’s seasonally available, the freshness and taste of the dishes are never sacrificed. The menu also has a vegetarian section for vegetarian and health conscious customers.

In Henry’s Garden Restaurant there is a professional team of chefs. There are three master chefs, two of these chefs were hired from top Chinese restaurants in California and the third chef comes from an upscale restaurant in Hong Kong where he was the executive chef. There are three main guidelines that Henry and his kitchen follow to ensure that Henry’s Garden Restaurant customers are getting the best quality food possible.

1.      Food Selection: Only the best and freshest ingredients are selected each day, however expensive. If the food delivered does not meet Henry’s standard, it is immediately returned to the distributor.

2.      Food Preparation: The food should always be cooked perfectly, neither under nor over cooked and always with the perfect portion of sauce.

3.      Food Storage: The food is stored in temperatures set according to the standards of the Heath Bureau and it is always sealed closely in containers to avoid bacterium.

Henry adds, “We have to dedicate ourselves to each detail and try to satisfy even the most difficult customers as much as possible. Luckily, our skilled chefs never disappoint customers.”

The Service

“Satisfying the customers is our utmost pursuit,” states Henry. The main priority of the staff at Henry’s Garden Restaurant is to make the customers happy. If a customer has any complaints about the food, their order will immediately be replaced to meet their satisfaction. The restaurant can accommodate up to eighty people, and even if the restaurant is full, each customer is still guaranteed the best service.

The restaurant is always kept clean: the kitchen is cleaned each day, the food is always fresh, and the carpet is cleaned once a month. An anonymous report claims, “All areas, including the dining room, tables, and chairs were in good order. The restroom was free of bad odors and amply stocked with paper and soap products.”

The Owner

Henry Wu’s secrets to success are sincerity, dedication to his career, and to continue studying the restaurant business and improving his own restaurant.

Before Henry moved to the United States, he worked at the time-honored, five-star Marriot China Hotel, where he learned restaurant management. He has more than ten years of experience managing restaurants in California, one he even saved from failure after turning it back on the right track. As a reward, the restaurant owner gave him a secret recipe, and with this recipe, he opened Henry’s Garden Restaurant in 2006.

Henry has been in San Carlos for over ten years. He is very familiar with the area and the local residents know him very well. As news spread in the town that Henry was opening his restaurant, the people were all glad for him and also eager to soon be able to enjoy the luxury of his food in their own town.