Henry's Majestic's Brunch Has Potential, But It Isn't So Majestic Yet

Because we can never get enough chicken and waffles, Henry’s Majestic has a brunch worth visiting — at least once.

This McKinney Avenue restaurant, part of the Bread Winners family, offers a warm environment with friendly service, with meals from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends that are mostly satisfying but might fall short of majestic.

The coffee ($3.50), which was quickly refilled, is fine — but it won’t impress a coffee snob. Shared plates offer sweet and savory options, depending on how you like appetizers for breakfast.

The warm vanilla coffee cake ($6) is topped with strawberries and a buttermilk glaze, and the cinnamon streusel is a good excuse to have dessert before noon.

On the savory side are the shrimp and grits with white cheddar ($13). The shrimp were seasoned well, and the grits were addicting — and finding a place in Dallas with decent grits is worth celebrating. It would be more exciting if the little iron skillet they were served in had been hot.

This brings us to our chief complaint: None of the food was really hot, which was disappointing considering it came out before the place was knee-deep in brunch rush.

While it’s always great to see corned beef hash ($15) on the menu, this dish fell a little short, with a simple slab of corned beef over potatoes. It might’ve been a better experience if it had been hot and the potatoes had not been overcooked.

One interesting menu item is the breakfast ramen ($14), which was one of the better things on the table, even if it wasn’t all that brunch-like. Should you have a strong hangover, though, the bacon, egg and savory broth might do you some good.

If you’re hunting for excellent biscuits and sausage gravy ($14), you can skip these. The biscuits were fine, but the gravy, which tasted like it was made from the maple-blueberry links, offered a persistent sweet taste that wasn’t welcomed.

The charred tomatillo chilaquiles ($15) looked like nachos. While difficult to eat — this is one of those dishes you’ll debate clawing into with your hand or a fork — it tastes fine enough with rotisserie chicken, crema, cotija and an egg.

The chicken and waffles ($15) may be the one dish that reaches “majestic” status. It’s possible other meals were waiting on this one, as everything on the plate was hot. The chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside with moist meat, and the hatch chile gravy had just the right amount of espresso-maple syrup topping the waffle.

If you have a serious appetite, or you’re looking to split a meal, the majestic egg double double ($13) is a good choice. This breakfast sandwich arrives open, making you wonder if you can really stack it up to a height that won’t overwhelm your mouth, but you’ll manage. Housemade maple-bourbon pork sausage is your main component, and gruyere, bibb lettuce, jalapeño aioli, onion, tomato and an egg make it worthy of being your one meal for the day.

The duration of our meal featured a playlist of nothing but Michael Jackson, which, depending on your personal MJ philosophy, could be a blessing or a torturous curse. Some think restaurants have a motive in the playlists they choose, but this one isn't obvious.

Despite that, Henry’s has a vibrant scene with food that lacks some creativity. Prices aren’t cheap, but it’s worth a second visit if you order right.

Henry’s Majestic, 4900 McKinney Ave.