The Blue Heron Kitchen & Pub

Was told many times to try this place and finally my husband and I made it for dinner. Everything from the first to the last course was amazing. Flavor was on point as well the cocktails were delectable. Personally the decor was appropriately themed for the area which gave a cozy touch as with all nautical themes should be. Overall the service, food and atmosphere were a 10 out of 10. We would definitely be coming back

This was one of the first restaurants that I visited when I visited Buckeye Lake, and it was a delight! I happened to visit just after the lunch rush, when everyone was gone and it was pretty much just me in the restaurant. The service was great, and I wanted for nothing the whole time I was there. Because I was visiting for lunch, I wanted something light, so I got a soup and a salad. The Caesar salad here is great -- lots of bite-sized pieces of Romaine lettuce perfectly dressed with little cubes of croutons. If you visit the Blue Heron, you need to get the Lobster Bisque, which is the thing that they're known for. Of course, I had to get that! It's creamy, warm and the perfect thing to eat with the Caesar salad. It came with a drizzle of olive oil on top, and a sprinkle of dried parsley, as well as a crostini floating above everything. I think this was probably the best lobster bisque that I had ever eaten. I ate my lunch with a pint of one of the local beers, which happened to be a rich, dark beer that I forget the name of. It was great, though! It went very well with my little soup and salad lunch.There are lots of tables everywhere, but there is also a bar right in the middle of the restaurant. The parking lot is big with lots of spaces for people to park.

Saturday brunch menu looks amazing but the food was awful. Banana foster french toast was soggy and topped with fresh bananas. There was nothing bananas foster about this. Bacon was all fat and deep fried. Toast was dry and hard as a brick with no butter or jelly. Automatic service charge added if you pay with credit card which is not posted anywhere. The lack of people in this restaurant should have been a red flag to stay away!Service was great and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere. It's a shame the food didn't match.

The decor was simple but elegant without being overly fancy. The wait staff were kind and helpful.My wife and I had the filet. My wife wanted the chicken breast, but they were out.The filet was absolutely delicious. I got fries and the spoon bread on the side, my wife got the gratin potatoes and Cole slaw.The sides were clearly created with care to be delicious also. Many times, sides are an afterthought and taste as much, but clearly they cared about every bite.The fries were crisp and seasoned.Definitely a high quality restaurant in the Buckeye Lake area. It's a little pricey, as the filet was $49. But we haven't had a better steak for less.

The service did not match the cost and quality of the meal I had last night. When I spend a hundred dollars on a meal I'd like a hundred dollar service. Our waitress fell well short of making our excellent food a good experience.

.The first thing that you will notice is the location. Off of 70 East, exit 129 heading south on 79 briefly to the first light (at the Wendy's) you will see when you turn an old empty building that was most likely the old McDonald's which was probably moved to take advantage of being closer to the freeway so people see the sign and know it is there. Behind that further down the road several meters is The Blue Heron. Ample enough parking for even the biggest families, I was also taken aback by the lack of vehicles in the parking lot during dinner time. But I didn't let that get to me as we were out in a rural area and I have no real gauge on the level of what qualifies as a "rush".Once inside the maître de or host greeted us and waited for our party to slowly get through the door (we travel with a 98 year-old) then she led us to our table. She soon brought us water to our table and informed us our server would be along soon. The water was served in glasses as well as there is a bottle service for the water where it is brought out in fancy bottles, of which I wanted to take one home with me even if it was just filled with chilled water from the tap. To the owner: The bottles are a nice touch. Perhaps a side hustle for your restaurant would be to have them for sale at the front of house?The food, this is what you are really here for. AMAZING! Around the table, we had fish and chips, spaghetti, chicken tenders and every person was raving about how good everything was. If you read any of my reviews, you will know how much I love pub food. Fish n' chips is my go to any and everywhere I travel to. It is how I can gauge quality as it should be the same or similar everywhere. Some places have let me down before but if you can't get that right, you can't really be good at... food. The size of the fish is on par with that of the fish at Cooper's Hawk. A dense delicious piece of white fish thick and filling. I was so surprised at how much I liked this that it would have been easy to take a second order home with me had the price not been so restrictive. The bead of fries the fish sat on was also prepared well. I am not normally into steak fries as they aren't alway seasoned right or prepared in a way where the texture seems consistent to me. But these were so well made, I wish I had more of them to just splurge on. The same sentiment went around the table. No one regretted their order. The only regret anyone had was that they didn't order what the other person had as we all were enjoying the food so well, we felt as though we were missing out on the experience our dinner partners were having with their food. Our biggest complaint: that we didn't have room for more food. While it is regrettable to me that I feel the necessity to leave the city to find great food, it is completely worth the trip to such a rural area to experience a meal like this. If you have the money and you are trying to impress a date or even impress a business partnership (as a company I used to work for frequently did) this restaurant is worth the drive and the money. There is also ample space in the restaurant to move around without bumping into most other patrons. There were walkers at a few tables and room to stow them out of the way. There may have been enough room to add in 1-2 more tables but I enjoyed walking through and not having to figure out "Fight Club" etiquette of whether to pass by a seated person with my front or my rear in their face like other big chain restaurants that hammer in tables and chairs to the maximum occupancy posted on the sign. To other restaurants: it is a dining room not an airplane. People like having room to eat without bumping elbows and chairs with other strangers. So even through a glowing review from me, I will point out there were obvious glitches with service that were completely visible to me since I knew what to look for. The owner was easy to spot and she was busy. Bussing tables there, seating patrons over there, bringing food here, she was on task being an attentive owner doing what needed to be done due to what I assume was short staffing in every area. At one point her, the 2 servers, and the host were all busy with everyone in the dining area I could hear the kitchen yell for service a couple of times which no one heard. Throughout all of the work that kept them all so busy, no one ever made us feel like they were too busy for requests of more sauces or silverware. No hesitation to keep us happy. At the time we were there, this business was still pretty early on. I just took a bit to get to writing this, to the management: I'm sorry for the delay. The food and service were amazing. I hope to be back soon. I hope others enjoy the food just as much. Also, there are corporate offices a few exits away that should consider bringing business partners there for a great meal and there is a bar. Cheers!

Food was good, however watch your bill. They add a 3.5% service charge automatically. When we questioned it, they said that is if you pay by credit card. If you pay cash, they say they deduct it. Seems a little shady. How many people are tipping off that total amount even if they pay cash? Restaurant ambiance was fine.

Service and food was outstanding High quality premium products Stopped here with our dog and the staff was great and food was excellent I highly recommend

Last night Dec 14th 2024 my daughter and son in law and I went to Blue Heron for a nice Christmas get together after their long drive out here and to have our family Christmas....I was skeptical about coming here bc had been disappointed before..My son in law ordered the "Sea" Scallops dinner and I ordered a Creamed Spinach and Asparagus Pasta dish...My daughter just got a dinner salad... To say the scallops were "Sea Scallops" as described in the menu is a gross understatement...When one orders what the menu states one expects to get it...nope! Just a few tiny little things ...Sea Scallops are 1.5-2 inches across...these were nowhere near even 1/2 an inch.. And they looked nothing like the ones in the picture from another review...nothing!!!! I have had this same problem before there not getting what the menu states.The dish I ordered was cold and there was no actual "creamed" spinach or any cream or sauce whatsoever...just a little watery stuff at the bottom of the bowl...No sauce at all for the cold pasta. I tried to eat it but nope, could not eat a tasteless no flavor at all dish with cold pasta...No amounts of salt and pepper helped. FINALLY the disappearing server came back but then it was too late,...I could not ask or tell her what was wrong but I don;t think she would have cared...She never came back to check if everything was ok ...My kids were finished eating so we got the check and boxed mine up to take home and recreate it later at home so it has flavor sauce and is hot...We left a small tip hoping she gets the point but I seriously doubt she will...she won;t even care anyway. The other server also working that night you could tell was doing a great job with her customers..ours was completely out of sight for our entire meal. Also my daughter order a dinner salad which the server brought out with my salad and myself and son in law didn't get our meals till maybe 5-8 minutes later...!!! Someone never told her you bring a dinner salad out with the dinners all at the same time...but then it's not surprising ...don;t know if she is even trainable or cares to be even if management tried to correctly train their waitstaff... The other server was bustling and doing a great job...I think our server was more interested in doing something elsewhere..And also before we ordered I asked the server what she recommended thinking she would know what was good that night...obviously that did not come with any sort of training by management...she had no idea! She said she usually just eats starters and told us what some other people ordered...!!!!...Serious lack of real restaurant training in this place...but then it's Buckeye Lake so not surprised...and I know bc I live here. I think the bar is more their focus...not surprising..Took my cold pasta dinner home and we left so disappointed our evening was not what we wanted...No more going back there! Restaurants keep trying it here but sadly they are always a let down...Employment pool here is not the greatest but management needs to train and make sure staff is representing their business correctly if they want to keep customers. Don;t get the so called "Sea Scallops" or the "Creamed" Spinach and Asparagus pasta...no Sea Scallops and no cream! Fail for the chef too...

Went in for the first time. One other couple was waiting. This place was not busy at all. It took awhile before someone acknowledged either of us. We were seated at the bar and a menu was tossed at us. No one asked if we wanted to order a drink. The bartender walked away and did not say a word to us. We waited a few minutes and left. Now I understand why the place is empty!Will not return!