OK, so I did lunch here today and here is the Str8 Scoop... - Greeting- very pleasant staff, extremely accommodating with our table seating. Well trained. - Drink order- almost 30 minutes for ice tea and lemonade! Really? - Food- This is where I was most disappointed. - Burger- billed as Waygu beef, more like Harris Teeter. The burger was completely uninspired. Dry, tough, unseasoned. Came with potato chips that were overly salty and cut way too thin. In my opinion, a lunch service can be measured by how good your burger is. They should be ashamed of themselves for what they are passing as a premium burger here. - Chicken fingers- kids ordered chicken fingers and they were defiantly frozen this AM. Dry, salty, lacking meat, just nasty...again, this is a 5 star place? Unacceptable to serve frozen entrees. - Service was friendly. Aside from drink order taking forever the food came out quickly and servers were attentive. I considered giving this place 2 stars but since they put themselves out there as a 5 star restaurant and charge 5 star prices!! They get a tougher review. Herons has everything they need not to suck and yet the food they are serving for lunch isn't even airport bar quality....a real 5 star restaurant doesn't put anything on a plate that isn't handmade and absolutely delicious and thoughtful. This includes kids menu items! While I'm sure some menhere are excellent, shrimp and grits looked great, they cut too many corners on the easy stuff. No excuse for this so shame on you Umstead, get it together. If it wasn't for your pleasant staff I wouldn't even return to review dinner! read more

The "Art Tour" 8 course tasting menu is definitely worth the price. Well constructed menu and great hospitality, highly recommend.

The peaceful Umstead Hotel has a lovely restaurant called Heron's. It's become a more welcoming place - I learned this from their amazing Pastry Chef Sheridan. He told me they are trying to be more welcoming. Last week I attended their Coffee & Pastry Tasting with my friend for her birthday and it was very informative and delicious! Today, I took my wonderful associate to a delicious brunch. Their Crab Benedict was very good (esp. after I added some salt) and the desserts were incredibly delicious! read more

This is definitely the best fine dining experience in Raleigh (including Pittsboro)! I found the flavors and mixture of colors/textures pleasing to all of the senses. More importantly, it is a great value for the ingredient quality and creative artistry that you can expect with every course. However, the dry ice "event" with the oysters is a bit much in a fine dining establishment -- more of a stunt for a trendy eclectic place. The only significant negative is the multiple "how is everything?" and variations of that nagging question -- my greatest pet peeve (obviously). Diners who eat in fine dining establishments do not need to be asked incessantly if everything is okay. However, I blame this on training. If they could correct this pet peeve, Herons would be "near perfect." read more

This place lives up to the price, and yes it is expensive, but this is on par with Michael Mina's, etc.. Raleigh should be proud to have a restaurant like this... First, I would give it 4.5 stars instead of five, but rounded up as the meal was fantastic The atmosphere is very nice, simple which is nice... Though this is my only real knock on the place, the seating is very close to each other... A little intimidating. We had a 6:30 seating and they placed us right next to the entrance, made no sense at all... The girls up front should be a little more thoughtful about where to seat people and not just dumping people where ever. Food was awesome, very impressed.. We decided to go with the four course meal and it was simply awesome, though a bit too much food. We got a bottle of wine instead of the pairing and it was a good idea. My wife got one of the cocktails (the tequila one) and it was simply awesome. Again, no shortage of food. I do think the lamb was a tad bit overcooked, no real issue though. The braise on the short rib was amazing. The weakest course was the first course, best was definitely the main course. The place was great. read more

I went here with my husband to try the tasting menu and were very satisfied with our dinner. Their tasting menu was called the "art tour" and each dish is presented with a picture of an art piece that it is inspired by. I think it was $150/person for the tour, but they also have a 3- and 4-course option available. I thought there was a nice progression to the courses and they did a great job with their timing on firing the courses. They started the tour with a nice cup of tea and then the tour began. I enjoyed the 62degree egg and shrimp and grits, but I have to say, the pheasant corn dog with truffle ketchup was my favorite for the night. I was a little wary about getting a corn dog--I couldn't help but think of getting something like the breaded hotdogs I've had as a kid, but it was absolutely delicious. I also really enjoyed the way they put together the dessert. Both the service and food were wonderful, would definitely recommend! read more

See all

Don't let the $$$$ scare you away, this restaurant is great for brunch! Meals for two with coffee comes out to around $50, which is really reasonable for the quality of food and service that you get. This place is Fancy but not snooty with a beautiful view of the surrounding greenery to boot. You could definitely take friends/family that are visiting from out of town here if you want to impress them. I've come here twice now and have really enjoyed everything that I've ordered. I've tried the crab meat eggs Benedict, omelet of the day (with chicken sausage and chives), and shrimp and grits - all of these options were really flavorful, well cooked, and delicious! Boyfriend has had the fried chicken and waffles as well, which comes with sorghum butter, and thoroughly loved his meal. Their sides are spectacular too. I got a side of fruit and it was the most beautiful fruit dish I've ever seen - filled with an array of delicious, fresh options (strawberries, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, apricot, pineapple, and kiwi). Their skillet cornbread is also to DIE for and comes out warm and well toasted. Service is outstanding. You are offered an amuse bouche of juice and a small Danish to open up the meal. Coffee and water refills were continuously offered throughout the meal. When I asked for part of my meal to be boxed up to go, I was pleasantly surprised to open up the box at home to find that several small jars of jam and extra Danishes had been thrown in as well! Can't wait to try this place for lunch and dinner. I'm sure it won't disappoint. read more

I came here for a friend's wedding--this is where their rehearsal dinner was. So keep that in mind: I didn't have to pay for my meal. (Incidentally, as a presently unemployed person, I highly recommend this cost-free form of dining. Admittedly, it's tough to rely upon in any systematic way, since it means you've got to get invited to a lot of weddings. At the very least, your pool of unmarried acquaintances is gonna start running dry at some point. But if you're clever, maybe you can maybe engineer enough marital discord amongst your friends to keep the con going for a while. Point is, free food at fancy restaurants is great.) Stupid jokey parentheticals aside, what did I think of the place? Well, as with most reviews, it comes down to two things: SERVICE and FOOD. 1. SERVICE It was great! I mean, we were here for a catered event, so maybe it wasn't indicative of the service in general. But they did the thing where they bring out everyone's covered dish and then open them all up at the same time. I've never been to a restaurant where they did that before!--and I've been to some reasonably swank places in my day. So yes, they've got class here, and it was appreciated it. 2. FOOD It was great! OK, I am writing this like a year after the fact, so I don't remember things super well. I can tell you that I *do* remember having the bestest grits I've ever had in my life here. Oh MAN they were so good. It is a year later and I am still remembering how good those grits were. So that should tell you something. Namely, that this place makes some damn good grits. So, sure, five stars, yeah, why not! read more

Heron's is a lovely little escape in the middle of a sea of office buildings. My husband and I went for a celebratory lunch, and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. The service was attentive, but not overly so. The only minor complaint - the restaurant was almost empty and they sat another party directly next to us. When a place is empty, it's difficult to have an easy conversation with people a foot away. It was just odd since there were many other tables available. But it's not a big deal, and we were definitely able to enjoy our lunch. I highly recommend the potato-crusted flounder! I don't know how often their lunch menu changes, but if they have that, get it! read more

My third or fourth time at Herons tonight. I've been mildly impressed before, but tonight was underwhelming. Ate in the dining room, where the menu was prix fixe, though not too limiting, with 5 options per course. Unfortunately, the first course was four seafood plates (I really dislike seafood) and a "tomato salad". I skipped the first course (three courses was an option) and had the quail to start. It was served as a cylinder of (I'm guessing) pulled quail that was reminiscent more of a plate of cat food than anything else. The flavor was okay. For my main I got the beef tenderloin. I will have to say that the beef was cooked perfectly, but the presentation included four different salts, which apparently means that it was completely unseasoned in the kitchen. It was accompanied by twice-baked espresso potatoes (a potato purée with what must have been unbrewed espresso powder; it tasted like dirt), sparse vegetables (a few leeks and fava beans), and what, I was told, was a leek purée, which tasted like, as I described it to one of my companions, slightly sweetened nothing. For dessert I had the yuzu custard, which was accompanied by some melon presentations that did not compliment the yuzu at all. It also involved what I think might have been chopped lavender buds. Whatever they were, they were awful. All in all, each course felt more like "look how many exotic ingredients I can use" than "taste how well these flavors go together". read more

Good things first: the place looks very nice and the staff is professional and polite. Menu looks very good. The food was OK at most. After appetizer, which was very good the rest of the meal was a disappointment. I don't mind paying premium price for a meal as long as the quality is premium too. This was definitely not the case To summarize: New York prices without New York quality. Definitely not going back!!! read more

Outstanding service to match the outstanding food and wine. We hosted a business dinner one night and were so impressed by the attentive staff and righteous food we came back the next night. The folks are extremely knowledgeable and careful to listen. As one person at the table said of the food, "this is Justice." Well said. We had the food paring the next night and it was some of the best we've had in quite some time. Rich and Miguel, thanks for hosting one of the best dinners of the summer. We'll be back and already looking forward to the meal. read more

First time I have eaten food in many many years that made me emotional. One of the best I have ever had. Indescrible! Just the best! read more

Herons - Squab. Was Just Unreal! Some of the best dining I have ever done. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

See all

Do a seven course meal and let the chef understand if u r omnivore or pescatarian then sit back and be amazed. read more

Herons - 2nd course - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Had a business lunch here recently. It was exactly what you would expect given its ratings and reviews - impeccable and spectacular. Amazing staff, creative and diverse menu with great specials. Our table if 4 tried a broad range of menu items and everything was fabulous. And they were incredibly patient when we extended our stay past normal lunch hours to complete our business meeting. They have that rare ability to convey elegance without being pretentious. read more

Food was extremely tasteless but nice presentation I must say. CoD was awful, not fresh at all and not expected from a classy restaurant. Beautiful ambience but funny thing that my one year old spilled the soup before even eating and we had to order again and they charged us both times. It was only $5 but my expectations of a nice restaurant was different. The whole experience wasn't good specially because of food being so tasteless. Seems they boiled a chicken with water for 20 min and served it. read more

Took out-of-towners here on Sat afternoon. Had a thoroughly delightful time here because of food, service, and company. Take people here that actually love and appreciate food. Pricier menu for the Triangle, but definitely worth it and there are deals to be had on Herons' interesting and varied menu. I highly recommend the wine flight. You have your choice from any 3 wines by the glass and they give you 2- oz pours. My favorite wine, hands down, was the '04 Dry Creek Meritage. This was a full, completely balanced yet complex wine. I was so impressed I want to order a case just for home. But at $100 a bottle it's a little pricey. I think it retails for around $38. I could close my eyes and go to bed with this wine. That's how much I loved it. Started with the salmon tartare, easily split among 3 of us for a light appetizer. Bread choices included a crusty sourdough, and 2 others but I can't remember 'cause I got the sourdough (of course). I ordered the seared scallops with truffle cream corn. It arrived with hot buttered popcorn on top!! I loved it. The corn was sweet, but savory with the trufle oil and the scallops were tender and perfect. M ordered the trio of mini-burgers. Totally cute: dry aged angus, sirloin, and kobe. She had a mini-beef tasting on a platter. The fries were good, but may I recommend making them garlic fries? or add dash of truffle oil just for the sheer luxury of it? A ordered the beef short ribs. They were good, but not the best ever. He enjoyed the jalapeno cornbread the most. Dessert: we got the moon pie and chocolate mousse cake. The chestnut moon pie was way way too sweet. I liked the mousse the best. read more

This restaurant is at the amazing Umstead Hotel in Cary. The hotel is owned by the Goodnights, the founders of SAS which occupies an adjoining campus with its headquarters and 5,200 employees. The hotel has an air of very modern sophistication yet with a comfortable zen vibe throughout. Herons carries five stars from Forbes but does not have a Michelin star to my knowledge. Having dined at Michelin starred restaurants in Paris, NYC and SF, I would say that Heron's is definitely on the level of at least a two Michelin star restaurant. The ambiance, artwork and lighting are warm and inviting. The glass enclosed kitchen where diners can observe all of the food prep activity without being subjected to the noise of the kitchen is a special attribute. What makes it more special is the genuine happiness of the chefs as they go about preparing the exquisite dishes. Meanwhile the service staff is attentive to the diner's every need, anticipating those needs before request is made. We did the four course menu at a price of $105 per person. Tip: you can order multiple course from the first and second and not get a dessert if you would like. This is what we did. One entrée and three appetizers essentially. One in our party had the most tasty oysters served with a silver sheet that had been made from oyster juice mixed somehow with agar to form a solid sheet. Further in this presentation was dry ice which steamed up when the waiter poured some water over it. The oysters were small and tasty with something that gave an added Umami flavor. Another impressive dish was the foie gras that was a foie gras terrine service inside of a small baked apple where the bulk of the inside of the apple had been removed and filled with foie gras and then put back together in such a way that it looked like a whole baked apple sitting on the plate complete with a leave made from a small piece of basil or some other herb. At Heron's presentation is the avatar that opens the door to great and sometimes challenging flavors. By challenging I mean that the chef does not shy away from stronger influences, not in the realm of hot/spicy but in the realm of bitter but only at hints of it that allow the palate to contrast that with the other depth of flavor in the dish. An Hamachi dish was served with wasabi freshly grated at the table. A beet salad featured what appeared to be fall maple leaves on top but which were some other ingredient that was edible. The generous restaurant provided surprises throughout the night that were not on the menu including "corn dog" with a pheasant meat sausage inside rather than a hot dog served on what was essentially a piece of glass sculpture. Another surprise was deviled blue quail eggs sitting in an edible fried noodle nest. Mind blowing. After dinner, we just stood at the glass window and watched the ballet of the amazing chefs and staffs at this visionary restaurant. read more

See all

Very good meal. The service was excellent, as you'd expect in this part of the country, but the food was equal to the service. The pork belly was meaty and fatty. Salty and savory. My main, the lamb, was peppery, meaty, perfectly medium rare, and a little sweet. The sweet lemon creme brulee,although rich in flavor was a little too fluffy. If I'm in the area, I'll be back. read more

We are not going back. At at Herons last night and it was just disappointing. The food was well presented but bland overall. I ordered the beef tartare, coconut curry boar 2nd course, striped bass and the cherries and cheese for desert. Others in the party had the creaser salad, which was quite nice and the crispy flounder which was a better choice than the bass. The service was not up to the 5 star standard and we all felt like it would be a long time, if ever, for us to return. read more

Celebrated dinner with the wife at Herons the other night. Found this restaurant using Yelp and was expecting a great dinner. Everyone from the valet, bartenders, and wait staff were very friendly and pleasant. We started with drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing. We were seated promptly at our reservation time and then the wait staff took control. We opted for the 8 course chef's choice option. Round after round of exquisite courses, each very different from the previous. Some were better than others, but each was unique and not to be found many places in the US. A great experience and fantastic cuisine. Probably won't do this each week, but when you're looking for an exceptional dining experience, I highly recommend. read more

Attended Herons for The Thanksgiving Day Celebration. Overall atmosphere and interior decor, inclusive of the Chihuly sculpture, provided an extremely elegant backdrop to spend our holiday. Valet service was certainly pleasant. Excellent Service, Exquisite Presentation, and most courses were captivatingly delectable. However, the dessert chef's selection I considered somewhat lacking in variety, texture and most importantly no Crème Brûlée or Traditional Pie Infusions were to be found. Overall, Herons was a fabulous kickoff to a splendid holiday weekend for my husband & I! Considering spending an additional holiday here again. read more

See all

Lovely restaurant, impeccable service, and original menu with many unique twists on old favorites. The cocktails are hand crafted. This place is one of our favorites! read more

Herons - "Smoke" -- favorite cocktail at the Umstead! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Enjoyed a mid-week lunch here with a friend. It was very elegant even visiting at mid-day. The hostess was friendly and wait staff prompt. Service here was really smooth and I really enjoyed how attentive our servers were without being intrusive. My glass of San Pellegrino stayed full and I did not touch the bottle. The chef tasting had me excited for my entree! The bread basket...usually my arch nemesis I indulged in. The cornbread as well as the scone were amazing. For my lunch entree I had the swordfish. It's actually a twist in an open faced lasagna. My portion size was huge for lunch and the house-made pasta had great texture. The star of this dish was the Parmesan pesto broth that's poured table-side. It's this beautiful vibrant green color and was absolutely delicious. For dessert I had the blood orange cake and my friend the pumpkin dish. The plating was adorable! I thought pricing here was fair for the level of dining. Parking was easy and a short walk from the hotel entrance. I definitely will be returning. read more

See all

My latest visit, a few weeks ago, was the weekend brunch with husband and sister. I had portobello sandwich, hubby the crab meat Benedict, and "sis" the burger. The wine recommended by our waiter was on target After more than 10 visits (dinners, lunch, brunch, and meetings) I feel I have tried almost every item on their menu. Each has been great presentation, creative ingredients, fabulous flavor, and served with a smile. Herons knows how to please. read more

It's the 2nd time I've gone on Sunday. The restaurant is is the Umstead Hotel which is extremely luxurious and upscale. Reservations need to be made well in advance and they take your credit card and say they charge you if you don't show. This time we were a table of 6 and they sat us in a little nook which felt like a totally private room. It was easy to hear one another and we didn't have to be careful about what we said. Because of that though we couldn't hear or see the harp player. It's such a nice touch. I had a kale~apple juice for $10. It was nice. Steak and eggs are delicious and costs $22. They feature an omelette each week. Today it was pork with Brussel Sprouts, cheese, carrots and sweet potatoes. The carrots didn't work well in it, but it was still very good. Eggs are not that expensive. I'm thinking around $14 and is truly worth it for the service you get and the atmosphere. They gave us a small berry/pomegranate juice that was great. I like it here and it's my favorite for a nice breakfast. Some gluten free and dairy free options available and they ask on the phone when making the reservation if there are any diet restrictions. Nice. read more

This was my 3rd time doing a tasting menu and I have to say, each experience is different than the last! A friend recommended Herons for our anniversary dinner and once we arrived we decided to do the 8 course tasting as opposed to the 4 course prix fixe menu. All of the staff members were very attentive and congratulated us on our 5 years of marriage on numerous occasions. The food was all presented in such a beautiful and graceful manner. It was enchanting to see the choreography between the servers, almost like a ballet. One of my favorite elements was the ability to see the chefs in action, through a window in the dining room, while they prepared our feast. I could watch them for days. So calm and precise, a true art. The food was spectacular and I enjoyed all of it, even dishes that I do not typically like (uni and foie gras). The preparation showcased them in such an inventive way, that my preconceived notions were left behind. I am a firm believer that a great meal leaves you with memories that last a lifetime and I will always remember our meal at Herons. read more

See all

if fine dining with impeccable service in a luxurious setting is your goal, this is the place!

Amazing dining experience + value. Everything from service to drinks to every single morsel that hit our mouths was a 10/10. Excellent place to celebrate any special occasion or loved one. read more

Went there to celebrate a good friend's birthday and it was the perfect place. Everything on their brunch menu sounded amazing that it made picking just one difficult. I ended up deciding on the Crab Benedict. It was phenomenal. So flavorful and delicious, I would order it again and again. The service was great and our waitress was very attentive. The view is beautiful whether you sit inside or outside and the live harp music gives it a really special touch. 10/10 would recommend and come back! read more

This was a world class London, NY Michelin star experience with all the necc components to earn that compliment.. Polished, attentive, subdued wait staff, unique, but most importantly well executed delicious courses leveraging local ingredients and flair. I've had some fine food in the Raleigh area but when you step into Herons you are entering an experience that transcends just local flair.. read more

I have been here twice for afternoon tea and I absolutely loved every second of it! The first time was to celebrate my birthday & our server went above and beyond to make it special. The tea selection was all delicious - you get one huge pot to yourself and they will add more hot water upon request. We had warm scones with a selection of jams - fabulous! The tea sandwiches were fantastic & classic tea sandwiches. At the end we had some small desserts to finish up! When we went for my birthday they gave me a special chocolate with my name on it and some chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, we were very full by the end! I can't speak on the actual restaurant - but if you want a special afternoon I highly recommend after noon tea at Herons. read more

Love this place. Set menu is solid, great scallops. Brunch is nice - especially the hash. The bar and lounge adjoining are great places to hang out with interesting and well made cocktails in particular. read more

DO NOT EAT HERE. RUN AWAY. There is a BurgerFi across the street and I promise that restaurant is 100x better than Herons!!!! This place is the single worst restaurant I have been to in my entire life, including my international travels and some pretty nasty places. First, my sister is in a cast and has a scooter that she uses to help her move about (or else she would be completely immobile) and the waiter had the AUDACITY to try and take it away from her and argued with her that it was "a fire hazard". There was ONE other table being served the entire time we "ate" at this place and she placed it against the chair she was sitting in. We finally just ignored the rude server and told him that as a paying customer, the scooter would be staying put since she has a broken foot. Second, the MENU. Oh my god--even in the culinary countries of Italy and France, I have NEVER been so repulsed by a choice of "food". There was literally NOTHING that appealed to me, so I just decided to have a glass of wine and try little bites of what everyone else had ordered, since I was not brave enough to order. The menu was incredibly pretentious and did not explain which parts of the animals were going to be served, including the "thymus gland" of a duck. EW. Third, so for our "Intermezzo" Palate cleanser we were presented with something that resembled a small scoop of sorbet with sliced nuts and dried pineapple. We were very disgusted to find out that instead of a light refreshing taste of a sorbet, it was a SMOKED CHEVRE. It was HORRIBLE. I literally spit it out and gagged until I could kill the taste with more wine. This "chef" is atrocious and obviously needs his head examined. Fourth, the Caesar salad was ungodly. It is served like a log with "ribs" of crackers around it, an anchovy to the left and a raw egg on the other--WTF? You're paying $40 for a salad that you have to make? It was GROSS. I absolutely HATE anchovies AND raw eggs. I never ever wish to have either on a plate I am supposed to eat off of, again. In addition, the lettuce was completely drenched in oil. There was no part of this salad that was edible and my stomach churns just thinking about it. Lastly, the oysters. My godmother, who was born a Florida redneck and is now a billionaire, KNOWS her oysters. She used to go with her daddy out on the water, crack them open on the side of the boat & eat them with a bit of salt water and she even ASKED OUR WAITER if the oysters on the menu were still good, since it is May and not exactly prime "Oyster Season". He assured her that the oysters were perfect & that they wouldn't still be on the menu if they were not good. So, when the fried oysters were presented to her on a plate she was immediately confused. The bits of "fried oyster" were tinier than her pinky-nail and not to mention inedible. She called the waiter over and told him that they were, in fact, NOT fresh and NOT something that she was going to pay for. So you know what he did, he took a MEASLY $10 off of our bill. TEN DOLLARS. Our bill totaled over $1k, and you took off $10, thinking that was okay? All in all, it was a deplorable experience in all respects: the service, the food and the experience. My family was entirely disgusted with this place and we will NEVER speak kindly of it, that's for sure. read more

Herons makes a really impressive effort, and I've had at least one full dinner and several dishes that deserve the five-star rating. However, I've eaten there enough times now to say that they are not consistently meeting the high standard they set out to achieve. The most disappointing experience by far was our tenth anniversary dinner this year. My husband's scallop appetizer and my purple potato soup were superb but they were the only dishes that justified the price we paid. In the end, we paid almost $300 for one great scallop app, one shrimp app completely devoid of flavor, two soups (one very good, one just okay), two entrees that were WAY too salted (couldn't even eat half of it), two drinks, and two desserts that were overdone. My experience in general here with the desserts is that the presentation is way too fussy (a symptom their other dishes suffer from sometimes too) and they don't really taste that great either-- too heavy, sweet, or texturally off. Honestly, the best thing about the entire meal was the bread. The pretzel rolls and herbed scones are to die for, as are the truffle and goat's milk butters they are served with. Our waiter, while attentive, made me uncomfortable. I got the distinct impression that he was looking down his nose at us. "How quaint, they finally decided to spend some real money on their anniversary." It was more like he was putting up with us than really trying to serve us. Sorry I couldn't be the Queen for you, buddy. Out of all the times I should have enjoyed myself there, it should have been my tenth anniversary. It actually makes me quite sad that this is how I will always remember it. Having said all of that, I've eaten a lot of event-catered food at the hotel at other times and I can say it's quite good. The presentation is always very nice and the servers are all friendly and professional. I find the food at the buffet events fresh and the flavors very well paired, with a good variety of choices. And of course, the presentation and all of the little details (shiny flatware, little jars of honey/jelly for tea, butter, lemons, etc) are impeccable. Actually, I find it telling that the full service meals I've had at the group dinners are much more enjoyable than what I've eaten in the restaurant itself. They are more simple, more straightforward dishes because they're cooking in large quantities so they can't be tempted to overdo it. That validates the feeling I get in the restaurant which is that they are just trying too darn hard. Even at the last catered sit-down dinner I attended, though, the dessert was too much. A coffee creme brûlée that was twice as big as it needed to be and, frankly, way too sweet and heavy. I watched two people at my table ask for something lighter, like fruit or a sorbet. I think the hotel conflates value with excess in some cases, and I can see people becoming weary from it. Overall, a place I'm not going to complain about going if someone else is footing the bill, but I'll spend my $ elsewhere for a simpler, less pretentious experience. read more

Don't get me wrong, the food (for the most part) was very good. My rating is a "value for money" statement. Sure this is a four $ sign place, so I expected to drop some dough, We had dinner a couple days before Valentine's Day, so it was a fixed price menu - $100 pp. To kick things off, A guy stopped by at with a cart of champagne choices - no mention of price (shame on me for being to proud to ask) turns out it was $45 per glass. It was a 4 course meal - the appetizers were small, but exceptional. I chose sea bass as my entree - it was way too salty. We had a glass of wine each. All told, we dropped $400 bucks ( incl. tip). Totally NOT worth the experience! There are too many good local places where the food is as good or better for a fourth of the price ! read more

I surprised my wife with a special Valentine's Day dinner at Heron's and it was amazing. I'm always very hesitant about going out on Valentine's Day because it seems like you end up paying a lot more for worse food and worse service. Herons has proven my theory wrong. We chose to do the special Chef's Tasting Menu instead of ordering off the regular menu. I also appreciated having a choice of ordering from the pre fixe menu and their regular menu (I always feel little duped when you're forced to order from the special more expensive menu). Our chef's tasting menu consisted of 5 courses. You can also choose to do a wine pairing. We opted to just order a single bottle instead of the pairings per course. It's hard for me to describe the flavor of the food because they were so complex. First course was a soup-like dish with caviar, bits of apple, and smoked trout. Second course was lobster with a whipped vanilla cream. Third course was pheasant served in a ceramic dish with a very tasty sauce. Fourth course was beef short ribs topped with mushrooms and sauce (probably my favorite course before the dessert). Fifth course was a rich chocolate dessert served with sorbet. Sauces were never overpowering and all of the flavors were balanced quite nicely and often in unexpected ways. Presentation was superb -- I felt like I was eating a work of art. Nothing was under- or over-cooked. The dessert was awesome -- I'm not sure I've ever been a bigger fan of this course. If you really want to impress your special someone then you should consider booking a room at the hotel. Have a nice meal at Herons and then head to the bar. If you have a room at the hotel then no need to worry about the designated driver. read more

I recently had a birthday lunch here and it was a truly delicious experience for me, though not my whole party. The staff is very attentive and it is clearly a five-star experience. When you are having a birthday along with your meal afterwards you are served a special birthday treat. The one criticism and reason for four instead of five stars is that my vegan friend had a poor meal experience in contrast to mine. The restaurant has surprisingly few vegetarian options and almost 0 vegan ones. When I made the reservation I was very specific about having a vegan in the party and was given the impression there would be options for her. The waiter did know of her dietary restrictions and offered only three options. Not all entrees. She chose the pumpkin risotto which he said they would make vegan for her. However when it came it was a plain risotto. Just grain with way too much oil. The restaurant was not busy and the waiter never mentioned why there was not any pumpkin in the dish. My friend chose not to bring it up as it was my birthday. At such a high quality restaurant with almost no traffic at that time and no vegan menu I really would've expected the chef to come out and discuss some real options for her. As a review writer I would have brought it up at the time so we could've work towards a resolution however it was my friends choice to say nothing and really we should've never been in that situation. read more

There were many wonderful things about our dinner at Heron's. We were able to sit outside and it was a beautiful Fall evening. The service is superb; although, I am concerned that they have too many service people. Number one concern: The menu says "Summer" on it. It was October. The food was good...most of the food was good. I had a complicated corn soup, which unfortunately just tastes like regular corn soup, that was good. My husband had the sous vide pork belly which was probably the only *wow* of the night. The Grilled Lobster was good enough. However, if I am paying say, $36, for an entree I would like for it to be really f*cking good, not just good enough. It was served on a potato puree and I felt that they had chosen the wrong type of potato and/or improperly cooked it, as it was grainy. There were also some butterbeans on the plate that were not cooked sufficiently. Butterbeans should not have any tooth to them. The flavor from being grilled was a little overwhelming too, but not bad. My husband had the tuna for his entree. They served it raw at his request. "It was tuna" he said. It did have some bacon wrapped pineapple on the plate which was pretty tasty. Dessert was the biggest disappointment of the night. I had something called chocolate rice pudding. This is one of those places where it's going to be more of an interpretation of whatever you think you are ordering. When dessert arrived the server proudly told us that my dessert was dairy-free. I almost cried. There was a rectangular prism of chocolate and some horchata ice cream that were pretty good but not memorable. My husband had the Peaches and Cream dessert. It was BAD. There was a peach on top of a little cakey thing. The peach had no flavor. We live in Peach central, where did they get this horrid peach? Even an unripe peach can be cooked into submission. The cake was also tasteless. My one-word for this abomination is insipid. Overall, it was a nice evening but it felt like they were not paying attention to the most important part of having a fine dining restaurant - excellent food. read more

Good atmosphere and food. Recommend if you have an elite meeting, etc. Very pricey and fancy so dress well