The Blue Heron Grill

B A D N I GH T
Tonight was a waste of time and MONEY!
However, I have been here at least 75 times as I lived in White Bear Twp before I moved to ISANITY. Ever since the opening, it has been a pleasure to eat, drink and socialize here. Terrific food,
terrific staff, terrific BAR BINGO, terrific everything. And a terrific location. I love coming here. It was just a couple 3 miles from my house. It was my «Cheers».

Many many good times here. Always treated like royalty.
I stopped here on the way home, kinda congested, wanting soup. Now, their french onion soup has never been stellar, but it does the J O B. So that worked out well, as did the spicy steak. bites. Well they were really spicy to me, so mild to the rest of the world. Food good !!!
Right from when I walked in the front door, it went south. It was busy, but not packed like it gets. The older hostess, who should know better, was indisposed cleaning menus, but did acknowledge me, and then assumed I was with the Man 5 seconds behind me. AWKWARD. I hate when that happens. One of the pitfalls of travelling solo. It went on, when she tried to seat him behind me while I was at the bar. Awkward. Anyhoo, the bartender was so stonefaced and finally acknowledged me, like it was a huge imposition. There was a slight communication problem, he thought I wanted another cocktail and I didn’t. I just drank it, and paid the price later with upset tummy etc…
While I think that they are a tad overpriced for the location, it is ok if I have a good time. Didn’t at all. Because of service. UNCOMFORTABLE, totally. Unfriendly bartender!!!
And why do bartenders wear shorts in the middle of a Minnesota winter? It was plain to see he goes to the gym. Just because it is a sports bar, doesn’t mean you are a professional athletic. If you
were, you wouldn’t be here freakin tending bar.
So, I love this place, but last night was an «OFF » night.
BRING BACK THE B A C O N W R A P P E D S C A L L O P S

Sucks hairy moose nuts. Horrible service, less than mediocre food. Would never go here again.

Just got some hamburgers for take out only here. They were ok but $ 15 burgers should be better. The staff was very nice.

My husband and I went here on a Saturday night at about 7:30 PM. We were seated immediately. It took a little longer than normal for the waitress to come to our table. I ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich and salad and my husband ordered a wrap with fries. After about one hour of waiting, my salad finally came. In the interim, the waitress barely recognized our existence or the fact that we had been waiting a very long time. After about another 10 – 15 minutes, my husband’s food came. The waitress the told me «I have no idea where your food is.» A buffalo chicken sandwich should not take an hour to prepare. The waitress should know where our food is, especially after such a long wait. At that point, we left. I have no idea if the food is any good. I can however say the service is appalling from the kitchen to the wait staff to management. I will never come back.

The food is consistently tasty. On my last visit there, I had a chimichanga and my friend had a steak salad. The chimichanga was tasty and the lettuce, tomatoes and avocado were fresh and bright. The steak salad was done well. The desserts were very good. The service has always been prompt and attentive for me. This place is a good regular haunt when I am visiting this neck of the woods.

Dropped in for super on our way back from the cabin. 30 plus minutes to get our food. Server– Shana M. (as reflected on the credit card slip) was flat out rude and inattentive. We told the manager that the food was slow and she informed us that they were really busy. The kids were not offered ice cream which was a part of their meal. In short, food was ok but the service was subpar and management wasn’t overly concerned that our experience was bad. Don’t waste your time here.

I like the blue heron because it is a local friendly bar/​restaurant. I’ve had a pastrami sandwich which was really good. Hamburgers are good also. The outdoor patio and deck is a relaxing atmosphere Overall this is a great place to stop in for happy hour and dinner

I give the restaurant 3 stars for consistently delicious wings and Macaroni and Cheese, and have been for many of my visits decently happy. Service has always left something to be desired — it is slow, sometimes rude, and very inattentive.
HOWEVER, tonight was the worst service experience I have ever had. We were sat by one of their hosts, who always seem to be pissed at the world. Ten minutes later and a separate server — not ours — came to take our drink orders. Our server was the most inconsiderate, inattentive server I’ve ever had. We placed a appetiser order, and then he returned for our food order. 25 minutes later, and we haven’t received our appetiser of wings. We flagged down another server, since our was nowhere to be found, to ask about the wings. Both her and the manager blatantly lied about the wings — we were told that they take 20 minutes to cook. One of my dining companions is a chef, and I am employed in the restaurant industry. In no world do wings take 20 minutes. She promised to remove it from the bill, but that didn’t happen.
Remainder of the night consisted of good food and increasingly awful service — the server checked in only twice, and only then for the time it took to check in and run.
I’ve always been willing to return despite the service, but this may be the last straw.

Average blue collar Minnesota restaurant. Standard bar and grill food. Nothing stood out. Just kind of blah. Pull tabs were unexpected.

Love this place. Have been here many times. However, the bartender was displeased with our choice of music (which we were paying for) and felt the need to turn it down and up accordingly. I’m sorry, but don’t your guest’s needs outweigh those of your employees? Not very good «customer service» in my opinion. And I work in the industry so…

We had a very pleasant lunch here: we had none of the problems cited in other reviews. We had entre salads for a Saturday lunch. Roast beef salad was excellent as was the shredded chipotle chicken salad. Server was prompt. We ate in the dining room. It was quiet and pleasant. (The sports bar & TVs are in a separate room.) So it’s worth giving this place a try, because there are not a lot of choices in Hugo.

The food would be 3 stars but the service is 2 stars. The server didn’t tell us the day’s special.

When we walked in, past the bar and bartender. Not greeted by the bartender as it was past 10 pm so the dining area was closed and the sign said seat yourself. the waitress tries yet it’s not her fault if the kitchen sends out wilty lettuce that is the thicker part close to the bottom of the head. I went to the end of the bar to order a drink and the bartender was ignoring me while snacking on some food and chatting with the women he stood by. Took forever. This is the second time I have tried his place. I live close. And will drive twice as far to eat to stay away from now on. Not impressed.

Tried again after 2 years and the food and service still suck. Fish was over cooked, kids chicken fingers were chewy and no salt is not an option go figure when will Hugo get decent food and why does the service suck so bad ugh.

Stopped by The Heron for a light lunch before a long day of competitive fun with the lady. It’s one of her local places and invited to come out and try it, so here we go.
Very nice ambiance in there. Sports bar meets dining hall, with a solid separation between the two so you’re not overpowered with drunks while you’re sitting in the dining room trying to enjoy a meal. We took up residence in the bar area, which was solid for seeing people try and sober up with the bloody bar sitting next to us (and for some, keep the drunk times going from last night apparently).
I opt for the Heron House salad, with chicken. The woman opted for the chef salad.
For those looking for a sweeter salad, this is for you:
Spring mix, Craisins, candied walnuts, bleu cheese crumbles & our signature pomegranate vinaigrette.
Was a really good mix of sweet-​salty given the ingredients. Veggies were crisp and fresh. I even managed to steal some not over cooked bacon (remember this for later) from my date to give me even more of a sweet-​salty kick, which almost got me a kick in the shin, but, it’s worth it for bacon. The proportion was really well sized for a salad. No complaints at all, and even the chicken was plentiful and not looking like some grocery store variety.
I did get my hands on the chef salad after she had her fill (as is the case with damn near anyone I eat out with these days). Remember the bacon comment? Some of the bacon was totally over done, which thoroughly pissed me off. I don’t get mad often, but, burning bacon to the point of it being like chewing on a chunk of wood will get me to the point of being pretty pissed. Veggies were solid, cheese was a nice fine shred, so no complaints there.
Service was a bit lacking. The napkin covered empty plate I created sat there for some time before it was taken away. Not sure if I needed to make a flag to signal the plate was ready to be taken away, so maybe next time I’ll try that.
All in all, a solid place I’m sure I’ll visit again, and no big issues with that. I’ll be sure to test the bacon next time to ensure they don’t over cook it. I don’t give screwing bacon up 3 strikes. Get it right in two, or **** you.

Food is ok, about what to expect for the price range, which I didn’t think was too bad. I do think it is a fun atmosphere though. Plenty of seating and friendly waitstaff in the bar area.

The food is decent. Be aware that part if the outdoor seating is next to a drainage swamp (no smell) and gets buggy at night.

Bad bartender from Mad Jacks is here. So if you want to wait for a drink while she chats.

Hire some more servers and bartenders. Your place is packed but service constantly sucks. The place is packed with drunk people early in the night. I’m surprised how drunk they are able to get when there is only two bartenders and no wait staff to serve surrounding tables. They always have some large male human checking ids when you walk in that has an chip on his shoulder, which is strange because your just checking ids! Doesn’t take much talent. How about the bathrooms, apparently there was puke all over the men’s bathroom as reported from one of my male friends. When I visited the women’s bathroom the garbage was overflowing, automatic sink water that would burn your hand and a drunk chick talking to herself in the mirror.

Had lunch here. Walleye was over battered and soggy. Onion rings same.
Cole slaw was good.
Price was high. Service was good. They need a better chef.