Do a search below using the city or postal code search box if your city is not listed above.
Get dining news including restaurant closures and qualify for giveaways.
Heron's Restaurant & Lounge is located in the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel and features a contemporary menu of clean, classic Pacific Northwest cuisine. The floor to ceiling windows and breathtaking view of the North Shore Mountains compliment the cuisine perfectly.
I went to Heron's as part of Dine Out Vancouver 2012 with my husband and a friend. From start to finish, we had a wonderful experience at the restauarant.
I am vegetarian and as I was sitting down at our table, our server overheard me making a comment about it, and she brought out the vegan menu. She was tremendously helpful at helping us pick our wine with our meal.
For my first course I had the field greens with aged pecorino planked cheese. Very good. My main was gnocchi and our server made sure no chicken broth was used when preparing. The gnocchi just melted in my mouth. For dessert, I ordered the chocolate, which included a dark chocolate mousse, a raspberry macaroon with chocolate in the middle, and the best part - early grey infused chocolate ice cream. Everything was deliciously prepared.
What's more is the views are beautiful from the restaurant. I would recommend this place again and I would definitely come back again.
A nice view, good location for Sunday Brunch, but I wanted more variety for the price we paid. I think my parents enjoyed it, but I felt it was missing something. Service was okay, restaurant large but cramped due to many people at the buffet which didn't cover a lot of area. I think I'd rather go to a smaller cozy venue that might have more pizazz and doesn't cost so much. =)
I wanted to eat at one of the Fairmonts in downtown cause the views were also amazing. So I made my BFF comply and we went to Herons. I originally wanted to go to Oru but was warned against the crazy prices for mediocre food, so I opted to go the Herons route.
Hotel restaurants are usually standard. They're good, but not AHMIGASH LIFECHANGING good.
Well, Herons has proven to be a lifechanged. I had medium expectations coming in, and I was thoroughly impressed coming out.
We shared an appetizer to start, which was the albacore tuna with pork belly. This was amazing. A great start for the evening. The tuna was fresh, with a very zesty sauce to complement the texture of the fish. The pork belly was the star though. The sauce was amazing! Almost caramelly, but with a slight vinegar and soy sauce kick in the base. The meat of the pork belly was also very tender and soft, but not overly fatty.
I had the Beef Tenderloin (most expensive entree on the menu, I think??) which was a bit pricy but I had an Entertainment Coupon Card so I figure it's fine. The tenderloin I ordered was medium rare and it really came out perfectly medium rare. The meat had texture but wasn't overly chewy. The sauce was delicious. And the pot pie. Oh my! I normally don't like pot pie, but the one that came with the Beef Tenderloin entree was what dreams were made of. The beef inside was moist, and soaked up the red-wine sauce (or whatever it was) that sat inside a flaky puff pastry that was buttery and crispy. The pot pie was not soggy even though there was sauce inside. Yum.
My friend had the Smoked Sablefish. This was also amazing. You could taste the smokiness a mile away and the fish came off in layers. The greens were super soft and the mushrooms soaked all the sauce so it almost tasted like the fish as well! The freshness was evident.
We finished off with the Yuzu Semifroddo and the Here's the Chocolate trio. Both were amazing. The Semifroddo was nothing like I've ever tasted, so for the innovation alone, I enjoyed it. But my heart was with Here's the Chocolate. It came with a dark chocolate mousse, an Earl Grey ice cream (YUM!!) and a rasberry macaron. I'm not a fan of macarons in general (I only like the ones made at Yann Haute Patisserie in Calgary), so I wasn't surprised that I didn't like this rasberry one, but the chocolate mousse was delicious (rivaled the Silk Cake at Fauxbo) and the earl grey ice cream was like nothing I've ever tasted.
The view from the restaurant was also amazing.
The servers were attentive (and the bread was delicious too!) but not overwhelming.
Overall, a fantastic experience.
I will be coming back, although it is a little pricy to come on a regular basis.
Food: I was here for the Sunday brunch buffet. Everything tasted really great. My only complaint would be that they could have had more variety. Especially with seafood, they only had a few options. For the price tag, I would have liked to see raw oysters. The scallops and the lox though, were terrific. The candied salmon was exceptional.
Service: Our entire table was missing napkins, but that was quickly fixed when brought to the attention of a server. Our drinks were refilled almost instantly, and the used plates were cleared quickly. However, the server had problems with our gift certificate. It took about 15 minutes for this problem to be resolved; and a restaurant of this calibre, that was not acceptable.
Value: It's not cheap at all, but the value is there!
Ambiance: It overlooks Canada Place. It's pretty.
This would be a great place to host special events.
The staff are there to please so try to fulfill your custom requests. In general, I find hotel restaurants to be more about service than food. The food is fine here but not exciting. The ambiance is pleasant, similar to that of most nice hotel lobbies. It's a bit pricey here but not outstanding so you don't feel like you get great value.
The food is done really well but a bit on the pricey side as the size you expect is not what you really get. Like, atleast offer enough food to make a grown man full. And I wish they wouldn't give us those salty snacks. We all know it's done on purpose to make you thirsty so you'll order a drink. I think that's really sneaky & thus wrong. I can't help but eat it because when you put some food in front of me, I'll eat it & I always forget to ask them not to bring the snacks. The service is really good & you always get a view of the street from where you sit.
Had dinner at Herons a few weeks ago, i had quite a good time there.
Food: i ordered the signature Mussels as appy, it was lovely, portion is as big as an entree.
For main i had the Smoked Black Cod, the fish was cooked to near-perfection, it was juicy, however the seasoning was quite heavy-handed, meaning the food was a lil salty in my opinion.
My partner ordered Organic Chicken Breast, it was good but again, a lil salty.
Service: very ordinary. Maybe because we used the entertainment coupon and did not order wine.
Ambiance: quite upscale, spacious, very airy, overlooks the new convention center and Canada place.
This place was just incredible!! The waiter provided the best service I have ever experienced. He made a wonderful wine recommendation, exactly what I loved in wines. The beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection and it was rested so perfectly. For dessert, I had cheescake and that was also marvellous. It is a bit pricey, and the portions are average, but I would still recommended it to anyone looking for a place to have fancy dinner, especially for those intimate special occasions.
We had Easter Brunch at Herons yesterday. Although expensive ($52 each) it was a special treat. We sat by a huge window and enjoyed the view of Canada Place and the new convention center. It was grey and raining outside but the restaurant was filled with light and was warm and inviting. The food was absolutely fantastic. Fresh raw oysters on the half shell, Alaska king crab legs, chili prawns, many varieties of smoked salmon were just a few of the cold entrees. In the hot category there was a selection of dim sum that equaled top end Chinese restaurants in Richmond. Other hot entrees included a delicious lamb tikka masala with fresh cumin papadams that were unbelievable. A Valhrona cholcolate fountain was a highlight of the dessert section. Service was attentive. To the delight of the children a giant Easter Bunny visited each table and handed out chocolate eggs. We both agreed that this was the best Sunday brunch that we had ever been to.
The food was acceptable. The halibut and seafood main courses were okay but neither wowed me. The service was terrible, they obviously treat students like me with less care. The service was slow. The water and bread took a long time to come. The waiter left us for 15min with the menu, when he finally came, he didn't express apologies. The ambiance was so so and the decor wasn't very memorable. This place got decent food, decent ambiance which a lot of other restuarants have as well. It is by the water, but no view at all.
My family has been to Heron's for their Sunday brunch for years now. While their food selection is solid, and the ambiance hasn't change for a while, we have always its solid all-around experience, rather than gamble a precious family gathering to an unknown.
What compelled this less than favourable review is the really sub-par service today. For the longest time, we have expected and received top notch service. Afterall, this is a 4'ish star hotel bucking for its fifth star rating.
While everything was solidly status-quo today, the service level dropped substantially.
We were paired with a rather inexperienced individual who was more focused on chatting up for tips rather than practicing basic waitering. Forgetting silverware, simultaneously address our and the neighbouring table, constant reminder to top up or refill glasses are all expected of any restaurant. Not to mention never around when you really need something. Several times, we feel embarrassed, but asked another server for help. The complete debacle with the bill at the end (with additional charges) really pushed us over the edge.
Our waiter was not alone in causing this review. Collectively with the host, and the individual "who seemed like the manager on duty", they could NOT figure out whether the restaurant validated parking. When first asked, our server said that the hosts would "take care of it". When I asked the host (who was passed this problem), she promptly questioned who our server was and raced to the service area, leaving our entire party standing there waiting for several minutes. While waiting, the manager approached to ask if she may help. When I told her that I'm simply looking for parking validation, instead of just say "YES" or "NO" (either way was fine w/ me). She said that she will have to take it to the front desk for confirmation. OMG! How long has restaurant been in operation?
Frankly, its not the meager fee for parking, but the ridiculous absence of knowledge about policy, and the manager's inability to act on behalf of a $10 issue that really revealed the difference. Sorry to say, but if you are looking for a positive experience, my vote is to forgo Heron's. The just solid food choices does not make up for the poor experience. Maybe that is why they are still looking for that final star rating.
... seeking a new brunch venue.
Went here for a late dinner with a large group on a weeknight. The server was attentive and funny and not annoying in any way. I had the goat cheese salad, which was better than at your average fine dining restaurant and the alaskan black cod (I think), which was perfectly cooked, came with an absolutely to die for dungeness crab phyllo tart and wild mushroom sauce. It was SO good. The dessert was forgettable, but who really cares when when you're gorged on the entree because it's so good?
A beautiful, bright room and surprisingly good food. In fact it is excellent food. I had friends staying at the hotel and was invited to dinner. I had a perfectly prepared ahi tuna. It was beautifully presented and tasted wonderful. My friend shad the grilled salmon and that also was perfectly prepared. A good and reasonably priced wine list. I also sampled the luncheon buffet which was excellent as well. Salads, sushi, properly cooked halibut, excellent beef and the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten (Thos. Haas?). I'll be going here again when I'm hungry and find myself in the area.
| 1. | Pita Express (47 m) |  |
| 2. | Starbucks (47 m) | |
| 3. | Umi Sushi Express (47 m) |  |
| 4. | Sizzling Wok (72 m) | |
| 5. | Taco Time (72 m) | |
| 6. | Grandma Lee's (72 m) | |
| 7. | Subway (72 m) | |
| 8. | Tim Hortons (77 m) | |
| 9. | Ze Bite (91 m) | |
| 10. | Bella Gelateria (96 m) |  |
