Heron - Wine Bar at Moulin Wakefield Mill Hotel and Spa — Restaurant in La Pêche

Oh man, I wish I could say better things about the overall experience.

It’s truly a beautiful location, beautiful view and overall concept. The fork statue out front is hideous and should be removed. It’s very contrasting to the overall aesthetic the mill should be trying to achieve. The atrium has such wonderful potential. However, it’s hard to enjoy the view when the windows are filthy, caked with dry sludge from years of not cleaning. The entire room was very dirty overall. It was hard to find the validity of their $30 tartare when there are old french fries at your feet.

The service was ok. People were friendly, attentive, but almost to the point of annoying. I genuinely didn’t know who my server was because five different people served me and four separate people asked me how I was doing within the first five minutes of my dish being served. One of them even bent over, hands on his knees, six inches from my face and asked me in a super creepy voice if I was enjoying my food. 100% serial killer vibes.

The cheese plate was actually decent, despite its $38 price point for two basic cured meats (honestly tasted like it came from a multipack pack you find at Costco) and two pieces of ordinary cheese. The pickled accoutrements were fresh and very flavourful. The grapes were very squishy as were the blueberries. The charcuterie, overall was nicely plated.

I have never been more disappointed in a tartare in all my life. A beautiful, fresh piece of filet mignon was butchered (literally and figuratively). There wasn’t an ounce of seasoning or olive oil in the tartare. It was nicely chopped, but was tossed in chopped capers. That’s it. Not even salt. If it wasn’t for the splash of hot sauce on the plate that was meant for garnish and the salt I asked for, it would have been inedible. Speaking of garnish…I was floored. Popcorn. The tartare was garnished with POPCORN. Picture the texture of 3 day old popcorn. And then picture yourself sprinkling it on top of your tartare. Bet you can’t imagine in it, can you? Because it’s insane!!! Why. WHYYYY??

All this to be said, I called it quits. I decided to not order an entree. I didn’t want to take the chance. The picture I took encapsulates the entire experience. A beautiful, fresh piece of exquisite beef, adorned with old popcorn, left unseasoned and then slightly covered with a crumby paper napkin. Oh yeah, they had PAPER NAPKINS?! What the heck? Your cheese plate is $40 and your napkins are paper?

I asked for my bill but wanted to enjoy the scenery outside for a bit, as it is very beautiful. I ordered a glass of wine to sit by the falls with. The server said I had to take a plastic glass, but the bartender quickly said I could have a glass and a carafe for my white wine. I very much appreciated this. As I grabbed the glass from the server, I realized it was piping hot. I go to hand it back to him and say to him that it is very hot. He stared at the glass, then at me and says “yah, it’s cause it just came out of the dishwasher..” I had to ask him to take it and rinse it under cold water. He was hesitant but did it anyways. As he gave it back to me he said “here you go, except now it’s all wet..” I told him I’d rather it be wet than piping hot for my cold white wine.

I’m not even mad at the wait staff or the chef. It’s not their fault. They are simply providing the standard that the mill has set. Which is subpar.

To the management and owners of the mill, you have something brilliantly special here. But its dated, drab vibes, and peculiarly odd service is unfortunately...

When we called to make a reservation we inquired as to whether an outside patio table was available for the Heron Bar restaurant. The reply was yes we could seat you on the terrace. The terrace was a closed in glass wall dining area with a beautiful view of the stream and forest behind - but not the outdoor patio we expected. Needless to say the terrace was tastefully decorated with exposed stone walls and art. Our server Fredrick was absolutely lovely but very unsure about the menu. We asked about the butcher block for the eve to which he was unsure - he knew what the day before consisted but not today’s option. We asked him to check with the kitchen and upon his return he told us it was lamb, we asked about the cut and how it was prepared to which he responded cooked in a pan and “just lamb” we did ask him to confirm with kitchen before ordering and the response was rack of lamb but no indication of quantity or weight, just that it would be cooked in a pan. We did ask about a couple other items in menu including shatta sauce for lamb and he was unsure ( I googled). The quality check on our meals was done minutes after food arrived and we hadn’t yet had time to cut or taste the food and the next check was after we had finished eating. It was fine- meat whatever cut it ( not shank or rack 🫣) was was tasteless (possibly freezer burnt?). There were 2 fingerling potatoes, 2 beans and 1 pc of cauliflower on the plate for and no sign f the said Shasta sauce for $39. We did express our concerns to Fredrick at end of meal ( when he returned) and I did tip only 15% as I was disappointed in service overall. I believe if you are serving meals at at a “semi- fine” dining level with a cost they represents this you should at the very least know the menu and know the ins and outs of good service. This lies with the management not servers and by no means do I want to dismiss our server. He was obviously trying his best, he was just not up to standards I would expect at the Inn. I do hope this review gives some ...

Its just the location, other than that, complete waste of money! Over price and less than mediocre food and drinks. Order Gnocchi we got it literally 2 minutes later, the waiter said, never had it prepared this fast, it was cold and had a hair in it, seems like it was someone elses order that they gave to us. Waiter was nice and immediately took it away after I made a note of it. Got the second plate 5 minutes later, it was warmer but tasted less than average. Ordered an 18 dollar chocolate cake that was cold and dry like out of the freezer, barely has any taste to it. I told the waiter about it and he said it is what it is. Never coming back again! Really disappointed...