RIVERSIDE-Heroes — Restaurant in Riverside

Hero’s Restaurant and Brewery

I was looking forward to some good eats at fair prices when we headed off to Hero’s Restaurant and Brewery. Sadly, what I found was that they are overly hyped and overpriced.

Your early evening will start with a long wait. Eventually you will be seated but quickly realize that although the décor is visually pleasing, the room is cold and very loud. As to the food, our party of six tried a variety of dinner selections and found the following.

The Patty Melt had a nice thick piece of meat that was under seasoned and bland.

The St Louis Pork BBQ ribs were tender but chewy. The meat had to be torn off the bone with your teeth instead of falling off the bone. The flavor was okay but the sauce had not sat on the meat long enough to marinate so you had meat and sauce rather than a nice blend. The Two pieces of corn cob had been left to boil too long so they were mush and little to no butter so they were bland. The mash potatoes were smooth but again bland and under seasoned.

The Hawaiian Hot Ham Stack could have been nice with a slab of ham in it but amounted nothing more than a stack of ham luncheon meat slices with a pineapple, pepper jack and cheddar cheese, a couple of fried jalapeño rings, and teriyaki sauce, on a brioche roll.

Pub Fish and Chips were the one thing they did right. Beer Battered fish, fried to perfection. Unfortunately, their garlic parmesan fries, were heavily garlicked and the coleslaw, was terribly under seasoned leaving you with a stack of chopped cabbage.

The remaining two persons in our party were children who ordered Kids Chicken Fingers. With sides of Mac and Cheese and Natural Cut Fries. What could go wrong there, right? Kids love that stuff. Well not when the chicken is over cooked and dried out. The Mac and Cheese was overcooked and gummy and the fries were ordered double cooked so they would be crispy on the out side and soft on the inside. They were fried just enough to be normal French fries. Soft inside and out. They left most of their dinner on their plates.

One thing that we did enjoy was a Heroes Colada N Cream. A delightful golden milk stout with pineapples and coconut. Kind of like having a pina colada with a light beer after-taste. We also ordered a flight which was actually quite good. The biggest surprise was an IPA with jalapeno. Normally I don’t much care for IPA or jalapeno but the blend of the two was very nice without the bitter taste of an IPA or the heat you normally expect from a jalapeno.

The price for this overrated food for 4 adults and 2 children came to $136.08 including a 20% tip. The waiters...

We came to this restaurant for a retirement celebration. We got there split up and the host said they couldn’t sit us just yet because we aren’t a full party. No issue there, we went to the bar and had a drink. The drinks were good, a bit pricey in my opinion, but service was great.

Once our full party showed up, we sat out at the patio. The waitress began to take drink orders. She gets to one person who first orders a coke, but then she changes her mind and asks for a martini instead. No problem there right? Well, when a server started handing out the drinks, she brings out a coke and the person says “oh I had changed my mind to a martini” and the server politely apologized and took it back.

Well, the waitress comes back in a confrontational manner, so much so that the table got quiet and looked over. She said “what’s the problem you don’t want the coke?” And she explained she had said she wanted the martini instead. It was so bizarre how rude she was over a fountain drink?? I don’t know if she was overwhelmed because we had a big party, but the way she approached her, was so WEIRD.

Mind you, the waitresses was not alone. She had help. We were a party of maybe 12 but there were a few people who were helping, and I promise you nothing crazy was being ordered. I mean someone asked for a side of mustard? lol I literally don't know what set her off to have a weird reaction like that.

I ordered a cilantro shrimp salad, and that was truly the worst tasting salad I ever had. They drenched the thing in dressing so much that the greens had absolutely no crunch. It was just soggy. I left the plate only eating the shrimp.

Nobody came back to check in after the food was delivered. Multiple people were waiting on refills for their drinks and they just didn't come by. When someone did finally come by, they asked if we needed any boxes and that was that!

My partner and I ordered 1 burger, 1 salad, 2 waters. The total came out to $45.02. Gratuity being added because of a larger group was $53.12 total. It felt like a waste of money. But...

Dear Heroes Management Team,

I wanted to take a moment to share my recent experience at your Riverside location following my son’s soccer match last Saturday. As a loyal customer who has visited multiple times—both here and at the Eastvale and Ontario locations—I feel compelled to bring to your attention a noticeable decline in service quality.

Our evening started with my mother-in-law requesting a small portion, as she does not eat much. Unfortunately, the server refused to take her order, suggesting she couldn't order from the kids menu. Interestingly, when my 11-year-old son ordered a burger from the regular menu, there was no objection. This inconsistency left us puzzled.

Then, when my burger arrived with onion rings instead of the curly fries I ordered, I immediately brought it to the server’s attention. She offered to correct the order, but soon after, a staff member with an unpleasant attitude approached our table, intent on taking back the onion rings. When I asked for another plate to hold my burger, he became dismissive, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. My mother-in-law even offered to share her fries to avoid escalating the issue, and we eventually chose to let the order stand as is.

What troubled us most was the lack of follow-up from our server and no other staff checking to see if we needed anything else. Eventually, I had to flag down a different server to request our check. This type of service is a stark contrast to my previous positive experiences with your brand.

Given the intense competition in the restaurant industry, especially in this area, I believe management must emphasize proper staff training to maintain high standards. While I likely won’t return to this location, I hope you take this feedback seriously and strive to turn things around for the benefit of future customers.

Thank you for your attention to...