The Blue Heron Bar & Grill

Just like the other restaurants under this ownership, the food is mediocre. What gets me the most is the ordering system. It seems as if they are so concerned about what they can make off of serving more customers due to a lack staff and not concerned about customer experience. The ordering service doesn't always work. We've experienced two times both at Trojan Grill, where we have waited at our table for over thirty minutes. Eventually we would ask our waitress where our drinks and appetizers are. Typical response, "oh it didn't go through". Well it did make on my end and I've been waiting... Secondly, my phone is for me to use for what I choose and if I choose not to use my phone for YOUR ordering system, I shouldn't have to... I've seen people be asked to leave due to this because they weren't "open minded". That's bad and wrong. It's also disrespectful to the customer. I think these owners could invest in something similar to Chili's where THEY provide the electronic source for ordering.

I am supposed to go back here for lunch in a few days, and if by any chance there is flavor to my food or exceptional service, I will update this review.

Since there is no response option, yes... I have eaten and chosen to eat at ALL of your restaurants.My husband and I love trying new places. One of our favorites is Indian Fields Tavern. As a local guide and a very HONEST customer, I find it very important to tell others my feelings about each place I visit and if there is consistency... I went to colonial kitchen before it was Martha's, and it wasn't good either. I have been to the Blue Crab in West point, and both times I've gone I've been disappointed because others have said they love the food. Everyone experienced the same things that you did during the pandemic however I never stopped going places and I didn't experience some of the inconsistencies and poor service and lack of customer concern as I did at the restaurants that you happen to own. That is not my fault. As a matter of fact I was at the Trojan grill the other night when one of the owners was taken down decorations. There was a horrible malfunction with the system and my husband and I waited for our drinks for a very long time. The waitress then had to go and take our order by hand. The only saving grace for that place is the pizza it's very good. Nowhere else in New Kent with the exception of Antonio's has good pizza. So if you were looking for some praise there it is you have great pizza coming out of Trojan grill. It was disappointing when that was taken away for a big portion of the summer. I would say not to lean on the pandemic as a crutch for things that you could be doing better, everyone has suffered the same but their service and their food quality has not. I have tried to reach to you by email and I've had no response. Each of your locations has a very good ambience. Most of the time the servers are great. The bar at Martha's puts out exceptionally good drinks. The bar at the Trojan grill does not. I could go on and on because I've been a customer who has came back time and time again in hopes that something would be better. I honestly found your response to be very careless, even though you changed it, I've still posted it here. I wanted to give small business around here a chance. That's why I kept coming back. Yes, I've reviewed you on Facebook and Google. Common review platforms. I'm truly disgusted by your original response and therefore I will no longer make the suggestion to visit any of your locations to myself my family...

ABSOLUTE... WORST... EXPERIENCE... EVER..

We (2 of us) went to the Blue Heron tonight because of the good reviews and a couple of personal references. It was TERRIBLE. When we got there, at about 8:30pm, we stood in front of the hostess station for 20 minutes. She was back and forth between the booth and I don't know where, but she saw us, made eye contact several times, but never greeted us or asked how many or for a name. There were numerous others waiting to be seated, so we understood that they were busy, but we had committed to being there because they supposedly have great food. After waiting 20mins to even be recognized, the hostess finally spoke to us and was able to seat us right away, because we were only 2 people.

As happy as we were to be seated so quickly, given that the party of 6 who we spoke to had already been waiting for 30 minutes before we arrived, once we were seated, the experience only got worse. The menu looked great. We wanted to get some raw oysters, my wife wanted to order the twin lobster tails and I was going to order the Mahi entree... but after 15 minutes, no one had even come to the table to ask for a drink order. At this point, I went to the bar myself to get a couple of drinks... again, I understand that they were really busy, so i was helping myself... the bar was literally 70% covered in stacked dirty glasses, plates of leftover food and a few signed tabs... the bartender was out helping serve food, so i waited about 5+ minutes, and he finally returned.. got our drinks, paid, and returned to our table on the patio.

At this point, a little after 9pm, people were starting to leave and I figured we would be taken care of shortly. In the mean time, the couple behind us left because they had waited 20 minutes for their drinks. Then the family of 4 near us left because they had been there an hour and had only gotten their drinks.

We began chatting with the couple at the table across from us, who said they had been there since 6pm, 3 HOURS EARLIER!!!, and had just finished their meal. They were local and had been there several times before, even before whatever change has happened with this restaurant somewhat recently. After another 30 minutes of chatting with the couple, only half of the patio had customers. The party of 6 that were still waiting to be seated after we were seated, was inside, EATING THEIR FOOD, yet no one had ever even come to us for our drink order!!! We finished our drinks and left at nearly 10pm, after having been there since 8:30.

We dine out often, and I am more than understanding about any business having a bad night, but this was an ENTIRELY unacceptable experience, across the board. I'd like to have been able to say it was worth the wait because the food was great, but after waiting 20 minutes for the hostess to even recognize us, and then sitting at our table for nearly an hour and AGAIN being ignored by the waitress, who walked by us several times, I'm going to have to give this place the worst mention I have ever made about any place we have ever been, worldwide. Waffle House would have been better service! Sorry.... not sorry!...

This venue is one of three operating conveniently in areas not previously well served and remote from fast food joints. It has good food, good service (although short staffed) and a gorgeous view of a loop of the Chicahominy River in historic and beautiful Charles City County, Virginia.

I visited intentionally because it had been recommended to me by a waitress in their restaurant near the Courthouse in New Kent County—Trojan Grill—which also had impressed me. I arrived at 1 PM Friday, July 30, 2021, and found the parking lot nearly full and the restaurant more than half full, with two attractive waitresses very literally racing to serve customers both indoors and out—despite the outdoor temperature being about 88•F. Thank heaven they work excellently as a team!

The food is certainly well above average for a remote venue in Virginia, and the menu is pretty extensive. There is an attempt at pretentiousness, I think, and no one in his right mind would ever prefer any conventional “fast food” joint to this one. There is a prominently displayed full bar, but most customers while I was there were drinking beer, tea or water. The water is good, and that is all I had to drink.

The crabcake sandwich at $14 tastes good and is probably mostly crabmeat. It is fairly large, served on a nice standard brioche bun with lettuce, tomato and a remoulade sauce. Potato chips with Old Bay Seasoning are included in the price, but I found it worth a $1 upcharge for the skin-on french fries, as they taste good and are not greasy or oversalted. And several other sides are available for other upcharges.

There is a nice looking marina at the waterfront, and I suppose the Blue Heron expects much of their custom to arrive from river traffic. Today however—judging by the parking lot—I suspect all of us arrived by car or truck. Charles City County is wealthy enough to support The Blue Heron handily, and I know the several sheriff’s deputies who were dining there when I was must have been delighted when they found it was open for lunch. Lunch runs to 2 PM, and then the restaurant shuts down to reopen for dinner.

The indoor furniture is practical, comfortable, unpretentious, with booths running the length of the waterside wall. I did not venture onto the deck, although the sturdy sheriffs braved the heat.

I am happy that this Blue Heron experiment appears to be succeeding, and I hope it prospers. It is about an hour’s drive from my home and I suspect perhaps not easily reached after sundown, but hey, that is what Daylight Saving Time is all...