Blue Heron Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Washington

Blue Heron Kitchen & Bar, a restaurant many fellow islanders have been eagerly waiting for.

Blue Heron strikes the perfect balance between a low-key casual environment with a fine dining experience.

Quite frankly, for the service and food they offer, Blue Heron could charge quite a bit more for the majority of their dishes.

FOOD

My wife and I started with two appetizers: Bacon Wrapped Dates ($10) & Warm Bread ($5).

The Bacon Wrapped Dates were a delicious surprise. The flavor combination was impressive and a perfect starter to the amazing menu Blue Heron has to offer.

The Warm Bread was simple, and a nice starter to compliment any other appetizers.

We continued the adventure with two entrées: Spicy Red Pepper Cavatappi ($15) & NY Steak ($35). I was pleasantly surprised to see a “Dinner Specials Menu” that I unfortunately did not take a picture of! There was approximately 4-7 additional dishes to choose from on top of the standard menu.

The Cavatappi was unique and flavorful. It could have been a little bit warmer, but the temperature fortunately did not detract from the taste.

The NY Steak was made to perfection and was beautifully charbroiled and had a side of Yukon Potatoes and Asparagus. One thing I will say is all the dishes had a perfect portion that didn’t feel like you were getting over-fed but also didn’t make you feel hungry at the end.

We ended with two desserts: Black Forest Chocolate Cake ($10 - from memory) & Apple Cobbler with a Scoop of Vannila Bean Ice Cream ($10 - from memory).

The desserts were impressive. The cobbler made me feel cozy with a fruity filling and warm crust. The ice cream was a perfect topping with the cobbler.

The Chocolate Cake was more decadent and rich than expected. Regardless, the cake was incredible and well worth getting. If you like chocolate and cake, you will like it. The whip cream and cherries paired nicely with the cake.

SERVICE

The service we had was beyond exceptional. I believe our server was named Danie who is a GM elsewhere, and she was wonderful. Attention to detail, kind, charismatic, and knew the menu well. With how busy this place gets and was, she wasn’t even breaking a sweat and had a calm demeanor. The other servers seemed to be on top of things from what I saw as well.

Keep in mind Blue Heron just opened and they are low on staffing and are still adjusting based on customer feedback. However, Blue Heron was an impressive experience with no notable negatives from me.

ENVIRONMENT

Blue Heron was beautifully decorated with a modern island atmosphere. Impressive remodel overall. I never went to the Crows Nest, but I can only imagine how old it was based on photographs I have seen.

PRICE

The prices like I said before is more than reasonable. Don’t be surprised if Blue Heron raises the prices on a few of the dishes later on as they should because the food they serve is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The total price of the aforementioned items (Plus an extra chocolate cake to go) was approximately $108 with tax and without tip.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Blue Heron will attract locals and even those who may have to take a little drive to get to there for their fine dining and modern atomosphere.

Obviously, this place will always stay busy as it is truly the only fine dining experience on Camano Island as of now.

If you haven’t tried it, now is the time. Be prepared for limited parking, but hey, that’s what the main road is for! My wife and I will be coming back time and time again.

As an extra note because I have seen negative reviews regarding this… noise? Really, it’s a busy restaurant not a library. Not sure how you could possibly rate and complain about a restaurant based on the noise made by the conversations of patrons. Crazy to me. If you don’t like it, go to a quiet coffee shop where the expectation is a lower level of “noise.”

02/05/2023

Just had another great experience at Blue Heron. Once again, incredible food and service. Server was Jason and was 5/5 stars. Cocktails, appetizers, entrees, and dessert were...

This was our first time visiting The Blue Heron. I made reservations for 6 PM on Sunday. I also commented it was our anniversary when I made the online reservation. I was really looking forward to having their much advertised Prime Rib dinner which they began serving at 4:30 PM. We were seated promptly and the hostess was friendly. It took awhile for our waitress to bring us menus so we could order. I asked for the Prime Rib special and was informed they ran out of it in the first 15 minutes of tonight’s service. The waitress was very apologetic and friendly but I was very disappointed. That is bad management, to advertise a special for a week or better and then not have an ample supply. We ordered our dinner, she had the Pasta Alfredo and I ordered the $65 three course dinner. An hour later we were served our dinners. My appetizer was very good and she said her salad was good. When our main course arrived finally, my salmon was good but the risotto stuffing was very salty. She said her Pasta Alfredo was delicious. After another long wait they finally brought our dessert which was the high point of the meal. I know they were slammed because of the weather and once things start to go downhill it is hard to recover. That said the service was very slow and the waitress hardly acknowledged us during the long wait for food. The food was generally fine but had the aforementioned hiccups. It was not the level of quality we were expecting from this restaurant. Maybe next time will be better but it’s going to be awhile before we try them again. Also there was no mention of our anniversary celebration at any point...

Dining out options are few and limited here on Camano Island, most of them casual burger pubs or Asian cuisine carry-out. The opening of the Blue Heron restaurant is a very welcome addition.

The owners have done a fantastic job in completely renovating the building and creating an atmosphere that I liken to more of a NYC bistro. It's clean and contemporary and some might say a little stark, but I find it comfortable and warm in a minimalistic way. It is light, airy, and feels open and roomy. There is a great fireplace and if you can get seated near it you will be sure to shake the winter chill off.

The staff were all very welcoming and eager to provide the best service. Our party of four started with cocktails, all of which were prepared nicely. We each selected a different entre off of the menu and we were all very pleased with the preparation, the presentation, and the taste.

The owners of the Blue Heron have also hit the sweet spot as far as pricing goes. Everything from the cocktails, to the meals and wine were reasonably priced, making this a very dining out experience. Expect to pay around $80 - $100 for two, add a generous tip (the staff really does deserve it), and you will leave feeling very satisfied and happy that you've invested your dining out experience here.

It's very gratifying to see the parking lot filled with cars nearly every time I've driven by. Obviously there are a lot of patrons who are similarly satisfied and happy to have this new option on...