Heron Rock Bistro

Last week I was out for an appointment in James Bay and found myself with a craving for soup. Not a common thing for me and always a bit of a dilemma when eating out as so often the soup is not so good.

I decided I would try Sips, which is Spinnaker's bistro in James Bay. It was closed. But just around the corner is the Heron Rock Bistro at #4-435 Simcoe. From the outside it was a bit iffy. Nothing fancy outside, but the inside looked like it might be a bit for formal than I was looking for, or a bit more expensive. I decide to try it though as I was there.


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There were a few people there but plenty of seats and the staff greeted me promptly. I must admit I didn't examine the menu to closely as right at the top I saw what I was looking for – a soup and salad special with fresh bread. Perfection. There soup of the day was Carrot Pumpkin, which I found promising because I had never seen that combo on a box in Fairway.

With good speed I received a small cup of soup, a mixed lettuce salad and a giant bun/small round loaf. It was just what I wanted. The soup was just enough in terms of portion, had good flavour and was made there. The salad was nothing extraordinary but had a light vinaigrette of crisp good leaf lettuce so it was not a let down in anyway, and I could get all the leaves in my mouth without cutting them. The bread was a bit of a highlight I must say. I am quite certain it was made in house, it was fresh, tender and chewy without being hard to eat, it came with whipped herb butter and was slightly warm. Given I had been fearing a slice of brought in baguette or french bread, this was a very nice treat.

The whole thing, with a cup of coffee to finish cost me under $15 dollars and came with good service and a nice quiet environment. Having perused there menu on line at http://heronrockbistro.ca/web/index.htm I would go back to try out some more things. Their prices are reasonable, dinner being more than lunch or breakfast, but they have a menu that looks interesting. They have the option of building a canape platter to order. As they offer live music a couple of times a week I can see Bernard and I going for a drink, a canape plate and some nice music as a very grown-up treat.