The Heron Farm Shop And Kitchen in South Lanarkshire

Lovely location with ample car parking, and, for us, dog friendly! The Heron Farmshop and Kitchen is situated a few miles out of Strathaven and is well worth a visit. The staff ensured a good welcome and offered us a choice of tables in the dog friendly area. The food was cooked to order, nicely presented and delicious. In these days of escalating prices it is difficult to judge value for money but it was, perhaps, on the more expensive side of what I would have expected, but not expensive enough to rule out future visits! The farm shop was in a section adjacent to the dining area and it was obvious that the policy was to stock the best of locally available produce. We bought several items and really enjoyed the quality when we tried them at home. Payment in both the kitchen and the farmshop is ‘card only’ which I have no problem with, but the need to pay when ordering meals or products from the shop caused small queues to form and the first thing to come up on the pay screen was a question asking if I wanted to leave a tip. As I hadn’t seen the food, nor did I know what the service would be like, this ‘jarred’ and is the only reason that my score dropped a point from ‘excellent’ to ‘very good’. For an establishment like The Heron I think a much better impression would be made if the bill was presented after the meal, and a tip jar made available on the counter. If this was done, the tips would most likely increase, as the service was excellent.

We visited for breakfast, on our way down from Glasgow to Dumfries. The menu was well put together, with a few tweaks to make for some more interesting options for breakfast. The food was delicious and the staff very friendly. It's in a lovely setting and we'd definitely go back if we were in the area again.

Visited for lunch which was nice but nothing special. Felt it was quite expensive. Anyway my biggest gripe was paying by card and paying when you went to order food before you've even seen the food in front of you. With these card machines now it asks if you want to add a tip onto cost of food. Didn't sit right with me at all. Only establishment I have ever visited and this was procedure. Maybe they need to rethink and allow customers to pay after they've been served and eaten the food. You are after all tipping for service provided. Overall lovely setting.

Location, seating and surroundings are lovely but………Food is ok, however prices really don’t match the quality which should be out of this world because the prices are.. Should add, witnessed a member of staff being treated in a very high handed manner by the lady owner….. for being friendly as far as I could make out. Not impressed!

Way too expensive and the quality of food does not match the price. We took two friends there and were embarrassed to half the cost. Been a few times but £80 for 4 people for just a light lunch?

Visited on a wet and windy Saturday afternoon for a light lunch. Parking was no problem. Building and atmosphere was very pleasant. Quick service and friendly staff. Food was served quickly, tasty and decent size portions. At this point of my review I would have rated The Heron a 4/5 (I only reserve a 5/5 for the best of the best). But the only thing for me that scores the Heron a 3/5 for me was the prices. As I said the food and service was good (as it should be for any eatery), but nearly £38 for a toasted sandwich, a baked potato, two cans of juice and a coffee was excessive. Yes we knew the costs before we ordered, but we didn't know what to expect. After we had our food we felt that £25ish would have a better price point which would have definitely encouraged us to return. But at that price there are loads of other eateries that do food just as good at a better price. I reiterate that the service was good, as was the food and feel of ambience, but that should be a given and can't be used as justification for the high costs.

In for brunch, and received a nice welcome into a cosy restaurant with their wood burner on for a bit of warmth. Brunch was lovely and well priced

Really disappointed with our visit today. Food very overpriced for both quality and service which on both accounts is average at best. The lady who I believe to be the owner doesn’t emit any kind of warmth or hospitality and is borderline rude! Given I live in Glasgow’s west end I’m used to inflated prices but for what we got this was ridiculous. 2 bowls of somewhat tasteless lentil soup, 1 scantily filled toastie , 1 coffee and 1 can of juice came to just shy of £40 albeit we bought doggie treat with our order. Had the food been decent I would have no issue paying these prices but it wasn’t. In addition while the say they are dog friendly and indeed have a doggy menu I’d say dogs are more tolerated than welcomed. On the plus side my coffee was nice enough.

Came to Heron farmshop after being told about their dog run free fields and was excited to come in for some lunch and also try the dog menu. I found the staff very difficult and rude. Even when trying to pay for the field (which you have to do in the shop) a staff member snarled at my mum saying she couldn’t bring the dog to the shop even though I was standing outside with him. If you were coming alone with your dog paying may prove to be difficult. Food was average but over priced. £12 for a toastie is a bit ridiculous especially given how little filling was in it (see photo). Lentil soup was also quite tasteless. We live in the west end of Glasgow so we are use to inflated price and eat out a lot. Also took a considerable amount of time. The dog menu was nice however was told by a member of staff that the dog couldn’t have water in the premise and I could go use a bowl outside. If they’re providing food, especially dry kibble, there should be access to water. Feels more dogs tolerated than dogs welcomed. I would be back for the dog field but would skip on lunch.

First visited a while ago for coffee & cake so looking for somewhere to go for a run in the car, some lunch followed by a walk, we thought we’d stop by The Heron. We were sat the table & handed menus which don’t seem to appear anywhere online. We got up and left after seeing the prices - roughly £15 for soup & a cold filling sandwich & you don’t even get table service for that. Order at the till. In the end we drove into Strathaven & went to the Waterside Inn where we got a lovely bowl of mussels & home cooked chips for £8. The Heron is a nice enough place but at those prices it’s just a rip off for what you get.

Visited on recommendation and was hugely disappointed. The woman who ‘greeted’ us from behind the till wasn’t just unwelcoming, she was outright rude and objectionable. Told us to go over to her and then awkwardly wait while she allocated us a specific table, giving us the menus with instructions to go to said table, and then return with our order. Her dreadful manner was almost comical. The food was just as bad. Fish batter was soggy and my baked potato was tiny. Obviously we won’t return, but it’s such a shame that such a well designed establishment is so wasted. It could do so much better with staff training and improved service and food. As it is, it’s just over priced, below average, dreary and rude.

We come to the Heron often as we love the fresh cooked food for brunch or lunch . It’s always delicious and nicely presented. Check the specials board as well as the regular menu . The home baked cakes are tempting so frequently get some boxed up for taking away . This is not a drive in quick stop fast food place . The prices reflect the quality and portion sizes of food . Most times we find the service efficient and friendly . We are happy to enjoy the view and have a chat if we have to wait a wee while when it’s busy . Well behaved dogs are welcome on a leash at outside tables . There is a wee section inside for our furry friends as well accessed by a side door . There is also a dog run area which you pay for at the shop .

Went for breakfast. Ordered scrambled egg, toast and bacon, bacon was extra and the heron breakfast and tea for 2. Had to pay up front. Cost over £30. Waited ages for food when arrived Luke warm. Scrambled egg was way over cooked. Bacon and toast under cooked. Potato scone so hard couldn't cut it. Square sausage over cooked. Farm shop very disappointing very little in the way of fresh produce. Mostly gifty things. Looked at a small pottery ornament definitely over priced at over £40. Cold food display shelves were bare. We were there about 11am on a Sunday.

Returning here after about a year, the Heron Farm Shop and Kitchen continues to disappoint. Vastly overpriced, and we were subjected to strict and unnecessary table allocation rules, a throwback from covid times when we last visited. Latte - £3.95 with oatmilk they add an extra 75p totalling £4.70 for a cup of coffee. Small empire biscuit - £3.25. No table service. Staff are friendly enough and the setting is lovely but these ridiculous prices and rules, we will not return.

Good food, however service was very slow and food overpriced. It would have been nicer if we had table service as had to queue again to order our our tea and cake after our main course.

Lovely setting but that is where the positives end! Fairly busy but not excessively so. Ordered lunch but the wait was so long we got a refund and left. They really need to get their systems sorted out as we witnessed two other tables of people do the same.