Heartland Restaurant
Reviews
For the price, the service was pretty bad (dishes/ingredients were explained poorly, I had to hand my plates and silverware to the staff and they still managed to bump me with dirty forks) and the food was only okay (tough meat, uninspiring flavors). The ambiance of the restaurant is nice, though slightly loud. I would not recommend this restaurant.
Two otherwise great dishes of three were served lukewarm & the dessert was nothing special. Our server had my wife & I pegged as rubes; while the tables around us were given an "amuse-bouche", we were presented with "a little something". We felt very much a low-priority for the server from that moment on. Under normal circumstances, I'd probably rate the meal at three stars ( the two lukewarm dishes were really well done otherwise, as I mentioned), but we were expecting something exceptional & Heartland failed to deliver.
Great concept, excellent food, great atmosphere (although a bit intimate settings), great service, but on the pricey side.
Definitely deserves the James Beard awards! My frisée w/ grilled peach was outstanding, as well as my gnocchi (although a little too much salt). Superb coffee & wine selection! The lighting (very important to me in restaurants) was soft & subtle. The loft-like interior was very well thought-out and beautiful!! Definitely recommend for date-night or getting together with friends!
My wife and I have eaten at Heartland three times, and have had fantastic food and service every time. I'm surprised by the number of negative reviews, so I'm not sure whether or not we've just been lucky. I will say that each time we've sat in the bar and not the main dining room, so it could be that the seating arrangements and service in the bar happen to be better. Not sure. In any case, Heartland strives to make dishes using organic, locally-sourced ingredients. Since we're in Minnesota, that results in dishes that don't always appeal to me (especially in the dead of winter). But I've always been able to find something that I loved. I've had such great experiences here, that I encourage you to give it a try at least once, and see for yourself.
