Blue Heron Restaurant & Sushi Bar 134 Exchange Street, Pendleton, SC 29670

"Stopped in to meet up with our Clemson student for dinner on a Tuesday. The atmosphere was nice and pretty filled for 6pm on a weekday. We sat in the upper area which is a little cramped as workers walk by regularly and the noise was increased from the floor below. The food is decent and aligned with the prices charged. The staff is friendly and helpful and we enjoyed the event."

"The atmosphere is nice-it’s a little more upscale, but not in an intimidating way. The prices seemed pretty standard for the type of food in this area. I got the duck (medium rare) with sweet potatoes, and I loved it so much. It came with green beans, too, but I would have liked them better if they were cooked in the sauce that the sweet potatoes were in (it seemed like they were maybe boiled). The meal came with bread and a few different types of butter, which was a nice touch. My mixed drink was fine-it would have been cool if they had seasonal drink specials. My friends liked the sushi, though my friend who tried the steak said that she didn’t love the steak. I didn’t try it myself, though. The service was good! We liked our waitress-she was attentive and charming and our water glasses were never empty. The food seemed to get to us in a timely manner. I’d recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for something a little nicer that isn’t pretentious. Pendleton is also just a cute little area to walk around, and you can go to some shops or get ice cream once you’re done!"

"This has to be my first 5 star rating all around. The Char-grilled Filet Mignon was tender and so well cooked, along with a pastry stuffed with wild mushrooms and asparagus. I truly enjoyed every single bite of this plate. Extremely friendly staff, the hostess was quite nice and quickly got us a table. The waiter & manager were very attentive and took care of us all night."

"Tl;dr - absolutely amazing experience, 11/10 would go again. Ask for Brody! (Not a sushi bar, still perplexed on that one, lol, doesn't even matter though). We were a bit hesitant due to the several lower reviews we found, but....listen not to the naysayers. We did go in with slightly lower expectations but were blown away with the great service, atmosphere, and food quality. Brody (sp?) was our server for the evening and he truly gave us a fantastic experience. He was able to answer the few questions we had, not missing a beat. Even with it being a little later (I think we were there about an hour-ish before close), Brody was all smiles and delivered a great attitude. The meal...nothing short of amazing! I had the tuna steak (rare) and wife had the Filet (medium). The presentation, absolutely perfect, along with being cooked exactly as requested. Tuna can be a bit tough to nail down but this was exactly as described and what I wanted; The Filet almost melted in the mouth. We finished up with a slice of cheesecake to split between us which, again, could not have been better. Great blend of sweet but not too sweet and was somewhat fluffy but still dense enough to bring that quality cheesecake feel. I'm not sure they make this in-house but wherever it originates, keep that coming. I think we were seated about 7:50 and we're walking out the door about 9:05 (5 mins after close). Even with that being the case, we were able to take our time, enjoy the food, and never once felt rushed even though it was late (we did try to make sure we weren't being too demanding due to the time, but that's neither here nor there, just a courtesy). All in all, we will definitely be back and will be a tough experience to top. Thanks to the whole staff!"

"This is a two part restaurant. One is a bar casual, cozy booths, large tvs on the walls. The other part is the formal dining requiring reservations. To make also clear this is not a sushi bar. It is just a bar. If you are walking in expecting to find a sushi bar, you will not. There are some rolls on the menu, however, If you’re not a sushi aficionado it wouldn’t matter but if you were looking for sushi like we did, you will be disappointed and mocked, I asked the waitress if they had a sushi chef, and she did not answer. I then asked if their chef/cook was preparing the rolls and she answered “Sorta Kinda”. The rest of the food we ordered, chicken wings, were very good. Highly recommend. The lobster bisque was tasty and Ok. There was an interesting presentation of a starter called Tuna Tartar -exactly that -on stacked crackers. The service at the bar was excellent liked the atmosphere at the bar side of the place and the pricing was fair moderate. I will mot go out of my way to visit but if I am in the area, I will try it again and I will give a try to the formal dining area. P S. I urge the owners to take the “Sushi Bar” words out if their name hiw dies Blue Heron Grille and Bar sound?"