Herons Nest Restaurant

Mother's Day Brunch at Heron’s Nest – A Day of Highs and Lows

We recently visited Heron’s Nest in Fort Myers for a special Mother’s Day brunch with a group of about 20 people from Babcock Ranch. We had worked extensively with Beverly, the manager, leading up to the event to ensure everything was in place. Each guest called individually to confirm, provided their card details, and we were all set for a 10:00 a.m. reservation—or so we thought.

Upon arriving at this absolutely gorgeous property, our excitement was quickly dampened by a very unpleasant experience at the front desk. We were greeted by the front manager, whose attitude was shockingly rude. She informed us that our reservation was actually for 10:30 a.m., not 10:00, but begrudgingly agreed to seat us early for drinks while we waited for brunch to begin. However, it wasn’t the timing that left a sour taste—it was her words. When we politely questioned why we weren’t seated in the main dining room (as originally requested so we could enjoy the live music), she dismissively told us, “This is why we don’t take reservations on special days from outsiders who don’t live here.”

That comment was not only uncalled for—it was downright offensive. We had made a reservation in good faith, followed every instruction given, and were looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day. If there were any concerns about our group or seating arrangements, those should have been communicated well before the day of the event. Her lack of professionalism and complete absence of remorse was deeply disappointing.

Thankfully, once we were seated, the rest of the experience was a stark contrast. The food and service were outstanding. The buffet was beautifully arranged, with the prime rib and the live omelet station standing out as particular highlights. Every server who assisted us was kind, attentive, and professional—truly the saving grace of the day.

One minor issue arose during payment: some of us used American Express, which we were told wasn’t accepted. This was puzzling, as many of us had placed our Amex cards on file during booking without any mention of limitations. A simple heads-up beforehand would have gone a long way.

In summary, Heron’s Nest delivered an excellent culinary experience with top-tier service once we were past the front desk—but that initial interaction left a significant blemish on an otherwise memorable Mother’s Day. We hope management reflects on this and ensures that all guests—whether residents or not—are treated with respect and dignity.

The Nest at Heron’s Glen provides great food, great service and a wonderful atmosphere! We dine here often and love the variety of great tasting food offered. They offer healthy options for lunch and dinner as well as bar menu items if craving that type of meal. This is a perfect place to bring guests or other golfers after playing a round on the Heron’s Glen Championship Golf Course. Our friends love dining there as well. During season, they also offer a fabulous breakfast buffet, which includes a complimentary mimosa. This is a true gem! Fantastic dining experience!!

Sorry reviews online for this golf community restaurant that was opened and on members. Reviews I saw mention the buffet. I have been trying to eat carb-free due to recent unexplained spikes in my blood glucose that I'm monitoring. I decided to a buffet was ideal as I could pick and choose among items that were satisfying yet very low in carb or no carb. I looked at an online menu and it seemed to have enough choices. I did not see a buffet on the menu. Evidently I also missed that entrees were only available Thursday and Friday and we were visiting on a Saturday. We went through the front entrance and gave her ID to the gate guard and they let us know and we got seated in the restaurant. When we got the menus it was pretty limited and there was no buffet but we decided to eat there anyway. My partner had the flatbread pizza for $10 and while it was good it was not sufficient for dinner meal. She would have liked to add on a salad in addition to it but it would be $9 and she chose not to. I ordered blackened grouper sandwich without the bread. It came sprinkled on top and it was broiled or similar. It was extremely dry to the point where I could hardly pull pieces of it apart from each other. I hate it because I was hungry. We decided to just get our bill and leave and I was ready to give 20% tip but I noticed an 18% tip had already been applied so I just let it go with that since I'd ask for water several times and didn't get it until right before we were leaving. Caramel with tip ended up being 40 bucks. We left feeling we should have gone somewhere else and gotten a nicer meal for the money. If you're looking for a buffet maybe they have one during snowboard season but they didn't have it now and outside of the reuben sandwich that looked pretty good when I saw others being served it I don't think I would do this again. The entrees were priced between 26 and $28 for the 6 oz play which isn't a bad price for the fillet. But since we couldn't order it except for Thursday and Friday will never know how good it was. We want father to try it again.

Very nice dining room with bar overlooking pool and patio and lake. Savannah salad with champagne vinaigrette was delicious, companions had the salad trio and Caesar salad with salmon. Understand there are nightly specials advertised on Heron's Glen profile on Facebook. It's a gated community but inform them at gate you're visiting the Nest Restaurant and provide ID at gate and you're good to go. End of season but Def plan return as the menu is diverse and atmosphere is engaging.

Really enjoyed the food. Tool my SIL and husband to lunch. A little loud from group of golfers.

Good was good. Service was a bit infrequent. Perhaps because we were not members? But I would teturn

Love this place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Revive Water Damage Restosration did an excellent job with our water-damaged kitchen. They were quick, professional, and left everything looking great. Very satisfied with their work!

Excellent food Ceasar Salad with blackened grouper! Drinks very good also. Kim hustled to keep all her tables happy. Could use a couple (1-2) more wait staff for busy hours(5-8). Especially on Thursday, entertainment night. Keep up the good job, but make it great.

Cute place with decent food

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

I was a bit disappointed with the food.I will go back and try again... our server seemed a little unfriendly when we got there.She did warm up a little as the night went on.Everyone has an off day and we will try again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 3

Buffet was cold and over priced. Service is sub-par at best. Manager had no interest in our concerns and made nothing but excuses. She took no responsibility. Very smug attitude toward our table.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Buffet

Great food away from the crowd, limited menu due to renovation

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Green and Red Peppers Mushroom Onion Black Olive Tomato and Spinach, Classic Reuben

Nice community

No one at the podium to seat you, sat ourselves. Waited 20 mins before we were even approached, we were already looking up other restaurants on our phone. Then the menue isn't even what they had posted online. It's really a gated community eating room.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 4

Service: 1