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Blue Canyon Kitchen, Tavern, And Wine Bar
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 4:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 4:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
6 reviews for Blue Canyon Kitchen, Tavern, And Wine Bar
Okay here's my first review of a new restaurant, Blue Canyon Kitchen, Tavern, and Wine Bar in Rockwall, so this is kind of a monumental occasion.
Saturday night we went out to Rockwall to celebrate an old high school buddy's birthday. The last time I really spent anytime in Rockwall was in the middle 80's when I was thrown in jail on the 4th of July for accidentally throwing an over sized bottle rocket at a friend of mine, the accidentally part was that the bottle rocket accidentally missed my friend and accidentally hit a cop car with a cop in it and he wasn't feeling very patriotic that night. That was the night where I discovered that there's is no way in Hell I could ever do any hard time, because I'd most likely turn into a prison yard bitch walking around holding "T-Bags" pocket liner.
The Rockwall jail's ambiance was drab and uneventful, once you get past the smell of urine and liquor sweat you will be kept up all night by the other guests yelling stuff like "Hey, this is bull shit man; I think my appendix just burst!" The commendations are dreadful and the beds were moist. You knew it was summer because the blanket I shared with six other guys was molting, the service was nonexistence and when we were served the baloney was made of pleather, the white bread just reached puberty and I willing to bet the mustard was of that of a generic brand. Plus they would let anybody in this place and I mean anyone. So my memories of Rockwall were not found.
But low and behold, Rockwall isn't a prairie anymore; it's a bustling little town that's on the go! They've got everything out there! Turns out, this is where all the white people from Dallas moved.
My first suggestion is cut the name down, from Blue Canyon Kitchen, Tavern, and Wine Bar to just Blue Canyon, or if you're going to advertise everything in the place why not call it "Blue Canyon Kitchen, Tavern, Wine Bar, Restrooms and Dishwashing Area". I'm just saying.
We started in the "Wine Bar" which is little separate standing building that stands outside of the actual restaurant, it was nice, but not big enough to hold all the people waiting to be seated. The thing is when your table is ready you can't carry your drink from the "Wine Bar" to the restaurant because of a TABC liquor law, so it was fun to watch everyone chug their drinks when their table was called.
We were a party of twenty and they had us sited in a semi-private room, which looked like what I imagine what Burt Reynolds house would look like, a lot of wood and stone and paintings of wild stallions running freely upon a mountain top. There was a full set of Time Life books from the Old West. This was the series that wrote about John Wesley Hardin the guy that was "So ornery, shot a man just for snoring." THE BOOKS ARE FOR DECORATION ONLY.
Our waiter was an energetic lad; this poor guy did his best handling a bunch of old high school friends yammering and talking smack and not caring less that the special was. When it came time to order appetizers I made the mistake of asking what the waiter recommended, Lobster Nachos, the most expensive appetizer on the menu. We ordered those and the calamari. Man, I fall for this every time; you put the word lobster in the title of anything and you act like "Ooooooh, lobster! It's got lobster in it, lobster! "I didn't care for them, they were served on weird multi colored chips that were bland and there wasn't a lot of lobster to be found. That's the bad thing about nachos that are piled on top of each other, only the top gets the good stuff; my buddy kept saying "That's not real lobster, its white fish that's been colored red." The calamari was pretty good though.
I also enjoyed the Cesar Salad.
For my entree I ordered the two bone pork chop with creamed corn and it was delicious! What cracked me up was that this place will not give up the basket of bread until you order your entre, so that you don't, as my mom used to say "Don't fill up on bread." They serve a variety of different hot fresh rolls along with a spread that took me off guard, you know like when you are at a party and you pick up the wrong drink and take a sip and it's just weird. I still don't know what I was eating.
Also a lot of items don't come with all sides, so you have to order them all about 6 to 8 bucks a pop. We thought they were served family style, their not and their kind of small. We got the mashed potatoes, French fries and cream corn.
I did have a good time; but a bit pricey.
The staff is very accommodating and friendly, even the young lady who was refilling the soap dispenser while I took advantage of the lavatory. That's the world we live in, you walk into the men's restroom and find and a woman, you could careless, but walk into the woman's and hang out you end up back in the Rockwall jail wishing that they put lobster on a baloney sandwich.
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I have been here for brunch and dinner and both were insanely good. The brunch had so many choices!! Anything you'd want fresh, like eggs are made to order, while you graze on prime rib,oysters, pastries, etc.
Dinner was even better! I had the Sophia salad and pretzel crusted trout and creme brûlée. The portions were perfect, taste was exceptional. The waiter was the best I've ever had, knowledgeable, attentive, proud of the food and the restaurant. The decor and ambience was amazing.
When I went to brunch with my daughter, it was chilly and we were there right when they opened, so they offered us a fireside table, which my daughter loved. When I went with my hubby on our anniversary, they gave us an out of the way private-ish booth, so even the greeters are good at customer service.
We made our maiden voyage at Blue Canyon recently with some friends who are veteran Blue Canyoners. First impressions: nicely decorated and beautiful views of the water from the bar area in the "round house" (or whatever they call it, if anything).
We were there for the all-you-can-eat crab legs night. It was exceptionally good. They pre-cracked the crab legs, so it was simply a matter of getting down to eating. I know, probably for the purists out there this is an unforgivable sin. Personally, (yeah, call me a barbarian) I preferred them already cracked - I find I work up more hunger cracking them than the relief I get from eating them...
The wait staff was attentive. Don't know if it was their normal state or the fact that our friends seemed to know all of them by name. Regardless, they did a fine job of taking care of us.
Hard to score it's pricey-ness. You expect to pay a hefty penny for all you can eat crab legs and we weren't disappointed in this regard - we paid a hefty penny...
Would I go back? Very likely, though we haven't made it back yet and it's been a couple months. It's a welcome change from chain-happy Rockwall. Definitely a step up from other Rockwall options like Ghengis Grill, Cotton Patch, and Chili's, but on a par with Gloria's (in same shopping area) or Oar House (just off I-30 at the same exit).
Overall, a solid 3-1/2 to 4-star eatery.
I've owned a few boats and, well, the story about the two best days is true (the day you buy and the day you sell.) So now I enjoy other people's boats.
Our friends have a boat on Lake Ray Hubbard. They were gracious enough to gas it up, drive us around the lake, then motor over to Blue Canyon for dinner on a Saturday. We had reservations and were about half an hour late but that made no difference as the place was half full at best.
Another Dallas site called the wait staff clueless. I would call them hard-working but a fair distance from competent. I got plenty of water, which doesn't always happen, but several snafus could be directly attributed to the crew.
It took three tries to find a wine in stock but eventually the drinks and appetizers arrived. When we settled into the main course the experience continued to be dicey. We mixed it up: I had trout, the other guy had a steak, his wife ordered something like chicken ravioli and Mrs. G (who normally remembers every meal, the sauce combination, cooking style, etc., etc.) cannot even recall her uninspiring entree. The trout was very good, the steak was good, Mrs. G remembers she didn't like her meal much and the chicken dish was accidentally swapped with a similar lobster meal. Actually the lobster was much better, so when the chicken came we were almost glad they got it wrong initially.
At $25-35 per entrée I can think of many restaurants with better meals and service, but if you're out on Lake Ray Hubbard and paying something like $5 or $6 per gallon for marina gas, I suppose an overpriced meal with so-so service is what you might expect.
I guess Blue Canyon can be one more example of why I shouldn't own boats.
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This place definitely has ambiance. Went here for a birthday party for a large group. The set up was definitely not what we were expecting with two large tables on opposite sides of the room. But the service and the food were redeeming and the birthday girl just rotated sides of the room so we dealt. The food is yummy - get the tilapia - cooked to perfection! They have some great house wines too. Would definitely visit again for a special occasion.
People thought this was:
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Blue Canyon is a nice addition to the local plethora of chain restaurants mostly staffed by Rockwall teenagers. That is not to say that Blue Canyon doesn't have its share of the high school population at work but they are better trained than any other spot in town. Clearly, this restaurant is run by professionals who understand and value the 'dining experience'.
The menu at Blue Canyon offers a great selection of fish, steaks, chicken and pork dishes prepared in interesting and delicious ways. Try the sea scallops, or better yet, the chives crusted halibut. Excellent! The service is fair for this caliber restaurant, but excellent by Rockwall standards.
The portions are fairly large and most dishes come with sides like au gratin potatoes, green beans or cheesy mac. Salads are extra.
Haven't had room for dessert on either visit but the creme brulee looked nice and the folks eating it were smiling all the while.
The restaurant is in the Harbor at Lake Ray Hubbard and has nice views of the lake from many seats inside. They have a patio that is open during warm weather and a stand alone bar that is closer to the water with a fairly large patio. Food is served in the bar and on the patio.
I have been to Blue Canyon twice. I am just sorry it took me so long to try it out. No doubt I will go back soon.
