Great Blue Heron Casino is at 21777 Island Road in Port Perry, about 80km NE of Toronto, on a peninsula called "Scugog Island" which extends into Lake Scugog and is the property of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. We've been there numerous times starting decades ago for the buffet at the Water's Edge restaurant there, but never were able to write it up, being interrupted by the pandemic which stopped service for several years. It seems the branding has changed as it's now part of the Great Canadian casino chain, all of which seem to have buffets (amazing there's still much to look forward to after this long!) I was hoping they would finally realize that reasonably priced buffets are a good method to get patrons in to gamble... not me though! I’m just there for the food. Unfortunately, Great Blue Heron is the least transit-accessible location we know; there isn't even a casino shuttle bus to this (remote) location, never mind public transit. The dining area has been remodeled several times over the years and is now all on the same level with no steps. It’s still called Water’s Edge, a remnant prior to Great Canadian Buffet.
We went for weekend (Saturday) Prime Rib dinner. It's an absolute must to get a free player's club membership first, as otherwise it's $50, but only $25 with the card and an amazing $20 if the card is used to play anything over $1 that day. Beware that there may be a very long wait... It took us about two hours to get in. One fountain pop is included which is excellent, even if all Pepsi products... it was all I needed. Note that as it’s a casino there are restrictions against photography so I don’t have any of the area, but they don’t mind photos of the buffet area, food and infrastructure.
Potato salad was good though had a bit of an odd aftertaste. Penne salad was very good, tangy and well-seasoned. Macaroni salad was very good and cheesy. Caesar salad was oddly flavoured, I think as the dressing wasn't tangy and had some unwanted sweetness, and was the only item I wasn’t big on. Creamy corn chowder was delicious and savoury. Rustic Italian sausage soup was actually excellent and had beautiful seasoning, a very compatible marriage of herbs. Sausage with tomato sauce and onions was excellent, and the flavours went together very well. Mishy loved the prime rib, though said it was a little tough.
Pasta salad with tomato and basil Mishy loved. Mashed potato was a bit cold but still good with the gravy. Rice pilaf was quite good and had a nice savour. Mishy indicated that the pizza was a bit cold but still enjoyed it; I enjoyed the Zwieback flavour of the crust. So-called chicken teriyaki was certainly not that, but still an enjoyable roast chicken. Salisbury steak I loved with onions and mushrooms, and I think Mishy liked it too. Summer-herbed cod was excellent and I loved the breading.
For dessert, there is chocolate and vanilla soft-serve with toppings, and a myriad of other desserts... this has always been a strong point at Water’s Edge. I chose caramel for the vanilla, and coconut and maraschino cherries for the chocolate, and was not disappointed. Date square was excellent. Mini butter tart was quite enjoyable. Chocolate crullers I have not had before and they were an excellent variant with distinct flavour, actually preferable to plain crullers. I enjoyed the Nanaimo bar, though it is not one of Mishy's favourites. Carrot cake was very good as was coconut cream pie. Service was very good. Though I spent a little on the slots (didn’t win anything) to get the dinner for $20, I’m counting the base price as $25 as this is the option with no cost to obtain. This is still an excellent price especially for the weekend and a free drink included. With only a minor exception or two dinner was quite enjoyable with some standout options.
Rating: 8 - 8.5 / 10 + 1.5 value adjustment = 9.5 - 10 / 10
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