Hefner Grill

The booth seating and the sunset view is spectacular, but the quality of the food is rather poor. The pasta isn’t good and the (HG)Shrimp Enchiladas are disgusting. The fish and chips, and appetizers, like the artichoke dip, and chips and salsa, taste pretty nice. I can say the service is great and the environment is comforting, but I doubt I will return for any entrée.

Has kinda mixed reviews from me now. Normally have good service and great food. But I normally go for lunch /​brunch. We had quite a horrible Valentine’s Day. The one day you should be fully stocked on steak, deserts, oh everything like everything. The staff should at least have told us what they were out of. The waitress had to come back 5 times because after we decided on something different she would tell us oh we are out of that too. Ended up with a bad overpriced over charred newyork strip steak. With the most lumpy mashed potatoes. I found a under cooked half of a potato in the middle. The meals came with a salad but never got to see them. But got to pay for them. Even know they said they would take them off are ticket. But no. Then they knew we were unhappy so they offered us a free desert but on wait they had nothing at all. So we got up to leave a they somehow managed to find a piece of cheesecake that was nasty and we both got sick off of. Not sure if I’ll go back for dinner ever again but brunch maybe. Didn’t like how they handled it and want some of my money back. Just not liking the place much anymore. Guess the place is going downhill. They need to fix a few places on the floor too watched 4 people trip and a waitress fall and hit the wall.

Off their game for Valentine’s day. Had a reservation for 6pm. Showed up at 545, was told that it would be a 30 minute wait… ummm…reservations are meant to seat you at roughly the time you reserved it for…
Finally seated, had our drink order taken rather promptly but this is where the okay-​isa service ended. Instead of having dedicated staff for each table it seemed to be a free-for-all…as in, wait staff got to pick and choose at random who they took care of. Took 15 minutes for our food order to be taken (mind you, the room we were put in was half empty) and this was after asking for it to be taken (4 others seated after had their appetizers already delivered). Finally had the order taken by a passing waitress, ordered a steak well done, it came out still with a heartbeat (this one came out via yet another person). After cutting into it had to flag down yet a different person and have it taken back. When it returned, this time I assume by a manager), it still had a pulse but decided to just deal with it (was charred on the outside but still bleeding). Ate in peace for about 15 minutes, finished, sat around another 20 waiting for our check and some boxes before flagging down yet another different person, who said they didn’t know who our server was nor where our check would be. Finally got our check, was overcharged, and that took another 10 minutes to resolve.
Finally out of the place and was thoroughly unsatisfied. Normally we enjoy this place, had 3 GREAT experiences here. For some reason they were WAY off their game last night despite not seeming too busy.

Great ambience at Hefner Grill! Very nice live music group, sweeping view of Lake Hefner, excellent waitress;
and my favorite, it was not noisy, so we could talk to everyone at the table.
Crab cakes and spinach artichoke appetizers got us started well.
For the entrée, I had the coconut shrimp… tasty & giant portions.
My husband had a wonderful looking huge salad with lots of «treasures» in it.
Our friend had a very good choice, the seafood enchiladas. He took some home. It was a very enjoyable evening.
See if you can get a booth; that was nice & it gave us a great view and comfortable seating.

My girlfriend and I were driving around on a Sunday we decided we want to have lunch. We were pleasantly surprised great atmosphere delicious food great views all-​around a great experience.

I liked the view from the booth because it overlooked the lake. The live music was tasteful. We started with the crab dip which paired well with tabasco (our waiters suggestion) I had the chicken alfredo. The bite size chicken was seasoned well and the dish was very creamy. My girlfriends mashed potatoes were amazing. We had a friendly and very informative waitor (Seth). I would dine here again because of him.

This place wasn’t bad. My husband and I took our family (there were eight of us) here for Sunday brunch. The hostess was able to accommodate our party 90 mins ahead of schedule, which was nice. The place itself has a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Hefner. I will say that an arc-​shaped booth for eight people — one of which was an elderly woman — probably wasn’t best. Even though our food order was messed up twice, the meal was tasty. Our server was also great.

Paul’s Pasta is a great dish for anyone not a fan of sea food. The fried catfish is really good here!

Tip: Ask for a window seat or one of the booths that sits higher and you can see the water.
We like this spot but today was inconsistent.
The food took a long time especially since we didn’t order anything more than ahi tuna and a salad. The salad also had a huge lettuce core which is never awesome.

Excellent view of Lake Hefner from the restaurant and very good service. Very good selection of fish too.

They supposed to be known for oysters, when we showed up there, no one told us about they were out of oysters. We ordered the most expensive champagne they got and oyster at the same time. Half the champagne was half gone, the waitress came and told us they were out of oyster and she did not know until she placed the order at kitchen. We said we were here for the oyster which they are known for! The food was very blow average. Fish was over grilled, the enchilada did not taste any sea food. The real joke is, when we got the check, we getting charged for the oysters that we did not get! We were mad and told the manager that was an insult. She said sorry for the missed communication that you had with our waitress. We been out of oysters for a few days now. (That was your missed commutation to your employee since our waitress did not know until she placed the order). She giving us a ten dollar off voucher for the NEXT meal. Hell NO! No one is going back there even its free. The tone of the manager blonde lady does not sound like she is been apologetic at all. I don’t say this very often. Not only bad food, bad service, this place does not know how to run a business. Your review helps others learn about great local businesses.
Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

Awesome Food! Love the Crab Cakes! Salmon is Awesome. Great Atmosphere and Service. If you can sit on the patio at sunset it’s unbelievable. The fish tacos are the bomb! One of my favorite places for date night with hubby.

Today was such a gorgeous day, my husband and I decided to go have dinner on a patio by the lake. Since we had never been to Hefner Grill, and saw the good reviews, we thought it would be the perfect place.
When we arrived, we asked to sit outside and were informed that the patio was full. Ok. That’s fine, we arrived just after work, so we had some time to kill before we were truly hungry for dinner. We asked for the wait time. It was at this point when the 4 hostesses/​waitresses panicked and started saying, oh we don’t know people sit out there for a long time and there’s just no telling, and eventually, we don’t guarantee wait times for the patio. Chill! That’s fine! We’re thinking, we’re laid back. We’re okay to wait 20 min to an hour, and if takes way too long, we’ll just find some place else. So after all the panicking we discovered, yes, we can wait for a table. They just don’t know how long. It’s cool, man. We’re cool.
So just after our wine was ordered at the bar, the buzzer went off. We hadn’t even finalized our tab. That was nice and fast! The evening was off to a good start.
We sat down outside and a waitress came to our table to tell us she wasn’t our waitress. She was awkward. I think she came to at least help out with a drink order, but then saw we already had some and panicked. Lots of panicking.
Eventually our waiter came by. He was super slick and had a bit too many airs about him for my taste, but was friendly enough. We ordered the crab dip because you know, we were sitting on a lake and it seemed festive.
The patio atmosphere is awesome. You can here subtle music, and the tables aren’t crammed together so that you can actually enjoy yourself.
The crab dip was lackluster to say the least. It tasted like microwaved cream cheese, with a little bit of canned crab thrown in. The waiter stopped by with a bottle of Tabasco and said, this makes it awesome. I don’t know about that, but it did make it edible. It finally had some depth of flavor to make it worth eating.
My husband had the seafood enchiladas. He said they were good, but not amazing. I didn’t try them myself, but he said that the seafood kinda got lost in the enchilada, so the end result was just some weird texture with a good sauce. Meh.
I, on the other hand, hit the motherload. I ordered the new porter chicken salad. I was fiending for some vegetables and this salad seemed to have so many! I got a bit dizzy reading all of the ingredients (mixed greens, chicken, corn, tomatoes, cashews, mangoes, apples, asparagus, eggs, etc) but since it was listed as a favorite, I figured it had to be fantastic. Boy was I wrong. Always trust the dizzy feeling.
The first thing I said after putting the first few forkfuls in my mouth was, «this salad is wacky.» And really, that was the best word I could come up with. It really was– wacky. Flavors, textures, it was all over the place. Go home, salad, you’re drunk.
Bottom line: I would go back to have drinks on the patio. I would skip the appetizers and even food. I think, maybe, if I stuck with a normal burger or fish and chips I might enjoy the place more.
Side note: the list of ingredients in the salad was so dang long that I had to go on their website to remember what all was going on. (I mean, I love a party in my mouth, but that was one of those parties where it’s pretty tame, but then there’s that girl dancing on the table and you’re wondering what planet am I on.)

Wonderful restaurant right on the shores of Lake Hefner. The hospitality was evident as soon as we walked in. We were seated promptly and taken to a booth looking out at the gorgeous Lake Hefner.
All the wait staff was extremely attentive and friendly. Our waiter gave us some good information about the specials which helped us to order the perfect lunch.
The restaurant is so beautiful and right on the waters edge. You can eat on the patio or in booths looking out at the water. Even the beautiful bar area has a great view.
Our meal was delicious and I am so looking forward to a Sunday Brunch here.

I have never felt so rushed through a meal! When three couples go out to dinner on a Friday night, unless they tell you they are in a hurry, you can assume they plan to stay longer than an hour. The server was nice, but seemed to be in a terrible hurry every time she came to the table.
The kitchen sent out 3 courses within about 30 minutes — what??? Our soups & salads came before we finished the appetizer, then food runners starting serving our main course while all our soup & salad dishes were still on the table — one guest had only just started to eat his salad! In what restaurant world is that ok? Before we finished the main course, the server asked if we wanted dessert. We said we didn’t know yet… and then she brought us a check while we were still eating! We just let it sit there. When we were ready, we flagged down our server and ordered desserts & after-​dinner drinks. She quickly updated our bill, so we went ahead and paid, and then we never saw her again even though we stayed quite sometime afterwards visiting. All our water glasses sat empty until we left.
Aside from that…
My husband and I had drinks at the bar waiting for the others to show up, and one of the bartenders was pretty good while the other did a lot more talking than bartending. Neither of them were very attentive after we got our drinks & app. I shouldn’t have to wave & holler «excuse me» to get another drink at such a small bar.
Waiting for a booth overlooking the lake was definitely worth it. The view was beautiful, and the booth created an intimate feel in a busy restaurant. However, as another reviewer noted, there were a lot of dead bugs in the bottom of the lampshades hanging over the table — yuck.
The food was just ok. Nothing stood out as excellent. What did stand out was the horribly burnt crème brûlée! I would have sent it back, but it was another couple who ordered it, and they didn’t want to bother. I saw a photo posted by someone else several months ago that show the same blackened brulee that we got, so clearly, this is a problem!
Management needs to train the waiters and bartenders on proper service (timing and attentiveness), and the head chef needs to do a major quality check on the food going out of the kitchen.
I would go back for the view, but not with expectations of a great meal.

First try at HG. Very disappointing. Windows looking out over the lake are filthy. Light fixtures were full of bugs and stained. Service was great. Food was sub par. Too bad.

Visited Hefner Grill for the first time during the week for lunch. The outside of the restaurant looks nice and the view from inside is very pleasing.
I had the blackened Tilapia and a Caesar salad. The salad was wonderful! The Tilapia comes out with some sort of sauce on it. It is not noted in their menu. I try to stay away from sugar and I think the sauce had sugar in it.
The Tilapia was good, but not what I call a true Blackened one. I would not eat this again. Much better versions and restaurants that serve this type of food. Vegetables seemed just ok.
Staff was friendly and our waiter was nice. Service was ok and then it took a really long time to pay our bill. Not sure why that was.
The interior of the restaurant to me seems a little dated. While I see the décor they are trying for, they need to spend a little money upgrading the interior. I noticed booths that are in need of repair and the outside deck is pretty dirty!
It seems to me this restaurant is trying to be an upscale place. Prices are not bad, but they need to improve food taste for me to back.
I also thought the menu seemed limited to me. Next time I’m in OKC I will try one of the other lake restaurants.

It was a dark and stormy day…
It really was yesterday when had our monthly lunch outing. But it really did not matter because I could not ask for more pleasant and joyful company than Robin and Heather. We have been having windy horizontal rains here for the last few days and the lawns are all lush.
We went to the Hefner Grill which affords a grand view of Lake Hefner waters even as they were riled up by the rains. Another winner. Service was well timed and thoughtful. The food was tastefully presented and deliciously prepared.
We all noshed on a Spinach Artichoke Dip and Tortilla chips. A delight.
Robin had the Newporter Chicken Salad, sauced with a tomato honey lime vinaigrette, and loaded down with bacon apples eggs cashews corn cheese mango and asparagus. Oh, and chicken too.
Heather had Paul’s Pasta with chicken or shrimp. Its Linguine in a spicy red sauce plus asparagus artichokes and mushrooms.
I opted for the Seafood Enchiladas in white ancho cream sauce, loaded with shrimp scallops calamari and crab. Along with them came the rice and red beans, guacamole and green salad.
There was a continual resupply of salsa and tortilla chips as well as our drink selections…
Well with this bountiful larder we lunched a mere three hours chatting of cabbages and kings and many things before the rains subsided…
For our next go I’ll try to select some ethnic menu site just to spice things up a tad…

I haven’t been out here in at least a year, but we decided on a whim for dinner. I highly recommend the seafood enchiladas! Amazing taste and excellently prepared.
Our server was attentive, the live music was great, and the atmosphere just a tad different, but perfect for the restaurant.
Do no leave without ordering the most amazingly delicious key lime pie this side of the lake. See what I did there?
Good eats, indeed.

Didn’t know but today they had a live band! But seriously I love this place. The oysters are always plump and the freshest Oklahoma can probably get. My mother and I love their crab cakes! It’s literally the best in Oklahoma city.
Their entrée are decent. The appetizers here are what I usually come here for. Today I had the fish taco. It was decent. slaw was crunchy but the fish was slightly burnt but no matter the ambiance was great and entertaining and the company was always good.
No review can be completed without mentioning their dessert. Their key lime is AMAZING! The crème Brule is decent but their key lime is out of this world! !! For 8 $ it’s a serious good deal. I would say a party of 4 or 5 is enough for just one of these pie.