Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, The

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  5     

To be honest, I was disappointed. The size of the entree is microscopic which is surprising given the high cost. The main was as expected but nothing flash expecially given the price.

The dessert (shared) was nice, again nothing flash and the cheese platter for two was basic to say the least. A hard cheese (with no flavour), goat cheese, double cream brie and creamy blue though ok, were simply served with two dates and a few walnuts. I don't mind paying more for the scenary, but $309 later I didn't feel satisfied.

Nov 08, 2007 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

Just come back from a Sunday lunch. We really had a great meal. It was our first visit and I was a little anxious given some of the negatives in previous reviews. Not sure what people expect sometimes.

Anyway, I had a Spanner Crab "Lasagne" as a starter which was light and had multiple distinct flavours, none of which overpowered the crab flavour.

We both had the schnapper pie which we enjoyed immensely. The aroma of this as it was opened & served at our table was wonderful and not let down by the reality of its flavour & texture. I am not much of a mashed potato fan, but the creamy version served with the pie was a great accompaniment. We also had a rocket, pear & parmesan salad which was very generous in size (and the way in which the pear was sliced was a plus from my point of view).

The renowned Pedro Ximinez icecream lived up to its hype and was big enough for 2 of us to share.

A glass each of champagne (admittedly in very small glasses), a large bottle of mineral water (probably unneccessary - a bit of a case of "super size me") a bottle of Australian gerwurtztraminer, a glass of Oz Tokay & a coffee. All came to $275 which we thougt was reasonable for the quantity & quality.

We found the service quite acceptable - pleasant & friendly although at times a teensy bit slow. This was a very small issue for us. I was a little surprised about the lack of shell fish on the menu. Maybe that's a cost minimisation issue - but surprised with no prawns, squid, mussels, scallops etc.

All in all a favourable experience and one I would be happy to repeat.

Oct 28, 2007 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  5     

Went here twice, first one with my colleagues from work on our Xmas Lunch and the second with my girlfriend. the place was nice with views over the bridge. The food was good, not that excellent though. A bit delay between each course and very pricey for a not-so-big portion. Not our most favourite place to eat, but still ok for special occasions.

Oct 05, 2007 

5.8 Average

Food  8      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  4     

I've poured over the other reviews on here and have to come up to a similar conclusion with several people, but I'll outline that shortly. The Boathouse has received one toque and also a high rating in the recent gourmet traveller magazine. I think in some respects it's worth it but there were too many niggling problems to make me really happy with it (one hat happy at least).

We went for Sunday lunch, quite telling I think was how quiet the restaurant was, only 6 tables in quite a decent sized restaurant. Prior to entering though is that there is no parking around here and to top it off, you can't really see where the front door is... a better sign would help all of us really dense blondies.... (although actually I'm brunette !)

Temperature wise it was a little cool outside today but the temperature inside the restaurant was high 20's, much too warm for a comfortable lunch. When we asked for the air-con to be turned down they indicated it was partially broken and so we enquire about having one of the doors open... alas the lock was broken so we sat there sweating.

To start we ordered a Bellini each. Very disappointing, just reconstituted peach juice at the bottom of a glass of semi flat sparkling. We then tried two types of Oysters, Wallis Lake and Merimbula, two of my favourites and shucked on site, they raved about how unusual this is, but many, many Sydney restaurants do this now. The Oysters were fresh and tasty but the dressing lacked pizzazz or rather was just very standard. We also ordered at this stage a bottle of Gosset, retail in the bottle shop about $75 - $80, it was $140 here... we found that a bit cheeky (Leeuwin estate Chardonnay was almost $200).

For mains we were boring and both had the seared kingfish, served raw in the middle and with a very rich creamy stock and on a bed of asparagus, it was delicious but had a hint of aniseed flavour that just didn't gel, it was too much for the (wild) kingfish. By this stage we had been having to pour our own wine for about half an hour and we were both a bit hot.

We skipped dessert and had a cheese plate and coffee ($40 in total). Cheese plate really could have been better, one washed rind cheddar style, a flat blue, dry goats cheese and triple cream brie... all average and served with some thick toast ?? Then the coffee was average, not bad, just average...

Our thoughts have to run that this place can do better. The basics were all good, but what we enjoyed most were oysters and champagne, I can have that at home any day (although finances prohibit !), the polish I'd expect from a hatter wasn't there, plus at $340 it was overpriced for lunch... admittedly without the champagne it would have been only $200... but a good recent comparison would be a restaurant where the food was amazing, service faultless and the bill a good deal cheaper for lunch.

Sep 23, 2007 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  8     

The Boathouse really deserves its hat... I really enjoyed my dining experience there and if I could afford it I'd go there all the time!

The food was beautifully prepared and absolutely bursting with flavour. Everything from the bread to dessert was divine. My oysters were some of the best I've ever tasted! I liked that there was a personal element to many of the dishes with sauces being added at the table or puddings being served straight from the pot. Also, our waiter was attentive, polite, and hospitable and looked after us very well.

I loved everything about The Boathouse and would go back in a flash.

Sep 18, 2007 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  7     

We went for some of the popular standards for a visit early on Sat night.. ocean trout roe with potato belinis, snapper pie and self saucing choc pudding and while there were no great surprises, it was consistently great food.

The venue is lovely, the service attentive and food is great... only two issues: 1 - the martinis are served in the smallest cocktail glasses I've ever seen.. while the date and ginger one was delicious, I felt like I was drinking from a child's pretend cocktail set (I'm not actually sure there are such toys for children, but you get the idea). For about $18, I just think that there should be more than 3 sips! The other cocktails were served in decent sized glasses, so we opted for them after the first round.

The other issue was the pear and rocket salad... the pear was cut into fine strips which made it soggy and hard to eat. But I don't want to over emphasise these issues as it was a great meal in all other respects.

Sep 17, 2007 

7.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     

Love this place, the speciality of the house is the pie and it always comes up trumps with quality and exceptional service.

Sep 10, 2007 

4.8 Average

Food  4      Ambience  6      Service  4      Value  5     

Have eaten here a few times over the last couple of years, and I'm saddened by our latest visit. Service used to be great, but this time, our waiter seemed to be preoccuppied, don't know with what, he was looking after 3 tables. My wife's meal arrived cold and our side never arrived, it arrived on the bill however. Not sure we'll be back.

Sep 05, 2007 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  6     

This is an expensive restaurant but did deliver with excellent food. The location is great and the service for us, was first rate. The evening was slightly spoiled by a long wait for a taxi and poor management of the queue. If you charge that much for your food, you shouldn't expect customers to be kept hanging around for a long time for a taxi.

Aug 24, 2007 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  2     

Don't believe they hype. The view was the only lovely thing this restaurant offered, but I do like an open kitchen, which this place has, not that it helped the food. Chewy Angus beef sirloin, ocean trout that was raw in the middle... staff, who when eventually found their way to tending our table, didn't even care to ask why the majority of meals were left uneaten. But... I'll give it one more try at some point (probably), you never know, it might just have been an "off" night.

Aug 16, 2007