The Boathouse, Instow Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The curry sauce that the mussels came in was divine."
• "The food was exquisite, and such good value for money and very good size portions."
• "The steak I had was probably the best I have ever had."
• "Food was beautiful, we had the linguine and the crab burger."
• "The mussels were huge and very tasty, fish finger sandwich and fish & chips were very light and not greasy at all."
• "We had the mussels and crab linguine, which were both excellent."
• "Food was fantastic. Starters were delicious but portions were small, so maybe not great for sharing."

Cons:

• "Portions of Chips and salad very small."
• "The portions were small, scallops were tasteless."
• "Unfortunately the food didn't live up to expectations, it was sub par at best."
• "The food was a little bland and didn't taste very fresh."
• "The cod was adequate but at £21.50 it was overpriced."
• "Fish portions all a bit small for price."
• "The fish very small."

Service

Pros:

• "Once we were seated the service was much improved."
• "Excellent service and friendly team."
• "Really attentive staff."
• "Staff great, atmosphere OK, food tasted OK BUT exorbitant prices."
• "The service we experienced was nothing short of amazing, from the minute we walked in till the minute we walked out."
• "All the staff were super friendly."
• "The staff were friendly and helpful, from the moment of booking to when we left the venue."

Cons:

• "Service was adequate although I appreciate you were busy but everything took quite a long time."
• "Service varied. One guy just seemed to hate being there and was not very polite or useful."
• "Had to order drink 3 times before it arrived, then only served half of main meal."
• "Service very very slow and attention to detail not there."
• "Approached the bar, was ignored at first and then told very firmly by the barman that it is table service only."
• "Service was a bit slow, had a wait to be seated."
• "The service seemed to start off well but soon faded to the point where we felt forgotten."

Atmosphere & Location

Pros:

• "Lovely view over the beach from the terrace."
• "Seating by the beautiful big glass windows overlooking the beach and the estuary.. looking out over to Appledore the views are fantastic."
• "The view is tremendous, the food is fantastic and the staff are lovely."
• "Fabulous relaxed place."
• "Lovely location on the seafront at Instow, with some views of the beach and sunsets in the evening."
• "Amazing setting and views."
• "Wonderful restaurant with spectacular views."

Cons:

• "We were seated downstairs in the middle of the room and behind a column which blocked the view."
• "Then 12% added for a tip. Trying to be high end but not succeeding."
• "The restaurant whilst excellently decorated became rather unexciting after it was abandoned by other diners fairly early in the evening."
• "What has been lost from the place since the refurbishment is some of the character and soul."
• "It was also way too hot in there, like eating a meal on the surface of the sun."
• "We were seated at a dirty table & asked him to please clean it which he didn't."
• "We visited last night and it was so cold in the restaurant, really really cold."