BBQ Buoys — Restaurant in Adelaide

We celebrated my husband’s birthday on a boat, and while the experience had its enjoyable moments, there were a few issues that made it less than ideal.

First, we originally booked for 4:00 PM, but just an hour before departure, we received a call asking us to either cancel or reschedule for 7:00 PM. This was quite inconvenient, as we had to contact all our friends to inform them of the last-minute change. Fortunately, they were all able to adjust their plans.

During the trip, we encountered a problem with the motor, which nearly caused us to get soaked by a nearby waterfall. Additionally, the beverages we had purchased were placed too deep inside the fridge, making them difficult to find, so we weren’t able to enjoy them.

For those considering renting a boat, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Daytime trips are better. At night, visibility is very limited—while the city lights are beautiful, you miss out on the sunset and scenic views.

Opt for a platter instead of a BBQ. Cooking takes up too much time, which means you end up focusing more on preparing food than enjoying the experience.

Having two drivers is ideal. If there’s only one, they have to stay focused on navigating the boat and can’t fully engage with everyone.

Bring your own BBQ utensils and kitchen towels. The boat didn’t provide enough, so it’s best to come prepared.

Overall, while we had a nice time, better organization and amenities would have made the experience...

We had an excellent time with BBQ Buoys for 9 people. We took our kids and their partners for a cruise in the afternoon. Our day had been postponed after our adult daughter had a major medical episode. Martin worked with us at late notice to try and accommodate a change, and he showed great empathy for our predicament. We appreciated his efforts big time!! The cruise was well organised and the change over from one cruise to the next, was smoothly orchestrated, with the buoys perfectly clean for our BBQ lunch. We cruised up and down the river, even tying up to a fig tree in the shade for a relaxing break. The whole experience was seamless, instructions and safety aspects were discussed clearly in a down to earth manner, and it was clear that the owners wanted us to have a great experience. Thanks to Martin and BBQ Buoys for a fantastic day and we are looking forward to taking our elderly parents on a similar outing in the...

Instructions given at the start were extremely sparse and did not completely prepare you for driving the buoy. Trying to navigate around the Popeye was extremely nerve wracking and after avoiding 3 of them in 30 minutes we were not relaxing and ready to call it quits. Once we finally made it closer to the Adelaide Uni footbridge we could relax and did enjoy the time together. The grill dials were taped over so it was a complete guessing game to turn the grill on and turn it to the desired temperature. There is no way to anchor, so you drift and start the motor to avoid shallow areas in the river. The map on the buoy is on the opposite side of the person steering, so there is no way to know where the indicated shallow parts are in the river unless someone else instructs you. Overall good to experience but we would not do it again. I would suggest this as a group activity (one mate sacrificing to stear) and not a...