The Boat House — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

Update: I'll leave the bottom section of the review up just to give context.

After I put in a negative review I was quickly contacted (an hour? Maybe less?) by the director of Boathouse, James. He apologised and immediately started looking into the issues I had complained about, even sending through messages to confirm that he had sent emails and text messages to various maintanence and manager staff to investigate the issues.

We decided to go back in to the main restaurant after a bit of a discussion with James to expand on what had happened on the day we went.

We went back a few days ago and the experience was SUBLIME, from the floor manager to the wait staff, the food coming out of the kitchen, the atmosphere, and the general commitment to excellence. While the outdoor experience was not up to scratch (and has hopefully been fixed) the indoor experience was even better than I remembered from previous times visiting the venue. I would HIGHLY recommend that anyone wanting to truly have a night of fine dining visit the main restaurant.

Five star experience for sure. I feel terrible for forgetting the name of the floor manager, but she was wonderful and an absolute asset to the venue. James, well done on continuing to press for a top notch experience, we will absolutely be back again this year!

FYI: Below section of review is reflective of the Boathouses Armada Outdoor Bar back in Oct/Nov 2022, not the main restaurant, but since there's no way to seperate my reviews, I've had to place it on boathouse. It has only been left for context of the above review.

Let me say first, the food as usual was sublime, the kitchen staff at the Boathouse are amazing at what they do and should be commended. However, they are let down by bar staff that don't seem to know what they are doing, terrible construction of the outdoor bar/dining area, and a bar manager who may as well have not come in.

Last year we had a great lunch experience at the outdoor bar, but this year under a (presumably) new manager, the wait staff were walking around fairly clueless about what to do and seemed uninterested in being there, there were no plates or cutlery (we had to request this ourselves, as well as water), and had cocktails that didn't match the ingredients or look of what was on the menu. Whenever we had someone walk past us, the construction of the floor meant we were bounced up and down, our table was almost as if it was on a see-saw, and the music was WAY too loud.

This entire experience has ruined boathouse for us and we will not be coming back.

Again, kitchen staff, spectacular job. Senior management at boathouse, maybe take a look at how you are actually running the...

Great food was a top priority for us when choosing a venue for our wedding, so we were drawn to The Boat House as a top class dining experience first and foremost. We had total confidence that the boat house food would wow our guests, and it did! What we were delighted to also find is that The Boat House are also incredibly experienced and well oiled as a wedding venue.

Communication, planning, and coordinating with vendors. We felt total confidence in The Boat House from the start. We could tell they have held countless weddings and perfected their formula. They had clear packages and options but were also quite flexible, for example we were about to add a Rosé to our drinks package at a very reasonable additional cost. We valued how they coordinate directly with our various vendors for when and where to set up, etc. Thanks to their seamless operations and excellent staff, we didn't have to give a moment's thought to anything other than enjoying ourselves with our guests on the day.

Food and drinks The food was amazing as we knew it would be. Many of our guests said this to us as well. The options we were able to choose from were a good wide range of dishes. Vegetarians, pescatarians, meat eaters, and those with allergies were all easily catered for without compromise.

Service The service was superb throughout. None of our guests had to go looking for their next drink or canapé. There was a constant stream of friendly, highly competent, attentive staff circulating at all times. The Boat House staff clearly operate as a cohesive team with excellent management and working culture.

Location We wanted our wedding location to showcase the best of Canberra and The Boat House certainly does this. The lake provides tranquility, beautiful views, and a gorgeous sunset vista. The grass area provided a lovely setting for our ceremony, with the shade of the trees and a breeze coming off the lake. We loved the seamless flow between the grass, the deck, and the restaurant - perfect for lots of mingling amongst guests.

Detail and finish We loved the clean simplicity of the default table settings, including the table flowers provided. Everything presented to our guests was stylish, simple, and elegant.

Overall We looked at farm wedding venues but couldn't look past the beauty of being on the lake, the award winning food, and the great value for money. Definitely strongly recommend The Boat House for your wedding. Thank you...

For those who are looking for the wedding venue, look no further. This is the venue beyond expectations and off the charts. It was quite a challenge for me to find a venue which would be flexible enough to arrange the whole restaurant only for us to accommodate just 18 guests. We wanted to create a cozy and homey atmosphere just for closest family and friends. The Boat House has not only fulfilled our expectations but surpassed them on every level. On top of that the price was very reasonable. Guests from different parts of Australia who attended the function were complimenting the venue all night long. Here are just some of the quotes: ‘I work in hospitality. THIS is a great venue!’, ‘I’ve been to many weddings. This is the best food I ever tried!’, ‘The food is so delicious! My boyfriend went to the kitchen several times to check with the chef on food ingredients’, ‘The service is so amazing! I asked her not to top up anymore, and she just remembers! They remember who drinks what and top up right amount and on time.’ As for us, we just want to thank James who guided us through every step of the function, and was so professional and attentive! We want to thank Emma and Daniela who worked on the day and met our needs before we could voice them. We want to thank the crew who helped with the tasting and addressed all our concerns before the wedding. We want to thank the chef for the food that exceeds expectations. You are truly an example of professional commitment to make your customers happy 😘 With deep...