Noosa Boathouse — Restaurant in Noosaville

During September 2017 my wife and I had a disappointing takeout Fish & Chip meal from the Boathouse. Several aspects of the service and the product made that so.

First, our request for a piece each of two varieties of fish and a few chips only could not be accommodated. It was the package deal or nothing. Secondly, the fish portion was thin and small but initially appeared otherwise because the huge amount of batter: thick and floury (beer batter sounds great but probably in most instances is merely soda water or baking soda).

Thirdly, soggy limp chips. Enough said! Fourthly, not sure what the food was deep-fried in but it was overdue to be changed.

Fifthly, all the above and the huge disappointment of an underwhelming breezy floury meal for $32.80. That was excessive for the product supplied and especially the amount and quality, i.e. two thin pieces of fish heavily coated in batter and soggy chips. Admittedly it was, I think, a public holiday and a surcharge applied. However, isn’t a surcharge an anachronism with 24/7 trading and the additional staff costs recovered from the business turnover for the entire year’s trading ? Further, the only notice of the surcharge was a small note taped to the counter that we did not see until we collected our order.

Refer the two photos attached. Is that food worth $32.80 ?

Why the review now? Well within two days I put one up on the website of the business and then a few days later from the airport as we departed Noosa, as a courtesy I rang the owner to explain. I’m not in the habit of putting up uncomplimentary reviews this being the first ever. I wanted to ‘front up’ in person and explain my review. While I was heard the owner and I seemed to differ on a several points, no offer of redress was made though not sought or expected, and my review was or had been taken down. An apology of sorts was made and I was told the supervising chef (or someone) was no longer employed (what did that tell me?).

Yes it has taken a while to put my thoughts ‘up’ on social media. However, I consider it important that future customers do not get beguiled by the propaganda that The Boathouse’s website presents about its takeaway food. I’m not speaking of the restaurant.

And yes we have been spoilt. As New Zealanders we are fortunate to enjoy usually excellent fish and chips. The Boathouse offering was,...

Location, view, food all terrific. Service needs significant improvement.

Desperate for a beer on entry, you would think you could walk up to the bar and grab a beer before sitting down. Got waved off by a lady behind the bar who was the stewardess or manager and said that I would need to sit down at my table and order from the waitress. Ignoring the rude behaviour, I sat down and accepted that this place might be a bit different. We were only given one drinks menu, which was at the opposite end of our table with one of our party taking their time with which is to be expected. I then asked the waitress if there were any zero carb beers, which she seemed to confuse with zero alcohol. With English not as her first language, this took a while to get the message across. Annoyed now because if I could have just been helped by the people standing behind the bar in the first place this unnecessary delay could have been completely avoided. To clear up the confusion that was now taking place between the waitress and the manager behind the bar about what my request was, I walked up again to clarify. They then pulled out two beers saying these were the options, neither of which were zero or low carb. This again seemed like a massive effort on the manager to explain, which was done so again in a rude manner. I expressed my frustration at the manager at the poor service and how it would have been easier to explain from the get go what I was actually looking for.

But the issue really was the rude service from the manager lady. Fortunately they gave us a waitress who was American after this who recovered this review rating massively back up to a 4 star overall. She was just great. And polite. And her professional service was reciprocated by us showing the same politeness back. Which is something the rude manager lady could learn from. Rude service will likely be reciprocated.

And also, if you are not willing to serve drinks at the bar, then put a sign up saying no drinks served at the bar. But that wouldn't be a good look at a fancy place like yours would it. Then give the customers service at the bar if you don't...

Staff were unprofessional, rude and uninviting.

Upon arrival we ( three Irish girls ranging from 20 to 30 years old) were greeted and sent to the next desk. The dining room was relatively quiet but as it was 10 minutes to our reservation we were sent to the bar.

After spending at the bar we made our own way back down to be seated at a table that was notably empty when we arrived. Once seated we were given the menus and the waitress who took our order was noting short of abrupt. Towards the end of ordering my sister informed our waitress of a peanut allergy and she condescendingly informed my sister of the process surrounding allergies.

After a short wait our starters arrived. Everything looking lovely we tucked in, only for another waitress to come and swipe a starter from the table scurrying away saying it was wrong. The correct starter arrived and was not as described in the menu. As this was the case there was visibly nuts in the dish and when we asked the waitress to clarify there was no peanuts she snapped “no they are pistachios”

The mains arrived , 3 steaks and were enjoyable. As we and roughly 10 other tables were finishing up the staff began stacking chairs and clearing tables, this ruined the atmosphere.

Once our plates were cleared we were promptly asked “well do you want anything else” at which point we gladly took the bill and left.

Looking around the dining room we didn’t notice any other customers receiving this treatment. Upon further inspection the other guests were mostly local families. If you do not fit this category I would not recommend...