The Boathouse Patio — Restaurant in Stratford

There are many great spots to visit right here in "our own backyard", and Stratford is definitely one of them. We were able to take a relaxing walk along the Avon River that also provides bench seating for those wishing to enjoy a picnic meal. There are also Stratford Al Fresco spots set up as outdoor eating spots along the river where you can purchase food from restaurants nearby and enjoy them in the designated spots with Alcoholic beverages should you choose open to the public until 8pm on the week days and 9pm on the weekends I believe with outside lighting turning on about 5pm. The Swans, and Geese are all along the way and kids would love it. There is much to do including several water activities on the river. You can pedal boat, canoe, or take a boat tour on the river. We tried out the Pedal boats and definitely enjoyed our time. The staff operating the canoes and boats were professional, kind and patient. We were happy to be in great hands. Swans float beside you and passerbys enthusiastically wave. If it is a sunny day don't forget your sunscreen and secure hat. Take your time pedaling. You work up the same appetite and maybe a little less sweat if it's a sunnier day. The parking was free the spot we parked along the river, and in the lot to Pedal Boat when we went. The prices are also reasonable to Pedal Boat especially because at least 2 adults and a child can be in one Boat (I also believe there are some that can fit a person on the back). The Boathouse Riverside restaurant is also great. After working up an appetite, you can literally hop out the boat and order your food. Each meal came with side of fruits that were fresh. The sandwiches were tasty and came hot off the grill. There was outside seating (tables under umbrellas and benches under the trees on the grass) both overlooking the water. We ordered hotdogs (came with a side of potatochips) , veggie hamburgers, and a Canadiana sandwich. The ladies did an amazing job efficiently taking orders, preparing the meals and serving us. Keep up the good work everyone! Hope to see...

Staff were rude, unprofessional, and dismissive to polite guests. Experience is over-priced but they have a monopoly. Here is the back-story: My family and I were visiting with family in the area. My children really wanted to go on the paddle boats and there was one left at the launch. I inquired about renting the boat from the grey- haired older male staff member and was told: "The bodies need to be here in front of me for me to rent the boat". So I pointed to my son who was about 5m away from me feeding the ducks and said, "No problem, I am planning to go out 30 mins with my son, then my wife will take my daughter for the other 30 minutes" to which he replied: "We don't split the time, didnt you read the sign?" Well clearly I missed that ridiculous concept of me renting a boat but not having control of who sits in it after doing so. Very rarely in my life and my extensive travelling experience have I ever been treated so rudely. Happy my family was not around to witness that. On principle alone, not because of the $25/ hour price tag, I thanked him politely ( but he was already moving away from me doing some task more important than talking to a potential customer) and then explained to my family that we would do paddle boats in our home town where you can rent them for $15 for the whole day. I feel like this man is really unhappy and intentionally trying to sabotage the business and ruin people's opinion of Stratford. Don't let bad karma win! Stratford is amazing, but avoid this business to prevent an unpleasant experience like mine and others...

We drove from out of town specifically to do the paddle boats. We called ahead of time and were told it’s first come first serve. Fair enough. We got there and stood in line for about 20 minutes, no problem. We finally got to the window only to be told ‘we’re not taking any more reservations come back in an hour’… stand in line again, no guarantees…. Okay… Literally as we’re leaving the line with crying kids who’s hearts are broken… we see a friend standing in line, we told him there aren’t any open spots for paddle boats, he said he will try to book something else maybe… 2 minutes later, we look at the river we see our friend and his family in 3 paddle boats… no they didn’t have any prior reservations!! The guy clearly has no fair system! But again… we didn’t want to assume anything. We went back and stood in line so we can ask what happened… my baby started crying, I saw a chair near by, so I wanted to sit there and tend to her, I start walking towards it, only to find an arm extended infront of me and a worker saying ‘aaa aaa aaa you can’t go there’ in a veryyy condescending manner 1) label your restricted areas 2) talk to adults like adults please, ‘excuse me, this area is restricted’ I don’t care if you’re busy or overworked or understaffed, that’s your issue not your customers. I left holding my tears back. This was a very...