House Boat Grill Restaurant — Restaurant in undefined

I visited the restaurant to celebrate my mother's birthday. I made the reservation via email and confirmed it over the phone, but upon arrival because we did not get a response when we initially emailed. Despite that, the ambiance was pleasant. The lobsters on display on the first floor and the large fish outside were impressive, and the small ferry ride upon arrival was a charming touch that set high expectations for the evening.

I deducted one star from the atmosphere due to the presence of mosquitoes and the instability of the tables, which shifted more than I would have liked. Initially, the gentleman operating the ferry and the host who guided us to our table were friendly and welcoming. However, issues began when my girlfriend and I—who arrived early—requested water while waiting for the rest of our party. We had to ask three separate times, and it took approximately 45 minutes to an hour before the water was served.

We ordered drinks, which were average, but they also took an unnecessarily long time to arrive. Our server, stationed on the second deck, was slow to take our order and failed to check in with us as the evening progressed. On multiple occasions, we had to leave our table or call out to staff from a distance to get assistance—something I don’t associate with quality dining. The servers seemed largely disinterested and made little effort to ensure we had an enjoyable experience.

As for the food, the appetizers—soup, calamari, and shrimp—lacked any distinct flavor profile. We were hoping for bold, memorable tastes, but they fell short. For my main course, I ordered the surf and turf. While the steak was tender and cooked to a perfect medium rare, it was completely unsalted, which dulled the flavor. The mashed potatoes and lobster were just okay. My friend ordered a 2-pound lobster and found the accompanying dips unpalatable; he ended up not eating it, which felt like a waste of money.

We also ordered shots, expecting the rims of the glasses to be salted, but instead, we were handed salt in our palms. Overall, the food did not live up to the reputation of the Houseboat. I expected bold flavors and a distinctive culinary experience, but it simply wasn’t delivered.

The most disappointing part of the evening was the lack of acknowledgment for my mother's birthday. I had mentioned it via email, phone, and in person, yet the restaurant failed to do even the bare minimum to make her feel special. To receive such poor service and still be required to pay a mandatory 15% tip felt outrageous. I requested that the tip be removed due to the subpar service, but was told that wasn’t an option. My personal belief is that the guaranteed tip discourages staff from putting effort into the guest experience, and unfortunately, it left my mother feeling let down on her...

I have been coming to houseboat for decades and maintained a high view of the restaurant prior to this. I hadn't been there in a while so returned with hopeful excitement. Unfortunately my recent experience was one of the most negative restaurant visits I have ever had. The level of service has considerably declined, the staff quite honestly needs alot more training or possibly even replacement.

My party was heavily disappointed. Steaks were the wrong temperature and when one of the servers inquired near the beginning of the meal they made no effort to remedy the issue or replace the barely eaten steak that was cut in half to show that it was by far overly cooked. He literally said "I don't know what to say... I... I'm sorry."

Another unexpected issue that I had never prior seen was a swarm of relentless flies. We literally killed over a dozen and still there were more. The staff offered to reprieve when asked about the issue and said they must be attracted to the lobster.

My wife received a completely different pasta dish from what she had ordered but was so hungry (and distracted by our infant) that at first she didn't notice. She had eaten half the bowl when she realized that it was not only the wrong order but had a food component of which she was intolerant and ended up vomiting in their bathroom multiple times. We told this to the staff who offered very little support or care or remedy of any kind. She felt so unwell that we cancelled our dessert, quickly paid the bill and rushed home. We called the restaurant as soon as we got home with our concerns and grievances. We were assured that the manager would refund our meal and that we shouldn't have paid before we left. We explained that because my wife was feeling unwell and had a young infant with us we didn't want to spend extra time in the restaurant and just wanted to leave at that time. They said they would speak with the owner and come to an appropriate settlement.

Days passed before they called us. Their response was that we would get 25% off the next meal. We didn't believe that to be acceptable considering the circumstances: overcooked steak (medium rare ordered, well done received; I had to give the person half of my medium steak as a result) without saying they would replace the order - we paid for that steak, wrong pasta meal that made my wife physically sick, and the flies just added to the overall unpleasant experience (this isn't directly there fault but they could put preventive measures or offered to move our table - restaurant was practically empty when we arrived), and the rough, unfinished attitude of the staff for such a high end restaurant. We expressed our displeasure with that arrangement and will likely not return to this...

This was my first visit and the boathouse lacks severely in customer etiquette and product knowledge training for food and beverage. This was deeply disappointing. Sat at my table for a good while until someone came over to take drink orders. I asked for a cocktail or wine menu the gentleman said they don’t have one. I asked what wines they had, he said red and white. Yes he said that. I asked what type of red and white wines he said let me get you a menu. I chose my wine and I enjoyed it. Our meals came and it was very good but the octopus appetizer was the hardest rubber of a texture. Not good. No one asked why I didn’t eat my octopus appetizer the plate was still full since I couldn’t eat it. No one asked how the meal was. A lady came to give us the bill for which an extra Evian charge was there. A server came and said yes he did use three bottles although only two bottles stood on the table. We weren’t about to contest a bottle of water on a near $40,000 bill. The experience was extremely transactional, cold and lacking any empathy or joy. There is a lot of training needed at the boathouse because there is potential. My experience was missed by simple things that in hospitality business are basic. Would I recommend it? I believe you should have your own experience. Mine wasn’t good because people and service are just as important as the taste and delivery of food to call it an experience. This was lacking...